A good romantic suspence full of action and fun to read. Well developed characters, fast paced plot, and a lot of fun.
It's been a long time since last i read Lilith Saintcrow and she didn't lost her skill in writing gripping plots.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Packed with action and emotion. Great romantic suspense.
Many thanks to Belle Bridge Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cara Helperin is working as a nanny for a mysterious, and not necessarily honest man named Marquez in order to get over some personal trauma. She really likes young Eddy and is getting pretty good at standing up for him with his father. If only she could say the same about her boss's second in command Alan de la Cruz whom she thinks of as Dracula Cowboy, but he is just plain creepy.

Vincent Desmarais is a First Lieutenant who is on leave because of battle fatigue and possible PTSD which he isn't taking well. He goes to a friend looking for some "off the books" work to keep him busy until he can convince his doctors that he's okay to go back into active duty. He finds himself working for Marquez.

Things start to go wrong when Marquez takes off on one of his trips and brings Alan with him. All of a sudden all the rest of security and the household staff are given time off leaving Vincent, Cara, and Eddie alone in the house. A kidnapping attempt at the Mall and a home invasion send the three of them on the run trying to figure out what is going on. The police response to the Mall kidnapping attempt makes them believe that they can't depend on the police. They are on their own against an unknown number of enemies.

Lots of exciting action ensues. I enjoyed getting to know both Cara and Vincent who are both wounded but struggling to heal. I like the way they learn to trust and care for each other. Eddie was a sweet child. I could easily understand how both Cara and Vincent could come to love him.

Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy this one.

I wanted to like this, but the story wasn’t very believable. A nanny who keeps flashing back to her miscarriage takes care of a criminal’s child. Apparently she is kept there against her will, and only if she is fired can she get away. An NDA keeps her from talking and making her escape. Well, that and her affection for the boy.

A soldier who may or may not be suffering from PTSD lands a short term job of watching over the nanny and child and somehow falls for her although he barely knows her. There is a convoluted kidnap scheme, a criminal mutiny scheme, and some other plot devices that leaves the reader shaking his or her head.

This story surprised me. It came at the story in a different way than I was expecting but that was also good.

In the beginning and for quite a while the story centered on Cara and her six year old charge, Eddie. There was a pretty good amount of world building and well detailed information about Eddie's home and his home life. But that didn't slow things down at all. I could see how Eddie was easy to like because that happened to me.

Cara and Vincent both had some nightmares in their pasts that they are trying to heal from. But unbeknownst to them they have more future "nightmares" heading their way. The keeping me on the edge of my seat kind. I couldn't put this book down and I didn't want to either.
Their isn't a lot of pages spent on a romance between the two main characters but you could "see" the attraction. Also the developing trust and friendship between follow -the rules- Cara and skilled but at times overwhelmed Vincent. It was fun to watch Cara find out that she could be fierce, when it came to protecting Eddie.
Don't even get me started when it comes to "Dracula Cowboy." You'll have to read the book to get that part of the story. I will give you a hint: this is NOT a paranormal story.
Great ending to the book with a good follow up of the characters six months later.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was a huge Dante Valentine series fan. When I saw this book was by the same author, I was excited for the opportunity to read it.

The characters are mature, complex and a bit more vulnerable than expected.

World building so well done you can suspend disbelief of some of the wilder scenarios.

The plot builds suspenseful and you are on the edge of your seat pushing for the characters to act on their chemistry.

Looking forward to more!

Damage is the first book in the Ghost Squad series by Lilith Saintcrow. Reeling from trauma and divorce, Cara Halperin takes what should be a simple job with an expensive agency. As a nanny to rich children, she shouldn’t have much to worry about, and her job is just complex enough to keep her from brooding. Unfortunately, the agency’s sent her into a trap. Vincent Desmarais wants to go back into the field, but instead, he’s put on leave. The diagnosis? PTSD. No problem--he can pick up security work on the side to keep himself sharp--that is, if the side work isn’t just as dangerous as the bloody places he’s longing to get back to. When the lights go out, Cara and her young charge have only one option: to trust the new security guy. Vincent finds himself unwilling to abandon them to fate or let them out of his sight. If the trio wants to stay alive, they’ve got to trust each other, but that may just be what their enemies are counting on.

Damage is a book that surprised me a little. First off- a trigger warning. The trauma that Cara is healing from is a miscarriage which she relives more than once, the divorce is secondary to that. I just wanted to warn readers, because it might be to painful for some readers to handle. I have read Saintcrow before- but not for a few years and not in this subgenre, so it was like reading a new author for me.

I thought the character development was very well done, and both Cara and Vince have serious issues and trauma that they need to work through. I liked that they were both aware of their own issues, and even when making choices that were not exactly best for their own mental health they understood the why behind both why they were making their choice and that it might not be the healthiest option. I thought the build up of the plot and the action was very well planned, with twists that were in various levels of surprising. I had two issues with the book. While it is technically a romance, since the two main characters end up together, there is no actual interplay between them aside from thoughts they kept to themselves and trying to stay alive. I also thought the ending was a little too easy, it leaves so much room for further mental health damage- even with therapy. If readers enjoy a good suspense novel with complex characters, then this is that, but it did not leave me with the happy glow I get from a romance. I know this is the start of a series, and perhaps these issues will be resolved in later volumes, but I do not think I will be continuing.

Damage is an engaging read with plenty of action.

Ok - I am going to show how old I am without saying how old I am....Do you remember seeing the movie Speed for the first time? And it was so exciting and kept you on the edge of your seat? And all you really wanted was for Keanu Reeves to kiss Sandra Bullock? This book completely gives you that feeling. A ton of action and suspense - all mixed in with serious attraction between the two leads.

Cara is working as a live-in-nanny after a devastating miscarriage and divorce. The six year old boy she is working with is adorable and smart - but his father is a very dangerous man who do not make money in a strictly legal way. Vincent is active duty military - on leave due to battle fatigue. He takes an under-the-table job to provide security for Cara's boss while he will be away on business. Pretty much as soon as Vince shows up - he knows that something isn't right.

I adored Cara and Vince - and felt like as fast as things moved in the story - their relationship moved at a pace that I could understand and didn't feel rushed.

Overall - if you love romantic suspense - I recommend this for you!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Picked up this book without reading the blurb. It's Ms. Saintcrow and I always read what she writes. This is a straight up romance without any paranormal. Since I didn't read the blurb, the suspense part and nanny job threw me.

When it comes to characters with a painful past, Ms. Saintcrow excels in creating them. Cara Halperin is a nanny to a precocious little boy. Cara's story of why she became a caregiver to someone else's child is tragic and moving. I am surprised she chose this vocation. It takes a strong person to try and move on by seeing and becoming close to something she so desperately wants.

The suspense part of this story is when Vincent Desmarais takes on the job to be a supplemental bodyguard to the little boy. Vincent comes with baggage as he is temporary on leave from the military. Adjusting to civilian life so that he can "get better" and rejoin what he wants to do is not working so well. This story is surprisingly like a made for Lifetime movie. The plot is straightforward and the evil villains are identified up front. What is nice is that none of the characters in this book are TSTL. Cara realizes something is wrong and tries to work it through with Vincent. Vincent takes Cara's information into account instead of discounting her as a hysterical female.

The growing relationship between Cara and Vincent is slow and sweet. The story on the other hand moves at a fast pace and quickly comes to an explosive conclusion. This romantic suspense is recommended to readers who love happily ever afters.

A different twist on the bodyguard love story, I did like that it focused more on the guarding than the damaged soul love story.

DAMAGE is not really a romance, and not really suspense. I’m not sure how to label it, but it was interesting enough, and entertaining. Cara has been working for a few months as a Nanny to Eddie a young boy with a somewhat aloof father. Cara appears unflappable on the outside but inside she's a seething mass of emotions following a heartbreaking event. Vincent is on leave as the doctors fear he's close to burn out but he cannot just sit around so takes a security job temporarily. His assignment to help guard a Nanny and her charge quickly takes an odd turn when suddenly the rest of the staff just disappear. First book of a new series.

After suffering a loss and a divorce Cara has taken a job as a nanny. A well paying job taking care of the son of a rich business man... it should be simple right? Even if she dislikes her employer and has to deal with an insufferable head of security she loves Eddie her 6 year old charge. She knows she violating the agency’s policy on getting attached but she can’t help but love the boy and he loves her. Eventually she will have to let him go... that is the plight of a nanny after all. Everything is going reasonably fine until one day it’s not...

Vince is reluctantly on medical leave from the army and running from his own demons. He takes a temporary security job that brings him into Cara’s life. His job protecting a child and his nanny should be easy. Except nothing about this job goes quite the way it’s supposed to. Vince and Cara find themselves in the middle of a dangerous situation and have to rely on each other to keep themselves and the young child in their care safe. But just how safe is it to trust a stranger? What’s really going on? Who is out to get them? Why? And will they make it out alive?

I liked this book though admittedly the romance in it doesn’t actually exist. I mean I can get going through all the crazy could bring you together but it was kinda like he was attracted to her and most of the time she was focused on the child. The story was good though held my attention and little Eddie melts your heart and you just can’t help but love him. The end does kind of come on rather abruptly but it wasn’t bad. I’ve only ever read the author’s steampunk series so this is my first of her more contemporary works. Looking forward to more in the series.

This book would need a good editing to begin with and then I don't understand why it is labelled a romance, as the romance is absolutely non-existent, at most there are a couple of dirty thoughts from him about her.
I was completely disappointed and to think that I had asked for this book because I had never read this author. Now the reason is clear to me.

Questo libro avrebbe bisogno di un buon editing, tanto per cominciare e poi non capisco come mai venga etichettato come romance, visto che la storia d'amore é assolutamente inesistente, al massimo ci sono un paio di pensieri sconci da parte di lui sulla lei.
Sono rimasta completamente delusa e pensare che avevo chiesto questo libro perché non avevo mai letto questa autrice. Ora mi é chiara la ragione.

I received a complimentary digital copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I've long been a fan of this authors urban fantasy stories and was quite keen to read this new contemporary series. Yes technically its a romance but honestly this was a character driven story with action that just happened to have a smidgen of feel good romance.
Cara has been working for a few months as a Nanny to Eddie a young boy with a somewhat aloof father. Cara appears unflappable on the outside but inside she's a seething mass of emotions following a heartbreaking event.
Vincent is on leave as the doctors fear he's close to burn out but he cannot just sit around so takes a security job temporarily. His assignment to help guard a Nanny and her charge quickly takes an odd turn when suddenly the rest of the staff just disappear ! Vincent quickly realises this isn't normal and as his hackles start to rise all his instincts scream out at him that danger is coming their way.
I particularly liked the way the author let us know what the characters were thinking as this story unfolded. As much as I had sympathy for Cara I did feel that Vincent's point of view was written in a way that had me eagerly turning the pages. As I read I couldn't help but wonder how the tricky issue of Eddie's father would be resolved but I think the ending felt perfect and made me smile. Quite a quick read and what many would call clean I think but very enjoyable with characters that I liked.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This is a great series starter. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. The story evolved so smoothly and Eddie is just adorable. Putting a displaced soldier with a yoga practicing nanny really worked. I highly recommend this book. It is a great read with a sweet ending.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Damage (A Ghost Squad Novel) by Lilith Saintcrow from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I felt this was a solid novel and I found it to be extremely well written. The plot was engaging and moved swiftly, plus was evenly paced. I appreciated how nicely crafted the characters were. They each had their own unique personalities and motivations, and it worked well together.

This novel had everything - an interesting plot, characters you like and connect with, characters you don’t like and want to see brought down, action, intrigue, drama, and more.

I enjoyed this book. Its characters are interesting. I liked the story it had some nice twists to it. I was happy to see that the ending was happy. #Damage #NetGalley

Good book!! I really enjoyed reading this one! This book was filled with intrigue, suspense, action, plenty of thrilling moments! I wish it was a little longer but it was still a very good read! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!