Force of Nature

Stormswept #2

by Dana Mentink

STORMY REUNION

Pulled from the waves and gasping for air, the last person Antonia Verde expects to be her rescuer is Reuben Sandoval. He may once have been the love of her life, but his drug-smuggling brother ruined their chance of happiness. Now with a storm blowing in, Rueben's island hotel is her only refuge. Soon they find themselves trapped on the island with a killer in the midst of a dangerous hurricane. Antonia's life is in Rueben's hands—can she trust him with her heart, as well?

Stormswept: Finding true love in the midst of nature's fury

Genres: Romance, Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense, Suspense, Christian Fiction, Mystery, Romantic Suspense

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 3, 2013

About the author

USA TODAY bestseller Dana Mentink enjoys writing in many different capacities. She currently writes for Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense and Poisoned Pen Press.

Dana is the recipient of a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, two ACFW Carol Awards as well as a Holt Medallion.

Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her via her website at www.danamentink.com. and be sure to follow her on Bookbub!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dana-...

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed Menink’s writing in this intense thriller. Not only are there bad guys running around on the island, trying to hurt the good guys, but the hurricane is determined to destroy everything in its path, and it’s a gamble every time whether it’s the hurricane or the bad guys who will get in the next blow against the good guys. The romance between Reuben and Antonia rather takes a side show to the main one, which is fine by me—I like mystery more than romance. Even so, their attraction is realistically written.

[Dallass · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn’t paying attention when I borrowed this on my OverDrive, yet the prevalent religious overtones pulled me out of the story at times. I wasn’t all that invested in the characters, and the added touches drug syndicates, the hurricane and love, redemption and forgiveness just blew the whole romantic suspense vibe I was going for.

1.5 stars


PS, I don’t have anything against characters that have faith and are very centred in their beliefs, however when I’m not looking for that, nor expecting it, as a main theme for the story it can jar me right out of the reading experience.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fast read. Couldn't put it down until I finished! I just had to know what was going to happen next! I felt like I struggled through the hurricane with them. There was so much action and adventure I was never bored.

[John Hanscom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun. It was more of an "action movie" than a novel, but it was a very good action movie.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fast read. Perfect for a cruise ship vacation.

[Stella Potts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Mentink’s older books and I enjoyed it. It is a little different plot than the usual. People stuck on an Island off the Florida Coast during a hurricane with criminals hunting then down to murder them so naturally there is a lot of nail biting suspense. All in all a good book.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO good! This was an adventure/action story which this author writes so well! One of my favorites of the line!

[Charline Bonham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antonia has returned to her home to be away from her sister and niece and keep them safe. Someone has been following her since she got back. They are probably trying to find her sister. Trying to swim away from the person following her, she gets in trouble because a storm is brewing and the sea is very rough. The last person she wants saving her is Reuben but at least he was there. They need to make it off this island and back to the main land before the Hurricane hits. Who can be trusted and how will they make it now that the boat has been sunk. Lot of action and descriptions of the storm.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Stormswept: Finding true love in the midst of nature’s fury’. Well, let me tell you! True love is not the ONLY thing found in the midst of nature’s fury. Try killers. Mobsters. Drug runners. Guns. Knives. Bad Guys. Worse bad guys... but there’s also faith, love, hope, courage, good guys (and gals), forgiveness, repentance, and a storyline that doesn’t let you go! I thoroughly enjoyed every spine tingling chapter.

Thank you, Dana Mentink, for the fun drawing on your Facebook Dana Mentink's Reader Page. Force of Nature is a fabulous Love Inspired Suspense!

[Judine Brey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning Antonia's backstory (even though it seemed awfully convenient for her to go from surviving an earthquake to surviving a hurricane). Her relationship with Reuben being renewed made sense and I liked the two-fold tension of the hurricane and running from drug lords. Good foreshadowing created additional suspense.

[cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second time reading through it. I really enjoy Ms Mentink's writing style, and some of her phrasing is almost poetic, even in this suspense genre. Interesting characters and situation. Definitely worth the time.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational romance.

[Debra Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to read

[Deb Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dana Mentink has a way of writing that makes you hear and feel the wind and rain of the storm. The heart-pounding suspense kept me riveted from the very first page!

Highly recommend!

[Dorel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the 4th book I read by Dana Mentink. I'm sorry I stopped reading this story 📖 at chapter 3 because it didn't grab my interest.

[Lydia Sadler]

I may have to add this series to my list

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read with great characters!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story hit the ground running and didn’t stop. Antonia and Reuben are trapped on a small island with killers, and a hurricane is coming. Will they survive both? This was an exciting book.

[Bonnie Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Force Of Nature book 2 in the STORMSWEPT Series is a fast pace read that takes you to a beautiful place near Florida where survival from a very dangerous Hurricane and men that want to ill them all for the land and a brother that can't be saved from going to jail. FORCE OF NATURE the 2nd book in the STORMSWEPT series by: Dana Mentink is a very very good book to read.

[cookiemonger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good portion of this book had me talking angrily aloud. The problem is that I'm not sure if the angry-making stuff makes me like it better or hate it. I don't feel like it was the kind of AAARGH KILL IT WITH FIRE stuff that makes me 1-star a book. Everything made sense, and if anyone ever says that this author is insincere about anything in her writing, I think I'd hit them with a pillow. It was more like I was freaking incensed with the characters themselves.

Summary time: Antonia Verde, after surviving being trapped in a collapsing opera house with a killer, during the worst earthquake ever to hit California, returns to Isla Maropa only to be hounded by kidnappers and more killers. Her ex-boyfriend, Reuben, is trying to hold onto the island against drug runners who want it for its geographical convenience.

The reason he's her ex is the thing that plagued me throughout the book. And I don't think I can cover it without spoilers, so I tagged this review.

As was mentioned in the last book, Antonia's sister Mia was in jail for the attempted murder of her husband. Mia did her time, and then immediately took her daughter and disappeared. Although Antonia is in contact with Mia, she doesn't really know where they are. Mia attacked her husband because she was afraid he had gone back to running drugs and she was afraid of him. She fled with her daughter for the same reason. These are all facts.

Reuben is Mia's husband Hector's brother. And at the time of the incident, he sided with Hector. Mia had no wounds to back up her side of the story, and Reuben didn't help. I'd have dumped him too, honestly.

Antonia is alone. Both Hector and Reuben openly blame her for "her part" in what went down, and both of them also demand to know where Mia and the kid are. Silvio and Paula, Reuben's employees, treat Antonia like crap, and it turns out that the incident is partially Silvio's fault for telling Hector that Mia was planning to leave him. Paula is utterly horrible to Antonia, without any justification, and she never answers for it. Not even an apology. The Reuben/Silvio/Paula entity of antagonism even go so far as to self-righteously claim she's only condemning Hector because of his past. She is convinced that he was running drugs again, and they will not believe anything she says.

They are all in the same camp, and they all behave so consistently badly that I was honestly afraid the book itself would decide Antonia was wrong. If it had, I think I would have thrown it in the bin.

The best/worst part is that Hector did stay clean. HOWEVER. This is not exoneration. He tries to excuse himself by explaining that the Big Bad drug runner blackmailed him into helping to acquire Isla Maropa by holding photographic evidence over his head. He was afraid of going to jail and not seeing his daughter.

So he went back to illegal activity, endangered the lives of his brother and sister-in-law, and sent his wife to jail. He actually said he understood why she attacked him, and knew it was his fault.

THEN WHY THE HELL DID HE PRESS CHARGES AND ALLOW HER TO BE JAILED?

The hypocrisy is revolting. In his wormy way, he says that he didn't want to put his daughter through knowing her dad was in jail. Then what about her mom being in jail??

I've got more experience with the whole jail part of this book than I ever want to discuss, so I know exactly how much more repellent this guy is for knowing that Mia was in the right. Ugh.

I guess what it all comes down to is that I think there should have been more candid discussion of consequences and the power of choice. Antonia feels awful when they think that Hector really did go back to drug running, and she decides that it's because she was praying for him to be condemned, rather than saved.

Praying for someone who has done something wrong to be held accountable is not a bad thing. If a man were to falsely charge and imprison my sister, I would want him held accountable. And I wouldn't lose any sleep or joy when he was. And the charge in this case is definitely false. He agreed that she had a reason to be afraid, so that means he knew it was self-defence.

All that said, no one can accuse this book of failing to engage me. eheh.

[Romancing the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jen
Book won in a Goodreads contest
Originally posted at Romancing the Book

I’m always a little wary when I pick up an inspirational romance. While I want that touch of Christianity, I don’t want to be preached at. Luckily, Force of Nature doesn’t cross that fine line into preachiness. However, there was just something about it that just made me merely like the story rather than like the story.

So this is a reunion story. Antonia and Reuben were in a relationship. As were their siblings, Mia and Hector. But when a rift occurred between Mia and Hector, it spread to Antonia and Reuben’s relationship. Months later, someone seems to be after Antonia and she’s running for her life right towards the island that Reuben’s family owns… and a hurricane.

The suspense part of the book was pretty good. It wasn’t terribly complex, but it was an action packed ride. In the end, I don’t have any complaints with this aspect of the story.

But it was more the characters and the romance that didn’t sit as well. Antonia and Reuben are both stubborn and can’t seem to communicate with each other and let go of the past. There was definite lingering feelings, but they weren’t really explored since the suspense aspect of the story was center stage. The characters really seemed to spend more time with their anger and past disappointment towards each other throughout the book. The reconciliation just seemed to all of the sudden happen. I suppose much of that was due to their circumstances, but at the same time, when reading a romance, I prefer to actually *see* the falling in love.

It wasn’t a bad book. I think, in the end, there was just too much going on that the romance aspect fell to the wayside and I was unable to really connect with the characters.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the first book of this series, ex-soldier Trey Black is reunited with Sage Harrington a journalist he met in Afghanistan when she was on assignment there. Although she suffers from PTSD, Sage is determined to find her missing cousin – Antonio Verde – and Trey is determined to protect Sage.

After the earthquake, Antonio travels to Florida, where she finds herself trapped on a nearby island with Reuben Sandoval, who was once the love of her life. Can she trust him with her life… or her heart?

danger… drugs… desperation…

Can you imagine the suspense you’ll find in Force Of Nature, the second story in Dana’s Stormswept series? This story features tropical storms, hurricanes and possibly a killer or two!

I don’t know if Dana Mentink has ever experienced a hurricane up close and personal, but she certainly knows how to write a suspenseful story about one!

For me, it seemed as if the characters changed sides from one moment to the next; and… I will say one thing… I’m deathly afraid of crocodiles. Antonio in the water – with crocodiles – kept my heart pounding and my eyes glued to the book!

Okay, that’s enough “telling” for me. I can’t say more, or I’ll end up giving away too much of it. This is a great story! … read it for yourself.

[Honey Jimenez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting. Mainly the fact that it takes place on a Florida island during a hurricane. I've never experienced a hurricane because I've never lived close enough to any ocean. The constant flash backs of the main character's relationship is monotonous and annoying, but eventually there is a point when it stops and there is forgiveness between them.. This is one of the books on my list that is out of my comfort zone- a love inspired suspense published by Harlequin. It's not disappointing over all.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antonia is saved from almost drowning by none other than Reuben Sandoval who was the love of her life until he sided with his brother, the drug runner against her sister and daughter Gracie. Reuben believed that his brother could not have attacked the mother of his daughter and said so in court.

After Antonia is pulled from the waves she ends up on Reuben's island where she is stranded due to a hurricane but whats worse is that there are killers on the island after Reuben and her thanks to his brother being once again mixed up with the drug dealers.

[JaneReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was action packed right from the beginning. As if trying to survive a hurricane wasn't enough of a battle, but trying to do it while trying not killed by some bad guys after you. Reuben and Antonia definitely had their work cut out for them. I did find parts of the story hard to follow as they were trying to escape though, I just couldn't picture what they were going through.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antonia was rescued from the ocean from her x-beau, Reuben. They, along with others, were being hunted by people who wanted the island to be theirs. Murderers were out there but could they escape?
To top things off the big obstacle of a hurricane hitting the island threatened them.
This quick read showed that faith prevails.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dana Mentink does such a great job with her descriptions that you feel like you are right there experiencing it! Hurricane season has always been something on TV since I live in Utah. By the time I finished this story I was feeling quite battered! Kind of the same after her earthquake book too!

The characters were all quite interesting.

[Harlequin Books]

"The threat of truly hostile take-over gives the story a David vs. Goliath feel, .... As the characters lose all control in the face of a natural disaster, they, and readers, are reminded of the fragility of human life". (RT Book Reviews, rated 4 stars)

Miniseries: Stormswept

[Judie Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

a story of family dynamics--drug smuggling--throw in a beautiful woman who the smugglers are trying to kill. All takes places during a terrible hurrican that pits people against people and everyone and everything against the storm. good character portrayal and story line. I enjoyed reading it.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, it just seemed to gone on and on with about the same thing happening over and over. Enjoyed the characters, but I think the story could have been developed a little more with other characters.