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Surrender at Dawn
Former Navy SEAL Jack Brenner knows he's in trouble the minute Charlotte Whiteside steps into a seedy Thai bar and asks him to help rescue her brother, who is being held hostage on a nearby island. Jack doesn't want to get tangled up in Charlotte's problems or anyone else's, but an obligation to a SEAL teammate prompts him to help her. They embark on a nighttime mission that turns out to be more dangerous--and passionate--than either of them ever imagined.
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First published June 14, 2011
63 people are currently reading
873 people want to read
About the author
Laura Griffin
56 books3,849 followersLaura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award. Laura got her start in journalism before venturing into the world of suspense fiction. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages. Laura lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next novel.
Series:
* Texas Murder Files
* Tracers
* Wolfe Security
* Alpha Crew
* Moreno and Hart Mysteries
* Glass Sisters
* The Borderline
Series:
* Texas Murder Files
* Tracers
* Wolfe Security
* Alpha Crew
* Moreno and Hart Mysteries
* Glass Sisters
* The Borderline
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
July 7, 2011
Fun and quick read. Always like a good Navy SEAL in the starring role. My only complaint was that it ended much to quickly and not as tidy as I prefer. Suffice it to say, I wanted more -- much more!
July 7, 2011
This was quick. Really just a teaser, a taste to wet your whistle. I get the feeling "ex-Navy SEAL" Jack and para-legal Charlotte will make an appearance in a future book since the ending leaves the door open. I can sure see them meeting up in the future again.
If you're a fan of Laura Griffin then Surrender at Dawn will give you a little Griffin fix and tide you over until her next full length novel Snapped comes out later this year.
If you're a fan of Laura Griffin then Surrender at Dawn will give you a little Griffin fix and tide you over until her next full length novel Snapped comes out later this year.
February 9, 2016
Short story that was OK but then after I read Nightfall which I liked better and I started looking into what LG had written. So this and Nightfall introduced me to Laura Griffin's writing which led me to discover the tracer series which is one of my all time favorite series.
July 9, 2011
This felt like the beginning of a great story. I liked both Jack and Charlotte. I sure hope Griffin is writing a full book about them!
As a standalone, it gives a hint of a promising romance, but feels totally unfinished. As a prelude to a longer book (?) it rocks. Either way, my appetite is totally whetted for more. Please say there's more!
As a standalone, it gives a hint of a promising romance, but feels totally unfinished. As a prelude to a longer book (?) it rocks. Either way, my appetite is totally whetted for more. Please say there's more!
September 3, 2011
Just a quickie free kindle book. I wonder if the two main characters will show up in a full length novel?
November 23, 2011
very very short read. gives you just enough to get a feel for the author and her voice. I've read LG before and she is a good author but this was just a little too short.
September 9, 2012
I love Laura Griffin but I didn't love this. The story left you hanging so I do wonder if this is supposed to be a prequel or something.
June 6, 2023
A great thriller. A woman goes to Thailand to find her brother. She enlists the help of a former SEAL to take her to an island where her brother was last seen. Little does she know it is inhabited by an terrorist who plans to bomb an American Embassy. Together they get her brother safely.
February 2, 2020
Short, interesting story. Ex Navy SEAL and a sister trying to save her reporter brother. Fast read, strong characters. I rate this a 4.6
March 30, 2020
This is a good quick read that had me looking through the list of Laura published books to see what I will be reading next by her.
July 2, 2020
Fast-paced action with romance thrown in!
Read
October 6, 20217/29/2011
June 12, 2023
short and sweet
March 11, 2017
A nice short read. An ex-navy SEAL helps a young woman find her brother on a dangerous island. Cue Suspense, intrigue, and romance. Now I want to read the second chapter on these two…
December 30, 2017
This didn't quite cut it for me. I like that it's a short little novella and the writing of the story clearly shows the author's potential, so I'd definitely look at full-length stories from this author. But the downside to this, is that it reads like a prologue for two characters and I'm not sure it ever gets finished in another story later. This could have been an awesome story without the romance, but that's what left me wanting - the fact that the characters never really had enough time to connect to each other, so their romance felt very superficial, and the ending, . So there isn't really any love or any HEA - it's left up in the air and it felt unfinished. Kind of like a cliffhanger and those are my biggest pet peeves ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2013
This is a short romantic suspense story about a devoted sister who travels to Thailand in search of her brother who has gone missing while on a journalism assignment. Charlotte Whiteside knows her brother is in danger and arrives in Phuket, Thailand with a wad of cash and the name of an American pilot--John Brenner who she's been told to hire to find her brother on a remote island. The search and rescue of Charlotte's brother is deemed dangerous because it is believed he went to this particular island to interview a dangerous drug lord. John "Jack" Brenner is an ex-US Navy SEAL and just the man to do the job.
Surrender At Dawn is a pretty short story--not really long enough to fully develop the characters or their relationship as much as I'd like. However, for a short story, I think the author did a decent job of creating a suspenseful situation and bringing two characters together with the promise of something more between them. The ending to this story is realistic and suggests at the possibility of a future story between them. I hope that's the case, because I would enjoy reading another story in which they meet again.
Surrender At Dawn is a pretty short story--not really long enough to fully develop the characters or their relationship as much as I'd like. However, for a short story, I think the author did a decent job of creating a suspenseful situation and bringing two characters together with the promise of something more between them. The ending to this story is realistic and suggests at the possibility of a future story between them. I hope that's the case, because I would enjoy reading another story in which they meet again.
April 13, 2012
I'm give this book a 3.5 rating. I didn't care for the abrupt start. I found it to be quite confusing at times. The characters were decent though. Despite being a short story that doesn't leave a lot of room for character development, I never once felt a disconnect from them. I also loved the authors voice, and the writing was solid. No complaints there.
I did have an issue with the editing, namely the lack of division between scenes. There was a few times where a scene would change in the middle of a paragraph, and I found it to be both confusing and annoying, since I had to go back and reread parts to make sure I wasn't missing something. My final complaint was with the ending, which was devoid of any HEA or even a HFN (Happy For Now). It was very abrupt and a major let down. Had it been more emotionally satisfying and complete, I would have happily given 5 stars for this story. But as it stands, I felt I was robbed of my time and cannot recommend this book.
I did have an issue with the editing, namely the lack of division between scenes. There was a few times where a scene would change in the middle of a paragraph, and I found it to be both confusing and annoying, since I had to go back and reread parts to make sure I wasn't missing something. My final complaint was with the ending, which was devoid of any HEA or even a HFN (Happy For Now). It was very abrupt and a major let down. Had it been more emotionally satisfying and complete, I would have happily given 5 stars for this story. But as it stands, I felt I was robbed of my time and cannot recommend this book.
September 8, 2014
Surrender at Dawn by Laura Griffin a 2011 Laura Griffin publication.
This book was a freebie in the Kindle store and I while I normally check this, I just saw the name Laura Griffin and purchased it without looking into the specifics. As it happens, this book is only about 37 pages long. So, it's a super duper fast read.
Charlotte's brother, a journalist, has disappeared. She enlist a friend of a friend, Jack, a former navy seal to help locate him.
Jack agrees because of who Charlotte knows but she has no idea how dangerous things are about to become.
Despite it's brevity, the book is still interesting and has some genuinely tense moments, plus some hot romance. There were way too many unanswered questions and the ending will leave you a little puzzled. But, I have to give the author kudos for cramming such an intense story into so few pages. This one gets 3 stars.
This book was a freebie in the Kindle store and I while I normally check this, I just saw the name Laura Griffin and purchased it without looking into the specifics. As it happens, this book is only about 37 pages long. So, it's a super duper fast read.
Charlotte's brother, a journalist, has disappeared. She enlist a friend of a friend, Jack, a former navy seal to help locate him.
Jack agrees because of who Charlotte knows but she has no idea how dangerous things are about to become.
Despite it's brevity, the book is still interesting and has some genuinely tense moments, plus some hot romance. There were way too many unanswered questions and the ending will leave you a little puzzled. But, I have to give the author kudos for cramming such an intense story into so few pages. This one gets 3 stars.
November 27, 2014
This is a short novella. John Brenner (Jack) is a pilot and former Navy SEAL. Charlotte Whiteside has come looking for him in Thailand to take her to the island of Ko Aroon to find her missing brother Davy. He is a reporter who told friends he had a hot story but no one has heard from him. Jack and Charlotte went to the island after dark and Jack found a young woman who said she was Davy’s girlfriend. Jack found Davy in another hut and got all of them off the island. From map info he found in the hut, Jack saw that the island was a training camp for alQaeda and their aim was to bomb the US Embassy in Manilla. Jack got the needed intel to his SEAL friends. He left Charlotte at the hotel but left his US phone number for her.
September 25, 2011
I don't normally read short stories or novellas, but as this was free for Kindle, I grabbed it. Although I agree with all the reviewers saying this ended too abruptly, and therefore was ungratifying, it's not fair to rate it down by more than a star for that, because it IS advertised as a short story, not a fully developed novel. Considering that fact, I think the story and characters were great.
Just like so many other reviewers, I'm very interested to pick up something else by this author, which means WELL DONE on her marketing strategy for offering this teaser as a freebie! It did its job!
Just like so many other reviewers, I'm very interested to pick up something else by this author, which means WELL DONE on her marketing strategy for offering this teaser as a freebie! It did its job!
July 4, 2013
I loved the jump-right-into-it beginning – and even with such a beginning and with such a short story, I still feel like I had enough information to get a good feel for the characters and really connect with them in a short amount of time.
However, it also had a jump-right-out-of-it ending which I didn’t appreciate so much as I did for the beginning....the ending was rushed and a little cheesy....though perhaps a teaser ??? 3 stars.
However, it also had a jump-right-out-of-it ending which I didn’t appreciate so much as I did for the beginning....the ending was rushed and a little cheesy....though perhaps a teaser ??? 3 stars.
September 9, 2011
3.5*
A short story by one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. I wonder if we'll see the two leads in anything else since we don't get a complete resolution to their relationship. I enjoyed this story, although I don't think it's the best way to get a feel for this very talented author. I encourage readers who enjoy RS to pick up one of her full-length novels.
A short story by one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. I wonder if we'll see the two leads in anything else since we don't get a complete resolution to their relationship. I enjoyed this story, although I don't think it's the best way to get a feel for this very talented author. I encourage readers who enjoy RS to pick up one of her full-length novels.
April 23, 2013
A nice quick read for a train journey etc. but other than that I can't think of anything either positive or negative to add. Other than I'm glad I got it as a freebie download.
2 stars
In case I didn’t mention this was a Free Kindle Download at the time (see my blog www.toodlesbookclub.blogspot.com for daily selections of free downloads).
2 stars
In case I didn’t mention this was a Free Kindle Download at the time (see my blog www.toodlesbookclub.blogspot.com for daily selections of free downloads).
May 3, 2013
A romantic story about a sister Charlotte Whiteside, who travels to Thailand in search of her brother Davey who has gone missing while on a journalism assignment. Ex navy seal Jake was very abrupt. I didn't like him very much at all. Turns out Davey girlfriend / camera girl was also kidnapped. He rescues both of them. Ok Short story
January 10, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the adventure and class this book exhibited. Easy to read, enjoyable. Only con is that it's too short! I would have liked a longer story. There were a few parts where it felt like a transition or ending was too abrupt. Free Kindle book, well worth it.
July 6, 2012
I wish this had been a prequel for another book rather than just a stand alone novella because it had a lot of good plot starters in it and the characters were interesting. It just ended however and as far as I can tell no sequel or other book that continues the story of any of the characters.
December 4, 2013
First ever Laura Griffin work I ever read... As soon as I finished it I immediately stopped by my local book store and picked up 3 of the tracers novels and now 7months later I own them all... Simply awesome books that draw you in
January 3, 2013
This was a delightful short story to read. I wish it would have been longer. This short story could defiantly be made into a much longer book. I am thankful I took the time to read it. It left me with a smile upon my face!
May 20, 2013
I was completely disappointed that this story ended as soon as it did. I mean I get that it is a novella but still. The story itself is well written, so much so I wanted more. It's quite possible Laura Griffin is my newest fave author to read at the moment.
January 29, 2021
This was alright. Quick easy read with a bit of action and some romance. The characters aren't very fleshed out but then novellas usually aren't. Still the plot wrapped everything up and the romance didn't declare forever love or that so easy enough to enjoy. 2.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews