THE WAY HOME by Cindy Gerard

Publisher:  Gallery Books
Published:   October 29, 2013
ISBN:  978-1476735207

Genre:   Contemporary Romance
Book format: Ebook
Obtained via:  Publisher (Edelweiss / Above the Treeline)
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

Five hearts

There comes a time when you need to stop living in the past and move into, at the very least, the present.  Maybe you don’t need to look at a future and getting to the present is a big step, but sometimes you need to get there.  Sometimes you need a little help, sometimes you don’t, but opening your heart can make a world of difference.

A year ago in the midst of a daring rescue Ty Brown met a woman he soon found he couldn’t forget.  Arriving on her doorstep in the dead of winter with Nate Black’s boys, Jess Albert said nothing more than “these were my husband’s” when she turned over that husband’s guns to the warriors at her door.  Jess and her actions stayed with Ty long after the rescue ended.  And he always meant to return.  But along the way a woman named Maya entered his life.

Three years ago Jess heard the words no military wife or girlfriend ever wants to hear…. “We regret to inform you.”  Hearing those words froze Jess in time.  But when Ty Brown arrives unannounced on her step she begins to unfreeze.  Slowly but surely Jess and Ty return to the world of the living…they still mourn their losses, but they find their way to the present.

A half a world away a man wakes to find himself chained and in pain, but with no memory of how he came to be in this place.  A woman who tells him her name is Rabia, cares for him as best she can given her limited means.  And Rabia protects him from those who hunt him.  But can one woman protect a warrior against Taliban hunters.

When word reaches Nate Black and then Ty that Jess’s husband isn’t dead after all but instead a prison in faraway Afghanistan, Ty does not hesitate to say he will join in the rescue attempt.  How many broken hearts and shattered dreams can one small family endure?  More important, can love heal those hearts and turn those dreams around.

I’ve been a fan of Cindy Gerard’s since I read her book, DREAM TIDE in the early 1990’s.  Her men are heroes…not in a large way, but with quiet assurance.  Her female characters are the kind of women you’d like to have as a friend.  Readers will see bits and pieces of themselves in different characters in each book giving you the sense of coming home with those characters.  When I pick up a Gerard romantic suspense I settle in for non-stop adventure and heart stopping missions to unfold on the pages.  Her latest, THE WAY HOME takes a slightly different tack and seems to open up another dimension of Ms. Gerard’s talent.  Oh yes, there is a white knuckle rescue where I found myself holding my breath till I knew the outcome.  And there is a passionate romance.  But there is a well done, new dimension when she takes us into the darkest moments of a prisoner of war and the effects of war itself, not just on the soldiers, but the people who live through it on their home grounds and those waiting at home. 

More than once I thought Ms. Gerard had written herself into a corner and each time was happy to see that rather than fencing in her characters, she took them to another level.  THE WAY HOME is a sensitively written story that invites the reader to experience the myriad effects of war and at the same time gives hope.  I wasn’t sure I would like the dual romances unfolding, but the way Ms. Gerard brings everything home is so well done. 

While part of not just the One Eyed Jack series, which is a continuation of several of her earlier series you do not have to read the books in order.  Ms. Gerard gives just enough back story for the reader to understand what came before.  THE WAY HOME is not just a story for our times, but for times to come. 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

DEADLY PROMISES by Sherrilyn Kenyon with Diana Love, Cindy Gerard and Laura Griffin

Publisher: Pocket
Date published: September 2010
ISBN: 978-1439191118
Romantic Suspense
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained by Library


JUST BAD ENOUGH by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love (3 Hearts)

Up until this point in time, Jeremy Sunn hasn’t really had much of a problem having a criminal past and ending up in jail now and again. He gets paid pretty well to be the bad guy…bad as in B.A.D. a crime fighting agency that is so secret even the FBI and higher echelons of the government don’t know about them. Women were there for convenience and an occasional physical release. That is, until, he meets CeCe Capice. Just a few weeks after meeting CeCe and he’s hooked but what does he do about explaining his past, which is also his future if he wants to keep his job?

CeCe has her own secret past. While not directly involved in the family business, she shares the taint of the Canadian crime family. To escape her past and to try and stand on her own she moves south. She’s attracted to Jeremy, but big brother Vince is doing his best to stand in the way. When a major hit is about to go down, Jeremy puts his life on the line for CeCe, but by doing so he may lose the only woman he could ever love.

I had a hard time getting through BAD ENOUGH by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Diana Love. B.A.D. didn’t come across as a solid federal agency, but created as more of a vehicle for Jeremy to have a secret from CeCe. I didn’t feel a connection to either character and had a hard time getting a feel for the secondary characters. Vince came across more like a Neanderthal rather than a truly protective big brother.

The story came across as almost cartoonish. I picked it up as a regular romantic suspense rather than a spoof on the genre. If I look at it as a parody the story has merit; however even from that perspective the characters came across as flat and two dimensional.

UNSTOPPABLE by Laura Griffin. (3 Hearts)

Kelsey Griffin is more than a superb archeologist. She is a forensic scientist for one of the top labs. While out on a dig she comes across a body that isn’t one of her ancient people. When she calls her friend, Mia, at the lab, Mia clues her in that the body may be tied to a missing person’s case she’s working on.

At the same time, a woman is car jacked not far from the dig site and a few other events happen that leave Kelsey’s uncle thinking his niece may need some serious protection. To that end he sends Gabe, one of his SEALs to the site. What he and Kelsey uncover are more than bodies. But the bad guys have a few steps up on them starting with there are more of them than Kelsey and Gabe. But how much help does a Navy SEAL really need?

I had high hopes for UNSTOPPABLE. What’s not to like with a Navy SEAL as your hero? And being interested in archeology, the idea of the story intrigued me. Sadly it fell short of my expectations. If Kelsey noted once Gabe was a SEAL, she noted it second third and beyond times. I got it the first 2 or 3 times and didn’t need to be reminded every few pages. I felt the story was rushed and far to “cut to the chase.” I suspect that comes from a word limit assigned to the stories in this anthology than any lack on the author’s part. As with JUST BAD ENOUGH, I felt no connection to the characters. They were flat and lacked in dimension. I had no feel for the dig site, no sense of sand blowing into the character’s eyes, and aside from one scene where they smell gasoline odors are omitted—I suspect a dead body even a few months old, would smell pretty pungent.

LEAVE NO TRACE by Cindy Gerard. (5 Hearts)

On the heels of the love of her life marrying another woman, Carrie Granger heads off to work in a hospital in Myanmar. Hoping to get over Wyatt and at the same time see something of the world. She arrives only to find herself arrested and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. When Wyatt hears what has happened to Carrie he calls long time friend, David “Cav” Cavanaugh to rescue her. When Cav arrives at the mining site where Carrie has been sentenced to, he immediately spots her and begins to plan her rescue. What he doesn’t plan on is his instantaneous reaction to her, both physically and emotionally. Up until this point Cav has had full control of himself, but something about Carrie zings through him and he knows he’ll do anything for her, including walk away.

Cindy Gerard writes some of the most vibrant stories. Compelling, high energy, thrilling rides that keep you turning page after page, telling yourself “one more chapter, one more chapter” until you suddenly find you have finished the book and it’s time to wake up and go to work. She draws you into her stories and you become a part of the action. Ms. Gerard weaves a story rich in language and emotion. Despite the shortened length of the story due to being in an anthology, her characters and story are fully developed. This story is a do not miss.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

FEEL THE HEAT by Cindy Gerard

Publisher: Pocket
Date published: November 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5360-4
Romantic Suspense
Mass Market Paperback
Obtained via: Library
Reviewed by Gina




B.J. Chase is her own woman. Period. And don't ever say otherwise. End of discussion. Despite a figure that is every man's wet dream and curly blonde hair that hints at an angelic halo, she's a by the book, black and white, survivor. Did I say survivor? I meant woman warrior. Yes, B.J. has some secrets in her past but no one is going to know them. Not ever.

Raphael Mendoza aka Choirboy, has the kind of face women can't help but fall for. He looks for all intents and purposes like the most innocent of boys. But Raphael -- Rafe -- is not only all man, he's the hot Latin lover that makes your heart beat faster and your toes curl at just the thought of being in his arms. You don't want to mess with Raphael. A member of BOI -- Black Ops, Inc., he is a lethal and deadly killing machine. Don't mess with him or those he loves. And don't ask him to feel remorse if his op interferes with yours. Black ops wins, hands down.

When B.J. and Rafe meet, again, something's got to give, but with the security of the United States at stake and hours to go before an E-bomb can take out a major city and then some, the pair are forced to work together. Will their growing attraction for each other survive the quick moving attack? From the orderly streets of Washington, D.C. to the opulence of a drug lord's lair in Columbia they manage, only barely, to stay a step ahead of their pursuers.

Cindy Gerard just gets better and better. When she first announced her Body Guard series had run its course I was stymied. How could she say goodbye to the Garretts if I wasn't ready to? And then she moved into Black Ops, Inc. where she pushes her own personal suspense envelope just a bit further. There are still occasional "visits" with the Garrets and I still hope to see another of their stories along the way, but for now Black Ops, Inc. has me on a white-knuckled roller coaster of thrills and excitement.

In FEEL THE HEAT you once again hit the ground with her characters, start running and don't stop until you've turned the last page. You then look at your favorite sources to see when the next book will be out. If I were to find one fault with Ms. Gerard's writing it is that she isn't churning out a book every few weeks. With well-done, in depth research, complex characters, fun side stories and dramatic action she is one of the most compelling and memorable authors I've read. Each character has his or her own very distinct personality. When you have a group of five or more studly alpha males and their timeless female counterparts it becomes easy to blend their traits. Not so for Ms. Gerard, each is unique and their personalities are carried through in each new book.

If you haven't read a Cindy Gerard romantic suspense you don't know what you are missing. If you have, you know what I mean about non-stop, heart pounding action and characters that stay with you long after the last page is read.


THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW

WHISPER NO LIES Book 3 of the Black Ops, Inc. Series by Cindy Gerard

Publisher: Pocket
Publication Date: December 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4165-6675-5
Romantic Suspense
Paperback
Reviewed by Gina



Johnny Duane Reed is a living, breathing, walking out of women’s lives chick magnet. He’s never met one he can’t walk away from.

With her red hair and pixie looks, Vegas security operative Crystal Debrowski isn’t too far off the mark of her Tinkerbell tattoo. She calls it like it is and anyone who mistakes her petite size for weakness soon learns Crystal is no one to under estimate. When Johnny first crosses her path in TAKE NO PRISONERS, she pegs him as a “gay cop cowboy” and wants nothing to do with the walking, talking and oh so hot eye candy. His sexy grin doesn’t make her hot and his well defined body doesn’t turn her on although she does find personal enjoyment in ditching him at every turn while he tries to follow her tail. When Sam and Abbie Lang say their “I do’s” Crystal and Johnny sort of find their way to each other, but Johnny just can’t quite commit. He comes just close enough and then beats feet out of town. And then one day, Johnny has to come to terms with just how he feels about Crystal.

On the job one day…or being Vegas, is it evening? A man who gives Crystal the creepy crawly chills shows up at her table. Long Yao has decided he wants Crystal for his own and when she says no, he doesn’t take it too kindly. First he tells her her decision is unacceptable and then he sets her up for arrest by flooding her area of the casino with counterfeit bills. When Johnny and Sam show up at the jail to bail her out, she learns it is Yao who posted her bail. He hasn’t done it out of the goodness of his heart. Far from it—Yao deals in human trafficking—sex slavery and he’s set his sites on Crystal for his personal pleasure.

Drugged, kidnapped and branded, Yao brings Crystal to Jakarta where her worst nightmare unfolds before her eyes. She hopes against hope that Johnny will care enough to find her before it’s too late.

Cindy Gerard is one of my top ten favorite authors. Hands down she crafts the best in toe curling romance and breath holding suspense and wraps the two together in books you simply cannot put down once you start reading them. I haven’t come across a one of her books that did not leave me wanting more. And then she tops ever herself and WHISPER NO LIES is one of those crowing achievements. She outshines even herself.

From my first glimpse of Johnny Duane Reed in SHOW NO MERCY, Book 1 of the BOI’s series, I wanted to get up close and personal with him. More likely than not it is because he reminds me of the big, buff and breathtakingly gorgeous blond haired, green eyed Marine I dated. While Johnny has these incredible blue eyes, the rest of him is the epitome of the Marine warrior. For all his “awe shucks”, love em and leave em bravado, Johnny has a soft side and a vulnerability that makes him alluring. Yet he hides it. Crystal is the perfect foil for him. She’s smart, sassy and can stand her own two feet. While I have enjoyed almost all of Ms. Gerard’s heroines, I think Crystal is my all time favorite.

In WHISPER NO LIES Ms. Gerard tells not only an action packed story, she delves into the devastating painful and all too real and frightening world of human trafficking. While telling a good story, Ms. Gerard opens her readers eyes to one of the world’s dirty little secrets. At the end of the book she provides information on where her readers can learn more. Her love scenes are hot and the kind you want to experience for yourself. The suspense is palpable. I held my breath when Johnny and Crystal attempted their escape from Yao’s building and again when they hit the high seas when they flee Jakarta only to have Yao follow them to their destination.

The promotions show only SHOW NO MERCY, TAKE NO PRISONERS, and WHISPER NO LIES, but with Mendoza setting his sights on a certain U.S. Attorney’s lady, I’m eagerly waiting the next installment.

TAKE NO PRISONERS Book 2 of the Black Ops, Inc. Series by Cindy Gerard

Publisher: Pocket
Publication Date: October 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4165-6674-8
Romantic Suspense
Paperback
Reviewed by Gina



For so long, too long, Sam Lang has dogged slimy bad guy Frederick Nadar. Nadar had enough and sent a message to Sam—lay off—by killing Sam’s sister Terri and her husband, B.J. Sam got the message, quit Black Ops, Inc. and headed to the family ranch in Nevada to mourn his loss. But Nadar is still out there and he’s still doing what a crime lord does best—one way or the other destroying lives.

Abbie Hughes has built a world for herself and younger brother, Cory, that she hopes is safe. At least she tells herself it is. She balances her life between her job as a casino dealer and school and lives in a house with a security system she hopes will keep her nightmares at bay. She stands behind Cory as he tries to carve his own place in the world. All it takes though is one accidental misstep from Cory that sends Abbie and Sam’s worlds colliding into each other. When Cory blunders into a deal gone bad and ends up with a treasured artifact intended for Nadar, he brings Abbie and Sam’s worlds together. Cory goes on the run only to be caught by Nadar. Abbie is about to get sucked into Nadar’s dealings and Sam is forced to confront his demon.

I’m normally a totally true die hard Cindy Gerard fan. I’ve never read one of her books I didn't come away raving to everyone that they HAD to read it. Her characters are rich and full bodied, her heroes the kind of men you want to take home and keep for your own and her heroines the kind of woman you just might want to be.

TAKE NO PRISONERS left me kind of cold. I didn't feel the same level of development in her characters or a true romantic connection between Abbie and Sam. They are two smart people but end up not checking some very basic things out in each other. Yes, Abbie does google Sam and finds out about Terri, but other things just fall by the wayside. While I understood Sam’s devastation over the death of his sister, I started to feel like it was a bit of a personal pity party for him and it didn't work. There are elements that are just too pat, two formula. It was a quick and easy read, it had some good suspense, TAKE NO PRISONERS just wasn’t for me Cindy Gerard at her best. I think when you have a fabulous first book in a series, such as SHOW NO MERCY was, it becomes a bit hard for any book to follow. I will continue with this series simply because Ms. Gerard is an auto-buy for me and in every other book I’ve been caught up in the romance, the adventure and the suspense.

SHOW NO MERCY Book 1 of the Black Ops, Inc. Series by Cindy Gerard

Publisher: Pocket
Publication Date: September 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4165-6672-4
Romantic Suspense
Paperback
Reviewed by Gina



Spunky and sassy Jenna McMillan isn’t in the habit of running from her problems. Neither does BOI bad boy Gabriel Jones. That was until they found the need to run from each other. Recovering physically and emotionally from an E.D.E.N. mission with Dallas and Amy Garrett, a worn and heart sore Jenna retreats to her family home in Wyoming. She’s lying low and trying to regroup and she’s trying really hard not to admit that it’s her feelings for Gabe that has her running. Her editor calls asking her not only to return to her job as a reporter, but to take on a once in a lifetime story. Unable to look the gift horse in the mouth, Jenna heads to Argentina to interview powerful Emilio Maxim. She tells herself that no how, no way is she excited about the possibility of seeing Gabe Jones again. Nope. No how.

The men of BOI – Black Ops, Inc., have been hired on to what could be, should be, a routine protection detail—guarding Emilio Maxim. Front and center in his surveillance of the National Congress awaiting Maxim’s arrival Gabe tells himself that the stunning red head on the steps of the building is not Jenna McMillan. It can’t be because he doesn’t want it to be. Before he can wrap his mind around the fact that Jenna is standing mere inches from him all hell breaks loose with a car bomb and bad guys firing into gathering crowd. With Gabe injured in the melee the team decides it is best to bring him post haste to Julianna Flores retreat in Bahia Blanca. Still aching and filled with guilt Julianna’s daughter and the woman Gabe loved, he fears his presence there may be a danger to Dr. Flores. Determined to get as far away from Jenna as he can, Gabe heads back to Buenos Aires. Shortly after his team picks him up two things happen that he knows just can’t be a coincidence: someone tries to sneak into Julianna’s house and the bad guys find he and Jenna are at what BOIs thought was a safe house. On the run, time and again they barely escape their pursuers. Then, Gabe’s worst nightmare comes back to haunt him only this is no dream.

When this reviewer finished Dallas and Amy Garrett’s story and knew it was the end of Cindy Gerard’s Bodyguard series I was not a happy camper. I was hooked on Ms. Gerard’s fabulously crafted characters and memorable stories from the first Bodyguard story. That this series was ending was a sad moment. In fact, I wrote in my review of INTO THE DARK in July of 2007 that I couldn’t believe the series could end just after meeting Gabriel Jones. Ms. Gerard promised her readers a new series in Black Ops, Inc. and she more than delivers. Not only are her readers treated to Gabe and Jenna’s story, we receive a bit of a catch up on Amy and Dallas. The weaving of the two series, making SHOW NO MERCY a transition story from one to the other was well done. Details that stood on their own in INTO THE DARK are given more depth, giving readers a richly woven tale. In all of Ms Gerard’s stories readers are not merely passive bystanders, she includes you in the action. Every heart stopping moment becomes a white knuckle ride for the reader.

I liked Jenna’s determination and bravado and kudos to her for making the choices she does. She’s a wonderful contrast of softness, bravado and courage. Gabe comes across as your total alpha who has control of himself and the world around him. When the cracks in his façade start to show, Ms. Gerard does it with compassion and style.

There is no gratuitous violence or drama with this author. Her characters could be someone you know and what happens to them could happen to you. Granted, I do have a few “if only” moments when I read her heroes—and Gabe Jones is one of the finest. If you haven’t read Cindy Gerard, SHOW NO MERCY is a good place to start, but you will want to pick up and enjoy her entire back list.