#NetGalley Book Review: Nothing to Fear by Juno Rushdan

I liked the suspense and the unique characters in this romance.
Nothing to Fear
by Juno Rushdan

File Size: 1960 KB
Print Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 27, 2019)
ASIN: B07NRSHHWF
Genre: Action Adventure, Romantic Suspense, Terrorism Thriller
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

The clock is ticking.
Fearsome Gray Box operative Gideon Stone is devoted to his work and his team. He's never given reason to doubt his loyalty...until he's tasked with investigating Willow Harper, a beguiling cryptologist suspected of selling deadly bio-agents on the black market.
He knows she's innocent. He knows she's being framed. And he knows that without him, Willow will be dead before sunrise.
Thrust into the crossfire of an insidious international conspiracy, Gideon will do anything to keep Willow safe...even if that means waging war against his own. With time running out, an unlikely bond pushes limits—and forges loyalties. Every move they make counts. And the real traitor is always watching...

Review:
There is a mole in the secret, off the grid, government agency the Gray Box. Gideon Stone, Reaper, is one of the handful of operatives who is not under suspicion. He has been assigned to investigate Willow Harper, a cryptologist and computer tech wizard who is one of the suspects. Gideon believes that Willow is innocent, and his opinion is reinforced as he gets closer to her and learns more of her secrets.

When the evidence points directly at Willow, Gideon is convinced that she is being framed. He determines that his task is now to protect her and that they have to get out of the office before she is taken into custody.

Gideon and Willow escape the base under fire. They know they are on the run from their own team of operatives and soon they realize that they must survive professional assassins coming after Willow, and now Gideon too. The pair cling together as they dodge death and try to uncover the identity of the true traitor.

Meanwhile Gideon is trying to resist his personal interest in Willow. In his mind, she deserves better than a trained killer which is what he is when needed. Willow is enthralled by Gideon and his ability to survive a troubled childhood and a brutal occupation. She would like nothing better than to steal moments with him, even for a limited time. But if she gets her wish will she really be able to step back into a co-worker attitude? And will Gideon be able to turn his back on her?

I really liked the unusual personal issues that Willow has to deal with. This added a special element to the story and her relationship with Gideon. As in the first book, Every Last Breath, the plot is suspenseful, tension-filled and intense. Unfortunately, I felt this book was more focused on the sexual tension and relationship between Willow and Gideon than on the traitor and underlying enemy issues. I don’t mind character chemistry, but I prefer it when that is the second element with the suspense taking priority. I still enjoyed the story but would be a bit more cautious about jumping into the third book. I can recommend this as a strong romantic suspense and a good read for those who enjoy focus on the personal/sexual elements.

Source: 2019 NetGalley. This qualifies for 2019NetGalley goal.

Audible Book Review: Lone Wolf, F.B.I. K-9, Book 1, by Sara Driscoll

I like search dog stories and this has good suspense with a nice side of romance.
Lone Wolf, F.B.I. K-9, Book 1
By: Sara Driscoll
Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Series: F.B.I. K-9, Book 1
Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 11-29-16
Language: English
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: K-9, Suspense, Terrorism Thriller
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
In the first book in a thrilling new series, FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and Hawk, her loyal search-and-rescue Labrador, must race against time as they zero in on one of the deadliest killers in the country....
Meg and Hawk are part of the FBI's elite K-9 unit. Hawk can sniff out bodies anywhere - living or dead - whether it's tracking a criminal or finding a missing person. When a bomb rips apart a government building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., it takes all of the team's extensive search-and-rescue training to locate and save the workers and visitors buried beneath the rubble.
But even as the duo are hailed as heroes, a mad bomber remains at large, striking terror across the Eastern seaboard in a ruthless pursuit of retribution. As more bombs are detonated and the body count escalates, Meg and Hawk are brought in to a task force dedicated to stopping the unseen killer. But when the attacks spiral wide and any number of locations could be the next target, it will come down to a battle of wits and survival skills between Meg, Hawk, and the bomber they're tracking to rescue a nation from the brink of chaos.
©2016 Sara Driscoll. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Review:
Meg, a former cop, and her trained Labrador, Hawk, are part of an FBI elite K-9 search and rescue team. Meg and her sister are active in rescuing dogs and training them for service use or just to be well behaved companions. The K-9 team is called in when a bomb traps people under the damaged Department Agriculture building. There were children visiting when the bombing occurred, so the K-9 team is desperate to locate survivors. Meg and Hawk work closely with firefighter, Todd Webb, to save an injured girl.

The search work is exhausting and a reporter happens to capture an image of Meg and Hawk after she leaves the site and collapses on a bench trying to recover her equilibrium. The photo angers the bomber as it takes focus away from his actions. He emails the reporter, Clay McCord, expressing his anger and intent to continue.

Meg is suspect of Clay’s connection with the bomber and makes an effort to meet him. They are meet at a dog park and set up a tentative agreement to share information. The bombings continue with horrendous consequences. Meg, Hawk and her team continue to pursue clues while Clay shares what information he can.

The disgruntled bomber escalates his attacks and Meg’s involvement may make her a personal target. The race is on for the FBI to locate the bomber before he can complete another major attack.

There are applicable search terms highlighted at the beginning of each chapter which I found interesting. I enjoyed the skills of Hawk as a search and rescue and attack dog. There is a strong bond with Meg as Hawk’s handler and the author shares emotional background resulting from Meg’s loss of a prior dog. Meg is a good character although I was a little surprised by the depth of her own anger. I like the connections with Clay and Todd which give the chance for further development in the series.

The story is fast-paced and moves along easily. I would get more books in the series. I recommend it to readers who like mysteries and K-9 elements.

Audio Notes: Angela Dawe does a fine job with the narration. She is able to give both the femail and male characters their own voices. I settled in and enjoyed the listen.

Source: November 2018 Audible Credit. This qualifies for 2019 TBR and 2019Audiobook goals.

#NetGalley Book Review: Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan

This is fast-paced romantic suspense with intense situations and characters.

Every Last Breath
by Juno Rushdan

File Size: 1898 KB
Print Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (April 30, 2019)
ASIN: B07L434K5L
Genre: Action Adventure, Romantic Suspense, Terrorism Thriller
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

48 hours, 2 covert operatives, 1 chance to get it right
Maddox Kinkade is an expert at managing the impossible. Tasked with neutralizing a lethal bioweapon, she turns to the one person capable of helping her stop the threat of pandemic in time: the love of her life, back from the dead and mad as hell at her supposed betrayal. Recruiting Cole to save millions of lives may be harder than resisting the attraction still burning between them, but Maddox will do whatever it takes...even if it destroys her.
When Maddox crashes back into Cole Matthews' life, he wants to fight back. He wants to hate her. But the crisis is too strong to ignore, and soon the two former lovers find themselves working side-by-side in a breakneck race to stop a world-class killer with a secret that could end everything.
The clock is ticking.
A race-against-time romantic thriller, perfect for fans of JD Robb and Mary Burton!

Review:
Maddox is a specialized CIA agent whose Gray Box team has been tasked with tracking, capturing the terrorists and recovering a stolen bioweapon. Maddox and her team have just returned from a mission and aren’t at 100% but they are ready to roll. Her superiors know that she could use extra help so they send the team to retrieve a non-CIA ‘asset’, Cole Matthews. The team shows up just in time to rescue Cole from a kidnapping by Russians. That is a bit of surprise but even more shocking to Maddox is the moment she sees Cole’s face.

Maddox knows this man as her almost fiancé who supposedly died nine years ago. She knows she made a mistake in betraying his family, but she went through extreme pain when she thought he was dead and has never moved on to another love. To cope with her losses, Maddox immersed herself in CIA training ending up in a covert organization. Maddox can’t understand how her first love could have allowed her to go through that pain of loss and she is livid. The only reason she would be willing to work with ‘Cole’ is the threat to innocent lives.

Cole created a new persona after Maddox’s betrayal devastated his family. He became a security specialist with the added background of assassin training. He never expected to see Maddox again and isn’t thrilled with the idea the agency he has always hated wants to use him. But once they pull him into the mission, there is no way he is going to let Maddox fight the danger without his protection.

The team knows the extreme risk of the bioweapon but they don’t realize the depth of the focused revenge intended by the enemy. Added to the dangerous mission is the discovery by the team that there is a mole in the base and they don’t know who they can trust.

This book in one word is “Intense”. The characters, Maddox and Cole, are intense ‘warriors’ aka operatives, who have personal history. The plot is suspenseful, tension-filled and intense. The same is true of the relationship between Maddox and Cole, plus there is a good dose of passion – both in anger and in chemistry. Their time together sizzles and sometimes they have to step back and remember the mission they have to complete before they can address all of their own issues. The story resolves the mission but leaves open the identity of the mole. I will be glad to read the next book in the series.

This has an excellent blend of tension, action and romance; Romantic Suspense just the way I like it. I highly recommend this to readers who like intense romantic suspense.

Source: NetGalley 2019. This qualifies for 2019NetGalley goal.