Cover of Darkness by Kaylea Cross

Synopsis:

Targeted by a terrorist cell, Bryn McAllister survives a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut only to be left to die in a desert cellar. When she is rescued by Navy SEAL Lieutenant Declan McCabe and his team, Bryn must rely on the handsome officer to get her to safety. But just when she thinks the nightmare is over, family friend and legendary CIA operative Luke Hutchinson recruits her and McCabe to help track down the terrorist mastermind responsible for the attack.

With Bryn determined to see the terrorist brought to justice, Dec joins up to protect her, prepared to do whatever it takes to keep her safe during their dangerous mission. Battling the explosive attraction between them, Dec fights to keep his distance from her so he can do his job and keep her alive. But when plans fall apart and Bryn is captured, he must make the agonizing choice between his duty as a SEAL and the life of the woman he loves.

My thoughts:

Wow!

Ok, maybe I should elaborate. I get pretty excited when I discover a new author that rocks. This book, the second story in this series, had it all. The setting, so realistic, takes place in the Middle East where a religious zealot by the name of Farouck Tehrazzi has sworn jihad until all infidels have been destroyed. In this story he wants both Bryn and her father, a Lebanese diplomat who felt his country needed U.S. support, dead. I didn’t need a caffeine fix to stay awake to read this book. Once again Ms. Cross had me sitting at the edge of my chair right up to the very end.

Both the lead and secondary characters were surprisingly well developed. I really liked Bryn who came across as intelligent, easy going, and feminine yet had plenty of moxie when she needed to. Dec’s character was equally engaging. I loved that he didn't have a big ego and he tried so hard to remain professional when all he wanted was Bryn. I felt that the romance was an integral part of the story making the whole story very believable.

Wow! Oh yeah, I’ve already said that (sheepish grin).

If you enjoy authors like Cindy Gerard, Marliss Melton, or Suzanne Brockmann you may want to check out this author. I’m sure glad I did!

Books in this series:

Out of Her League

Cover of Darkness

No Turning Back

Relentless

Out of Her League by Kaylea Cross

Christa Bailey is one cut away from making the Olympic softball team when threats from an obsessed fan jeopardize her dream, and her safety. Forced to put her life on hold, she reluctantly turns to ERT officer Rayne Hutchinson for help, praying the police catch her stalker before she is cut from the team or does something stupid, like fall in love with her unattainable protector. But Christa's stalker is something far more sinister than either of them could have imagined. With her life at stake, can Rayne keep Christa safe from this patient predator?

My all time favorite genre is romantic suspense so whenever I come across an author that is new to me in this genre I just have to check it out. Out of Her League is the first book in this unnamed series by Kaylea Cross. There were so many things that I loved about this book. The characters were realistic and likeable. Cross’s writing style is smooth and easy. The suspense had me sitting at the edge of my seat. It’s a good thing I’m not a nail biter otherwise I would have chewed them down to nothing. But what I loved most about this book is that it played with my emotions. Christa’s fear was tangible. So much so that when she became anxious so did I. I'm surprised at how emotionally attached I got to these characters. Rayne was equally appealing. Besides being a hunk, he came across as being intelligent and caring. There was also a wonderful subplot about why Rayne’s mom and dad split up so many years ago.

There was one thing in Out of Her League that drove me crazy to the point that I started yelling at my iPad. There were several times when Christa should have had at least some kind of police protection but didnt. Why would Rayne leave her at his apartment alone when they both knew that the stalker not only knew where he lived but also knew how to disarm security systems? After stewing about this for a couple of days, I will admit that it did add to the suspense of the story.

So even though I had a hard time believing the lack of police protection, I loved everything else about this book and plan on reading the rest of the books in this series, Cover of Darkness, No Turning Back and Relentless. According to her website, Kaylea Cross is also working on a paranormal series.