This is the third book in Nico Rosso’s Black Ops: Automatik series, and this time we meet Automatik operator James Sant, who is called in to help widow April Banks. April runs a website for war widows, and it’s given her a purpose and helped her move on after her own husband died in combat. The site was hacked and brought down, though, and personal data of site visitors was stolen. (Why? Personally I was never clear on why the hackers were trying to accomplish. The premise seemed a little flimsy.) James and April have to physically track down the hackers so they can protect the site users and put a stop to whoever is behind the attack.

This book is a bit of fun and fast paced action. I always love a good road trip, and we get one here. James and April have to chase clues through multiple states to track down the hackers, which leads to some great get-to-know-you time. James is an interesting character because he’s not always been with the “good guys”. He has some major guilt and you can see why he’d be so dedicated to spending the rest of his life making up for past choices, as it were. I enjoyed seeing him work to move beyond his past and acknowledge the good he has done since. I also loved the short scene with his dad. I wish we had gotten to spend more time with him, because seeing James with his family really drove home the point that he WAS a decent guy who just made some questionable choices.

I often feel like Rosso’s books are great for the action but not as great at touching your heartstrings, and Seconds to Sunrise was no exception. I expected more emotion from April’s story in particular, as she lost a husband she loved to war. Instead, I felt like the story just assumed it was obvious that such a loss was really painful, instead of helping us see April’s pain. There was also a little depth missing from James and April’s relationship. The right pieces are all there, but the dialogue and inner thoughts just don’t quite express that deeper emotional connection that I personally enjoy in romances. It’s not that I didn’t like them as a couple or enjoy reading their story, but I certainly didn’t end the book with a sweet sigh and won’t be fondly remembering their relationship. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just something you want to know going in.

If you like action packed romances with racially/ethnically diverse characters and some hot sex, check this one out.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Review by Amber for Love Romance Boos Blog

April runs a website for military widows. She has a typical life, with typical routines, until her website is hacked. All of that data compromised, and she wants to track it down before her encryption is cracked. She encounters James at the supermarket, but it is not your typical meet-cute in the produce aisle. April is attacked in the parking lot, and James jumps in to help. After the attack, she discovers that James and his group Automatik have been looking out for her since her husband's death. James is convinced that April will be attacked again, and together they decide to solve the problem of the missing data. 

I didn't know what to make of this book. I thought it was well written, and I liked the characters, but I had a really hard time buying that a woman smart enough to write her own data encryption software would voluntarily let an armed stranger she just met take her out in the desert in an unmarked car. Sure, he saved her from an attack in the parking lot. Still, it just didn't make sense to me, especially when James adopts three different accents and personas to fool people not even a quarter into the book. Honestly, I'd be trying to get away from this guy, no matter how hot he was!

Once I set all that aside and just focused on the story, though, I enjoyed the book. As April and James got closer to solving the problem, it definitely got more interesting.  Overall, I would give this book 3 stars. 

I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series with its action, danger and intense passion; from the very first book I have been hooked, and can’t see that ending any time soon.

Engaging characters, fast-paced, adrenaline fueled storylines and a wonderful HEA (yep, no cliffhangers), make this a captivating and thrilling read that will be devoured easily in one sitting.

Here’s hoping there’s more to come!

What a cleverly written, fast-paced, suspense romance!

The hero, James Sant is a retired SAS operator who worked as a contract mercenary after leaving the military and before He was recruited by the Automatik organization.
He believes the only way he can repay the debt he owes to society from working as a mercenary is to help as many people he can through Automatik.

The heroine, April Banks created a website called foundation.com as a project to help mourn the loss of her husband.
Her website ended up helping a lot of women who had also been married to military men, and who were all now widows.
When April's website falls victim to a cyber attack and the data from the site is stolen, Automatik starts an investigating to try and catch the hackers.
James and his partner have had April under surveillance to ensure her safety.
This is where the story gets good, and all of this happens in the first chapter.

This story is well written, the characters well-developed, and the story full of action, suspense and of course romance.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Seconds to Sunrise starts off with no backstory or intro to the action. While I appreciate the quick pace, I did feel that this story could have used a little more background. So, April is a widow who created a website for other widows; the thing that makes her site unique is that it is for widows of military men. She has built a large community online. Then her website gets hacked and people are trying to kill her.

Ok, I would be willing to buy that premise if it were explained a little more. Why would anyone be willing to hunt down and KILL April for her website? From what is explained in the story, the hackers would get personal info and maybe some banking info. Useful? Sure, but you could get that info from millions of websites and I can't imagine someone sending a team of mercenaries out to kill a woman over the data. Again, I would be willing to buy it if the website had something more valuable, but that isn't made clear at all.

So, April is in mortal peril because of her website and she doesn't even know it until she is attacked in the parking lot of the grocery story. James and Automatik have been following her, expecting this attack and manage to save her. James sweeps her away for her safety so they can figure out where the hacker is and how to stop him. Again, the believability here is a bit of a stretch with the little info you are given, but I can roll with it. From that point on, it is NON STOP. They are on the run and in danger all the time. The book takes place over just a few days and its a busy couple of days for April and James. Their relationship is born from the intense situation they find themselves in, and slightly rushed if you are looking for a really love connection. But, I do feel the relationship being rushed matches well with the story and the danger leading to heightened emotions.

Bottom line? If you like romantic suspense with lots of action, Seconds to Sunrise is a great pick. Be prepared to suspend belief though; if you prefer your romantic suspense to be more believable, this might not be the book for you. I will probably go back and pick up books 1 and 2. This was a quick read and a nice escape-my-reality binge book!

Have I mentioned how much I really like the concept of Automatik and the different members of the team? Well, I do. So much so that I don't even read the blurb anymore. I just know that I want to read it. And it's a good thing I picked this one up. I'm always down for a good suspense thriller with nonstop action and mystery. And this doesn't disappoint.

Computer savvy? April is. In fact, not only has she created a website to help widows of fallen soldiers, she's created an encryption within the program that so difficult to get in to that the hackers or her site are now hunting her down. It's a good thing someone other than the hackers have been spying on her, because if not for Automatik, she never would have made it out of that grocery store parking lot. Now if she can only snap out of the nightmare shock she's in.

James is a member of Automatik. He was specifically tasked to tail April and protect because Automatik has been on to the hackers ever since they targeted April's site. Unfortunately, they have no leads as to who or where they are in order to stop them. Which only means one thing. They're still bait and need to find out as much information as possible before they're caught by the hackers themselves. But the chemistry between James and April builds quickly while on the run and emotions become part of the mission, unbeknownst to James.

This isn't exactly my "favorite" in the series, but it was still very entertaining. Like I said before, I'm a sucker for suspense mystery thrillers with some romance thrown in there for good measure. So...duh...yeah, I liked this one. As usually, I'm already chomping at the bit to see what Mr. Rosso has in store for us next time. Until then....

reviewed by Chris