Into the Storm (Troubleshooters, Book 10) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's the Saltwater Cowboys versus the Troubleshooters... as the two are pitted together in an exercise and competition of sorts. Troubleshooter Lindsey Fontaine is nursing a huge crush on vertically challenged SEAL Mark Jenkins (hey - I'm not the one who made his stature abundantly clear 25 times in the book). When she is chosen as the "victim" she has to work double time to prove her SEAL-worthiness. Mark is attracted to Lindsey, but has always wanted childhood goddess Tracy Shapiro. He thinks he might have a chance with her now that Tracy has broken up with her wandering eyed boyfriend Lyle. Again. But after the competition, it is Lindsey who lands in his bed, then races out of it when Tracy has another meltdown and turns to Mark for comfort.
When the competition proves successful, they decide to do it all over again... in the freezing cold mountains of New Hampshire. Tracy gets to come along as the victim, and Lindsey relishes in letting her know she can only bring one carry on. As they set out on the new excursion, the tension between Mark (who is now head over heels for Lindsey) and Lindsey is so thick you can cut it with a knife. But ever the professionals, they try to keep their feelings in check. During the exercise, chaos ensues, and then suddenly, Tracy is nowhere to be found, and falls unwittingly into the hands of a sadistic serial killer. Will the cowboys and troubleshooters find her in time?
There is so much going on in this story. And yet, it really lags. There are three potential romances, two of which are triangles. And a serial killer on the loose... each could be a story itself. While Izzy can be humorous at times, it got old really quick. I found that the only compelling romance was between Sophia and Deck, and that one is destined to play out longer than Sam and Alyssa.
Was it just me, or did Marc and Lindsey's romance sound eerily familiar, like perhaps Wes and Brittany from "Night Watch?" Vertically challenged guy in love with a woman they cannot have so they have a "casual" relationship with the next best thing that really turns out to be the best thing... It was a good read, but not one that would stand up to repeated scrutiny or readings. If this is your first SEAL 16 novel, go back and read an earlier one like "Over the Edge" first.

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Night Watch (Tall, Dark & Dangerous, Book 11) Review

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(More customer reviews)Girls, if you're the saving type - you know, stray kittens, kicked puppies, men with low self-esteem so afraid of their emotions that they choose not to feel them - then Wes Skelly is the hero for you! He's so emotionally closed down that he only allows himself to feel much of anything when he's drunk (not a pretty sight!). This guy's going to need the mother of all savers!
And Brittany Evans is a saver if ever there was one! A woman who adopted a thirteen-year-old "juvie" to save him from foster care (he's now nineteen and a baseball prodigy) she's also a nurse and a very nurturing sort. But she's not nauseatingly sweet or annoyingly good. She's smart, sassy and on occasion a smart aleck and I liked her a lot. She fully recognizes her weakness for guys like Wes and so she tries to keep things light and casual when they are set up on a blind date. A sweet friendship results and it is clear that these are two people that truly like each other. All's well until she tries to help this intense emotional cripple to see the good and the positive in himself. Well she's really got her work cut out for her as we hear all about (she's a "talk it out" kinda gal) every issue Wes has: low self-esteem, height sensitivity, the death of a sibling, a cold, distant father, his possible drinking problem and his unrequited love for the wife of a friend. Phew! This guy either needs some serious therapy or an abundance of friendship and support from the most patient, understanding woman in the world! Lucky for him he meets Britt.
Don't get me wrong, I did like this story. But if you've got little patience for this particular brand of tortured hero, consider yourself warned. I'm a bit of a sucker for them myself on occasion, even though at times his problems seemed over the top. But Wes is a very likeable guy and worth the effort, though it seems Britt is doomed to a life of reassuring him (it seems she wouldn't have it any other way). And though I like Britt's character, we find out little about her other than what I've described above, that she's a great mom, that she's divorced from a guy who cheated on her and that she's jealous of Lana, Wes's unrequited love. Contrasted with the mountain of stuff we learn about Wes, she seems a bit short-changed (a chronic problem of almost all Brockmann heroines). But their friendship is sweet and their passion is hot! The background story of Lana's TV star sister's stalker, mainly serves to provide the expected, exciting SEAL Team Ten climax of the story.
If you are a fan of the Tall Dark & Dangerous series, I think you'll like this book. It's a quick and enjoyable read and it pretty much wraps up all the guys from Alpha Squad, though we are briefly introduced to "the new guy" Rio Rosetti. Could book 12 be in the works? A recommended read!

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Hollywood Nights . . . Leading To Hollywood DaysWhen U.S. Navy Seal Chief Wes Skelly was sent to L.A. on assignment, he agreed to go on a blind date with beautiful single mother Brittany Evans, sister-in-law of a fellow SEAL. After all, he had been secretly in love for years, albeit with a woman who belonged to another man. So what did he have to lose?Plenty, it turned out. Because suddenly the woman he thought he could never have was available. However, so was Brittany -- and not only that, she was in danger. Because of him. He knew he could keep her safe. But why was he increasingly certain that he was the one in danger?--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Breaking the Rules: A Novel (Troubleshooters) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well first of all let me mention, if you haven't read at least the past 4 or so novels of the Troubleshooters series, this is not the place to start. You will be lost and constantly thinking "Glehk - who are these messed up people and why on Earth should I even care?" And "Why in the world does that big girl put up with that total butthead anyway? Run Jenni! Run!!!"
The first 75% or so of the novel is completely bogged down in various forms of Gillman family dysfunction and the ways it has totally messed up the Gillman siblings - Dan, Eden and Ben. There are readers who enjoy angsty books and chapter upon chapter spent analyzing the ways parents can damage their children, with fists and with words. They are probably going to rate this book much higher than I have. I really can't say I'm one of them and on more than one occasion I almost put this book down for good.
I'll be honest, when I read my Navy Seals I really don't want to spend hours reading about them sitting around with tears in their eyes and talking about their feelings and how they've been victimized by society. Why is Dan such a jerk? Why is Eden such a slut? (excuse me, exotic dancer) Why has young Ben painted his finger nails black and is now walking around like a Marilyn Manson impersonator? No. Not for me, at least not from this author, because frankly - Brockmann really doesn't do this type of plot all that well. The characters are too one dimensional and stereotypical. These books she puts out anymore - it's like they don't even have characters. They have ISSUES which pose as characters.
I want ACTION. I want hi-jacked planes, romps through a jungle to escape the bad guys. I want thwarted terrorist plots and a couple of explosions. In other words, I want Suzanne Brockmann the way she USED to write.
In the final chapters the author seems to remember that she's supposed to be writing Romantic Suspense, and the suspense part of the story finally kicked in with kidnappings, rescues, shoot-outs with the bad guys and those Navy Seals finally doing what they do best, making our hearts pound. It really was almost enough to salvage the book, but take my word for it when I say this is no Over the Edge (Troubleshooters, Book 3) with Terri and Stan.


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