Author: M.L. Buchman
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Expected Release Date: February 1, 2012
ISBN1402258100
First in a thrilling military romantic suspense series based on the real-life elite helicopter pilots who transport Navy SEALs and Delta Force teams in and out of combat and covert missions.
Buchman’s heroine flies the most dangerous military ops and tries to find the one man who can be a hero in her own life. Ace-pilot Captain Emily Beale goes undercover as bodyguard to the First Lady, with her rugged commander, Major Mark Henderson, who is determined to cover her back. Can she learn to keep her desire at bay before her covert mission implodes?
About The Author:
M.L. Buchman, or Matthew Lieber Buchman, is an ‘East Coast refugee’ who has worked in several different fields (fast food management, theater, construction law, computers, publishing, and light manufacturing). After a huge changing point in his life, he sold his belongs and spent 18 months riding a bicycle around the world. He has seen fifteen different countries. He has penned novels in several different genres: Romantic Suspense, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Contemporary Fiction. He currently resides in the San Juan islands of the Pacific NW.
Book Review
I have read a ton of military romance and familiar with common military jargon. However, I must admit the first part of the book was a bit overwhelming with technical details and lacked what I would classify as a “Hook”-- It did not grab me right away and I struggled through the first part of this book (On the plus side, I have learned quite a bit about Blackhawks, Little Birds, and Chinooks, lol) and I found myself wanting to skim parts of the book.
Another downer for me in the book is the unbelievable heroine, Emily Beale. Is there anything that she can’t do? She cooks delectable, mouth-watering meals using Aluminum foil and the blazing desert sun. She flies her Blackhawk in almost impossible scenarios escaping by a thread, and then ALMOST loses her sight with a bright explosion while flying. For me, a much better story would have been her losing her sight and coming to grips with a more daunting future. Oh, and she kicks ass like nobody’s business…even one massive man in the Secret Service, embarrassing him in front of his team. Emily Beale is perfectly perfect, which makes her a tee-tiny unbelievable. The one time we see Emily at her most vulnerable—eyes bandaged, unsure of her future, lying in the hospital bed in the dark—played a pivotal part of this story and cracked Emily’s perfect façade.
To be honest, if I wasn’t reviewing this book, it may have been a DNF. Only after reading almost seventy percent of the book, I started to sink into the story, looking forward for the next page. There were some truly wonderful developed scenes that stole my breath and had my heart thudding heavily in my heart.
I’m all for second chances, Mr. Buchman—so I’ll look for your books in the future.
I'll agree, the first part (and a lot of the story as well) was filled with tons of details about the hellicopters, and it did make it hard to get into at times. But while, perhaps, this isn't what I want in a romance novel, I did enjoy it a little as I could picture the setting a little better. But it would have been fine if the details had been cut back a bit....
ReplyDeleteAnd I can agree with you about Emily--she did seem a bit too perfect, and while at least she was a strong heroine (rather than a whiny one who can do almost anything) I was also kind of hoping that would have went blind. Is that bad of me? LOL. I just mean, I think it would have been better to see her coping with such a thing, and the time when she was temporary blind was just about the only time we saw some of her vulnerability. I wish there had been more..
I liked this book (posted my review yesterday), but I was left wanting more from it. I do, however, look forward to future books--I'd liek to see what else Buchman can do with the Night Stalkers, as I was quiet interested with the concept behind the series. :)
Enjoy!
TBQ
Thanks for commenting TBQ~ I was really torn about posting this review. It's my first "negative" review, although I didn't slam it or anything. I didn't totally loathe it, just didn't LOVE it. And yeah, I'll read more too. This has great potential. :)
DeleteI will still read it and it is nice to know what to expect. I like my romance supense with a good mixture of both. Sometimes less details is better. I love the excerpt for the second book.
ReplyDeleteWD--I see you came over to read my review. Definitely read it and let me know what you think. Yeah--sometimes, less is more as with techno deets. :) Have to check out the blurb for second book, though. HOT cover :)
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