Cindy GerardRezensionen

Thriller

I liked these stories, but they were super short, even for an anthology.

This romantic suspense title has a determined reporter trying to recover from the trauma of being kidnapped and a sexy wounded warrior who isn't going to risk his heart again.

Jenna McMillan was a successful reporter who wasn't afraid to do anything to get the story. But after being kidnapped and held captive she lost her nerve. Now she has a chance to reclaim her career when she is invited to Buenos Aires to interview a billionaire who has some shady connections.

Gabriel Jones works for Black Ops, Inc. after a successful stint as a military officer and CIA agent. He is great with bad guys, guns, and bombs but not so great at risking his heart even though he hasn't been able to forget Jenna since he rescued her. He has lost the woman he loves to villains who kidnapped and tortured her and doesn't want Jenna to have any contact with his world.

However, there is a villain working behind the scenes who wants his revenge on both Jenna and Gabriel and is willing to leave a trail of bodies behind as long as two of them are Jenna and Gabe.

This was an exciting audiobook filled with action and danger. It was also emotionally intense as Jenna and Gabe try to work out their relationship. Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this story,

A decent romantic suspense. Journalist -vs- spec op soldier bad boy. An actual plot involving a previous death, bombings, kidnappings, & brotherhood in special forces. Jenna & Gabe's story is give & take with her doing all the giving trying to break through the tough exterior Gabe holds up. Another romance between one of the other team members is also introduced. Some of it was a little farfetched but it is a romance.

Johnny & Crystal's story! Crystal is accused of a crime she didn't commit & is kidnapped by a foreign sex trafficker. Johnny goes in search of her and rescues her but he & the BOI team have to go back to help rescue another trafficking victim. Feelings start getting in the way and the danger escalates for the entire team and Crystal. Working against a sadistic madman pits the team against a formidable opponent who will stop at nothing to get Crystal back. Johnny is caught in between wanting to help Crystal but also keeping his feelings at bay. BOI strategically come up with a plan for an explosive ending.

#2 Black Ops. Sam's story. The BOI's are still tracking nefarious criminals and this time it's the international arms dealer, drug trafficker, thieving, killer Nader who has been on the BOI's radar. Tragedy strikes Sam's family and he sets his sights on Abbie, who's brother is working for Nader. Using her for information that she may or may not have has Sam falling for her. Trying to get to the bottom of the investigation has them traveling to Honduras with revenge and death on the mind. All of the BOI's use their cunning & skills to take down Nader & other entities at play. Sam & Abbie fight their attraction for each other and try not to get killed. Meanwhile, Abbie's loyal friend Crystal who spars with BOI Johnny Duane Reed takes a secondary story for a spin off for the next book in the series

Rafe & BJ's story. The BOI's are on a mission when another agency bungles their op. BJ is a stern, by the book agency woman who is angry when her op is bungled by some unknown men, one leaving a lasting impression. Later she's brought on a new op with the BOI team and finds the same man she met (Rafe) will be working with her. The Tompkins daughter is in a jam so BOI team is protecting her and on the hunt to find a crippling bomb that will set off infrastructure fail. Rafe has to travel home where he's been missing for 15 years & BJ will be undercover as his fiance. Together they must follow the trails from a major drug cartel, to family, and to explore what is happening between them and keep the rest of the team on task for the op.

The One-Eyed Jacks are surprised by a sniper attack during a morning meeting at a local restaurant. Several are injured, one critically, so Jamie "Coop" Cooper takes over leadership in order to facilitate finding out who tried to lay waste to their team. Rhonda Burns, computer specialist for the One-Eyed Jacks must now take on the latest assignment and go out in the field with Coop to protect a Russian scientist whose work could prove deadly if it ends up in the wrong hands. While on assignment, Rhonda and Coop find it more difficult than ever to keep their attraction under wraps.

The focus of Running Blind is split into two parts. The story line surrounding the sniper who is after the team is interesting, but makes up very little of the plot. The Russian story line is far less interesting, but consumes a large part of the narrative. Also the underdeveloped characters in the story make tough to connect with the plot as a whole. Overall, Running Blind is a lackluster entry in the One-Eyed Jacks series.

Under the Wire
2 Stars

***Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead***

Good action and suspense. Unfortunately, the romance contains too many annoying tropes to be enjoyable.

To begin with, there are two age-related issues in the book. The first, namely that the heroine is 10 years older than the hero, is not a problem in itself, but in conjunction with the second, i.e., he was barely past maturity when they first became sexually involved, creates a sense of wrongness to their relationship both past and present.

Next is the insta-love theme. Lily and Manny are acquainted for 5 minutes before they end up in bed together and apparently fall hopelessly in love over six days. This doesn't make sense, especially considering his age at the time.

Moreover, the hero is an asshat for most of the book. Yes, he believes she betrayed him, but this doesn't stop him from lusting after her while he simultaneously rejects and condemns her. His sudden "forgiveness" and "acceptance" of her is unrealistic and his entire attitude is childish and immature. It is as if he is stuck at age 18, which only makes the age difference even more irritating.

The secondary romance between Adam and Minranda is also disturbing in light of the fact that they are being held hostage, and she has obviously been sexually assaulted.

Overall, there are just too many problematic elements in this book and I am not a fan. Nevertheless, but I am looking forward to Dallas and Amy's book next.

Into the Dark
3.5 Stars

This is the final book in Gerard's Bodyguards series, and to be honest, it is disappointing.

To begin with, the intense chemistry that characterized Dallas and Amy's initial connection in book #3 has evaporated and turned into a "woe is me, I'm not worthy" angst fest.

Second, it is never a good thing when the romance between the secondary characters overshadows that of the primary pair. This is the case here with Gabriel and Jenna's whose love/hate bickering is excellent and endearing. The emotions involved in their relationship are far more real than those between Dallas and Amy.

The action and suspense plot are pretty good although the whole Nazi experimentation concept has been done before, and there isn't anything particularly original here. That said, the book was published in 2007, so it is somewhat dated in this regard.

In sum, while Dallas and Amy have some sweet moments together, I was expecting more from their romance. Gabe and Jenna's story continues in the spin-off series and I hope that it fulfills its potential.

Show No Mercy
4 Stars

In the aftermath of her ordeal at the hands of a malicious terrorist organization, journalist Jenna McMillan is wary of returning to Argentina. Nevertheless, an exclusive interview entices Jenna to Buenos Aires where she find herself caught up once again in a world of intrigue and danger. After a close call with a bomb, Jenna is reunited with enigmatic covert operative Gabriel Jones, the one man who both infuriates and entices her. But a ruthless enemy has both Gabe and Jenna in his sights and will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Series note: Black Ops Inc is a spin-off of Gerard'sThe Bodyguards in which Jenna and Gabe are secondary characters. While the details are sufficiently recapped in this book, it is worthwhile reading Into the Dark for Jenna and Gabe's initial meeting.

Gerard is skilled at writing exciting suspense scenes and engaging romances. Jenna and Gabe's love/hate relationship is very appealing with their snarky repartee and sensual connection. Nevertheless, there are moments that require a healthy suspension of disbelief.

To begin with, the camaraderie between Gabe and his fellow Black Ops crew is entertaining yet their actions are often non-sensical and even inept at times - allowing Jenna to be taken from right under their noses and Gabe hieing off alone to rescue her without backup.

Moreover, the climax and resolution of both the suspense plot and the romance feel rushed. There is no detail or explanation for Gabe's change of heart at the end and his realization that he loves and wants to be with Jenna.

Overall, an entertaining read despite the above-mentioned issues and I am eager to find out what happens with the rest of the Black Ops, especially Juliana and Nate's relationship.

Take No Prisoners
4 Stars

Former Black Ops Inc. operative, Sam Lang, will go to any lengths to avenge the death of his sister even if it means using an innocent woman to do so. Abby Hughes is wary of men and has no time for romance between working as a blackjack dealer, taking night classes, and looking out for her younger brother. Nevertheless, Sam is able to get past Abby's defenses but will his secret agenda ruin any chance they might have at a future.

Gerard once again delivers on the action and suspense, and the romance has its moments despite the hero's questionable behavior.

While Sam's motivations are understandable and his suspicions of Abby's activities are warranted under the circumstances, his deceitful manipulation of Abby and her feelings does not present him in a good light. It is particularly annoying that he sleeps with her before revealing the truth.

Thankfully, the keeping secrets trope is kept to a minimum and the relationship improves once all is revealed. Abby is an appealing heroine, and the fact that she stands up to Sam and calls him on his actions makes her even more likable. It was fun watching her outsmart him a time or two.

The inclusion of the other BOIs (cute acronym) in the storyline is entertaining and the connection between Johnny Duane Reed and Abby's friend Crystal Debrowski has a great deal of potential. Looking forward to their book next.

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I liked this book. Cindy Gerard does a good job with military romantic suspense. I liked the set up of a guy who was an expat because he had been dishonorably discharged from the military and whose brothers in arms despised him. Eva buys into his bad press and thinks he got her husband killed in the action that earned his less than honorable discharge. She kidnaps him to get him to tell her the truth. Mike and Eva have good chemistry together. Mike is a damaged guy but he's chaming and smart and capable and, of course, not really guilty. The two have to work together to capture the real culprit.

It did remind me a lot of Suzanne Brockmann's [b:The Admiral's Bride|414647|The Admiral's Bride (Tall, Dark & Dangerous, #7)|Suzanne Brockmann|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174532570s/414647.jpg|745388]. The hero and heroine end up going undercover to an antigovernment survivalist compound where they pose as a married couple. One where the men are the bosses and the women subservient mice. But that was about all the similarities.

Gabe from the BOI series was in this one. Kind of to kick off this new series. CG does a really good job segueing from one series to another. I'm looking forward to reading more about the other guys from the One Eyed Jacks.

Cindy Gerard just writes solid military romantic suspense. This one was great. The action sequences are believable and well thought out. The relationships between characters both professionally and personally are well done. I loved the hero here. He was open to a relationship and struggled to overcome his negative feelings after he was hurt. The heroine was also well done with believable motivations and actions.

Very well done.

I don't buy very many books in hard copy but I nearly always put up the money for a new Cindy Gerard. I really enjoyed this one. I loved the heroine in this one. I like girly girls who get involved with tough guys. Especially when the girl is smart but still girly. She had some baggage but the hero ended up helping her through it. The hero was a fun person to read about. He wasn't as strongly written as she was but I still liked him. The relationship between the two of them felt realistic and had a good heat level.

The action sequences were strong and played out well. I always appreciate with this author that I don't always have to be doubting the action sequences. The villainess was a good character. She had motivation and flaws.

Love this series, sign me up for the next one please.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. There were two romances here and I didn't think the author did either of them justice. It seemed to me that the only person I really knew well was the husband being held prisoner in Afghanistan. I just don't think there was time to develop the four people involved enough to really get the reader involved. It wasn't as poignant as it could have been since you knew from the start what the outcome would be. The author made a choice that for me negates the angst and drama in a big way. She chose to reveal that the home town heroine and the husband who was captive in Afghanistan had been growing apart and were on the verge of a divorce before he shipped out. It would have been a much more powerful story if she had really still loved him not just felt obligated with a lingering fondness for her childhood sweetheart.

Another thing that bothered me is the whole angle involving Maya. The hero meets her then goes home and when an old love shows up he decides pursuing the new girl is too much work. Okay I can live with that sorta. But then she dies and he says what the heck let's go see if that other girl is the love of my life. That feels like a lame way to give them something in common and doesn't really give me much respect for the hero.

I give kudos to the author for having an Afghani heroine but I wanted a lot more time in her head and background to really get into it.

I thing it's worth reading especially for a fan but I would have preferred either a longer book or two closely allied books.

Still looking forward to CG's next book because I generally enjoy them very much.

review to come

Um nothing happened in this book except rainbows and unicorns flew out of the heroine's b**t. I about gagged on the sugar overload in this book. And did I mention that nothing happened? They got married and then they spent pages and pages of will we or won't we consummate our marriage. She was too pure and delicate to be sullied with his man parts evidently. Then a feller who had been mean to her in middle school and hadn't seen her since (until she and the hero took some community college classes) came out to make sure the hero loved her and was treating her right. 'Cuz it was his business somehow? And that's the normal thing strangers do? Fuck me.

Gonna stick to current Cindy Gerard offerings which I love.

This is one of the few books where the couple is a pair of reuniting lovers that I actually like. I think one of the strengths of the story is that the beginning of their story is told at the first of the book then the action moves to 17 years later so there are no annoying flashbacks. Also the meeting between these two when they were young was very realistic, poignant and moving.

The story where they are reunited and searching for their kidnapped son is good and moves quickly. There is quite a bit of action in other men's POVs which distrupts a bit.

The main disappointment and it's not a real big deal is that the author didn't actually write the scene where the heroine tells her son that his father is not dead. We also don't get to see the son and father getting to know each other. We are just told it went okay after the fact. Those are scenes that I really wanted to read. It seems like the reader is gypped out of some of the emotional payoff of the story. We got to read about all the mistrust and stuff of their reunion but didn't get to read the feel good stuff at the end.

One further thing, because I am older than my husband, I am fond of older woman younger man stories and this one was done well even though he was only 18 at the start of the story. It made sense when the author explained how brutal his life had been and how boys grow up quickly in those circumstances. The heroine didn't however realize about the age difference until she was into the relationship. I was also pleased to see that it was totally a non issue once they were older and reuniting. Not everyone is afraid of an age difference between couples and it's nice to see that fact reflected accurately once in a while in a romance novel.

Another good romantic suspense from Cindy Gerard. The characterization of the hero was very well done and most of the book was from his perspective. He was having some sort of a 'what should I do with my life' crisis and worked it out over the course of the book.

The heroine was fairly well done. She did grow over the course of the book. She wasn't a very strong person character wise and she knew it and tried to step up and take care of herself as the book went on instead of relying on men to take care of her.

The story was fast paced and believable. We got to see all the BOI guys and the introduction of a couple of new guys who might be the next spin off series so it's all good.

I have read all of Cindy Gerard's books. I like them all, some more than others. This one is near the top. 5 stars not because it was perfect but because I really liked it and it made me happy to read it. It pushed all the right buttons for me. Clean well thought out plot. Not overly wordy, overly descriptive etc. Some angst, which I personally like, but it doesn't overwhelm the story. While they do think about their feelings, the characters are not wallowing in their thoughts.

The characters are well drawn. You totally understand and believe that Wyatt has loved Sophie for 12 years. He is an honorable man who let her go to marry his best friend without saying anything when she made that choice. Sophie is also well drawn and believable. You can totally see her as a young woman choosing the wild exciting guy over the more quiet guy even though she knows they both love her. You can see that she has wondered over the years whether she made the right choice. There were a couple of spots where I would have liked more discussion/revelation. For example when she tells him she loves him, she doesn't tell him that she had those thoughts. I would have liked to see his reaction to that. Also she doesn't explain even though he basically asks why she didn't call him in the 2 years since her divorce. She doesn't even answer that in her head. So we don't know if she thought he'd forgotten her or what.

The kidnapping portion was well done. Ms. Gerard takes the less obvious choice to have the kidnapped child be not her daughter but her daughter's friend. This choice allows their relationship to develop more naturally as I never do buy that a mother of a kidnapped child would have a hot and heavy affair with a spec ops guy while her child is missing. I did guess the bad guy even though there were a few red herrings. But that was okay since this wasn't about if you could figure out the bad guy but the focus was on the romance where I like it as long as the rest makes sense.

There is plenty of male interaction with the BOI guys which is nice. It is mostly told through Wyatt's POV which I prefer over the female POV. There was a nice bit of gun toting, door knocking down spec ops stuff. It was well writte. It is important in these sorts of books that I can believe the guys could actually do what I'm being told they are doing. There are only 2 guys left to get their own books. I am looking forward to them. I hope Ms. Gerard either introduces more BOI guys or starts another spin off series as she did with this one.

The book, like many of her others, takes place in South America which is an under utilized setting for these sorts of books so I like to see that as well.

Ms. Gerard, in my opinion, is one of the top three writers in this genre along with Suzanne Brockmann and Marliss Melton. If you like those ladies, you will love Cindy Gerard as well.

I actually really liked this book but haven't read the first one. I got the book as an auto delivery a few years ago and didn't realize it was the middle of a trilogy. I probably would have liked it more if I had read the first but it was good as a stand alone book. I liked the characters and storyline. I may eventually read the others.

Good for an anthology, this book had three good stories, the third of which was the best. It was written by Cindy Gerard and was called Desert Heat. Of the three stories, it was the one that drew me in the most.

a little better than the first book -- but still not sure about the series. i will try the 3rd book.