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Suspense #2
Cover of Darkness
Targeted by a terrorist cell, Bryn McAllister survives a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut only to be left to die in a desert cellar. When she is rescued by Navy SEAL Lieutenant Declan McCabe and his team, Bryn must rely on the handsome officer to get her to safety. But just when she thinks the nightmare is over, family friend and legendary CIA operative Luke Hutchinson recruits her and McCabe to help track down the terrorist mastermind responsible for the attack. With Bryn determined to see the terrorist brought to justice, Dec joins up to protect her, prepared to do whatever it takes to keep her safe during their dangerous mission. Battling the explosive attraction between them, Dec fights to keep his distance from her so he can do his job and keep her alive. But when plans fall apart and Bryn is captured, he must make the agonizing choice between his duty as a SEAL and the life of the woman he loves. This is a new release of a previously published edition.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2010
318 people are currently reading
1388 people want to read
About the author
Kaylea Cross
99 books1,801 followersNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.
Kaylea loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to drop me a line and say hello.
Kaylea loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to drop me a line and say hello.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
January 3, 2013
Re-read December 2012****Review completed January 3, 2013
"The first rule in a SEAL team is to never leave your man."
Our heroine, Bryn McAllister, has been targeted by a terrorist cell at the US Embassy in Beirut. However, she and her father survive the bombing but both of them end up kidnapped. They are being held hostage in a cellar somewhere in the desert. Enter Declan (Dec) McCabe, a Navy SEAL Lieutenant. Dec and his team as well as Luke Hutchinson are determined to bring Bryn and her father to safety. Luke is an old friend of Bryn's father.
When Bryn is convinced that her nightmare is over, Luke asks her to help track down his enemy number one, Farouk Tehrazzi. Luke is a former Navy SEAL who is running a private security company out of Baghdad. From time to time he does contract work for the CIA. Tehrazzi and Luke go way back--over twenty years. Luke trained the teenage Tehrazzi during covert operations in the Afghan-Russian war. Since Tehrazzi evolved into a lethal threat against the USA, Luke is back to accomplish his "personal" mission: to kill the lethal prodigy. His final lifetime goal so to speak.
Tehrazzi put a bounty on Bryn's head. In fact, Bryn signed up as human bait because Tehrazzi wants her dead and she will give Tehrazzi incentive to come out of hiding. Also, Bryn is motivated to join Luke's team because of her Although Dec is not happy at all with Luke's decision, he agrees to join his team for the sake of Bryn because she trusts him.
Dec admires this beautiful, smart, feminine, gentle yet very tough woman. Both of them feel attracted to one another, however, Dec knows that he cannot act on his feelings since he has to preserve his professionalism.
Again, I have to repeat myself by saying that I love Luke, but I was a little bit shocked to see how callous he acted when he put Bryn in danger. With that said, Luke willingly compromised her safety when he sent her to Incredible. And then he just told Dec that Bryn signed up to his mission and knew that she would have to deal with dangerous situations. WTF? On top of that, when he had to choose between *major facepalm moment* Luke, I swear, I wanted to hit you…you…relentless SOB. Ugh! On the other hand, I loved to get some insight into Luke's mind and heart. Even though he left Emily and their son, Rayne, many years ago, he still loves her immensely. Their second chance at love will be told in Absolution the final book in this series.
You will witness some utterly beautiful moments between Tehrazzi and his beloved mare.
Cover of Darkness is rather light on the sex but I didn't mind at all. What was there was well-written and quite steamy after all, and I admired Dec for his high moral code of conduct, his loyalty, and his professionalism. He did his job properly and yet he couldn't deny his attachment to Bryn in ways that made it impossible for him to maintain his distance from her.
Needles to say that I loved Dec. He is another yummy alpha male as well as a real sweetheart. Dec is a born leader and would have given his life to protect Bryn. It goes without saying that I enjoyed Cover of Darkness from start to finish. It is a breathtaking, action-packed and heartbreaking story of life and love in a war zone and what it takes to survive. Also, I enjoyed the different setting of the story. It takes place in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The final chapter is set in Oregon, USA. Furthermore, I'd like to remind you that Samarra Wallace and Ben Sinclair, heroes of No Turning Back, are nicely set up in Cover of Darkness.
Kaylea Cross's voice is very engaging and she writes great alpha males. In addition, the action scenes in her stories are thrilling and well-executed. Bottom line: if you are a fellow RS lover then I recommend you to give this author a try. Enjoy!
"The first rule in a SEAL team is to never leave your man."
"I'm here, Dec," she whispered, barely intelligible. He was in this state because of her. "I'm right here and I love you. I love you, you hear me? Don't let go. You're no quitter, Dec, you don't know how to quit, remember?
Our heroine, Bryn McAllister, has been targeted by a terrorist cell at the US Embassy in Beirut. However, she and her father survive the bombing but both of them end up kidnapped. They are being held hostage in a cellar somewhere in the desert. Enter Declan (Dec) McCabe, a Navy SEAL Lieutenant. Dec and his team as well as Luke Hutchinson are determined to bring Bryn and her father to safety. Luke is an old friend of Bryn's father.
"I brought you something." (…)
Instead, he pulled a piece of paper out of one of the pockets in his camouflage pants and unfolded it, holding it out for her to see.
Bryn stared at the purple crayon drawing of a heart-shaped medal. She glanced up from the paper, glowered at him. "Tell me you're joking."
"What?" he asked, all innocence. "It's a purple heart." (…)
"Took me all morning to find a purple crayon."
When Bryn is convinced that her nightmare is over, Luke asks her to help track down his enemy number one, Farouk Tehrazzi. Luke is a former Navy SEAL who is running a private security company out of Baghdad. From time to time he does contract work for the CIA. Tehrazzi and Luke go way back--over twenty years. Luke trained the teenage Tehrazzi during covert operations in the Afghan-Russian war. Since Tehrazzi evolved into a lethal threat against the USA, Luke is back to accomplish his "personal" mission: to kill the lethal prodigy. His final lifetime goal so to speak.
Tehrazzi put a bounty on Bryn's head. In fact, Bryn signed up as human bait because Tehrazzi wants her dead and she will give Tehrazzi incentive to come out of hiding. Also, Bryn is motivated to join Luke's team because of her Although Dec is not happy at all with Luke's decision, he agrees to join his team for the sake of Bryn because she trusts him.
Signing up for a covert op with the CIA was one thing--it was another to involve a civilian, and a female at that. "You guys must be desperate to even dream that shit up."
"Yep."
"And you must have pulled some pretty big strings to get me assigned for this."
Luke's shoulders lifted in a negligent shrug. "I know some people."
Dec admires this beautiful, smart, feminine, gentle yet very tough woman. Both of them feel attracted to one another, however, Dec knows that he cannot act on his feelings since he has to preserve his professionalism.
Again, I have to repeat myself by saying that I love Luke, but I was a little bit shocked to see how callous he acted when he put Bryn in danger. With that said, Luke willingly compromised her safety when he sent her to Incredible. And then he just told Dec that Bryn signed up to his mission and knew that she would have to deal with dangerous situations. WTF? On top of that, when he had to choose between *major facepalm moment* Luke, I swear, I wanted to hit you…you…relentless SOB. Ugh! On the other hand, I loved to get some insight into Luke's mind and heart. Even though he left Emily and their son, Rayne, many years ago, he still loves her immensely. Their second chance at love will be told in Absolution the final book in this series.
You will witness some utterly beautiful moments between Tehrazzi and his beloved mare.
The mare's black mane streamed out behind her like a banner as she transitioned from a canter into a gallop. The coarse hair whipped at Tehrazzi's face as he crouched over her neck, urging her onward with only the pressure of his knees. Her muscles coiled beneath her skin in a fluid rush, setting his heart pounding as they soared over the desert, hooves pounding the sun-baked earth.
Cover of Darkness is rather light on the sex but I didn't mind at all. What was there was well-written and quite steamy after all, and I admired Dec for his high moral code of conduct, his loyalty, and his professionalism. He did his job properly and yet he couldn't deny his attachment to Bryn in ways that made it impossible for him to maintain his distance from her.
"Only incentive I need is you."
Her eyes misted over. "You've already got me. For as long as you want."
"Yeah? I won't let you go, then."
Needles to say that I loved Dec. He is another yummy alpha male as well as a real sweetheart. Dec is a born leader and would have given his life to protect Bryn. It goes without saying that I enjoyed Cover of Darkness from start to finish. It is a breathtaking, action-packed and heartbreaking story of life and love in a war zone and what it takes to survive. Also, I enjoyed the different setting of the story. It takes place in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. The final chapter is set in Oregon, USA. Furthermore, I'd like to remind you that Samarra Wallace and Ben Sinclair, heroes of No Turning Back, are nicely set up in Cover of Darkness.
Kaylea Cross's voice is very engaging and she writes great alpha males. In addition, the action scenes in her stories are thrilling and well-executed. Bottom line: if you are a fellow RS lover then I recommend you to give this author a try. Enjoy!
October 25, 2014
3.5 stars
This follow up is totally different compare to Book 1. While Book 1 felt more like a contemporary romance with a little suspense, this one was straight up hardcore military suspense with a little romance thrown in. I was caught off guard by that fact.
There is a lot of details about the Middle East politics, which drives me a little dizzy. But I'm amazed by Kaylea's knowledge nonetheless. This whole deal is about Luke trying to make use of Bryn's as a human bait to capture Tehrazzi, while recruiting the Navy Seal, Declan as some sort of bodyguard. But I don't understand the rationale behind it at all. All Luke did was whisking Bryn all over Middle East trying to follow Tehrazzi's location. He can totally take down the man himself without the added burden of Bryn. To me Bryn totally didn't serve her purpose.
The romance and the steam level between Declan and Bryn is just okay. In comparison to the grand scheme of thing happening, maybe it doesn't really matter much. In fact, I find Luke's limited conversation with his ex-wife, Emily more heartfelt. Oh, I just can't wait to go through the next two books and get my hands on the final one.
Action plot and Luke - 4 stars
Romance plot - 3 stars
This follow up is totally different compare to Book 1. While Book 1 felt more like a contemporary romance with a little suspense, this one was straight up hardcore military suspense with a little romance thrown in. I was caught off guard by that fact.
There is a lot of details about the Middle East politics, which drives me a little dizzy. But I'm amazed by Kaylea's knowledge nonetheless. This whole deal is about Luke trying to make use of Bryn's as a human bait to capture Tehrazzi, while recruiting the Navy Seal, Declan as some sort of bodyguard. But I don't understand the rationale behind it at all. All Luke did was whisking Bryn all over Middle East trying to follow Tehrazzi's location. He can totally take down the man himself without the added burden of Bryn. To me Bryn totally didn't serve her purpose.
The romance and the steam level between Declan and Bryn is just okay. In comparison to the grand scheme of thing happening, maybe it doesn't really matter much. In fact, I find Luke's limited conversation with his ex-wife, Emily more heartfelt. Oh, I just can't wait to go through the next two books and get my hands on the final one.
Action plot and Luke - 4 stars
Romance plot - 3 stars
May 31, 2012
5 stars.
If you think you've read the best of romantic suspense but have yet to read Kaylea Cross, then you're kidding yourself. This was hands down one of the best (if not the best) romantic suspense I've ever read.
Thank you, thank you, thank you GR recommendations for pointing me in the direction of the first book in this series, Out Of Her League, otherwise I never would have known about Kaylea Cross.
I loved the H/h in this book. It amazed me how fabulous Bryn was - imagine an RS heroine who checked all the right boxes for me!! Smart, intelligent, didn't read into situations or overreact, wasn't bitchy, didn't put herself into dangerous scenarios and knew she was on to a good thing when she was developing feelings for Declan therefore, didn't screw it up!
Dec was ohmygod... absolutely divine. Unf. Not only was he a highly trained, amazingly professional Navy SEAL; but he was such a great guy. Sweet and protective and... just breathtaking, really. *sigh*
Cross' writing throws you right into the thick of the action and doesn't hold anything back. She seems to have an excellent grasp on the technical aspects of the armed forces that she writes about; and while I initially thought that would bore me, I was actually quite spellbound by it. Her writing was flawless, flawless. Even the array of secondary characters didn't throw me off at all, their interactions in the story were well-timed and perfectly delivered and I look forward to reading their stories.
I don't know what else to write. I'm kind of speechless to be honest. And my eyes are straying to my e-reader, desperate to feast on No Turning Back (Suspense Series, #3), so that's it for this review!
If you think you've read the best of romantic suspense but have yet to read Kaylea Cross, then you're kidding yourself. This was hands down one of the best (if not the best) romantic suspense I've ever read.
Thank you, thank you, thank you GR recommendations for pointing me in the direction of the first book in this series, Out Of Her League, otherwise I never would have known about Kaylea Cross.
I loved the H/h in this book. It amazed me how fabulous Bryn was - imagine an RS heroine who checked all the right boxes for me!! Smart, intelligent, didn't read into situations or overreact, wasn't bitchy, didn't put herself into dangerous scenarios and knew she was on to a good thing when she was developing feelings for Declan therefore, didn't screw it up!
Dec was ohmygod... absolutely divine. Unf. Not only was he a highly trained, amazingly professional Navy SEAL; but he was such a great guy. Sweet and protective and... just breathtaking, really. *sigh*
Cross' writing throws you right into the thick of the action and doesn't hold anything back. She seems to have an excellent grasp on the technical aspects of the armed forces that she writes about; and while I initially thought that would bore me, I was actually quite spellbound by it. Her writing was flawless, flawless. Even the array of secondary characters didn't throw me off at all, their interactions in the story were well-timed and perfectly delivered and I look forward to reading their stories.
I don't know what else to write. I'm kind of speechless to be honest. And my eyes are straying to my e-reader, desperate to feast on No Turning Back (Suspense Series, #3), so that's it for this review!
July 31, 2011
Too much stupidity and lack of logic. Too much telling, no showing. I wanted it to be over. It was tedious reading.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Way too much stupidity and illogic by both the heroine and the good guys. At one point I thought boy these SEALS are incompetent. An example of illogic: the good guys want to get into a nightclub to wait for a bad guy to show up. They know they won’t be admitted by themselves. So they want a belly dancer prostitute to perform at the club with one of them going inside with her. You’d think they would get a local prostitute to do this. But no, they ask Bryn (our heroine) to do it, but to disguise herself so the bad guy won’t recognize her. Of course something bad happens to her because the bad guy recognizes her. Later they go on a mission to attack a compound where the bad guy is staying. There was no need for Bryn to go along. All she did was yell, run when she shouldn’t have, and not follow orders. Another time Luke told Bryn to stay at someone’s home “alone” without any of the guys on his team to protect her. Luke knew he was sending her to the home of one of the leaks. Yes something bad happens to her. Why didn’t he send one of his team to protect her? He wanted all of them to help him investigate the source of the car bomb. Of course the author doesn’t show us any of the investigating activities.
Way too much telling and no showing. For example an explosion happens. It is described after-the-fact by someone thinking about what happened and saying there must have been a leak. We didn’t see the bad guys planning or doing it. We didn’t hear any conversation between the leak and the bad guys. Too many events were done this way – not enough showing. I never got into the heads of the bad guys. There were occasions where the bad guys took action against the good guys based on leaks, but we never saw any details about the leaks. In one case bad guy B realizes X gave info to the good guys, so B kills X. Then B thinks there must be a second leak, but there was no reason for him to think there were two leaks.
What was good? I liked the way the bad guy loved his horse. There were several action scenes of people running and shooting. I suppose those were ok, I just didn’t care for the reasons behind them.
STORY BRIEF:
Bryn is visiting her father who is a diplomat in Lebanon. They are kidnapped by Tehrazzi and thrown in a hole in the ground in the desert to die. They are rescued by some Navy SEALS. The father dies but Bryn survives. Tehrazzi is angry and wants Bryn dead because her escape makes him look bad. Luke works for the CIA and has been after Tehrazzi for years. He wants to use Bryn as bait to get Tehrazzi. She agrees. Dec is one of the Navy SEALS who is part of Luke’s group. Bryn and Dec are attracted to each other. Dec won’t follow his feelings for her because he needs to stay focused on the job. Bryn hurts because she wants him.
This is book 2 in the series. Various characters are introduced in one book and then have their own stories in other books in the series. In book 1 the main story is about Rayne, and we briefly meet Rayne’s friend Bryn and his father Luke. You do NOT need to read book 1 before this book.
DATA:
Story length: 337 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day mostly Syria, Lebanon, and Irag, with one scene in Oregon, U.S. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Way too much stupidity and illogic by both the heroine and the good guys. At one point I thought boy these SEALS are incompetent. An example of illogic: the good guys want to get into a nightclub to wait for a bad guy to show up. They know they won’t be admitted by themselves. So they want a belly dancer prostitute to perform at the club with one of them going inside with her. You’d think they would get a local prostitute to do this. But no, they ask Bryn (our heroine) to do it, but to disguise herself so the bad guy won’t recognize her. Of course something bad happens to her because the bad guy recognizes her. Later they go on a mission to attack a compound where the bad guy is staying. There was no need for Bryn to go along. All she did was yell, run when she shouldn’t have, and not follow orders. Another time Luke told Bryn to stay at someone’s home “alone” without any of the guys on his team to protect her. Luke knew he was sending her to the home of one of the leaks. Yes something bad happens to her. Why didn’t he send one of his team to protect her? He wanted all of them to help him investigate the source of the car bomb. Of course the author doesn’t show us any of the investigating activities.
Way too much telling and no showing. For example an explosion happens. It is described after-the-fact by someone thinking about what happened and saying there must have been a leak. We didn’t see the bad guys planning or doing it. We didn’t hear any conversation between the leak and the bad guys. Too many events were done this way – not enough showing. I never got into the heads of the bad guys. There were occasions where the bad guys took action against the good guys based on leaks, but we never saw any details about the leaks. In one case bad guy B realizes X gave info to the good guys, so B kills X. Then B thinks there must be a second leak, but there was no reason for him to think there were two leaks.
What was good? I liked the way the bad guy loved his horse. There were several action scenes of people running and shooting. I suppose those were ok, I just didn’t care for the reasons behind them.
STORY BRIEF:
Bryn is visiting her father who is a diplomat in Lebanon. They are kidnapped by Tehrazzi and thrown in a hole in the ground in the desert to die. They are rescued by some Navy SEALS. The father dies but Bryn survives. Tehrazzi is angry and wants Bryn dead because her escape makes him look bad. Luke works for the CIA and has been after Tehrazzi for years. He wants to use Bryn as bait to get Tehrazzi. She agrees. Dec is one of the Navy SEALS who is part of Luke’s group. Bryn and Dec are attracted to each other. Dec won’t follow his feelings for her because he needs to stay focused on the job. Bryn hurts because she wants him.
This is book 2 in the series. Various characters are introduced in one book and then have their own stories in other books in the series. In book 1 the main story is about Rayne, and we briefly meet Rayne’s friend Bryn and his father Luke. You do NOT need to read book 1 before this book.
DATA:
Story length: 337 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day mostly Syria, Lebanon, and Irag, with one scene in Oregon, U.S. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.
June 20, 2013
Thrilling ride from beginning to end! I little more romance would have been nice, but I still really enjoyed it. On to the next one!
May 28, 2010
IF you love military romantic suspense then you really do owe it to yourself to read this story. THIS IS MY favorite genre and I would put this story up against Melton or Brockmann any day. I can't wait to get more from her. I hope she has plans to write more around the characters that were in this one.
Declan was one seriously hot alpha male, take charge of any situation. He was solid. There is not one thing I would change about him. Bryn was an awesome female lead. Very strong physically and emotionally considering all that happens in this book.
The bad guy Tezharri was freaky scary. I can picture him out there exacting his next plot......
Again I am so glad I found Ms. Cross. I look forward to reading more and waiting for her next installment.....I have added this one to my military ops list of books to keep!
June 25, 2012
Very exciting romantic suspense. The book reminded me of Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter series.
This was one of the best military/ books I've ever read.
Keeper Shelf!
This was one of the best military/ books I've ever read.
Keeper Shelf!
January 2, 2013
W.O.W. !!!!!! Thrilling ride all the way through. And the story continues ......... Excellent
November 10, 2010
I liked this pretty well. The military actions were well done. There was a lot of action and almost all of it made sense. The villian was well done and I liked the way he was humanized by showing his love for his horse juxtaposed against his killing of anyone who got in his way.
Things that I felt held it back just a bit:
The characterization of the two main characters seemed a bit underdone. It was nothing too major but I think with more explanation of where they were coming from might have rounded them out a bit. For example, the heroine, Bryn, was half Lebanese half American. The author never explained anymore than that. You don't know if her mother was Caucasian American or Lebanese American or what. Where did her parents meet and why did they split up? How long had she been going to visit her dad during the summer months? How vested was she in being Lebanese in addition to being American? How did her ethnic background shape her?
Same basically for Declan although he was very whitebread American we don't know much about his background I'm not even sure I know what color his hair was. If it was mentioned then it was only mentioned once not enough to set it in my mind.
Also, I never really bought into why she really needed to be on the second half of the mission. It wasn't totally unnecessay but I wasn't totally sold on it either. I also didn't like the way Ben called Declan, Irish. It wasn't bad enough to be a slur. They weren't close enough for nicknames that weren't derogatory.
It was an odd choice for the heroine to be saved at the last by the other man, Luke instead of the hero, Declan. This is a romance so it makes more sense emotionally for the hero to save the heroine. Then he could get injured if need be.
All in all it was well written and I will probably go on with the series.
Things that I felt held it back just a bit:
The characterization of the two main characters seemed a bit underdone. It was nothing too major but I think with more explanation of where they were coming from might have rounded them out a bit. For example, the heroine, Bryn, was half Lebanese half American. The author never explained anymore than that. You don't know if her mother was Caucasian American or Lebanese American or what. Where did her parents meet and why did they split up? How long had she been going to visit her dad during the summer months? How vested was she in being Lebanese in addition to being American? How did her ethnic background shape her?
Same basically for Declan although he was very whitebread American we don't know much about his background I'm not even sure I know what color his hair was. If it was mentioned then it was only mentioned once not enough to set it in my mind.
Also, I never really bought into why she really needed to be on the second half of the mission. It wasn't totally unnecessay but I wasn't totally sold on it either. I also didn't like the way Ben called Declan, Irish. It wasn't bad enough to be a slur. They weren't close enough for nicknames that weren't derogatory.
It was an odd choice for the heroine to be saved at the last by the other man, Luke instead of the hero, Declan. This is a romance so it makes more sense emotionally for the hero to save the heroine. Then he could get injured if need be.
All in all it was well written and I will probably go on with the series.
May 6, 2013
I'm so into the romance-suspense-action genre right now, and this one did not disappoint!!!
The writing was SUPERB in this book. The way the background, atmosphere, internal dialogue of the characters and the flow of the story was GREAT!!!
Bryn McAllister is one kick-ass chick! The things she goes through would understandably break any woman. There's one particular scene, where she tries to that scene was so powerful and heartwrenching!!! She was a great heroine, that did not disappoint or piss me off at all!
Declan is AMAZING!!! Able to keep his cool under pressure, mature, smart, strong, lethal, gorgues! He's falling in love and handles it beautifully! He feels protective of her, doesn't want to compromise the mission or the lives of his teammates, wants to spare her a life of living with what he does for a living, the risk and danger of it all..
Their internal dialogue was: SPECTACULAR
All the secondary characters: were interesting, intriguing and gave great weight to the MC
The steam : Slightly disappointed that there weren't more steam, only two love scenes, but the emotional connection between the MC definitely made up for that!
The writing was SUPERB in this book. The way the background, atmosphere, internal dialogue of the characters and the flow of the story was GREAT!!!
Bryn McAllister is one kick-ass chick! The things she goes through would understandably break any woman. There's one particular scene, where she tries to that scene was so powerful and heartwrenching!!! She was a great heroine, that did not disappoint or piss me off at all!
Declan is AMAZING!!! Able to keep his cool under pressure, mature, smart, strong, lethal, gorgues! He's falling in love and handles it beautifully! He feels protective of her, doesn't want to compromise the mission or the lives of his teammates, wants to spare her a life of living with what he does for a living, the risk and danger of it all..
Their internal dialogue was: SPECTACULAR
All the secondary characters: were interesting, intriguing and gave great weight to the MC
The steam : Slightly disappointed that there weren't more steam, only two love scenes, but the emotional connection between the MC definitely made up for that!
January 17, 2016
Soldier then lover
Interesting how a Middle East-based fictional romantic thriller can seem dated just six years after it is published. Time and terror stops for nobody.
Danger overwhelms the love story in this action adventure. This is about a Navy SEAL who falls in love in the most unlikely place and in the most dangerous circumstance with the woman he saves. There is a lot of realism to some aspects of this novel, and then near the end it just jumped the shark with how these commandos let a civilian enter the operation. I was lukewarm about the H, but good action and pacing elevate this to four stars.
Interesting how a Middle East-based fictional romantic thriller can seem dated just six years after it is published. Time and terror stops for nobody.
Danger overwhelms the love story in this action adventure. This is about a Navy SEAL who falls in love in the most unlikely place and in the most dangerous circumstance with the woman he saves. There is a lot of realism to some aspects of this novel, and then near the end it just jumped the shark with how these commandos let a civilian enter the operation. I was lukewarm about the H, but good action and pacing elevate this to four stars.
June 2, 2017
3.5 stars
October 9, 2011
TBR Challenge 2011- October category: PNR or Romantic suspense. This book has been on my TBR list for a year.
After a strong debut novel (Out Of Her League), Kaylea Cross drops the ball with her second installment in her Suspense series. The problems with this novel are too many to list. But to name a few:
~ Too much telling, not enough showing. Let the readers connect some of the dots. We don't need to hear every thought of each character, especially when the thoughts get repetitive.
~ While the first part of the suspense plot was strong (kidnapping and rescue), what followed went from bad to ridiculous. The reader is never given a good reason for Bryn being involved, or for why Dec is there, either. (On loan from the SEALs??)
~ The character of Luke is an SOB, and his actions are reckless and unprofessional.
~ They want to use Bryn as bait, but they follow the terrorist around with her in tow. Bait means you sit and wait for the guy to come to you. Doesn't it seem like the terrorist would get a little suspicious if the woman he once kidnapped and is now trying to kill is following him around?
~
Bryn acts TSTL a few times, but truly, I can forgive her. Who wouldn't scream and run when people are trying to kill you? It's the idiots who kept dragging her into dangerous situations that needed to be smacked upside the head.
After a strong debut novel (Out Of Her League), Kaylea Cross drops the ball with her second installment in her Suspense series. The problems with this novel are too many to list. But to name a few:
~ Too much telling, not enough showing. Let the readers connect some of the dots. We don't need to hear every thought of each character, especially when the thoughts get repetitive.
~ While the first part of the suspense plot was strong (kidnapping and rescue), what followed went from bad to ridiculous. The reader is never given a good reason for Bryn being involved, or for why Dec is there, either. (On loan from the SEALs??)
~ The character of Luke is an SOB, and his actions are reckless and unprofessional.
~ They want to use Bryn as bait, but they follow the terrorist around with her in tow. Bait means you sit and wait for the guy to come to you. Doesn't it seem like the terrorist would get a little suspicious if the woman he once kidnapped and is now trying to kill is following him around?
~
Bryn acts TSTL a few times, but truly, I can forgive her. Who wouldn't scream and run when people are trying to kill you? It's the idiots who kept dragging her into dangerous situations that needed to be smacked upside the head.
March 30, 2011
This is a Very Good Suspense novel…..and will keep you turning the pages. I liked it a lot….but I personally prefer a story with a stronger (steamier) romantic plot. For those that like action and good chemistry between the H/h (and don’t care about the heat) you will love this book.
November 27, 2016
==>Re-read November 27, 2016
==>Read January 17, 2014
------------------------
I Liked.
Story full of action and I really recommend the whole series!
==>Read January 17, 2014
------------------------
I Liked.
Story full of action and I really recommend the whole series!
September 7, 2011
*4.5 Stars*
Another really good book in this series! Although it is very different from the first book. This is a military fighting terrorists while the first was cop vs. bad guy - same type of energy, just a different setting. There were some things that I felt weren't finished to my satisfaction, but I suppose they will be handled down the road as this is a series. I would have liked more romance, but because the story was so good I was able to over look that. I hated
I look forward to reading the other guys' stories even more now! (Yes, I had to look to see who the following books are about!)
Another really good book in this series! Although it is very different from the first book. This is a military fighting terrorists while the first was cop vs. bad guy - same type of energy, just a different setting. There were some things that I felt weren't finished to my satisfaction, but I suppose they will be handled down the road as this is a series. I would have liked more romance, but because the story was so good I was able to over look that. I hated
I look forward to reading the other guys' stories even more now! (Yes, I had to look to see who the following books are about!)
February 6, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed the action and suspense aspects of the story and liked the central characters, Bryn and Dec, individually. But I must say that I didn’t much care for their romance. There were several times that I felt their inner dialogues (when they were lusting after one another) were a bit repetitive, not only from Bryn and Dec, but from Luke as a third party looking in as well. And the second love scene just felt a little out of place to me, but that could just be because I was still hyped up from all the action.
I didn’t feel that balance of the romance and suspense, but I think it did a great job in setting the scene for the rest of the series – introducing the key players, setting the scenes, setting the tone. I’m intrigued, so it’s on to book 3, No Turning Back, for me!
I didn’t feel that balance of the romance and suspense, but I think it did a great job in setting the scene for the rest of the series – introducing the key players, setting the scenes, setting the tone. I’m intrigued, so it’s on to book 3, No Turning Back, for me!
February 26, 2011
I have never been a military story fan before and this one is my first. And can't say that I would enjoy reading another one. The whole book was backgrounded around Middle East where the war with terrorists was going on. And Kaylea Cross described the grim and dangerous surrounding straight out.
I loved the burning chemistry pull between Declan and Bryn. Declan being the white knight that he was, had to suppress his attraction to her so that he won't be distracted in order to do his job. His job being to keep Bryn safe and alive.
I was intrigued by Ben and Samara's tangle, but don't think that I could stomach much of the combat scenario that would definitely be in the next book. [image error]
I loved the burning chemistry pull between Declan and Bryn. Declan being the white knight that he was, had to suppress his attraction to her so that he won't be distracted in order to do his job. His job being to keep Bryn safe and alive.
I was intrigued by Ben and Samara's tangle, but don't think that I could stomach much of the combat scenario that would definitely be in the next book. [image error]
June 1, 2014
3.25 STAR read. This book had potential but rated so high on the bull shit scale I couldn't get into the story. The CIA nor military would ever need a civilian kidnap victim in order to take down an extremist terrorist. If you can swallow that, this one may be enjoyable. I would definitely read more in the series, this story line just didn't work great for me.
September 26, 2024
I have nothing to add to the wonderful review of Baba, my thoughts entirely:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 12, 2018
Suspense? Where?
Are the CIA agents really that pathetic? I can not believe it. What is a civilian, recently rescued from a kidnapping in which her father has been killed, doing on a secret mission to catch a dangerous terrorist?
The story begins fairly well with fast-paced action but, once Luke goes on stage the plot takes a look increasingly improbable and laughable and full of nonsense.
On the other hand the love story between Bryn and Declan is so predictable that it has no emotion at all.
Just a bare pass.
Are the CIA agents really that pathetic? I can not believe it. What is a civilian, recently rescued from a kidnapping in which her father has been killed, doing on a secret mission to catch a dangerous terrorist?
The story begins fairly well with fast-paced action but, once Luke goes on stage the plot takes a look increasingly improbable and laughable and full of nonsense.
On the other hand the love story between Bryn and Declan is so predictable that it has no emotion at all.
Just a bare pass.
March 27, 2017
The second book of this series is a sort of first book because, I discovered, from now on the main characters are military people working with the main character of the first book's father (oh my, this sentence is really complicated ;) ).
Infact the nice policeman of the first book had a father, an estranged father, working in military operations. So in this second book I found the KC I knew. Terrorists, bombing, soldiers and so on. As usual a great heroine, really strong, who is in danger for most of the book and who replies to the enemy with a great heart.
Infact the nice policeman of the first book had a father, an estranged father, working in military operations. So in this second book I found the KC I knew. Terrorists, bombing, soldiers and so on. As usual a great heroine, really strong, who is in danger for most of the book and who replies to the enemy with a great heart.
April 16, 2018
This book was so good. There was a ton of action and a sweet romance. This book grabbed me from page one. By the end there things were still up in the air. Where is Sam? What is happening with Luke? I'm hoping that Ben has the next book. I need to check.
November 18, 2012
Cover Of Darkness has a hot SEAL guy with golden, tawny eyes (why is it that in every romance novel since Twilight the guys have "golden" eyes?) We have a heroine who is educated and a supposed black belt in Karate. To spice things up we have a terrorist trying to kill her. The book had all the ingredients that could have made it an exciting and riveting read. So, was it?
Let me tell you why.
There's a golden rule in writing that everyone knows about (or should, anyway): "Show, don't tell."
"Cover Of Darkness" ignored this principle.
We are constantly told how strong, handsome, beautiful, resourceful, spunky, thoughtful, etc. the characters are, but we are not shown the evidence of this through the characters' actions. We are told of suspicions, but we don't get to see the suspicious character behave in such a way. And when they do show it, it's done in such a way you'd have to be extraordinarily unobservant not to notice. We are told our main heroine receives grueling training, but we are not shown it, etc. This becomes annoying very quickly.
There are POV's from various characters in this book and while this should help the reader to get inside their heads, it only comes across as an opportunity for the author to enforce her own opinion of the characters on the reader.
Take for example the POV from Dec, the main guy in the book, a SEAL at that. He's so impressed with our main heroine, he can't shut up about it throughout the book (in his monologue of course, we don't actually hear him say the things he thinks.) Bryn for her part can't shut up about how intelligent, gorgeous, etc. Dec is. In short, in order to learn about the characters' personalities and what makes them tick, we have to read another character's POV where they describe their object of infatuation in detail, instead of observing the characters themselves. Because of this, there's barely any real dynamic, just the one we're told.
It basically goes like this:
[main heroine Bryn says something bland] --> [main hero Dec thinks: Oh my god, what a courageous, intense, beautiful little unicorn! She's the strongest woman I've ever known! <3 <3 <3!!!]
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Even if a character makes a very witty/intelligent/whatever comment, I don't need someone to point that out, I can decide for myself, thank you.
Another problem the book has is buildup between the main couple. They basically love each other right from the start. Heck, Dec already starts his complimenting monologue when just being presented a pretty picture and a file with some basic stats. He's supposed to be the best of the best, so it seems out of character of him to be so affected by a picture and a name of a person he doesn't know.
There's more stuff like that. Too much, actually. The plans the professionally trained people come up with aren't all that bright. In fact, they're downright ridiculous. This team of highly trained professionals use the main heroine as bait to lure out the terrorist. But instead of setting up in an environment they can control, they let the terrorist decide and follow him around. And then, when they do whisk her out, they try to disguise her! I mean, what's the point in that? Of course the disguise doesn't work and our main character almost gets killed. But even when things heat up you never feel like you're there. It's like listening to someone recounting a story rather than seeing it unfold in front of your eyes.
In short, a rather dull read for a suspenseful romance novel.
Let me tell you why.
There's a golden rule in writing that everyone knows about (or should, anyway): "Show, don't tell."
"Cover Of Darkness" ignored this principle.
We are constantly told how strong, handsome, beautiful, resourceful, spunky, thoughtful, etc. the characters are, but we are not shown the evidence of this through the characters' actions. We are told of suspicions, but we don't get to see the suspicious character behave in such a way. And when they do show it, it's done in such a way you'd have to be extraordinarily unobservant not to notice. We are told our main heroine receives grueling training, but we are not shown it, etc. This becomes annoying very quickly.
There are POV's from various characters in this book and while this should help the reader to get inside their heads, it only comes across as an opportunity for the author to enforce her own opinion of the characters on the reader.
Take for example the POV from Dec, the main guy in the book, a SEAL at that. He's so impressed with our main heroine, he can't shut up about it throughout the book (in his monologue of course, we don't actually hear him say the things he thinks.) Bryn for her part can't shut up about how intelligent, gorgeous, etc. Dec is. In short, in order to learn about the characters' personalities and what makes them tick, we have to read another character's POV where they describe their object of infatuation in detail, instead of observing the characters themselves. Because of this, there's barely any real dynamic, just the one we're told.
It basically goes like this:
[main heroine Bryn says something bland] --> [main hero Dec thinks: Oh my god, what a courageous, intense, beautiful little unicorn! She's the strongest woman I've ever known! <3 <3 <3!!!]
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Even if a character makes a very witty/intelligent/whatever comment, I don't need someone to point that out, I can decide for myself, thank you.
Another problem the book has is buildup between the main couple. They basically love each other right from the start. Heck, Dec already starts his complimenting monologue when just being presented a pretty picture and a file with some basic stats. He's supposed to be the best of the best, so it seems out of character of him to be so affected by a picture and a name of a person he doesn't know.
There's more stuff like that. Too much, actually. The plans the professionally trained people come up with aren't all that bright. In fact, they're downright ridiculous. This team of highly trained professionals use the main heroine as bait to lure out the terrorist. But instead of setting up in an environment they can control, they let the terrorist decide and follow him around. And then, when they do whisk her out, they try to disguise her! I mean, what's the point in that? Of course the disguise doesn't work and our main character almost gets killed. But even when things heat up you never feel like you're there. It's like listening to someone recounting a story rather than seeing it unfold in front of your eyes.
In short, a rather dull read for a suspenseful romance novel.
March 15, 2024
COVER OF DARKNESS was action packed and I loved every second of the suspense story that Kaylea Cross has created. I'm a sucker for books where one character rescues the other from a deadly situation so I loved the setup for Bryn and Dec. We also had a truly creepy villain who believes he's doing the right thing for his people even if it means killing others. And as an added cherry on top of the suspense sundae, the story dives deeper into Luke Hutchinson's past with his ex-wife Emily and I am very intrigued!
While I loved the suspense side of the story, I found the romance to be average and this is the biggest reason behind my rating. I'm not sure I believed how quickly Bryn and Dec fell in love. Bryn's feelings in particular are revealed very quickly and it came across more as her being attached to Dec because he saved her life. I fully believe they would have fallen in love eventually but it all just happened a little too fast under extremely stressful circumstances.
That being said, I loved Bryn and Dec as characters; they're both loyal people who have dedicated their lives to helping others. Bryn struggles after her kidnapping but she never gives up on herself or on the team she's now working with. She might not be trained to handle the dangerous situation she's in but that doesn't stop her from giving it her all every time. Dec is the perfect protective hero who is immediately pulled in by Bryn's vulnerability and his desire to protect her from harm. As they work together, he comes to admire her strength and grit and while he still strives to protect her he also trusts that she can pull her weight.
This series has quickly sucked me in and I can't wait to see what happens next!
Content Warning: On page death of a parent and an animal
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Favorite Quotes:
"It’s just you and me here, Bryn. It’s okay if you let go. I'll hold you together."
While I loved the suspense side of the story, I found the romance to be average and this is the biggest reason behind my rating. I'm not sure I believed how quickly Bryn and Dec fell in love. Bryn's feelings in particular are revealed very quickly and it came across more as her being attached to Dec because he saved her life. I fully believe they would have fallen in love eventually but it all just happened a little too fast under extremely stressful circumstances.
That being said, I loved Bryn and Dec as characters; they're both loyal people who have dedicated their lives to helping others. Bryn struggles after her kidnapping but she never gives up on herself or on the team she's now working with. She might not be trained to handle the dangerous situation she's in but that doesn't stop her from giving it her all every time. Dec is the perfect protective hero who is immediately pulled in by Bryn's vulnerability and his desire to protect her from harm. As they work together, he comes to admire her strength and grit and while he still strives to protect her he also trusts that she can pull her weight.
This series has quickly sucked me in and I can't wait to see what happens next!
Content Warning: On page death of a parent and an animal
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Favorite Quotes:
"It’s just you and me here, Bryn. It’s okay if you let go. I'll hold you together."
July 24, 2013
I really wanted to love the hell out of this.
I mean what was not to love? Smoking hot alpha male Navy SEAL hero rescues heroine from the brink of death in a Middle East shithole only to fall in love with her? Sadly it wasn't meant to be. At least not for me.
Let me explain: I'm former US Navy, a military brat, my brother in law is US Army...I come from a long line of military history and tradition. I've been around it my entire life. So that being said, I know without a shadow of a doubt that they aren't going to get an untrained, emotionally compromised, just got over being kidnapped and tortured heroine take part in a terrorist takedown, being used as bait. They just aren't. Sorry.
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Now Dec I liked. He is portrayed as a strong man who takes no shit. He doesn't let his feelings for Bryn compromise the mission. He gets in her face when she does something stupid. Yes, he struggles with that and his feelings, but he doesn't turn into the wimpy "I'll do anything for you baby" hero we so often see in romantic suspense. (THIS is the guy I so wanted to see in Forged in Steele and didn't get.)
Bryn was just an idiot. There were two instances I really wanted to tell Dec "Just walk away man. You don't need someone that stupid in your life." I really wish the author had written a heroine who was a little less TSTL and a little more take-no-prisoners.
2.5 stars
I mean what was not to love? Smoking hot alpha male Navy SEAL hero rescues heroine from the brink of death in a Middle East shithole only to fall in love with her? Sadly it wasn't meant to be. At least not for me.
Let me explain: I'm former US Navy, a military brat, my brother in law is US Army...I come from a long line of military history and tradition. I've been around it my entire life. So that being said, I know without a shadow of a doubt that they aren't going to get an untrained, emotionally compromised, just got over being kidnapped and tortured heroine take part in a terrorist takedown, being used as bait. They just aren't. Sorry.
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"/>Now Dec I liked. He is portrayed as a strong man who takes no shit. He doesn't let his feelings for Bryn compromise the mission. He gets in her face when she does something stupid. Yes, he struggles with that and his feelings, but he doesn't turn into the wimpy "I'll do anything for you baby" hero we so often see in romantic suspense. (THIS is the guy I so wanted to see in Forged in Steele and didn't get.)
Bryn was just an idiot. There were two instances I really wanted to tell Dec "Just walk away man. You don't need someone that stupid in your life." I really wish the author had written a heroine who was a little less TSTL and a little more take-no-prisoners.
2.5 stars
June 10, 2011
Wow, this book was so different from the last, but just as good! This ain't your grandma's romantic suspense here...the whole thing takes place in the Middle East, on the trail of a terrorist intent on causing as much damage as possible to the infidels.
When Bryn and her father are attacked and taken hostage in Beirut, they are rescued by Declan and his SEALs team. From then on, she feels a connection with him, and though he tries hard to stay objective and away from her, there's no denying the feelings between them. From the first page, this book was nonstop action and intensity.
There are some really fantastic secondary characters introduced here, especially yummy twins Ben and Rhys, who star in the next two books. Luke Hutchinson is back in this book, and he really almost made me hate him with his single-minded focus on catching the killer he "created". I did not like the way he deliberately put Bryn in harm's way over and over again. The way he treats his "ex" wife is appalling, and while I know there is a future book about their reconciliation, I'm not sure I could forgive him for all that's happened.
Looking forward to Ben's book and finding out what happened with Sam....I am not usually a fan of the storyline where one person has doubts about the other, but I have faith in this author that she can make me love it!
When Bryn and her father are attacked and taken hostage in Beirut, they are rescued by Declan and his SEALs team. From then on, she feels a connection with him, and though he tries hard to stay objective and away from her, there's no denying the feelings between them. From the first page, this book was nonstop action and intensity.
There are some really fantastic secondary characters introduced here, especially yummy twins Ben and Rhys, who star in the next two books. Luke Hutchinson is back in this book, and he really almost made me hate him with his single-minded focus on catching the killer he "created". I did not like the way he deliberately put Bryn in harm's way over and over again. The way he treats his "ex" wife is appalling, and while I know there is a future book about their reconciliation, I'm not sure I could forgive him for all that's happened.
Looking forward to Ben's book and finding out what happened with Sam....I am not usually a fan of the storyline where one person has doubts about the other, but I have faith in this author that she can make me love it!
January 28, 2013
I really enjoyed this book.
Cover of Darkness is an action packed story. The story is set in the Middle-East (Lebanon and Iraq) and one of the things I really liked about this book is that Kaylea Cross has managed to make these places alive.
I loved the main heroes but also, unlike in the first book, how she developed the various secondary characters who actually will be the heroes of the next volumes as well as the bad guy.
I liked the way KC describes the evolution of Bryn's and Declan's feelings. And even though they aren't many, the steamy parts are well written.
The action parts were well written too. However, I found several points in the plot that didn't make sense for me at all.
Luke asks Bryn to act as bait. I'm OK with that. But then
That said, I'll definitely continue with the series.
October 22, 2011
3.5/5.0
As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't nudge this story to a 4 star. The believability factor was just to great to overcome.
Consider the premise: A young civilian woman is caught in a terrorist bombing, kidnapped, then recovered by U.S. Navy SEALs. Despite her complete lack of training or experience, she is asked to join the special ops team to help capture the man responsible for her abduction. While posing as a belly dancer/prostitute, she is allowed to be taken into a room with the terrorists and left to wing it. Later, she follows the team into battles, bombings and again, is dropped of by herself ( NO back-up whatsoever) with a suspected terrorist traitor. Now, does this sound like anything even remotely realistic... really????? Either the author believes our military stupid to the point of insane or believes the reader to be so.
IF (and that's a very big if) one can overlook that HUGE glitch, the book is very good. It is exciting, enlightening and incorporates everything a great romantic suspense should.
As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't nudge this story to a 4 star. The believability factor was just to great to overcome.
Consider the premise: A young civilian woman is caught in a terrorist bombing, kidnapped, then recovered by U.S. Navy SEALs. Despite her complete lack of training or experience, she is asked to join the special ops team to help capture the man responsible for her abduction. While posing as a belly dancer/prostitute, she is allowed to be taken into a room with the terrorists and left to wing it. Later, she follows the team into battles, bombings and again, is dropped of by herself ( NO back-up whatsoever) with a suspected terrorist traitor. Now, does this sound like anything even remotely realistic... really????? Either the author believes our military stupid to the point of insane or believes the reader to be so.
IF (and that's a very big if) one can overlook that HUGE glitch, the book is very good. It is exciting, enlightening and incorporates everything a great romantic suspense should.
October 12, 2011
3.5 stars
First I want to say I did enjoy the book and the characters too BUT there were so many dumb moves made, surprisingly not by the heroine but by her protectors. I, with my limited counter terrorist knowledge (I'm a middle schoolteacher) knew that most of the decisions and mission were flat out stupid and made no sense- The good guys needed the heroine, Bryn as bait but for the missions she was sent on, there were absolutely no need for her to be there- why would she have travel through the desert to a village that was just going to get blown up my the air force? Why did she have to belly dance at a club when her handlers could have found any belly dancer or prostitute to do the job, and of course Bryn almost dies in every absurd situation.
Even with these crazy situations, I couldn't put the book down and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. I just hope that our real covert operators are wiser than the ones portrayed here, if not, God help us!
First I want to say I did enjoy the book and the characters too BUT there were so many dumb moves made, surprisingly not by the heroine but by her protectors. I, with my limited counter terrorist knowledge (I'm a middle schoolteacher) knew that most of the decisions and mission were flat out stupid and made no sense- The good guys needed the heroine, Bryn as bait but for the missions she was sent on, there were absolutely no need for her to be there- why would she have travel through the desert to a village that was just going to get blown up my the air force? Why did she have to belly dance at a club when her handlers could have found any belly dancer or prostitute to do the job, and of course Bryn almost dies in every absurd situation.
Even with these crazy situations, I couldn't put the book down and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. I just hope that our real covert operators are wiser than the ones portrayed here, if not, God help us!
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