I have read several of Susan Stoker's books over the last few years. All of them have involved military men OR ex-military. This book was good, although I did get a bit of a feel of Securing Kalee. Stories were different, but you did have the feel of the same author and some similar feels. I did get a laugh when Smoke thought to himself that there seemed to be more drama with their lives in the states (and their women) than the jobs they did overseas. I've thought the same thing with many of Susan's books, so I am glad she actually addressed it in one of them.

I don't think you can go wrong reading any of her books. I missed the first two in the series and don't feel like I was reading blind, so they are for sure stand alone. Highly recommend her as an author.

This book was a surprise for me, a good one, the reading is full of action, it is a sweet story as well as charming and instigating, every page things get more agitated and has all the romantic suspense we like!
Molly is a very strong character even if she doesn’t feel it or see it. She has already passed and overcome some very distressing situations, always surviving and showing the amazing woman inside herself. I loved her, and I was always rooting for her, I sure wish I could give her a hug.
Mark, it’s exactly what I like about a character, alpha, protective, caring, caring, and always does what you have to do when something was happening that had to do with the woman you love. He’s focused, he knows what he wants, and he makes it happen, even if it takes time, always dedicated and patient.

Smoke and Molly were dynamite together…

I’ve really enjoyed the Silverstone series by this author who is always an insta-click for me. Guaranteed to include humour, heart and tension of some flavour, I always look forward to what comes next! This time, Smoke finds his one in the least likely of places but quickly realizes Mollywas beautiful in all the ways…

Molly was all but forgotten in a Nigerian kidnapping of schoolchildren, but Smoke and his crew not only rescued her but quickly included her in their chosen family. From the blood-soaked jungle to the wilds of mid-west America, they had her six and made sure she knew it. Molly wasn’t sure what to make of the motley crew that treated her with such kindness but quickly realized Smoke was at the head of that line…

The romance was a slow burn as the action and suspense intruded on their (hopefully) happy ever after. There was humour and everyday life tucked inbetween the danger and sorrow. Each moment was a revelation of emotions as the trust built between the main characters and so did their love…

Another great read in the series!

Full review can be found on Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest review. Like always, I bookmarked the mistakes in writing, so contact me if you want to know which ones there were.

⭐ The story ⭐
The book is about Molly, who has been taken with a group of girls by a criminal organisation in Nigeria. Smoke and his team are there to save them, and they find much more than just the girls in the progress.

This was the first book from the Silverstone trilogy that I've read, and I enjoyed the story. It started off very strong, with Molly in a hole in the ground, and Silverstone in the middle of their rescue mission. I must admit that I thought the whole being taken thing would be a bigger part of the story, but they were only in Nigeria for the first few chapters, and the rest of the book was about them back home. I was a little disappointed by it, since there wasn't a lot of action after that, until the end of the story.

I was a bit surprised by the Preston point of view moments that we got, I really enjoyed that! It was nice to see what he was thinking, and how psychotic he obviously really was. Damn, what a guy. Him thinking he was better than the police, and he had so much power as a security guard made me cracking up XD He's a damn psycho for sure.

⭐ The characters ⭐
🍀Molly/Folly Molly🍀
I have some very mixed thoughts about this girl. At first, I really loved her. I especially love how she sleeps, how she spreads out like a starfish. I love the way Molly made Mark see that he was more than his money in her eyes, because he was so insecure about past girlfriends liking him for his money. What really started to annoy me however, is how whiny she was. Sure, at first it was cute how Mark made her see that she wasn't bad luck and all that; but after a while it just got old. She just kept saying how Preston's actions were her fault, her grandparents dying was her fault, etc. etc., and it annoyed the crap out of me after a while. Seriously, it just felt like she was trying to get attention, and Mark had to tell her it wasn't her fault so many times. She had a few moments in this book where I was ready to punch her, like this one;
"At first it had been a huge adjustment knowing that Taylor didn't know who she was every time she saw her, but it barely registered now."
Are you serious??? How is it a big adjustment for you that someone has a disease they can do NOTHING about? What also annoyed the crap out of me, was how she was acting when she had the flu. Girl, how old are you? Everyone was acting like she was dying, and she even said it multiple times; how she was ready to die, felt like she was dying, how she was deathly ill. I really started to hate her somewhere in the middle of the story, which is probably obvious from my rant.

💵Mark/Smoke💵
My opinion on Mark changed throughout the story as well. At first, I really loved him. He made Molly feel so much better, and always got her back up when she felt down - even when she was doubting herself. I felt like he was quite quick in realizing that he had feelings for Molly, and even telling her so - but I do love a man who knows what he wants. His controlling behavior actually made me think of Preston; he had crazy stalker vibes at multiple points in this story. I mean, checking in on her while she sleeps might seem cute to others, but to me it just says that he watches her sleep? That's just weird. Anyway, I loved the romance between them, it was very sweet and nicely done.

👥Side characters👥
I love the entire team of Silverstone, and I love Taylor and Skylar as well. Especially Taylor seems really intriguing, I study psychology and the idea of prosopagnosia has always been so terrible to me. I'm guessing they both have their own books, and I got really excited about reading those books because I already love them - and that doesn't happen often! I really want to know what the real names of the Silverstone team are, we only know Mark's and Bull's name was mentioned by Skylar I believe - but what is Gramps real name? And Eagle? I really want to know.


⭐ Overall conclusion ⭐
Overall, I thought the romance was very cute in this book, but both of the main characters started to annoy me as the story progressed - especially Molly. The side characters all seem very intruiging, and I'd love to read the story of Taylor and Skylar! I don't think it's necessary to have read those books before reading this one, but it might be nice anyway. There was some lead up for the next story about Gramps, which already seems really interesting in my opinion, and I'd love to read it!

When Molly decided to accept a teaching assignment overseas, she was hoping it would put some time and distance between her and the threat she was facing however she now finds herself in an even more perilous situation. It must have been fate that brought Smoke into her life as he not brought her home but gave her a home as well and he is there for her when she faces a devastating loss and a dangerous situation.

Smoke and the team were in Nigeria to eliminate a dangerous man when he stumbled across Molly and was enchanted by her strength and resilience. Once he brings her home he can’t imagine his life without her but that means dealing with the threat that refuses to go away.

Molly’s strength and resilience shines through Smoke knew that they were meant to be together and wasn’t about to let anyone or anything come between them.

You'd think being kidnapped and held in the jungle of Nigeria would be harrowing enough. But even after she is rescued and brought back to the US, Molly finds that there is another threat. Not only that, but her grandparents are dead and it looks like it was homicide. She has no other family, but Smoke and the team that rescued her are ready to give her whatever support she needs.

The first meeting between Molly and Smoke still makes me laugh thinking about it. What is not to love about Smoke - alpha male, very protective, polite, generous, and a very positive person. And Molly is strong in her own right, not a complainer about what has happened to her or having to track through the jungle, and she is able to change her perception about herself the more she is around Smoke. This story will keep you turning the pages until you get to the end.

This is a great military suspense book. I am really enjoying this series and look forward to more books in this series. I also like the characters in each book

Trusting Molly by Susan Stoker
Silverstone Series #3

Thrilling introduction to both characters that set the pace for the story. Meet-cute definitely grabbed me and had Mark and Molly very aware of one another. The story continued to hold my attention till the end.

What I liked:
* Mark/Smoke: intelligent, capable, skilled, lethal, kind, caring, wealthy, protective, positive, a good man that deserved to find the perfect woman for him.
* Molly: smart, resilient, enduring, caring, kind, generous, has had a run of bad luck, has lost parents and grandparents, deserves to find the perfect man for her.
* The men of Silverstone are superior men and fun to read about. They have a bond tighter than super-glue and are there for one another and those that they love.
* Seeing how Eagle/Taylor and Bull/Skylar were doing and thinking about who Gramps will end up with.
* Wondering if Archer will get a story of his own – and will others at Silverstone have stories, too.
* The jungle portion of the story and how caring the team were of Molly.
* That Molly was such a trooper.
* The way Mark took such good care of Molly.
* The friendship that began to develop between Molly, Skylar, and Taylor.
* That the stalker was eventually dealt with.
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* The people and groups I was meant not to like: Boko Harum and Preston
* The way people over time had made Molly feel she was a trouble-magnet
* A bit of a dislike in that I kept wondering if the stalker would really think as he did in this story…and would have been so unhinged and even able to do what he did if in the state he must have been in at times.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalleky and Montlake for the ARC- This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Trusting Molly is the first Susan Stoker book that I've read and I really enjoyed it. I loved her writing style, the characters were great, and the storyline was interesting. Mark and Molly's story grabbed my attention from the very beginning, and I loved the Silverstone team. I look forward to reading the first two Silverstone books and checking out Susan Stoker's other series.

Trusting Molly
by Susan Stoker

When Molly Smith is offered a job overseas, she sees it as an opportunity to escape her obsessive ex-boyfriend. However, what she didn’t expect was to be captured by a terrorist group, alongside a group of young schoolgirls. For months, Molly and the young girls were held captive in the middle of the Nigerian forest, with nowhere for them to escape to. And for months, no one in the States even knew if Molly was still alive.
As a group of ex Delta Force soldiers, Silverstone are more than equipped and qualified for a mission like this. Luckily for Molly and the girls, they’ve been sent to take down the terrorist group. But even though they know about The American, they’re not sure whether or not she’s still alive. Silverstone’s mission was to find and take down the leader of this terrorist group. So Silverstone, but especially Mark Chamberlin, are surprised to find Molly alive, left to die in a hole, away from the campsite.
When the terrorist group is successfully taken down, and with the help of the other Silverstone men, Mark manages to safely bring Molly back to America, where unfortunately for her, she has nothing left to return to.
And to make matters worse, her psycho ex has all but forgotten her ‘betrayal’, and is out for revenge.
But for Molly, all is well when Mark offers to take her in; a place to stay, guaranteed safety 24/7, and a delightful companion in Mark. Because despite having only known this woman for a few short days, he knows he can’t let her go just yet. Not just as a matter of her safety, but something much more personal.

To start things off, military-romance is a hit-or-miss for me. So, too, is reading in third-person. But fortunately, this book did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Mark and Molly, what Molly went through, and the blossoming relationship between the two.
The writing was beautiful, and even though it was in third-person, I enjoyed it immensely. This book made me realize how exciting reading in third-person can be, how much more you can understand everything that’s going on. It makes the experience much more worthwhile, especially when it’s a suspense-romance like this.

Now the story itself? *chef’s kiss* I don’t know if this will make any sense, but the only way I could describe this book is an insta-love trope done in the slow-burn method. Does that make any sense? Let me elaborate.
The story starts with a captive heroine and a hero on a rescue mission. The two main characters don’t know each other, but our hero does know about our heroine. When they do finally end up meeting each other in the least meet-cute way possible, both see something in the other. Not even a week later, both realize their feelings for the other, and both decide that acknowledging these feelings out loud would spook the other. Molly, because she’s scared he won’t return those feelings, that he’s just being nice because he’s nice and caring. And Mark, because he’s scared she’ll feel rushed or cornered, and would possibly spook her. So feelings are kept a secret for the better half of this book, up until the 75% mark I’d say. During this, they did end up bonding, and we got to see both in good and bad moods.

The romance aside, the suspense part of this story was exciting.
If there’s one thing that I really liked about the suspense aspect, it is, hands down, the psycho-ex. We didn’t just get a few glimpses of him here and there, or not just being told what he had done by Molly, not just that. I was really surprised, and excited, to see that a few short chapters were mainly focused on the ex-boyfriend, the villain (not the sexy kind, an actual psycho villain). We were brought along on his stalking excursions, and we were also shown the disgusting thoughts running through his mind. This part, I absolutely loved. It was exciting, and it made me scared for our heroine. So in short, this book was both tension- and action filled.

On to our heroine and hero. Molly was a great character, but she wasn’t spectacular, or someone I would actively pick to be on my team. But this was mostly because she didn’t get to do much in this book. She went from captured in Nigeria, to being cooped up in a giant house, to being kidnapped once again. I would’ve loved to see more of just Molly.
Mark, in short, is a typical military-romance hero. Protective. But he wasn’t typical as in aggressive, moody, broody or what have you. It was nothing like a grumpy/sunshine trope. Mark is just a protective hero. He was so sweet and adoring, attentive to Molly’s needs, he was very understanding, and he was as caring as a person could be. Mark is so nice, so helpful and supportive. He’s just the best person ever, truly. All Mark wants to do in life is help people, to take care of them. And not just our heroine, but everyone. Like I said, not a grumpy/sunshine trope, just a very caring person. I absolutely love Mark.

The relationship between the two was great. Though it is a military-relationship, so I wasn’t surprised how fast-paced it was in some ways. But Mark and Molly, after they admitted to their feelings, were blunt and straight-forward about their feelings and intentions, no beating around the bush. Their communication skills were terrific and something everyone should try to achieve.
Though when I say that this relationship is fast-paced, even for a military-romance, I do mean that it’s fast-paced when it comes to the progression of their relationship. This starts to happen around the time they confess, somewhere around the 75% mark. I’m not saying that it’s bad, I’m only bringing it up, because it’s the first I’ve read a relationship like this.

What didn’t sit right with me, however, was Molly’s entire behavior at the beginning of this book.
Molly had been a captive for months, but when she’s rescued by Silverstone, she seemed much too positive, much too optimistic and cheerful for the state she was in. It was a little odd to see Molly, who’d been through hell for months, and also for being unlucky Folly Molly her entire life, be so positive about everything. That didn’t quite make sense to me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

TRUSTING MOLLY is the third instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult SILVERSTONE romantic suspense series focusing on group of former US Special Forces soldiers, who own and operate Silverstone Towing. This is thirty-eight year old, Mark ‘Smoke’ Chamberlin, and thirty-five year old Molly Smith’s story line. TRUSTING MOLLY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. The SILVERSTONE series is a spin off from the author’s Mountain Mercenaries series but you do not have to have read the aforementioned series to understand or follow the current timeline.

Told from three third person perspectives including Molly and Mark, TRUSTING MOLLY follows the Silverstone Team of former Special Forces operatives as they perform a search and rescue in the Nigerian jungle for a group of girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram but the girls are not the Team’s only target, as a missing American woman was last seen working the teenaged girls. As Mark ‘Smoke’ Chamberlin , and his Team spend more than a month searching for the missing girls, Molly Smith is targeted for who she is, and finds herself secluded in an underground hole. Rescued and recovering with the Silverstone Team, Molly will discover that everyone she loved back home was killed in a fire, a fire believed to be set by someone Molly once knew. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Molly and Mark, and the potential fall-out as Molly’s past comes hunting for our story line heroine.

Molly Smith is an environmental engineer and volunteered to work for her company in Nigeria but Molly is more or less on the run from a dangerous past, a past that is about to collect what he believes is his due. Mark Chamberlin fell immediately for our story line heroine. Protective to a fault, Mark offers Molly a place to stay, believing his security is enough to protect our story line heroine. Having watched several of his teammates fall in love, Mark wants the same, and Molly is the perfect fit for our story line hero. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We welcome the return of Bull and Skylar, Eagle and Taylor, Gramps aka Leonardo, and Eagle aka Kellan; several Silverstone Towing employees including Bart Jose and Leigh; single father Shawn Archer, as well as Molly’s ex boyfriend Preston Weldon. Gramps and Cassidy’s story is next.

TRUSTING MOLLY is a story of obsession, betrayal and vengeance; search and rescue, acceptance, love and romance. The fast paced premise is engaging, captivating and gritty; the romance is stirring, tender and spirited ; the characters are animated, wary and honorable.



THE READING CAFÉ: http://www.thereadingcafe.com/trusting-molly-silverstone-3-by-susan-stoker-a-review/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4100820184


AMAZON. COM: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2F7N16G74B9YP/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/4292291004

B&N (Sandy_thereadingcafe) posted

"Trusting Molly" was a nice addition to the Silverstone series. When the team goes into Nigeria to take out a bad guy, they find Molly Smith, an American kidnapped along with a group of school girls. So Molly gets to see first hand that her new friends are mercenaries, and as a person who benefits from their special skills, she understands that sometimes the world needs guys like these. The concern from other books where the guys worry their women won't be able to handle their side job as mercenaries isn't an issue here. Surprisingly, the problem comes when they return stateside and a stalker from Molly's past ups his game.

This was a good book, lots of sparks between Molly and Smoke, and the debate over how fast is too fast in a relationship. It got a little repetitive sometimes. Maybe it was supposed to be showing how Molly continually worries about having lost all her stuff in a fire and whether she's inconvenient to Smoke by staying in his house, but it got a little annoying. Her stalker was an excellent mix of seriously creepy and clearly pathetic and I liked how the ending allowed Smoke to get highly emotional. Susan Stoker writes those scenes really well.

Overall a good book, good addition to a series, and an absorbing read. Susan Stoker fans should enjoy this one.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Trusting Molly (Silverstone Book 3) by Susan Stoker is a 5 star read.
The Nigerian jungle isn’t usually a great place to pick up women but Mark “smoke” Chamberlin finds a woman stuck in a hole while on a covert mission and although she calls herself bad luck Smoke sees something in her that she doesn’t.
Molly Smith has been trying to run away from her bad luck for a lifetime when she finds herself stuck in a hole in the Nigerian jungle with no way out until an unknown man lands on top of her and Molly finally believes her luck could change, but someone from her past won’t let her go easily.
This book was brilliantly written, I really enjoyed the story and can’t wait for the final book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Ms. Stoker has done it again -- if you're looking for romantic suspense at its finest, look no further. I'm always amazed that she can come up with new and exciting storylines for her series when she's written so many. This is the 3rd book in the Silverstone Series and can be read as a standalone like many of her other series. I unfortunately didn't read the first 2 books, but found no problem following along with the characters and the plot. I loved Smoke's character -- he's the typical possessive hero we've come to expect and Molly is the strong, brave heroine we've come to adore. I loved their first meeting and how their relationship was one of respect and compassion. Their romance was a slow, easy burn--the kind I love. Another winner from Ms. Stoker. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.,

I’m always amazed at how Susan comes up with different, and still terrifying, bad guys! I’m always in awe of how she connects our heroes and heroines perfectly. And I always know I’m in for a ride with bumps, bruises, sexiness, and strength for the characters, and Smoke and Molly were no exception. These two were quiet, unassuming, and so deep that I was immediately drawn into their story. They explained their backgrounds, their experiences, their current, and their futures. I was there with them as they gained understanding and fell in love. They made my heart race, my heart sigh, and my heart sooth, as they worked their way to their HEA!

Wow!

Ms. Stoker has done it again! A beautiful love story full of emotion, drama and heart felt connections.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

4.5 stars

This author never disappoints, I was immediately drawn into the action and would have read it in one sitting, but life occurred. So far, the Silverstone series is my favorite of the author’s many series.

From the minute Mark/Smoke fell for Molly in the jungle of Nigeria and his protective and understanding nature to get her back to US soil, I could not put the book down. Through all the crazy and getting her back on her feet, he was her steady. He treated her like a queen. Molly was strong throughout, no matter what challenge was presented. Our favorite characters are present, and Archer is cooking up a storm. I am excited to read Gramps story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

Susan doesn't disappoint in spinning a story with intrigue, danger, and good old fashion romance. these men are not your typical run-of-the-mill boys next door but they do know how to keep someone alive and protect what is there's.

Once again Stoker does not disappoint. I have been waiting for Smoke to get his girl, and boy did he ever. The pair meet in a pretty amazing way in the worst of the situations. Immediately Mark “Smoke” Chamberlain was protective and drawn to Molly Smith. Molly has the cards stacked against her but with the support of Smoke and his crew she grows and becomes one of the strongest heroines I have read to date. Smoke and Molly have a deep connection that intensifies throughout the book. Smoke really empowered and encouraged Molly to be the woman everyone that came into contact with her could see she was and she battled to get the life that she dreamed of having. I also loved that Molly loved Smoke for who he was and not for the things that he could do for her and everyone else. The Silvesrtone crew has quickly become one of my favorite teams in Susan’s line up! They exude the true meaning of having your back and family. If you have not read any of Susan Stoker’s books they need to be moved to the top of your TBR list. I could not put this book down once I started and can’t wait for Gramps to get his girl, too!

Trusting Molly starts off with some crazy stuff! Boko Harem have kidnapped women and girls and is keeping them in the Nigerian rainforest. Of those kidnapped is American Molly-who was there to teach the girls about environmental engineering.

Molly has been abandoned by the American government and her employer. Oh, and while she is being held prisoner, someone kills the only family she has left. So yeah, things are crappy for her big time. Enter the Silverstone guys-there to kill the lead terrorist. Again, we have the insta-connection happening, but this time its Smoke and Molly. These two have some things in common which I think made it more acceptable for them to feel that instant connection. However, it was just awkward for me. He saves her, then he moves her into his house for safety?

I understood Molly's negative life view and I felt like she was told multiple times to "just not think like that" which really minimized her feelings in my opinion. Yes, of course things would seem less terrible if she didn't frame them in the negative, but the girl has had a shit life! Telling anyone to just change the way they think is degrading. It's like telling someone with depression to just "be happy". I think that was what bothered me the most about the story. Molly needed counseling, not some ex-military men telling her life wasn't so bad.

I know I'm being critical; there were things I liked about the story. First, there is plenty of action. Second, the romance is hot. Overall, I think Trusting Molly was good-there were just some things that really rubbed me wrong.