Falcon

With the final installment in the Quiet Professionals trilogy, Ronie Kendig continues her trend of heart-pounding, didn't-see-that-twist-coming rapid-fire fiction. Not only was I excited to read Falcon to finally solve the mystery of the Cyber terrorists working against team Raptor, but it was also fun to be able to say I have met the cover model: real-life Marine hero Gabriel Martinez.
After reading snippets of Salvatore “Falcon” Russo in the previous 2 novels, I was ready to know more of his background. Especially after his intense reaction to Lieutenant Cassie Walker making her appearance in "Hawk." Ronie continues her trend of writing believable characters that you find hard to accept are fictional and throwing in shocking plot twists you never saw coming. Falcon's character is a reminder that the facade people put out is often a shell to protect the battle being waged inside. I love how Ronie weaves Faith into her stories in a realistic and relatable manner and not over the top fluff. My one complaint: I dragged out the last chapter not wanting to let Team Raptor go. I'm secretly hoping at some point we will get a little more story on Titanis ;)  Falcon makes another fantastic addition to the bookshelf that I will have no hesitance in recommending. Thank you NetGalley and Shiloh Run Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Blew Me Away

Besides writing fast-paced action fiction, Ronie Kendig is also a champion in creating characters who despite their flaws I can’t help but love. It has happened before that I didn’t care so much about a certain character in a previous Kendig book – but when becoming the main character in the next book and I understood their motives behind their behavior, they became my new friends. Making friends between the pages is one of the best things that can happen to a reader.
  Sal (Falcon) wasn’t my favorite character in the previous books and I didn’t like the way he treated Cassie at the end of Hawk—book 2 in the Quiet Professionals Series. But getting to know him and Cassie’s history, made me feel for them and understand why their situation was ‘not ideal’ and sparked controversy. I became to love these two and found myself rooting for them throughout the book.

Although each book in this series deals with another mission, there are cyber terrorists working against Raptor throughout the whole series. You best read the books in order. 

Fast-paced, heart-pounding, rapid-fire fiction with lots of twists and turns and more than one unexpected surprises! Kendig did it again – she wrote another favorite!

Ronie has done it again with this intense, fast-paced military novel. You do not want to start reading this before bed because you will not want to put it down. The twists and turns, betrayals, suspense, love, hate, and action will keep you turning the pages to the very end. The characters are well developed. You'll find yourself both loving and hating Falcon as his character doesn't easily fit into a tidy little box. Falcon is yet another excellent book that is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.

Ms. Kendig delivers once again!  I love reading her books.  She writes such compelling stories.  The action keeps you on the edge of your seat, and the plot pulls you in until you just have to know what happens next.  Her characters are very real to life.  I feel like I could meet them.  This book gets five stars from me!

Ronie Kendig keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end with "Falcon"!  Infused with tension, trauma, a second chance at love, and staying alive, this story is not one to be missed!

Sal and Cassie have a long complicated history that seems to be the breaking point for both. They desperately love and hate each other. But in these high-risk missions trust and objective are crucial which they both seem to lose when are in vicinity of each other.
There are two total breaks in this finale to the series but both are remedied by the end, just don’t stop reading it.
I had a hay day seeing all of the previous characters and a huge plus was the mix with the seals, spies, fbi, Takhar, WMD, total group. Couldn’t figure out who to trust and what to expect till the very end. Amazing!!!
I think this book culminates all of Ronie’s books! Can’t wait to see what she is planning next…
Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book from the Publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion

I have read a good chunk of Ronie Kendig’s military fiction, so I couldn’t wait to read Falcon. I enjoy how Kendig mixes her life with the military into a romantic suspense book that grips me from the first page.

One of my favorite things about Kendig’s writing is her ability to bring the military world in Afghanistan to life. I have never been in that country, but she describes the sandy, desolate place in such great detail that the falling apart buildings and hurting people who live there come to life in my imagination. Kendig does a great job with the terminology and the inner-workings of a military soldier, and her love and respect for our military shine in every aspect of the book.

In The Quiet Professionals series, Kendig has introduced all three heroes and brought them back in each book, begging me to feel that connection with them again. In the first two books, Raptor 6 and Hawk, I met Falcon but really didn’t know how he ticked, but Kendig dwelled deep into the inner pain and struggles of Falcon. I liked learning and empathizing with Falcon as I watched him struggle with his pain and guilt from the past. As for the heroine, Lieutenant Cassandra Walker, Kendig made me care about the dilemmas from the past that haunt her. The transformation through forgiveness and allowing God to change the individual characters struck a chord with me. The mention of God is not heavy handed or preaching. I believe a secular reader could enjoy the book and not be smacked upside the head with a Sunday School lesson.

Another area of Kendig’s work that I truly enjoy is her ability to dig deep into the character’s emotions and body languages through her writing. With every thought and dialogue, Kendig truly shows how observant she is of the human race. In my humble opinion, I believe her characters have some of the deepest emotions in book form today. Speaking of her writing, the story starts off with an incident, which throws all the characters into action and keeps piling higher and deeper as the story progresses. When I thought Kendig would give a break, she doesn’t, another horrible moment occurs to the characters, keeping me glued to the plot. To go along with her writing is Kendig’s ability to create external and internal tension in the story. First, the external conflict affecting the Raptors is high-paced and surprising. As the external devices squeeze tighter so does the internal romantic tension between Falcon and Cassie. I like how Kendig made Falcon and Cassie have a past that appears impossible to get beyond. It rang true to me like a real relationship with pains and sorrows.

Just as a warning, there are some moments of torture and beatings, which is evident from America’s enemies. I would take caution in allowing even my teenager to read the book. Kendig does a good job at describing the pain and torture, so it might be hard for younger readers to embrace those moments.

Falcon is formulaic and typical of Kendig’s writing style, but that is why I return to her books over and over. I know what to expect and look forward to returning to the inner workings of the military without feeling like I have to be a soldier to understand what is happening. Being original and completely unpredictable, I got swept up in the story and couldn’t wait to finish the book. Who needs sleep, anyways? Fans of Don Brown, Lynette Eason, and Janice Cantore would love this book. I truly enjoyed it and will be sharing the book with many of my suspense-loving friends.

Overall, Ronie Kendig’s Falcon invited me in for a inside look into the world of the military and kept me spellbound with her depth of the character’s emotions and the horrific tension between the opposing sides, but Kendig redeems herself with the realistic, sweet romance between Falcon and Cassie.

Type of Book: Contemporary Military Fiction

Message / Idea / Plot: An immediate continuation from book 2, uncovering a mole who is part of a team waging a cyber attack within the military intelligence/communications. 

Favorite Characters / quotes / lines: I know this book is about Falcon, but I fell in love with Eamon and loved his story woven throughout Falcon's own tale of self-discovery.

"Special Forces. They didn't just toe the line of danger--they crossed it and demanded it respond." How can these guys not be our heroes? 

When I finished this book: Once again, a whirlwind of action, adventure and adrenaline. Ronie hits you right off the bat and doesn't let up until the end.

Overall:  If it's been a while since you've read book #2: Hawk, I recommend you re-read it and then immediately pick this one up; it leaves off seconds after Hawk ends. This is a fun, intense story that has everything a great story needs. The cast is amazing and rich, the plot is heavy.
I give it 4.5 stars.

Falcon is the third book in the Quiet Professional series. In Falcon we get to know Salvatore ‘Falcon’ Russo better. We met Cassie in Hawk and we knew there was something explosive between Sal and Cassie. Falcon is a member of Raptor team.  Cassie has been assigned to help them and he is none too happy about it.  

Kendig hold no punches in this book. You don't know who's going to live or who’s going to be the mole.  My stomach is in knots when reading a Kendig book because you never know what she's going to do.   I was tempted to email Kendig more than once throughout the book. There are plenty of twists and turns and I think you'll be shocked more than once.

She also makes her characters human as they deal with emotional issues and baggage from past decisions.
Kendig does an excellent job honoring military men and women.  I love the story about the sheepdogs. I have heard this more than once and it's a good analogy of the soldiers.
I was absolutely thrilled to see Tony, Candyman, from Beowulf play a part in this book. He is still in my top 5 book boyfriends.   I'm still ready for him and Timbrel to get a series of their own. Hee hee.   I am sad that the series is over.   There are still a couple members of the team I would like to see get their own story.  

 I highly recommend Falcon if you like edge of your seat military suspense.

Just go ahead and add Ronie Kenndig to your list of must-read authors. You can certainly read "Falcon" without having read all of her other titles, but you're going to want to read everything she''s written. "Falcon" has several of my favorite elements-suspense, romance, characters that feell like friends, a page turning (and clean) plot. But what Mrs. Kendig really excels as is her portrayal of the military heroes who are skilled, honorable and compassionate. Her titles are always realistic and leave you wanting more.

Wow, what an action filled story. It has everything you expect in a military themed story. A great team of guys; warriors who are so different from each other. But they have formed a brotherhood, a loyalty to protect the innocent and each other. There is romance as well and not just the unforgiveness between Falcon and Cassandra. They have a history, most of it bad now. Before they were so in love but "things " got in the way and Falcon totally shut the door on Cassandra. Its making it really tough to work together; you can almost feel the anger bursting out of Falcon. He has coping skills; not healthy ones but I'm not going to reveal that here. I will say it isn't one I liked. BUT it was something I could believe when reading some of the stuff he faced as a person, not just as a warrior. It did make me angry with him when I read how many times he refused to forgive Cassandra and was so mean to her. Every chance he got he verbally attacked her. Ouch. It made me want to smack him in the head. I guess that shows that the author really did draw me into the story.  The action was really good in this book. The fire fights and ambushes were too. They begin to suspect someone is a "mole" feeding information to their enemies because someone is always a step or two ahead of them. They had more enemies than just one person This book had more twists and turns than a winding country road but I loved that!
This is the first book of this series that I have read but it wasn't hard to just jump into it. I am finding that there is another book in this series that I had thought about getting to read. It's called "Hawk- book #2" and I didn't realize at the time that it was by this author or a part of this series.

Where do I even start with this review? The book starts out with action so, I think I will take my cue from there. Go buy this book! You will not regret it. You don't have to start from the first in the series, though I would recommend it. Again, you won't be sorry! 

Ronnie has done it again. I am a huge fan of this author and fully recommend all of her books. She has gone above and beyond with the Quiet Professionals series. I generally hate reviews that just say "This is an awesome book!" and leave it at that. I try to give more than that in my reviews. So here you go.

The second book in this trilogy, Hawk ended in a serious cliff hanger. Thankfully, I held off reading it until Falcon was released. I would have been pulling my hair out! Rather than starting Falcon after resolutions were miraculously solved, Kendig plunges you into the fray right at the start. This book starts with a bang and never lets up. There are several characters focused on and a lot of loose ends to tie. Somehow she does it without making the reader feel overwhelmed or lost in confusion. 

Several times I wanted to chuck the book across the room. I was that invested and involved. That's a sign of a great book as far as I am concerned. I wish I could give you more details, but I am afraid a lot of them would be spoilers. I will tell you this, Raptor Team has a lot being thrown at them and they fight back, hard. The battle that ensues has you gasping and on the edge of your seat. Chapter after chapter they are fighting for their lives, the enemy seemingly several steps ahead of them. Kendig keeps you guessing and throws a few punches of her own. This is a gripping and compelling book. Anything else I say will spoil the plot or be more gushing. I hope you decide to read it!

*I received a free copy of this book. However I am under no obligation to read or review. I do so of my own free will. My words are honest and my own*

http://saraslibrary.blogspot.com/2015/05/falcon.html

I simply cannot say enough about Ronie Kendig's books, and this series!  Wow!!

High powered action fraught with deception and propelled by secrets. Falcon isn't for the faint of heart!
Salvatore "Falcon" Russo is a time bomb waiting to explode with pent up emotion. Lieutenant Cassandra Walker may be the very person to set that time bomb ticking.

When Raptor, a Special Forces team, finds themselves stuck in between lies and more lies, they band together only as brothers-in-arms can. No one is who they say they are and Raptor becomes tired of deception at every turn. Dealt blow after blow, they are forced to place their trust in Cassandra, though Falcon still feels the sting of her lies from years before.

Action that keeps you glued to the page. Emotion that drives you to finish chapter after chapter. Characters that draw you in with their complexity and realness. One surprise after another. You will not be able to put this book down!

Ronie Kendig does it again with Falcon, the third book in her Quiet Professionals series after Raptor 6 and Hawk. I had high expectations for this book - not only because I'm a die-hard Kendig fan, but because Falcon is such an intriguing character and I was desperate to find out what would happen! I wasn't disappointed. From page one I was hooked to the story and enjoyed the ride through the various perspectives that Kendig seamlessly weaves together. Seriously people - you will not be able to stop reading!

As I say with every book I read by her, go Ronie Kendig and never go back ;) I'd highly recommend Falcon (as I would the rest of this series) to fans of action, adventure, emotion-packed characters, and incredible writing. Basically, you can't go wrong.

This is the 3rd and final book in The Quiet Professionals series. I would definitely recommend reading Raptor 6 and Hawk first. Plus they are a great read as well. If it has been a while since you read the first two there is enough background to jog your memory but I would think you would be a little lost and not understand much of what takes place in this book if you don't start from the beginning. This series is  action packed, but things from the first two books do not get revealed till this one.

I love the writing style of Kendig, she has a great way of keeping things interesting, factual, and entertaining. This series is for both the romantic and just those into reading about war, soldiers and such. I loved all three books in this series, the characters and the problem that they face. Each person faces different problems in there own way, sometimes forgiving yourself is the hardest one to overcome.

Falcon is a dedicated special ops soldier with a past that he can never forget. When Cassandra Walker comes back into his life, will he be able to deal with his anger, hurt and past or will it destroy him? Falcon has a take charge personality yet struggles in ways that some will not understand yet are very real. 

Cassandra Walker has just wanted to reconnect with Falcon. Has she been hoping for something that is just not meant to be? It seems when she makes a step forward she makes two steps back. Can she prove she is trustworthy or has there just been to many lies?

This novel is full of many different characters and some side stories, yet woven together so wonderfully. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading good, clean, contemporary, yet real life war stories with a dash or two of romance. I was given a copy of this book from the author for my honest opinion.

Ronie Kendig was recommended to be by a customer signing praises at work. 'Falcon' and the rest of the 'Quiet Professionals' series certainly did not disappoint.

Falcon continues the story of the Army Special Forces team, Raptor, in Afghanistan.  When we last left them, they were under attack from an unknown source which seemed to know their every move.  Their computers were being hacked into and they could not track who was to blame.  A mole within their ranks is suspected, but who could it be?  This installment of Raptor’s exploits focuses on Warrant Officer Salvatore “Falcon” Russo.  He is doing his best to steer clear of Lieutenant Cassandra Walker, with whom he has had a previous relationship.  He blames her for the death of someone close to him.  Therefore, she doesn’t want to tell him about the child they have together.  As the story opens, their team is under attack and their commander is killed.  Obviously, the team goes on the hunt for the perpetrator of the attack.  Some of the team will work undercover while others go on the move.  In the meantime, Lieutenant Walker, Cassie, comes back in contact with a long-time friend whom she has not seen in many years.  Cassie thinks she is still the same good person she knew when she was young, but others question that she may have a darker side.  As the team goes on the hunt for the force behind their attacks, Cassie and Falcon are forced to work together.  Cassie, herself, is not exactly what she appears to be.  As the team faces increasing attacks, they come closer to discovering who is behind this plot.
I have read all the books in the Quiet Professionals series.  While it is not absolutely necessary to read the previous two books, the reader would certainly have some holes in the story.  There is also a reappearance of characters from a previous book, Beowulf.  Ronie Kendig’s books are always action packed.  One wonders how anyone survives all that action.  There is a list of characters in the front of the book which would prove helpful as this book contains many characters.  I, personally, was very surprised at the direction that the ending took and perhaps very sorry at who turned out to be the “bad guy”.  The book ends with the reader anxiously anticipating the next installment.   I received this from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A solid book in the series of a solid author. The plot and characters were intersting and the author drew them well. You care about what happens to them Nice blend and balance between individual characters stories and thoughts and the main plot line. Nice.descriptions of people and environments also. This book would translate well to film. Good plot twists that you really do not see coming at all. Feels and drama. Three and a half stars.

Another winner! I am really enjoying this series and can't wait from book to book for the next. I may not be your "typical" audience, 46, Mom of three, Alaskan, etc.
But, I AM a bookaholic, my oldest is in the military with his CO talking to him about special forces, which he has considered. I know this is a novel (I read a lot of bio's also), but it has helped. Since you keep it pretty close as a Christian author while still adding drama.

I like that there is also a twist of mystery to the story, even at times wished there was more. The only thing TOO much for belief was how Buff and perfect every guy on the team is! My son is 6ft 6in tall, and he has nice arm and shoulder muscles because they work hard. But he is skinny as a rail! He has a 29 in waist! Weighs 180lbs!
His team member is 5'9 and maybe 195 with big thick glasses, while another is 6'2  and weighs over 280lb, etc. I know they are the BEST, but best is not GI JOE cookie cutter guys. (Of course this is just my one in MANY opinion!)
And as stated above, I very much enjoy the books and plan to keep reading and  collecting every one.
Thank you very much for the chance to read and review this one!

I received this Galley from NetGalley for my honest opinion which I have given here.

Ms Kendig is an auto-buy for me since I picked up "Wolfsbane" on a whim because I liked the cover art many years ago. I've recommended her books many, many times and "Falcon" will be no exception.

I love Ronie Kendig's writing! All of her stories keep you reading till all hours. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to write a proper review but you will not regret reading this!

I don't normally read adventure books about war and soldiers, but this series has given me new interest in this genre.  I like hearing about the missions and the training that they go through!  I want to read more of this author!

Falcon is the third book in the Quiet Professionals series and definitely my favorite. It was action-packed and really emotional at times.

I did not know what was going to happen one chapter to the next and I was just hoping everything would work out alright.

All in all, a fantastic read! Highly recommend it and I am eager to read the novella for this series, which is about Titanis.


*I received a complimentary eBook copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

Jaw dropping, edge of your seat, rapid-fire Fiction.  I absolutely could not stop reading this book.  Kendig had me hooked from page one, and the rest of the world faded away as I was taken on an adventure with the amazing Raptor 6 team.  I found myself questioning those in command right alongside Falcon and the Captain.  Kendig does writing like no other.  Her military suspense takes my breath away, and never fails to make me even more thankful and patriotic.  This story follows Salvatore“Falcon” Russo and Cassandra Walker, someone who he used to trust implicitly.  

Life throws some stuff at you, and sometimes finding a way to cope isn’t easy.  Falcon is the best of the best, but sometimes regrets and guilt can eat at person.  Sal will do anything for his team, and they will stop at nothing to protect the people and country they love.  Falcon is the third book in the Quiet Professionals and is a total must read.  I have read the first two, and loved every minute of them as well.  I received a copy of this book from the publisher and was in no way forced to post a review.  All opinions expressed are my own.