4.5 stars

I confess I’ve had a long, slightly obsessive love affair with Ms. Brockmann’s Navy SEALs since I first read Prince Joe (Tall, Dark & Dangerous) way back in 1996. From TDD to the Troubleshooters series, I can’t get enough. I’m one of those readers who would be waiting for the bookstore to open on release day, to sit in my car reading the latest book because I couldn’t wait long enough to drive home to get started on it. Ms. Brockmann is a woman of many talents and interests, which she has been pursuing the last several years. I applaud and support her in all her endeavors, but I’ve missed getting new books from her on a regular basis. I’m always excited to read a new Troubleshooters book. As one would expect in a 16+ book series, I love some books more than others, but every book in this series is a solid read. Some Kind of Hero probably won’t be on my list of Top Five Troubleshooters book, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. Shayla quickly catapulted to the top of my list of Ms. Brockmann’s heroines. She is smart, witty, compassionate, quick-thinking, and brave. Shayla is a successful author of romantic suspense, who hasn’t written a word in several years. I couldn’t help but think of her as the embodiment of Ms. Brockmann’s own experiences as a writer—readers constantly asking about the next book springs to mind. I have no clue if Ms. Brockmann was channeling any personal experience, but I read parts of it as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the life of a writer, and I found it hilarious. Shayla’s internal dialogue—conversations with her main character, Harry, had me laughing out loud. I’m not sure if it was her maternal instinct (she’s a single mom to two teenage boys), or just her compassion that had her stopping everything to help, but I admired her resourcefulness, her humor, and her willingness to help someone she didn’t even know when her neighbor, Navy SEAL Peter Greene, enlists her help to find his runaway teenage daughter, Maddie. Peter didn’t affect me the way some of her other SEALs have, but he’s still pretty damn appealing. I’m not sure if it’s his earnest desire to be a good father to the daughter he’s never known, his cluelessness about how to actually accomplish that goal, or just that whole SEAL thing, but I found him very charming and sweet.

Maddie and her friend, Dingo, was a sweet , if slightly unconventional, secondary love story. The historical plot thread of the Japanese-American internment during WWII is of great interest to me. I grew up in California’s San Joaquin Valley, home to many Japanese-Americans, many of whom were incarcerated for the duration of the war, including my uncle’s family. I’ve always loved the pieces of history Ms. Brockmann includes in the novels of this series.

Even though characters from the series’ other books (Hello, Izzy Zanella!) play an important role in Some Kind of Hero, I don’t think it’s necessary to read the previous books, however, this is one of my all-time favorite series and I highly recommend reading from the beginning, The Unsung Hero. Some Kind of Hero doesn’t have the plot complexity, nor the depth of character development of the rest of the series, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Suzanne Brockmann's writing comes alive on the pages of this book. It is so well written, it feels like you are right there with The Troubleshooters and team. I enjoyed every page of this book and was captivated by this story line. I loved that Shayla was a romance writer and it was great to see the other side of what goes into creating a book. As a reader Shayla totally fascinated me in this story. Once Shayla and Peter get together, WOW!!! It was interesting to read from Maddie's and Dingo's POV and it really added to this story. It is just a great book!!!

I had mixed feelings after finishing the latest volume in Brockmann's TROUBLESHOOTERS series, which focuses on two neighbors, one a romance novelist experiencing writers' block, the other a Navy SEAL whose fifteen-year-old daughter has run away and whom the two end up pursuing through most of the novel. The second half of the novel moves along at a good clip, and provides some great action scenes and some pleasant love scenes. But I got bogged down by some of the problems and patterns established in the novel's first half, which made the read far less enjoyable than I had anticipated.

Shayla, our romance novelist heroine, is constantly accompanied (in her head) by the male protagonist of her gay romance series; his (imaginary) presence offers her a running commentary about her situation and her attraction to her Navy SEAL neighbor. This gimmick got annoying really fast, as did the meta-commentary about romance novels and how they are different from "real" (i.e., this book's) life; too many of those romance tropes rejected as "not real" end up actually happening to Shayla. Shayla also comes across as super knowledgable, reputedly because she's a writer and loves to research. But she doesn't have much of a distinct personality, so all this throwing around of her information makes her seem like superior a know-it-all teacher/mother figure. I wish that the source of Shayla's writers' block had played more into the storyline somehow, instead of being mentioned briefly only once. I get that her mothering attitude towards Pete, the Navy Lieutenant, stems in part from the fact that she doesn't think of herself as romance heroine material (because she's older than Pete is, and is the mother of two teen boys). And because I hadn't read earlier stories featuring Pete, I didn't see him on the page here as the alpha tough guy, in charge of training Navy SEALS. I almost expected him and Shayla to start engaging in some D/s play, given her take-charge attitude and his willingness to allow her to do so.

I was also confused about how race played out in the novel. Shayla is described as having "gorgeously rich brown skin," but her ethnicity or race is never directly stated or discussed. She's not on the cover (only white Pete is), either. There are few cultural markers to suggest whether she is Latina, Black, or some other race/ethnicity. This came across to me as color-blind diversity—"I don't see skin color"—which many writers, even romance writers, have begun to protest against for the way it ignores power disparities. On the other hand, the subplot about Japanese internment during WWII is quite explicit about race and racism. So I was left scratching my head a bit in confusion...

Finally, I was a bit squicked out by the budding romance between Pete's daughter, fifteen-year-old Maddie, and her twenty-something friend Dingo. At first, Dingo didn't know how young she was, but after he finds out, he's still attracted to her, although he feels really uncomfortable about said attraction, and won't act on it, even when Maddie offers to sleep with him. But he declares his love for Maddie (and puts his life on the line for her) late in the book, saying that he's willing to wait until she's old enough for him. At novel's end, he gets shipped off to the military, presumably to learn better adulting skills until Maddie is an adult, too. Will Maddie still care for him once she's done some growing up? I guess a future novel will tell...

I loved this book. A great addition to Brockmann's Troubleshooters series. And for those who have not read the series, it is a wonderful place to start.

I received a free copy (from NetGalley) of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

All I can say is WOW!!! This book took some time to get through. WHY you may ask?! Is because there were times that the conversations were so hilarious that I had to put the book aside. Shayla is a romance writer and her main character Harry has a great comical dialogue throughout the story.

Five stars doesn't do the book justice. It deserves at least a perfect 10!!! The book contains POVs from several characters not just the two main ones (Shayla and Peter). You get more of an in-depth view of the characters and plot this way. The book evolved in a way that keeps the reader glued to the pages. You can't help but stay tuned for the action and hilarious interactions of the characters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone you loves suspense, adventure and laughter along with their romance!!!!

I found it kind of too light headed for the first 3rd. But then it became really serious.
It's been 6 long years since the last full volume of the Troubleshooters serie. It took me a little while to get in the story but all the ingredients of the story are there ! And it's good to keep on track with old mates.
3,5 stars for me

You know when you get that book and you just can't put it down, this is that book. I loved that the female lead is strong and resourceful. Another great book by this amazing author

I've read around 10 Suzanne Brockmann novels, so it's safe to say that I typically enjoy her writing. I thought I had read several in the Troubleshooters series, but it turns out I was wrong (well, it happens ;) ) and I had only read the first (which was really, really good, btw).

Obviously this preamble is leading somewhere and that is unfortunately to how disappointed I felt with Some Kind of Hero.

The first few chapters really swept the reader up into the action. Shayla Whitman is a writer with a vivid imagination, sense of humor, and a voice inside her head, Harry, who interjects his thoughts frequently. There's a chase scene at the beginning which brings Shayla together with the hero, Peter Greene. Shayla just does some crazy stunts while doing the "follow that car" routine.

After this, Some Kind of Hero starts to lag and it feels like the novel is all over the place, pretty much literally. While using the point-of-views (povs) of both main characters has become typical in romances, at least three other povs popped up, thus distancing the reader from Shayla and Peter. We're also in the head of the missing, Maddie, so that eliminates a lot of suspense in this romantic suspense.

One pov comes from a character from a previous novel in the series. Unless you've read the series, you are thrown in with people you don't know, and I dare to say, don't care about, while neither main character is in the scene. I presume it's to give Pete some character. For me, it was just: why should I care about any of these people?

The backstory of Pete's love affair with Maddie's mother, Lisa, is brought in and we are not talking about a paragraph description. It's like a mini-novel. I suppose this was done, again, to give Pete some much-needed personality. Perhaps it does, to a limited degree.

Unfortunately, Brockmann also chose to have Shayla continue to verbally "shush" the man in her head. Now, granted this is fiction, but if a woman you just met kept saying "shush" at regular intervals when there was no one around, would you still really be standing there? It was a cute idea, but I think she should have limited Shayla's "shushing"; she could have continued with the interior monologue, which is very amusing, but made Shayla a bit more "real"  because I am certain that Shayla's sharp sons would have called her on that "shushing" long before.

Also, I thought it was a bit lame when there is a possible disaster and the first person Pete thought of was the woman he had known for two days and not his daughter. It kind of undermined all of those attempts to reveal his character at least in a good way.

Perhaps if you have been an avid reader of this series, you are more likely to overlook the elements that to me make Some Kind of Hero a very average novel.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Even though this is the first Troubleshooters book I have read, the story is a standalone and I had no difficulty reading and enjoying it. The author moved the story along at a quick pace that has me hooked from the beginning. Finding out more about these characters and what was going to happen to them had me reading late into the night so I could finish. Great characters, as well as a wonderful combination of drama, action, suspense and romance.

The story centers around the hunt for Lt. Peter "Grunge" Greene's runaway 15-year-old daughter. Maddie Nakamura is in trouble because her so-called friend, Fiona, framed her for stealing 10,000 dollars from a drug kingpin. Fiona took off home with the money and told him that she gave it to Maddie, and now she is trying to find Fiona to get the money back before something happens to her. Peter is a trainer for the SEAL program, a new single dad (Maddie's mom recently died) and a gorgeous man. Shayla, the across the street neighbour who is helping this virtual stranger, is a romance writer, a single mom of two teenage boys and somewhat smitten with the hot SEAL. There is humour (Shayla's main character from her books talks to her), action, suspense and hot romance (i.e. read sex). Maddie is also dealing with a lot of emotions in this story. She is on the run with a 20 year old stoner/drug dealer that she starts to have feelings for, she is definitely frightened, she does not know her dad and does not trust him enough to let him help her and she finds out more about her Japanese heritage, all more than this 15 year old can really handle. I recommend this book to lovers of romantic thrillers, it is a good one.

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Peter (Grunge) Greene is a formidable BUD/S instructor, tough and is up to any assignment he's handed. However, becoming a father to his 15-year old daughter for the first time after her mother's sudden death might be the challenge that brings him to his knees. She's now missing and his instincts are screaming at him that she's in serious trouble (she is). Romance author and divorced mother of two Shayla Whitman was in the right place at the right time when he needed help. She just happens to be his neighbor and together they begin putting together clues and actions to find Maddie.

There's a different vibe to this story but at the same time, a lot that's familiar. Told from Peter, Maddie and Shayla's points of view, it transitions from the varying voices rather seamlessly. I liked that Peter and Shayla are older (he's close to 40; she's there already) so it's a more mature relationship that develops without the protracted angst you typically find between two people thrown together in these circumstances. On the surface, they don't seem all that compatible but when they're together, everything about them works. I loved these two together and how she helped him forge a relationship with Maddie. It was brilliantly orchestrated while at the same time providing us with his crucial backstory.

Shayla writes romantic suspense and her main fictional character is an FBI agent named Harry who is a major part of her own inner dialogue. It was disconcerting at first but as the story moved along, I found myself wanting Harry's opinion! It ultimately works as he's really her own alter ego that pushes her into romantic action with Peter.

I loved this story and how the members of Boat Squad John and SEAL Team Sixteen were woven into the action. And through Shayla, we get an important plug for the romance genre, presenting a smart, talented writer who really shatters a few myths. She was classic Suzanne Brockmann and I adored her:) Well done on every level. 4.5 stars

This was a different type of SB book and I really liked it! It was a risky way to start the book that I don't think I would have liked from a newer author but with Suzanne I knew she wouldn't let me down and she definitely didn't disappoint. I adored the couple and especially the heroine. What's not to love about a romance writer heroine? I highly recommend this book and definitely have to a bazillion friends.

I am a Brockmann fan, and I own all the Troubleshooter's novels and novellas. I looked forward to Some Kind of Hero and I was not disappointed. As always, Suzanne brings the humor and passion but what I really appreciate is that her books are so balanced between action and romance. Some kind of Hero could easily stand alone, there is just enough info on the settings, series and past characters to make the reader comfortable but not necessarily enough to spoil their opportunity to discover the rest of the series. If you like your action romances to have splendid dialogue, passionate encounters and well researched and written action sequences; choose Brockmann.

A great, fast paced story, part of a wonderful series. I hadn't read one of these in a long time and it was wonderful to revisit past favorite characters and meet new ones. I posted a review on Goodreads.

Great story ,I love the action,the suspense and the romance.Great characters and the story was fast paced.There were some entertaining moments, some sweet and heartfelt ones, some drama, and action. I just find it a little slow in the beginning but this is happening with most of the books that are first in a new series because you have to meet all the characters.Overall it was a nice story .

Ive never read any of Suzanne brockman before so wasn't sure what to think. well actually I giggled my way through this book. the comments and one liners and Shayla's hilarious constant shh to her 'inner harry' is fantastic. whilst Pete is the perfect romantic hero, he is kind and heartfelt and brilliantly blunt. their direct honesty with eachother and their 'mythbusting' of Shayla's steamy scenes in her books made me laugh uproariously. if your looking for something light hearted and funny, this isn't it. the storyline with Maddy is too familiar for some to be light hearted, but it is funny without detracting from the serious elements, whoilst having those serious elements and dealing with them in a realistically, sensitive manner.
loved it!

I received this advanced copy for an honest review. You can't go wrong with the Troubleshooter series. This one shows the difficulty of separation,death of a parent, and teenagers. Sexy Lt Peter Greene enlists friend Shay Whitman to help deal with his exs 15 year old daughter. This story is great, can't wait for more in the series.

Direct link to my review: https://herhandsmyhands.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/some-kind-of-hero-by-suzanne-brockmann/ Slightly edited version below:

Some Kind of Hero, by Suzanne Brockmann

While this is the 17th full length novel in the very successful Troubleshooters series, it absolutely stands on its own, giving a new reader a good taste of what Ms Brockmann’s writing voice is like: fast paced, with well drawn, three-dimensional characters, and set in the real world, very much right here, right now.

Neither of the main characters have appeared in any of the previous books in the series. And while a couple of the secondary characters have, the story is structured so that there’s no need for extensive backstory of previous events, and what little there is, is integrated organically into the narrative.

The book starts with our hero recklessly wading into oncoming traffic, trying to flag someone down to help him give chase to his wayward teenage daughter, who he believes has just gotten into a car. As luck will have it, his new across-the-street neighbor recognizes him and is willing to help him well above and beyond (nota bene: this is how you do in media res).

Now, the blurb only mentions two people, but there are actually four main characters, and five points of view–the one secondary character who gets a point of view? Our friend Izzy! For those not familiar with the series, Irving Zanella, aka Izzy, was a recurring secondary character for a number of books, who got his own happy ending in the last book released before the author’s hiatus (from the series and, from what I can tell, from writing) back in 2011.

As a fan of Ms Brockmann, I have always found her writing almost compulsively readable. There’s a mix of fast pacing with a down-to-earth relatability in her characters, that draws me in easily, and keeps me in the novel’s world for the duration.

In this case, there are basically two plot threads: one, Peter has just found himself the custodial parent of a fifteen year old girl; a couple of months after this life changing event, Maddie has, for all intents and purposes, run away. Serendipity and desperation combine to put Shayla in the role of Peter’s partner as he tries to find Maddie.

On the other side we have Maddie’s reasons for dropping out of sight. Hint: a lot more complicated than, “I don’t know this ‘dad’ person, I don’t like this ‘dad’ person, I’m gonna run away.” Maddie is definitely mourning her mother, and vulnerable with it, which makes her a logical scapegoat for someone else. When Maddie realizes just how deep the pile of shit she’s standing on is, her reaction is to find the fastest way out of the mess. To this end, she enlists the help of a sort-of friend-of-a-friend, Dingo; a guy who has not made the best decisions in life so far, but who is a decent person at his core.

Which is indeed a lucky break, because not only is that pile of shit deep, and Maddie’s very life in danger, but a fifteen year old is always vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation, let alone when she’s a runaway on the streets of a mostly unknown city.

In pretty short order, we learn the basics of Peter’s and Maddie’s relationship, and why, as it turns out, he basically does’t know his own child.

This is an important part of the plot, as it means that Peter spends a bit of time going down some pretty awful mental paths as events unfold. He not only worried about Maddie’s fate, as the parent of any missing child would, but he wonders what exactly is she ‘into’ that he has no way of guessing.

The novel is structured in what I’ll call three narrative streams:
a) Peter’s and Shayla’s efforts to find and help Maddie, and the developing relationship between them.
b) Peter’s efforts, instigated by Shayla, to reach Maddie, by telling her about meeting and loving Lisa, her mother. This is done via long emails; as Peter tells Shayla, she writes them and emails them to Maddie.
c) Maddie’s and Dingo’s quest to fix things so she can go back to her life and be safe.

I really, really like how Shayla comes across as very smart and intuitive, without making Peter look like an idiot; he’s out of his element, and worried out of his gourd, but not stupid.

Shayla is very relatable, as the capable mom who has learned to think at several levels simultaneously just to keep up with her teenage sons. She is also a successful writer of romantic suspense, which I love. As a reader who has always been fascinated by how writers’ brains work–the constant, ‘what if?’ and all the, ‘huh, plot bunny’ about the most innocuous, trivial things–Shayla’s way of figuring out what to do next made perfect sense to me.

Ranty aside: I read somewhere a criticism that Peter should have been the one to lead, as ‘he’s a SEAL!’ while Shayla is ‘just a writer.’ The irony almost killed me. We are reading a book with a complicated plot written by a woman who has written many successful books just like it, but the female character should defer to the male character the writer created? Because SEAL? Dude, becoming a SEAL doesn’t make one a good detective, or a good father, or a good cook, or a good reader, or a good anything else. Becoming a SEAL makes you a SEAL, with very specific skills. None of those skills include ‘how to track a fifteen year old runaway whom I don’t know.’ Writing suspense, though, and being an involved mother to two teenagers? I trust her chances a lot more. /ranty aside

Did I mention that I really like Shayla? She is written very realistic as a woman–at one point she thinks, “even though, like most women, she could list her flaws and imperfections on a full page, single-spaced” and I giggled. Yes, even the most self-assured among us has a mental list of flaws. “Knowing” our flaws (whether these be real or perceived) doesn’t mean we wallow in despair over them every second of every day, but boy, we are very much aware they exist.

There was, however, one thing about Shayla that I found a bit wearying as the novel progressed. See, she’s a successful writer, albeit who is dealing with writer’s block, so no books out for several years. I am perfectly fine with this, and fine with her being resourceful, witty, quick on her feet, etc. What threw me was having one of Shayla’s own characters show up as a voice in her head. The third interlocutor in a two people conversation, as it were.

I don’t know, as I don’t write, whether this actually happens for writers, but it’s the one thing that sets Shayla apart; the one thing made her ‘weird’ rather than quirky. For me, as a reader, this felt gimmicky and unnecessary, as I didn’t feel that this pseudo-character brought anything to the story, the plot, or the character development.

Now, about Peter.

One of my deal breakers regarding what makes a hero, is a man who fathers children, then doesn’t have a fuck to give about them. Having been a fan of Ms Brockmann’s for a long time, I was pretty confident that, as the story unfolded, Peter’s apparent negligence would be explained to my satisfaction. I’m very happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed; it made sense, in the way life makes sense. Not perfect, not even close to ideal, but realistic and understandable.

Even better, Peter doesn’t give himself a pass; he realizes that he not only should have made a stronger effort to maintain contact and develop a relationship with Maddie, but that he could have. He owns his decision to take the path of least resistance, and doesn’t pile on the rationalizations to excuse himself; not to himself, not to Shayla, not to Maddie.

That, right there, makes him a helluva lot more heroic in my eyes than getting through SEAL training, or becoming an officer after being a lowly enlisted sailor. Which, let’s be honest, is pretty impressive.

Maddie is also a great character. She’s not ‘a great kid’ but rather a real kid. She’s struggling with her grief over her mother’s death, and she’s also a teenager. Maddie turns her grief over losing her mother into resentment about being forced to live with her father, the man upon which she has heaped all the responsibility for everything wrong in her life.

Maddie knows well that her mother was far from perfect, but Lisa was all Maddie had for most of her life; certainly, for all of her memories, it was only Lisa and Maddie. It’s natural and believable that she would resent that now she’s forced to live with the father who, for all intents and purposes, abandoned her.

So while Maddie makes some questionable decisions, she’s neither stupid nor a plot moppet; she’s a very well written adolescent trying to cope with what life is throwing at her.

Which leaves us with Dingo. Out of the four main characters, he’s the one that is least explored. There’s a bit of shorthand–abusive father, submissive mother, not particularly motivated or brilliant in school, kind of shiftless. He is, however, a decent human being, who is pretty much smitten with Maddie. What makes him decent is that he’s determined not to take advantage of someone who is basically still a child–a five years age difference matters here, while it would merit barely a blink if Maddie were twenty instead of fifteen.

They way the story develops, Dingo surprises himself by what he’s willing to do, not only to help Maddie, but to keep her safe, even from himself.

Ms Brockmann always populates her novels with communities. Her characters always have families–be they by blood or found/created through life’s struggles. This book is not an exception. The cast is large and diverse, in all meanings of the word.

Shayla has two sons from her previous marriage, and they are very much the center of her life–which means that her ex, and his current live-in girlfriend, are part of Shayla’s life too.

Peter is a SEAL, and as such, he’s a member of a large and varied team.

Which brings us to Izzy, and a number of tadpoles (young sailors and SEAL candidates), as well as other friends of Peter’s. Long time readers will be happy to see Lindsay (Into the Storm), Eden (Breaking the Rules), and Adam (Hot Target, Through the Night, “When Tony Met Adam”).

And Maddie has a great-grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, and a great-great-aunt, who are first generation Americans of Japanese descent. They are also old enough to have survived incarceration in Manzanar, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the xenophobic panic that followed.

Another aside: in previous Troubleshooter books, Ms Brockmann has included a WWII plot thread, which I have always loved. In this novel, the closest she comes to it is the inclusion of Hiroko, who still resents the way her family was treated, by the fucking government, during the later years of the war. Some readers have gripped that the mention of Manzanar and the government sanctioned violation of this country’s citizens’ rights, is done simply to cater to Ms Brockmann’s liberal views. Me, I would have been very angry to have a Japanese American character of Hiroko’s age who didn’t remember or didn’t bring up the mass incarceration of her people, and the generational consequences it brought. By gog, have none of these people heard of George Takei?

Beyond which, these books are written in the real world, Yes, of course there is an element of fantasy–hello, it’s genre fiction–but both the characters and their stories are very much influenced by the world around them. And that reality includes Manzanar, and xenophobia, and racism, and ignorance, and how the characters live with these facts of life.

Which brings me back again to Shayla. As the Black mother of two Black teenage sons in the US of today, where cops kill Black children with impunity, her fear for their safety, and her struggle to still let them be themselves, and stand on their own, is very real. I’ll leave to other readers to decide whether Ms Brockmann fully succeeded in writing a Black woman, but for my money, she wrote a believable woman and mother.

Finally, I liked the suspense, and how it’s resolved, though the fact that Peter knows, after four days, that he is going to marry Shayla, strained my willingness to suspend disbelief. Yes, they are now very much in a relationship, and they get to know each other pretty well during those four days, because a) they are intense days, b) they talk a lot, and about important things, and c) they spend almost every moment of those four days together, through rough and rougher. So I totally believe they will have a good relationship. Talk of marriage this early, though? Yeah, not so much.

Some Kind of Hero is a very good continuation of the Troubleshooters series, and a very good novel in its own right. 8.50 out of 10

The Troubleshooters are back!

Oh, I loved this one so much--there were actual tears during the epilogue! It had everything that is so awesome about the Troubleshooters series: fantastic main characters (both single parents! Of teens! Older woman/romantic suspense author + SEAL!), great camaraderie between them and the secondary characters (many of them a fun selection of previous Troubleshooter series MCs), edge-of-your-seat suspense, and smoking hot romance :)

I loved how Shay's profession (romantic suspense author) was such a part of her life (occasionally talking to her own fictional character out loud, LOL! Does she ever explain those random comments to Peter, I wonder?) and how her particular skill set helped her to help Peter defeat the bad guys in the end. Although I loved this one cover to cover, the last 25% was truly unputdownable.

Please tell me that there's going to be more to this series! I need me some more Shay and Peter...

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

ARC kindly provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

----SPOILERS AHEAD----

This was my very first Suz Brockmann book. And in quite a long time, a contemporary action-adventure based romance.

I will not waste time in describing the H and h, or the basic plot, as the gist of it has been captured quite nicely in the blurb, but rather go on to say that, you CAN read this as a stand-alone romance and need not have read the entire Troubleshooters series. However, you may get an itch to find out about all the rest of the characters - that is, read the other books at the end of the day, haha.

If you love fast-paced adventures, with witty dialogue and funny moments, and of course romance, this book is definitely for you. There's even an earth-quake that takes place in the book. Talk about a rollercoaster ride, but trust me, it all ties in together at a great pace.

For me .. would you believe ... the romance that tugged at my emotions more than that of the H and h's, was that of Maddie (H's teenage daughter) and Dingo aka Richard's (aka the questionable "boyfriend"). OMG that text.. that he sent.. that ended up freeing Shayla's writer's block.. made me tear up.

I am a huge fan of historical (read: mainly regency) romances more than contemporaries. And with contemporaries, I am more drawn to drama than action-adventures. So, while I may not go back and read the back catalogue of Suzanne's books, let me tell you.. if she writes Richard and Maddie's romance, I am definitely getting my hands all over it.

I give this book a 4 star. The less than 1 star is more to do with my own personal preference in terms of the romance genre, than any reflection on the author's work in itself.