Midnight Secrets

Men of Midnight #3

by Lisa Marie Rice

Former Navy SEAL Joe Harris nearly died—twice—on a medevac helo after being blown up by an IED. He’s not moving too great these days, but if there was ever a woman designed to jump start a man’s hormones, it would be his new neighbor.

Meeting Isabel—loving Isabel—brought Joe back to life.

Isabel Delvaux came from one of America’s foremost political dynasties, until the greatest terrorist attack since 9/11 killed her entire family. She barely survived the Washington Massacre, only to become prey for rabid reporters. Fleeing to Portland and changing her name was a way out, a way to start over. The only way.

She knows she’s safe with Joe Harris. Not just because he's big and strong, not just because he's part of a security team that obliterates threats on the regular, but because he’s been to the abyss and back.

But as they help each other heal--through talk, through touch, through spectacular sex—the past comes back to play. When Isabel’s memory starts to return and a mysterious stranger sends Joe emails indicating she’s in imminent danger, he'll do anything to help her uncover the truth. Even if that truth is the most terrifying thing of all…

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Military Fiction, Contemporary, Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Friends To Lovers

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2015

About the author

Lisa Marie Rice is eternally 30 years old and will never age. She is tall and willowy and beautiful. Men drop at her feet like ripe pears. She has won every major book prize in the world. She is a black belt with advanced degrees in archaeology, nuclear physics, and Tibetan literature. She is a concert pianist. Did I mention her Nobel Prize? Of course, Lisa Marie Rice is a virtual woman and exists only at the keyboard when writing erotic romance. She disappears when the monitor winks off.

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Release Date, June, 8th, 2015
Story Rating ~ 5 Stars
Hero Rating ~ 5 Stars
Heroine Rating ~ 5 Stars
Romance Rating ~ 5 Stars
Heat Level ~ 3.75 Stars
Ending ~ 10 STARS, because 5 is NOT enough
Overall Rating ~ 5, this book amazed me Stars!

What a FANTASTIC read this was for me. I was hooked into this story from the start. The story line was very good but I have to say that the ending boosted my rating up just a bit.

The hero Joe Harris was OUTSTANDING! Yes, I fell for him, who could not? He’s a former Navy Seal that nearly died after being blown up by an IED while on a mission. He was not working due to his injuries when a beautiful, sad and beaten down woman moved in next door.

Isabel Delvaux had recently went through a life changing ordeal. Her father and her whole family, plus literally 1000’s of people were killed right before her eyes by a terrorist attack. Isabel is an empty shell, she does not remember what happened due to a serious concussion. She’s lost everything and has been verbally attacked by many. This is why she changes her name and moves away from what was once her home.

Joe has no idea who Isabel really is. He’s very attracted to her but he can tell that something horrible has happened to her. So instead of hitting on her, he goes about helping her move in next door and fixing anything that needs to be fixed. In return Isabel cooks for him and leaves him dishes of her fabulous cooking which he shares with his buddies Jacko and Metal.

With time and the support from Joe and his friends we finally see Isabel slowly coming out of her shell. Felicity, Metal’s woman who happens to be extremely smart, figures out who Isabel really is. They wait until she is ready to tell them just what she remembers which is not much. Every night she has nightmares and through these nightmares Isabel eventually remembers what happens.

Evil is still lurking around Isabel so Joe and his friends all pull together to insure that she stays safe.

Joe and Isabel were PERFECT for each other, their chemistry was undeniable. Once these two finally got together, it was blazing off the pages.

One of the things I REALLY enjoyed was the characters. I truly cared for Joe and Isabel and I loved watching them grow together, help each other. How Isabel changed during the course of this book, it truly was AMAZING!

Speaking of characters, I was SO DARN HAPPY that LRM added ALL of the characters from the previous books in this series. They all had their rolls, some more than others but I LOVED that they were included.

Near the end is when the action REALLY picks up. I was sitting straight up, my Kindle glued to my hands. Then things got even more exciting and I had my hands fisted, punching up in the air yelling YES! YES! YES! Needless to say that some of the bad guys got their comeuppance but a few key players were never found or figured out. This leave the storyline wide open for the next book in this series, Midnight Fire which should be releasing September of this year and WILL be a MUST READ for me.

In the end, we are treated to a FANTASTIC epilogue that had me grinning from ear to ear. The only thing left to say is WELL DONE LISA MARIE RICE!

*I was provided a copy from Carina Press via Netgalley in exchange for on honest review.*

[❤️ Dorsey aka Wrath Lover Reviews ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Midnight Series Loving Stars!!

Former Navy SEAL Joe is recovering from a battle injury and Isabel his pretty, shy neighbor is recovering from a tragic event that has left her completely alone, having nightmares and blocking important information in her subconscious that makes her a terrorist's target. Joe knows a broken person when he see's one and his neighbor Isabel is definitely broken. Joe strikes up a friendship and keeps an eye on her by repairing things around her house and she makes him home cooked meals as repayment.

They are attracted to each other but dance around the attraction until Joe receives an email from an anonymous person, all it says is "PROTECT ISABEL" instinctively Joe goes into very HOT and very Alpha protective mode.




Joe takes Isabel's personal protection very serious as does Metal, Jacko, Senior and (FBI Special Agent) Nick. Naturally, as with all the books in this series, things quickly heat up with Joe & Isabel, thing's get intense and very, very, HOT!! There's a lot of political suspense and naturally the loathsome villain out for Isabel.

I love that LMR always includes characters from the previous books into her current books, we get some Metal & Felicity, Jacko & Lauren, Senior, (FBI) Agent Nick, and Suzanne.

This book has everything you would expect from this series, HOT Alphas protecting their women, finding love, sizzling sex, and getting their HEA. All in all this was your typical LMR "Midnight" book and the theme remains the same, but I can't help but LOVE this series. This is absolutely a must read if your a fan of this series!

* Midnight Fire is next up (September 2015), hoping it's Nick's book...or possibly Jack's!!!



*ARC provided by Publisher to www.SweptAwayByRomance.com via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read by Miss Rice and I loving it. I can not believe I miss her books before. Midnight Secrets is suspense romance. I have to admid Miss Rice done a very good combining the romance and suspense.

Joe is just so... sexy. Hot and sexy. His character gives a new meaning to brooding hero. He rarely speak. And when he speaks, he seduces with his 1 word. I feel hot and bothered.

The plot is smart. Not too cheesy and not underwhelmed either. Perfect balance. I am so looking forward to read the other book in this series.

4 stars

[Auntee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing new to report here. LMR (wisely) sticks to what she does best: a super protective alpha hero comes to the rescue of a seemingly frail (and beautiful) heroine who somehow finds an inner strength to save herself from the evil that is stalking her. Yep, that's what 'Midnight Secrets' is all about. It may sound familiar, since LMR has done this plot over and over with a few variations, but I don't care--it works for me!:)

Joe has a hairy chest...another LMR 'specialty'...


The alpha hero here is former Navy SEAL Joe Harris, who nearly died after being blown up by an IED. I'm figuring Joe is in his early 30s, and while not exactly at his fighting weight yet of 210, I'm guessing he's pretty easy on the eyes. All we know from the kind of vague description is that he's rather lean, yet has big shoulders (and incredible hands--a LMR obsession!), and has dark hair and eyes. Anyway, Joe's been rehabbing with friend Metal O'Brien (Midnight Promises) for the past few months, waiting for the doctor's ok to start his new job with John Huntington's (Midnight Man) Portland, Oregon security company. Joe's next door waif-like neighbor is a woman who's caught his eye-- "the most beautiful woman in the world"--Isabel Lawton.

Isabel is trying to start a new life in Portland. She's moved cross country from Washington, D.C after the most horrifying/tragic experience of her life: watching her entire extended (Kennedy-esque) family gunned down in (what was thought to be) a terrorist attack-- known as the 'Washington Massacre'. (oh, but it's so much more...) Isabel is the lone survivor of her political dynasty Delvaux family (her father was about to announce his Presidential bid just before the massacre) and is eager to flee the reporters who have been hounding her. So she changes her name and goes where no one will notice her so she can put herself together (physically and emotionally) and start a new life. She doesn't count on having the help of an incredibly supportive (and hot!) next-door neighbor though...

Isabel...


Joe can see that Isabel is a shell of what she once was, and offers his support in neighborly ways (doing chores around her house, driving her places, and just looking out for her). She repays him the only way she knows how--with her fabulous cooking (she once had a highly successful food blog and had an all-about-food book in the works pre-Massacre). Joe and Isabel develop a sort of friendship. He's reluctant to make a move on the still shaky Isabel (even though he's mesmerized by her beauty) but vows to watch out for her. And then he receives an email from a mysterious source warning that Isabel is in danger...and all bets are off--Isabel will know what he's all about because no one will get close enough to harm a hair on her head!

This was a quick, easy read. Joe was a delicious hero and Isabel held her own. She went through an unspeakable tragedy and the fact that she was able to function after that...the girl was made of some strong stuff. Loved their romance--it was hot! Loved seeing most of the characters from the previous books in the series either making an appearance, or being mentioned (Metal and Felicity figure prominently). Loved how Isabel was able to stand up to the nasty villain and find her inner warrior (even though Joe had to come to the rescue) in the end. Loved the little surprise twist (saw this one coming) at the end too. *sniff* And also love that the threat to the country (but not to Isabel) is still out there, and will be dealt with in another book (yay!)--Midnight Fire.

So if you've been reading this series and enjoying it, you should like Midnight Secrets. Just don't expect anything out of the ordinary plot-wise or in the characters. This is the formula that works best for LMR's romantic suspense books, so just sit back and go with the flow. Nothing different, but still satisfying. 4 1/2 stars

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in Lisa Marie Rice's Men of Midnight series. Joe Harris is recuperating from his injuries sustained while he was a Navy SEAL. He has a neighbor that appears to be recuperating herself and he can't help but have those alpha man protective feelings for her. Isabel Lawton/Delvaux can't remember the day that her entire family was taken away from her but she lives with nightmares nevertheless. She finds comfort in cooking and finds pleasure in offering her creations to her neighbor, Joe.

I love this series. The first three books in the series were great and I liked the ones that followed but I did feel that the stories paled slightly to the original three. I wondered if maybe LMR might be slowly losing her magic touch. Well, after this book I feel that she got the touch back in full. I hated to put this down and I cried when it ended. (just kidding) Anyway, I really loved this addition. Both main characters had issues but it didn't keep them from connecting. Many of the previous characters made appearances in the story which I loved. This is a series I would highly recommend!

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm afraid LMR's writing doesn't do it for me anymore. Too much internal dialog and too many pages dedicated to the bad guys' POV, which wasn't particularly different from what I've read (and loved) in her previous books, but somehow I couldn't care less for them in this book. Go figure.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 or 4 stars for this enjoyable brain candy, set in Portland, Oregon, in winter. This series is my guilty secret, despite some problems with plotting and writing style.

‘There she goes,’ Joe Harris thought. ‘Isabel Lawton. The most beautiful woman in the world, and his next- door neighbor. And she cooked for him. Isabel Lawton, gorgeous mystery. One huge question mark. And a wounded woman. Something bad had happened to her, something she never talked about. Of course, she didn’t talk about much of anything’

It's been five years since a former SEAL and an interior designer first escaped into the night fleeing the mafia, in Midnight Man. Now, John and Suzanne's little girl is four years old, and John's security company is staffed with former SEALS. All those old familiar faces showed up in this new release, along with Nick FBI-guy from the prequel, and an incognito mystery man.

Helping Joe and Isabel take down a treasonous mass murderer, TEAM MIDNIGHT saves the day! All in a day's work. It's like reading a Fantastic Five comic book, or James Bond, but with romance. And sex. About 4 love scenes. (I would be happy with fewer.)

I like how this author includes all the latest high tech surveillance gadgets and special ops equipment. I noticed that in the previous book, too, Midnight Promises, featuring Felicty and Metal. I also liked the scene where the artist (Lauren) helped Isabel draw facts from her distorted nightmare memories. And the mystery man was a cool surprise!

Another plus is the setting. It felt real. Portland does occasionally get icy roads and I certainly recognized that bridge.

Sweet romance for Joe and Isabel, beginning with the SEAL helping his injured and shell-shocked neighbor move into her new home in Portland. Thankfully, the author didn't wax poetic about Isabel's superficial appeal, but as with all her heroines, she is amazingly beautiful and incredibly talented. (So much for plain old me!) But where Suzanne knows interior design, Allegra knows music, Lauren art and Felicity technology, Isabel knows food. She's a famous foodie. A menu maven. And a fabulous cook. Maybe some day we will get a heroine who is NOT a virtuoso in her field. A generalist. Jill of all trades.

So...while Joe takes care of her maintenance problems, she feeds him and all his poker buddies. (These guys and their girls are all likable; that's a main reason I enjoy this series.)

As with many of her heroes, the author gave Joe Harris a crummy childhood, but it was not excessively awful, as in some cases. Just a mean and neglectful father. All her heroes are hard, hot, and buff. However, unlike the ugly mug she gave to Douglas in Midnight Angel, Joe is good looking. Not a beauty-beast trope this time.

Good action scene at the end. I liked it a lot. Didn't see it coming. (But see quibbles.)

Sweet epilogue. HEAs all around. Group hug.

A few quibbles about writing style and plotting:

WRITING STYLE and FORMATTING: Rice is good with details and dialogue, but still too repetitive, even though she's improving (seriously, how many times we gotta hear that Isabel is weak and dizzy from PTSD?). She still includes too much internal dialogue, but that's been improving, too. However, a whole paragraph of apostrophes went missing! ( I dont know whats up with that, but youll find that its still readable.) Also, I wish Rice would omit the religious cussing. It's a personal thing for me. I don't mind some F-bombs when they fit. I've noticed that Rice loves that word "penumbra" and finds a way to insert it into numerous books, but that's not a quibble.

PLOTTING: I happily enjoyed this story, including the big action scenes, but there is some plot contrivance. The characters did not behave as you'd expect them to, given their training and experience. At two points in the book, TEAM MIDNIGHT acted like rookies. At another point, the villains acted like rookies. These are spoilers! The mystery man should have warned them about the special gadgets, since he knew about them. Why didn't he? And on the same tack, Team Midnight did not plan thoroughly for problems during the op — they did not brainstorm possible failures nor create a PLAN B. However, knowing what Blake had done in the Washington DC Massacre, they should have expected some surprises. Also, with numerous video cameras placed at Isabel's home and all along her street, they should have picked up on that pervert repeatedly driving by, the ex-CIA operative. Even if he changed cars, his face is the same. (But it all happened so fast, over the course of a few days. So....okay.) As for the villains, they would have used that knife on her when she started physically fighting them so fiercely.

The book concluded without a major cliffhanger, but with some loose threads and a nod to the sequel, Midnight Fire, coming in September. I'm up for the sequel, where we'll confront more of the masterminds behind this convoluted threat to America.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is #6 in a series and it is my first book to read in that series. Even though several characters make appearance here, the story is not built around that and they play a pure supporting role here. I feel no loss for having not read the previous books and that is a very good thing. I find the underlying topic of a second 9-11 event and the take over of the United States economy fascinating and timely. The book is a great romantic-suspense with a hot romance and plenty of suspense.

Isabel survived an attack that wiped out her entire family, think of the Kennedy family as a great example. Her father was announcing his candidacy for President when it happened. Over a thousand people died. Isabel survived. She moved to Portland and changed her name and tried to recover, without much success until Joe.

Joe is a former SEAL who almost lost his life and has a lot of recovering to do himself, although he has SEAL buddies for support and Isabel has no one. As both Isabel and Joe fight their way back to normal they fall for each other and Joe is determined to keep her safe, especially when strange things begin to happen.

Together they discover love and trust for each other and together they take on the task of bringing the mastermind behind the Washington Massacre to justice.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the hot hero in this book. Joe Harris will do anything to protect Isabel. The hero and heroine both have healing to do and find comfort in each other. This was pretty good and I liked the writing of this one.

[Izy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Harris is a former navy SEAL, currently recovering from his last mission which resulted in him getting blown up by an IED and multiple surgeries to fix his leg. He is also now part of the ASI which has most of his BUD/S friends and is headed by John (hero of Midnight Man) which is in Portland. That is where Joe meets Isabel, a beautiful, damaged recluse.

Isabel lawton aka Isabel Delvaux (the only Delvaux who survived) is also recovering from a soul crushing event, the Massacre of her entire family, relatives and end of how her life used to be. Isabel ended in coma and has retrograde amnesia with events that put her coma i.e her father's announcement party of him running for US president. She moves to Portland, to get a new start and to grief in peace.Now, six months later, Isabel is quite damaged, a person who no longer knows what to do with her life. She's still trying to process everything and it doesn't help that she remembers nothing of the massacre.

I liked Joe and Isabel together , Joe was really great with her and Isabel was trying to be part of the living instead of living like she had died with the rest of her family. Joe was attracted to Isabel from the first moment he saw her and for Isabel, spending time with Joe was the only moment when she felt alive and did some ogling of her own. The romance was rushed but in most romantic suspense it rather is.

The book is good fun...But...there's always a but isn't there...

Before the events mentioned below; there were some little things that slightly bugged me but I got over them, one which is namely Isabel's complete turnover from her PTSD state to her semi 'normal' state after meeting Felicity, the girl was shaking and couldn't even walk properly the afternoon before but then she's suddenly friendly with new people, is ok with them being at her house etc.I was really liking Isabel but this sudden change was just like baam in the face....

I was really enjoying this book uptil the point where the drawing of the man from Isabel's nightmare is done , it just went down hill for me from there, Isabel's whole revenge thing and getting Blake (the bad guy) to make him confess was really a stupid moment. I was literally going listen to Joe, because he only seemed the voice of reason but no one was paying him any attention. I mean c'mon, Blake is intelligent, he isn't just going to confess without making sure that no one finds out and the secret dies with Isabel. And that's what happened, Blake did something which they hadn't prepared for and could have ended a lot differently if this wasn't a romance novel. I could understand Isabel wanting revenge but the change in her personality was too much for me.

Then when we find out who the ex-CIA agent is which wasn't a shock to be honest but I was still excited but then I thought how he let his own sister do this stupid plan while he did what exactly? Especially since he knew Blake, better than all the others in the book. He still let his sister go ahead with this plan and then shows up and makes it seem like the rest of ASI were to blame, when they were clearly out of their league and maybe (no maybe about it) he should have helped them and gave them better information since he was really the one who put these events in motion.

Lastly, the epilogue, usually epilogues smooth my edges with their swoon worthy or sometimes mushy romantic moments which didn't happen in this one sadly (I was looking forward to the mushiness) because of the way Isabel reacted to Joe's plan, it again sounding like a broken record now, seemed out of character and both Isabel and Joe deserved better.

I'm still looking forward to reading the next book in the series which comes out in September of this year because LMR books are a quick fix for my romantic suspense addiction and they are usually quite good to spend an afternoon on.

[SamJ ★Needs a HEA★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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Copy received via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

★Book Basics★

Genre : - Cont Romance
Series : - 6th in the series.
Love triangle? - No
Cheating? - No
HEA? - Yes
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? - Maybe
Rating - 3 stars


★Review★

I struggled with this one, truly I did.

Maybe I am just past LMR writing and characters. Since I have read this story before.

An extremely accomplished ( be that in design, art, IT geeky stuff, music, food etc) very refined and delicate, beautiful woman, in some sort of peril.

A hero who is ex military, now part of a security group, bit rough and ready, possibly some sort of tragic back story, and should be thanking their lucky stars these oh so refined women apparently orgasm at the merest flutter of a butterfly's wings given the wham bam thank you M'am sex that seems to be all the hero is able to manage. But they are just soooooooooooooo passionate you see.



Anyway, the security guys promise to save the day, usually something goes wrong, but they manage to just pull it off.

I wish here we had had more form when Joe was helping out Isabel, built up the actual romance side of it more. And previously I Have liked how LMR gives us the baddies POV, but in the more recent books in this series, it has taken too much time away from the romance aspect of it, so it feel like, they meet, insta lust, then RELATIONSHIP. It feels like the suspense part of it, is bulked out and we get more POV form the baddie than we should to try and distract us from that fact the hero and heroine are just carbon copies of the couples from previous books in the series. And the writing is repetitive. The same things repeated again and again, as if I would have forgotten.

Argh, I do not know, I have been a fan of LMR for awhile, but maybe I am done? Burnt out. Only so many times you can read the same basic plot with a few details changed, before you burn out.

[RachelW (BamaGal) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. LMR is shaking up her formula, and taking this series in a new direction, with more suspenseful plotting. All this is good. It was great to get back in touch with the old gang. Rice even managed to shoehorn Bud into the book. The story was self contained, but left some intriguing questions about where the political plot to overthrow the government is going.

Can't wait for the next book Midnight Fire. Will probably be about 'Mystery Man'; I'm wanting to know more about Jack.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some weaknesses but I still enjoyed it. I skimmed a few parts.

Plot was not well done. This is a typical LM Rice book. I like that her alpha heroes are totally devoted to the heroine. In this book, heroine is hurting and avoiding a relationship for a while.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 5. Setting: current day Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C. Copyright: 2015. Genre: romantic suspense.

[Booklover, Indianapolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Sep) While I liked the last two books in the series (Metal and Jacko), they were a bit too pat and formulaic, with weak love scenes and...I don't know, just something missing. Midnight Secrets introduces us to Joe (did we know him before?!) and Isabel. Unlike so many of the Midnight heroines, Isabel is not exactly on the run. Instead, she's barely living in Oregon, hiding there since her entire extended family was (were?) killed in an explosion in D. C. months prior. She's been wounded (did we ever find out about the knife wound on her arm - what caused it?) and heartsick and barely functions. Her sexy neighbor Joe notices her beauty (of course) and becomes the friendly guy-next-door, always able to help out with whatever she needs. He kinda stalks her, in a non-creepy way, and plans to ask her out when he is finally all healed from almost dying in an explosion in the Middle East. He discovers she's in danger (natch)! and all of a sudden he and his buddies are taking over - getting Isabel's house protected, watching out for her, etc. Sex happens (much more frequently than in the last two books!), love happens...but wait! Turns out Isabel is in fact in danger. Turns out the explosion that wiped out her entire family was not terrorists! Turns out someone wants her alive...and someone wants her dead. There was action, there was a bit of OMG what is going to happen...who is behind this...how will they all survive which I liked a lot. The ending was not really satisfactory, since there were too many loose ends that are dangling enough for the next one or two books. It was actually a bit anti-climactic. But all in all, I really enjoyed this, felt it was more suspenseful that the last few, and as always with a LMR hero, Joe was just delicious! Not Douglas and Allegra wonderful, not even John and Suzanne, but probably 3rd in line after those two!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received for review

Yep, did it again. Started a series in the middle. I wasn't lost at all, but now I really want to read the previous books especially Metal's.

This one started out a little slow. I was bored till about 20% in, and then it picked up. Joe and Isabella are perfect for each other. There's no insta-love here, not even insta-lust. Both are physically and emotional damaged, but working through it. And then when they get together...wow. This bad guy was seriously in need of help. To destroy a whole family and a few hundred other people...sicko.

I'm guessing Nick will be next to walk down the HEA aisle. Maybe the surprise help at the end will get a book too.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 RATING-I had similar thoughts about this book as the last couple that have come out, there's just something missing compared to the earlier Midnight books. Maybe a little too much monologue versus actual interaction? Possibly the switch back and forth between the main characters and the villain is the issue? Perhaps a little of both of those issues is causing problems. What I can say that worked well in this book is the hero Joe. He reminded me so much of one of my favorite LMR hero's, Sam Cooper, from Woman on the Run. Joe's attraction and overall though process related to the heroine and his OTT attraction to her was fun to read...IDK, I liked it well enough but didn't love it. I probably wouldn't read it again, even though I did enjoy Joe. That being said, I've already pre-ordered the next in the series and am looking forward to reading it.

[Fanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Midnight Secrets es el tercer libro de la serie Men Of Midnight creada por la autora Lisa Marie Rice y narra la historia de Joe, un personaje que conocemos en los libros anteriores y Isabel, un nuevo personaje.
Al inicio estaba un poco confundida con la historia, hacia varios meses que habia leido el libro anterior ( ademas he leido varias sagas parecidas xDD ) y no recordaba todo lo necesario pero segun fui avanzando con la lectura me fue atrapando y recordando de que iba todo. Aunque este tercer libro no me gusto tanto como los dos anteriores, no lo calificaria como malo, solo que las dos historias anteriores resaltan mas.
Mis partes favoritas fueron las escenas de accion de los ultimos capitulos, es increible como la autora consigue que estes inquieta mientras lees los momentos mas trepidantes.
Tengo mucha curiosidad por la historia de Jack.

3 Estrellas!

[Vintage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Miss Rice.

Lisa Marie Rice always writes awesome, alpha and oddly gentlemanly heroes, but her heroines can be on the delicate side. Don't get me wrong, they are hardly hand wringers, but they tend to be delicate and damaged.

I am not going to get into the plot as it's been addressed, but I have to say if you want to read a story where the heroine comes alive, not for justice, but plain old fashioned eye for an eye revenge.

I wish I could give this an extra half star. It was very, very good, but not great. Joe is a great guy, the sex is human human, but it's missing that something special.

For AMAZING five stars, the original Midnight Man and number three, Midnight Angel with Senior and Allegra, top the charts. In fact, I am going to go rate them right now.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved how Joe was with Isabel, she really needed someone who was there for her. I loved that Joe did it because he was interested in her as a person, not her history. It worked that Joe was clueless about her. I loved how by being with Joe, it brought Isabel more people to be there for her. It was nice to see Isabel come back to life, to not be stuck, but to face her past. Better was that when that past came back Isabel had the right people at her back to take care of things and had learned that she was strong enough to fight back. But the best thing was that Isabel learned she didn't loose as much as she feared.

[Sabrina (Soter) Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 e 1/2

"In quel momento, però, si accorse di essere completamente inutile, perché faticava a distogliere lo sguardo dalla faccia di Isabel. Era la faccia del suo futuro.
Sarebbe invecchiato con quella donna, avrebbe avuto dei figli, una famiglia con lei, e avrebbero mangiato molto, molto bene per il resto della loro vita. Lui avrebbe lavorato per l’ASI perché erano dei grandi, ma senza la stessa dedizione riservata alla Marina. Perché il suo cuore ora apparteneva a Isabel."

Siamo arrivati tra alti e bassi (diciamo tra bassi e bassi XD) al terzo volume di questa serie, che ancora una volta si conferma assai tranquilla e scialba rispetto ai tempi d'oro della Rice (I miss you ç__ç). I difetti del protagonista sono sempre gli stessi (non mi ripeto, leggete la recensione del volume precedente XD) così come la solita protagonista bella e traumatizzata (che però, lo ammetto, alla fine tira fuori la grinta di una tigre in maniera così esasperata e inquietante da sembrare quasi finta XD) ma è sempre bello rivedere tutta la squadra al lavoro, sebbene la parte del complotto politico per me sia stata noiosa all'inverosimile....anche perché questo GRANDE COMPLOTTO non viene spiegato granché bene, e anche il cattivo (che poi era solo un piccolo pesce) fa una fine ingloriosa (cioè Joe, il nostro suddetto eroe, nemmeno lo sfiora! D:) e lascia in sospeso fino al prossimo volume (uff). Bello e commovente il colpo di scena finale sul misterioso ex agente, spero abbia una storia a lui dedicata o che si unisca al team! *ç*

[Erin Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley; this does not affect my opinion of this book or the content of my review.

I am just like an excited puppy when it comes to Lisa Marie Rice’s Midnight series, and the excitement has not died down as I stare at book 6. Just picture the excited little puppy having a full body shake and wriggle over a milk bone. Yeah, that is me when it comes to this series. There is a repeatable format that just works for me. Damaged (in some way or another) hero who is totally sweet and protectively alpha. Damaged (in some way or another) heroine with a heart of gold. Some mystery or Machiavellian scheme that needs solving and/or thwarting where they save each other or at least each save the day, and then happily ever after. Honestly, with as much serious trauma and drama as these former Special Forces security consultants have in their personal lives, it is just amazing they can be so successful financially. But it is a heck of a ride.

It probably sounds like it is repetitive, and I suppose if you read them back to back, it would be. However, the characters and the plots are all just different enough to make it fun, and it is just so energetically done, that you cannot help liking them. Plus, you have this really tight knit group of men who are like family, and they fold the women into their group seamlessly. Everybody just loves everybody, and it is happy and idyllic. Is it realistic? Absolutely not. But this is my happy time, so I suck it right up, and I certainly suggest everyone do the same.

And oh, Isabel and Joe kept me all happy wriggly in the very best ways. Yeah, Isabel is mentally/emotionally damaged, but despite the quickness it happens, you do see her healing arc. And Joe is physically damaged, but already getting better. So you see them as human, but it isn’t all about the angst. It is often about longing, fun, and sexy times. And food, all the delicious food. There is also the aforementioned Machiavellian plot, but honestly, that was so ridiculously over the top I couldn’t really take it seriously. It was just part and parcel of the whole over the top world we have here. Suspense without the angst or nerves, if you see what I mean. And even Isobel gets to kick butt. The only real niggle I have is the whole fetishization of going condom-less. It is idiotic and irks the hell out of me, and I would completely love more condom positivity from Ms. Rice.

Overall, 4 stars because it embraces what it is, and I enjoy the ride.

[Sonya Heaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Midnight Secrets is a very typical Lisa Marie Rice book, and better than the last one I read. This author has her fans because of her formula, and it’s fun, if a little bit repetitive!

Though this is the third in a series, the book also incorporates characters from the original Midnight books, which practically had a cult following a few years ago. If you’re fond of all these characters, you’ll be in heaven here. If not, you might get a little tired of catching up with all the perfect couples!

Both hero and heroine are damaged at the start of this one, both having suffered some horrible traumas, the heroine’s being a major terror attack that wiped out her family. Heroines who are alone and traumatised are one of Rice’s specialities, as are heroes who see these women and are instantly obsessed with them. Total fantasy stuff, but nobody does it better.

Rice also loves her gadgets. Her characters always have cutting-edge technology at their fingertips, and she incorporates it into her stories well.

However, for all the mentions of guns and danger, these books are mostly focused on the relationships (plural, because as I said there was a lot of catching up with past characters). Sometimes the scenes were a little heavy on the dialogue and the lengthy thoughts hero and heroine were having. And these were often repeated. If something happened, the others were always filled in on the page, so you are told the whole situation multiple times. It felt a little bit like filler to up the word count – as did the lengthy descriptions of every single item of food Isabel cooked.

I like to get an idea of what the main characters look like from early on, and unless I missed it, we weren’t given Isabel’s hair colour until the 46% mark. I wish we’d had a few more character details earlier, rather than generic handsome and beautiful!

There’s good and bad here. This series – and the original – have their devoted fans, so if you’re already converted you’ll enjoy it. If totally obsessive, fast-moving relationships and a bit of stalling in the action aren’t your thing, you might struggle a bit.


Review copy provided by NetGalley.

[Dísir · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pleasant surprise to see how the Midnight series has suddenly taken a turn into the 'larger' world that is concerned with contemporary issues; homegrown terrorism and the intricacies of (as well as the politicking within) big-name government agencies take the focus in this story about Joe and Isabel.

While I still think Joe Harris is a cookie-cutter hero (ex-military manwhore right up until his injuries, then falls completely for the heroine), I thought Isabel was quite an unusual heroine who did need someone in her life. Their transformations however midway through the book (Joe's complete recovery in 3 months and Isabel's sudden shedding of her grief that turned her from unsure invalid to fiery operative) were too much of a personality switch for me and less palatable than the welcome change in plot direction.

Over-the-top action sequences required more than a little suspension of disbelief and Lisa Marie Rice's writing is a little quirky at times, but I'm able to overlook it enough in favour of the narrative arc which, at this point, promises a few more exciting developments in the sequel.

[100sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more than this author's more recent books. This one felt like her earlier Midnight series books which was the series that made this author my favorite. The story was great and the characters were good. I didn't like Felicity in the last book and liked her even less in this one. We saw Nick and Jack in this story. Loved them and can't wait to read their books. I hope Lisa Marie Rice has gotten her groove back.

[Katie Reus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my new favorite Midnight books by LMR! Isabel was such a likeable character to start with but by the end she was amazing. I really loved her transformation! If you've enjoyed previous Midnight books you'll love this one.

[LizBookAddict]

Complimentary ARC copy kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Marie Rice is fairly well known in the erotic romance world for her suspense filled stories with interesting heroines and the ultimate in alpha male heroes. This story is the third in the Men of Midnight series (a spin off from the original Midnight series) and can easily be read as a standalone. It features the romance between Isabel and Joe. Isabel is a crushed and barely surviving woman, her entire family, heavily involved in U.S. politics having been assassinated in a terrorist attack that left her comatose and clinging to life. She's recovering one day at a time in Portland under a new name. Her neighbor Joe is a former Navy SEAL who nearly died, but has pulled himself back up by his bootstraps and is determined to get back to full health and to be a contributing man to the security company Alpha Security International (ASI) he now works for, made up of friends from his time in the service.

When Isabel moved in next door, he'd seen the pile of boxes on her lawn and gone over to lend a hand. In return, he'd found some fresh baking on his doorstep. This was their pattern, him helping her around her house, her making him wonderful homemade food but keeping him at an emotional distance--until Joe gets a mysterious email from an unknown source with the message "Protect Isabel". The thought that his beautiful, mysterious and clearly traumatized neighbor might be under threat kicks in Joe's protective instincts and he's determined to uncover the mystery. The fact that they share an explosive sexual chemistry and that Isabel is willing to trust him with her body and her life? Even better. But the clock is ticking, and as Isabel's memory of the horrible night that changed her life starts to return with Joe's help, the danger to her and to him increases. Someone wants her dead - but this time they'll have to get through Joe first.

The story is told from four main points of view - Isabel, Joe, the man responsible for the killing of her family, and his henchman whose job is to keep Isabel under surveillance. Right from the start we know who the bad guy is and what his motivations are. He's a big player in the political world so we get an inside view of the politics and shaping of American political society pre- and post-attack. I thought this was an interesting plot device, to have him known from the start and know that Isabel's memory of the event and this man's actions are going to shape the course of the story.

Isabel's character change through the course of the story is quite pronounced. Before the attack she was a thriving, friendly, vivacious woman with an incredibly popular cooking blog. After, she is a shell of a woman - suffering acute post traumatic stress disorder (understandably so), nervous, quiet, and with near daily dizzy spells and panic attacks to go along with her painful physical recovery. She has no memory of the attack itself, only the aftermath of waking up in the hospital and finding out her entire family is dead. Her initial interactions with Joe on a neighborly basis start to wake her up again to the good things in life, in particular to her love of food. Though her blog is dead, her beliefs about food and its importance in providing sustenance and pleasure have been stagnant. As the only way to really thank Joe for his help, she begins to cook again, leaving him treasures on his doorstep, and with this her love of cooking begins to re-emerge. It's her heart and soul, and doing this for him, and his friends who she knows show up for poker night and other visits is the start of mending her brokenness. As the story progresses, her association with Joe and his friends, their care and concern for her make her realize that her life is worth living and she becomes a strong and determined woman once again, not willing to let someone threaten her without a fight. I really enjoyed seeing her make this transformation back to her true self.

Joe is the epitome of the alpha male. When he returned from his last tour of duty in a coma that lasted two months, he went through four operations and four months of hellish physical rehabilitation in an effort to get back to his former physical self. Mentally, while he may suffer some mild PTSD, for the most part he's past it, recovered from the nightmares of Afghanistan and willing himself to full fitness to be a functioning member of the ASI group. As a security expert, he's had his eye on Isabel since day one, keeping track of when she goes out, who comes over (no-one) and doing as much as possible to ease her life, waiting patiently for the day that she might be on the mend and willing to tell him her story. On another man, his watchfulness of her might come across as stalkerish, but with the knowledge that he has only good intentions it doesn't feel that way. He's ultra protective, and he's decided that if she has no-one to help her, then he will be the one she can turn to. When Isabel witnesses a man watching her through her window, her screams call Joe over and from then on, things between them start to heat up. Once Isabel gives Joe the go-ahead that she's interested in a physical relationship with him, they can't keep their hands off each other.

What I really liked about Joe is that he is this handsome, strong, over protective guy, commanding in the sack and all that, but so not an alpha-hole on any level. He is perfectly willing to take it slow with Isabel, to give her the time she needs to be comfortable being intimate with him and letting her lead the sex between them, waiting for her signals and conscious of her comfort level. Outside of bed he is caring, supportive, always speaking with Isabel positively and helping her see that there is still good in the world. Their romance really worked for me on all levels.

Joe's interactions with his friends, the members of the ASI group that he works with are 100% supportive in his quest to help and protect Isabel. Conveniently of course, due to their work, they have all sorts of gadgets and technological efficiency to provide their own surveillance of Isabel's house and to try to figure out who is sending Joe the messages to protect her - and from whom she needs protection. Joe's relationship with the guys and their partners is one of strong friendship, camaraderie and lots of witty banter that made for some laughs in the middle of this sometimes tense story. They are all very accepting of Isabel and go a long way to ease her recovery. Most have been featured in other stories in the series that are definitely worth the read as well. I enjoyed how the suspense plot was set up and how it progressed. It's a bit of a cat and mouse game as each side moves a step closer to having what they want, with Isabel caught in the middle. There were some great twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

My final thoughts - super sexy scenes, a great suspense plot and strong characters. Just what I expect from this author and I enjoyed it thoroughly. 5 stars.

Note: a copy of this story was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review.

Note 2: This review appears as a blog post with a super yummy recipe for Baked Ziti in collaboration with Elisabeth Lane at Cooking up Romance : http://www.cookupromance.com/2015/09/...

[Vania Nunes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another member of ASI security company, owned by Midnight, Joe, was also a SEAL. He is still recovering from his last mission, when he was hit by a Taliban bomb. Two months in a coma, four surgeries and four months of recovery, with Metal as the main agent that would not let him rest, Joe insisted not make the payroll while he was not really working for the company. But like every SEAL, Midnight and Senior consider their brothers-in-arms as family and family takes care of one another.

Joe was already feeling much better, needing only still use a cane and no heavy lifting.
The orders were obeyed until a new neighbor seemed to be in trouble on moving day.
Moving men simply dropped the boxes and part of her furniture outside the house, very hasty to go elsewhere. When Joe saw it - and how beautiful she was - he dropped his stick and was playing the good Samaritan. From there, he was always on hand to help her.

Isabel showed up weakened. After losing her family in an attack and also spend time in the hospital, she didn't remember anything, except that she was now alone in the world. She moved to Portland to start a new life. Changed the famous surname in politics, Delvaux, to Lawton.
In gratitude for his help, Isabel cooked a huge breakfast and left at his door. Every time he helped her into something she would present him with a meal.
Over time, realizing that he was receiving friends for a poker night, she increased the amount of food for him to share with friends. Nevertheless, she continued to be an aloof person.

Joe always watched his new neighbor, as well as the perimeter on the street, since he had placed surveillance cameras around his home.
He wanted to get closer to her, but felt no opening for it.

Isabel suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had nightmares every night. It didn't help that she could have a relationship. For sure any guy would think she's crazy.
Her hobby before the tragedy was almost turning something professional. She had a culinary blog, Foodways, with over a million followers and her recipes were about to turn into a book. That's when the tragedy happened six months ago. She left everything. The cook brought relief when she woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep.

Joe's opportunity to approach finally happened when one night he heard her scream. His protecting hand swung into action and ran to her house. There she mentions that she saw someone at the window, which seemed to wear a ski mask and night vision goggles.
Meanwhile, thanks to Felicity, an expert in computer, Metal's girlfriend (Book # 5), he already knew who was Isabel.
From there he decides to watch her closely, and that was sooooooo close by. They kissed and let roll.

Isabel was immediately accepted by the ASI team like family, and cameras and motion sensors are installed around her house. But something else happens. Joe receives an email, untraceable, someone who asks: PROTECT ISABEL.
Shortly thereafter, he and his friends discover that this mysterious man is a former CIA agent and was investigating the case of Washington massacre that decimated Isabel's family, including parents, siblings, uncles and cousins. And it seems that this massacre, whose authorship had been given to some terrorist faction from the east, was in another action fact, with the help of American citizens.

The Washington massacre happened in Burrard Hotel, when Isabel's father was going to announce his candidacy for president. While no candidate there was no Secret Service protecting him, just ordinary securities. At night, with over 500 people present from her family, voters, other political support and the press, the terror began by cutting communications (phones and internet); cutting of light throughout the city and, shortly thereafter, several men shouting something about Allah in a foreign language, came out firing in the present with their AK-47. Isabel had a narrow escape, but all the trauma made her forget what had happened, band darkness didn't allow her to see well.

Elizabeth was taken to the ASI office to Lauren with the sketch of the "monster" that haunted her dreams, while Joe had a new audio conferencing with the mysterious man, with the support of another former SEAL, Nick Mancino, now FBI agent.
At the same time they receive an encrypted file showing the real culprits of the massacre, Elizabeth recognizes the likeness who was the main responsible for it in the country. And that made the fragile and frightened Isabel turns a determined woman who would do anything to make her family killer pay.

The mysterious man plan? Use Isabel as bait.
Joe almost freak out about it, but it was the best plan they had. And since it would have to be that way, he would do anything for her to get out alive and soon after, he could make her his for real ...

Another Lisa's book full of adventure and sexy.

The characters, both having gone through traumatic situations, were recovering from their trauma. Joe's was more physical, and he fought bravely to be as fast as possible on active duty. Isabel's was more emotional/psychological. She was devastated and knew it did little to help. Every day she turned over to her shell, having little or no contact with other people.

Except Joe. She admired him from a distance. She knew he was a former SEAL and he had spent a hard time, but he was taking the situation much better than her. And even wanting so much to approach him, especially when she heard happiness at poker nights, she was afraid of everything.

When he took on the responsibility of helping her, from the moment he discovered who she was and received that mysterious message, nothing would get away.
The attraction was already there and with the consent of both were soon sharing more than her food.
The increase to take back other men as well-trained as Joe, and more female company, their wives/girlfriends, something that Isabel didn't have since leaving the hospital, made her feel better. But it was to find the real perpetrator of the massacre, the "monster" who lived her nightmares, Isabel changed.
It is used as bait was exactly what she wanted and knew she would have Joe's and his friends protection.

But something can always go wrong, after all, she was not dealing with an amateur thug. Trillions of dollars were at stake; an entire nation intended to destabilize the American economy, help elect the next president and have power over him. It was not a simple robbery.
And this time, Joe has aged 10 years in a short time, but nothing could lose the woman he had come to love.

The pace of the story is great. Lots of action, romance and mystery.
Reviewing characters from previous books makes everything better.
The plot is intricate and I'm scared to say totally believable.
The Midnight group is growing, we were introduced to the next book protagonist its title, MIDNIGHT FIRE.
Impossible not to be a Lisa Marie Rice's fan.

5 STARS!!!


The Butterfly Reads Blog ~~ Book Tour

[Amarilli 73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dai, anche questo 3/3,5 - un paio d'ore di svago
Diciamo che dopo aver raggiunto il culmine con Metal/Felicity, era difficile riuscire nell'impresa.

Joe e Susan sono carini, ma si comincia a sentire la stanchezza del solito schema lei sotto falso nome (e da salvare) + lui ex-Seal con passato tormentato (e, ovviamente, con anni di CASTITA' FORZATA causa guerre/talebani/esplosioni, che lo rendono un operativo instancabile tra le lenzuola, tipo fionda con elastico trattenuto da troppo tempo...).

Devo essere sincera?
Ma che noia queste Barbie (ricche, talentuose e cerbiatte) che si ritrovano sempre con il vicino di casa superfigo e un'intera squadra di esperti con accessori fantascientifici, il cui costo di migliaia di dollari viene quindi regalato per il solito teorema "si fa uno di noi... benefit sorveglianza a vita".
Le scene d'azione ci sono e sono abbastanza credibili, anche se buttate lì sul finale, tanto per ricordare che è pur sempre un RS, non solo un erotico, dove i due quindi sudano anche per il pericolo e i nemici.
Per fortuna, sapevo che non sarebbe finita qui, essendomi letta le anteprime su Goodreads: la serie continua (puntando a sei episodi totali).
Attendo il fratello di Isabel, perchè promette bene.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Resenha em português e inglês / Review in Portuguese and English
ARC recebido da autora para resenha honesta

Blog: http://bookwhorebr.blogspot.com.br/20...

Este livro, como todos da autora, não é somente uma história de amor recheada com cenas quentes, tem muita ação, suspense e uma grande conspiração como pano de fundo.
Nosso herói, Joe Harris, é um ex SEAL que está se recuperando de uma missão em que acabou dois meses em coma, submetido à cirurgia e quatro meses de penosa reabilitação. Apesar da infância difícil, conseguiu formar uma rede de amigos muito unida e que o apoiam nos bons e maus momentos. Sempre estando lá para ele. Conhecemos alguns destes amigos nos livros anteriores da série e outros nos são apresentados neste.
Já nossa heroína, Isabel Delvaux, vem de uma família poderosa politicamente e muito rica, mas também muito unida e amorosa. O mundo dela é literalmente virado de cabeça para baixo quando se torna a única sobrevivente de um massacre onde toda a família dela é exterminada por supostos terroristas. Isabel, filha de Alex Delvaux, futuro candidato a presidência dos EUA e grande líder político, emerge de um coma com amnésia sobre os acontecimentos do dia da perda de sua família.
Isabel, agora se chamando Lawson, linda, tímida, solitária, misteriosa, ainda se recuperando dos ferimentos sofridos no atentado, se muda para uma nova cidade para recomeçar a vida longe de tudo. Quem poderia imaginar que ao se mudar ela pararia justo ao lado da casa de um SEAL bonitão que também se recupera de ferimentos! Nossa heroína foi muito sortuda, porque os inimigos da família Delvaux ainda estão à espreita e o perigo continua.
O vilão é um advogado poderoso, ex-embaixador, ex-senador, saído de três casamentos fracassados e amigo íntimo da família Delvaux, o nome dele é Hector Blake e peça chave na conspiração para tomada de poder sobre o governo e a desestabilização das instituições americanas. Ele ambiciona o poder total e o cargo de Vice Rei das Américas.
Mas como toda história escrita pela autora, nada é tão simples e existe toda uma rede por trás da conspiração e nosso vilão é a ponta do iceberg. O desenvolvimento da trama é bem interessante, mostrando a evolução do relacionamento entre os heróis, a luta para a superação do trauma e injúrias sofridas, o apoio dos amigos, a alegria de fazer aquilo que se ama e a volta por cima depois de tantas perdas sofridas.
Cada heroína da autora é única, neste livro Isabel é uma cozinheira de mão cheia e todos adoram os pratos maravilhosos preparados por ela.
Não vou entrar em detalhes para não estragar a leitura, mas temos muitas surpresas e suspense ao longo da história e é claro já ficamos na expectativa da próxima aventura da série.
Recomendadíssimo!
Foi um prazer participar deste Book Tour organizado pela Vânia Nunes do Blog "A Borboleta que lê" e agradeço a autora pela cópia recebida para resenha honesta.


------------------------
This book, like the others of the author, it's not just a love story filled with hot scenes, there's a lot of action, suspense and a big conspiracy.
Our hero, Joe Harris, is a former SEAL who's recovering from a mission in which resulted in him with two months in a coma, submitted to surgery and four months of painful rehabilitation. Despite a difficult childhood, he managed to form a close-knit network of friends and support in good times and in bad. Friends who are always there for him. We know some of these friends in the previous books in the series and others are featured in this.
Our heroine, Isabel Delvaux, comes from a politically powerful family and very rich, but also very close and loving. Her world is literally turned upside down when she becomes the sole survivor of a massacre where her whole family is wiped out by suspected terrorists. Isabel, daughter of Alex Delvaux, future candidate for Presidency of the United States and great political leader, emerges from a coma with amnesia about the events of the day of the loss of her family.
Isabel, now with the surname Lawson, beautiful, shy, solitary, mysterious, still recuperating from injuries sustained in the bombing, moves to a new town to start a new life away from it all. Who could imagine that the move she would stop right next to the home of a handsome SEAL which also recovers from injury! Our heroine was very lucky, because the enemies of Delvaux family are still on the prowl and the danger continues.
The villain is a powerful lawyer, former Ambassador, former Senator, out of three failed marriages and a close friend of the family Delvaux, his name is Hector Blake and key piece in the conspiracy for power over the Government and the destabilization of American institutions. He wants the full power and the position of Viceroy of the Americas.
But like any story written by the author, nothing is ever that simple, and there is an entire network behind the conspiracy and our villain is the tip of the iceberg. The development of the plot is very interesting, showing the evolution of the relationship between the heroes, the struggle to overcome the trauma and injuries suffered, the support of friends, the joy of doing what they love and resilience after so many losses.
Each heroine of this author has a unique feature, and in this book, Isabel is a wonderful Cook and everyone loves the magnificent meals prepared for her.
I won't go into details so as not to spoil the reading, but we have a lot of surprises and suspense throughout history and of course we've been in expectation of the next adventure of the series.
Highly recommended!
It was a pleasure to participate in this Book Tour organized by Vânia Nunes and I thank the author for the copy received for honest review.