With danger closing in, all they have is each other.
Haunted by a mission he barely survived, Delta Force operative Mace Stevens still carries a soldier’s burden. Running a small bar in upstate New York, he remains a stone-cold warrior who guards dangerous secrets and stays ready for anything. Anything except beautiful, vulnerable Paige Grayson, who shows up at his door, demanding answers about her heroic stepbrother’s death under his command.
Paige bears burdens, too. She’s plagued by demons unleashed by an older brother who committed mass murder before her eyes. But here in this snowy haven with Mace, she almost feels safe from the menacing promises of her insane sibling. As a nurse whose hands can read the deepest thoughts of anyone she touches, Paige knows that Mace needs her as desperately as she needs Mace. And when a faceless killer begins unleashing fresh terror, Mace proves just how far he will go to save the woman who means everything to him.
New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler writes what she loves to read - romantic suspense novels starring military heroes and paranormal romance novels novels starring warrior heroes, all complete with happy endings. She also writes as SE Jakes.
And because she's not busy enough, she also co-writes as Sydney Croft. She lives in New York with her husband, her kids and her crazy Weimaraner, Gus.
For more information on Stephanie, please visit www.stephanietyler.com or email her at stephanie@stephanietyler.com.
For more information on SE Jakes, please visit SEJakes.com.
For more information on Sydney, please visit www.sydneycroft.com or email Sydney at sydney@sydneycroft.com
So, this has continuing storyline from DHM(terrorist organization). The Delta team was captured and tortured, Cael aka Caleb lost his memory and is staying with Mace. Reid and Kell are off somewhere and Gray is dead.
Gray was the step-brother of Paige, who is an ER nurse. Paige has a very bad past, her brother Jeffery was a psychopath who made their family infamous when he opened fire in the school killing many people. Paige also had the gift or the curse of psychometry. She tried to warn people about her brother but no-one believed her and he took great pleasure in torturing her. So, when her past comes out again she goes to Gray's best friend Mace to hide and find out the truth about her brother's death.
Mace is not happy to see her, since he can't tell her what happened partly because he doesn't remember the specifics and also since he knows about her gifts, her past and is attracted to her. Mace had a terrible upbringing and is not the friendliest, still he lets her stay over.
Then Jeffrey comes calling. A large part of the story also deals with Caleb and his inability to remember his past and then Viv comes back.
This doesn't work well as a stand-alone. I liked it but didn't love it, somehow I never found an emotional bond between Paige and Mace and the sexy scenes also didn't pull me in that much.
Sex with Mace was both peaceful and rowdy. Off the charts hot.
Paige may have had the single most horrible childhood of any character I’ve read in a long time. Her mentally unstable, although seemingly normal on the outside, brother made her young life a living hell. He played mind games, tortured the neighborhood, killed pets and finally after trying to rape Paige, took a gun into their school and went on a killing spree. A selective killing spree, taking only the lives of Paige’s friends. Paige, having the ability to use her hands to touch others and feel all their emotions, even in some cases their intentions, their past, everything, knew that her brother was close to snapping and her warnings to their parents fell on deaf ears. After the shooting, her brother Jeffrey was sent to prison, but Paige’s life was never the same having to live with the guilt, the guilt she put on herself and the guilt the public put on her. Her life would never be the same again.
Mace is going through his own personal hell, still recovering from a mission where a teammate and friend, Gray, was killed and another friend, Caleb, was so drugged he has memory loss, and may have been too drugged to realize that he killed his own teammate. He’s returned to his family’s bar which he runs on his own during his downtime to help Caleb heal and try to make sense of the memories as they slowly come back. Mace’s own childhood was tragic as well, but those feelings he keeps bottled up tight and doesn’t let them out for anyone, until Paige comes into the picture.
With no information on her step-brother Gray’s death, she heads to the one person Gray trusted completely and shows up on Mace’s doorstep during a snowstorm. Trouble follows Paige even though she’s tried to live her life in the shadows and soon Paige, Mace and his teammates are trying to figure out who’s killing people around Paige and what exactly her locked up brother has to do with it.
As always, Stephanie Tyler gives us another tension filled story, this one with a little different feel that her other suspense books. The action was there, but it was more the guys trying to figure out who’s doing what as opposed to them heading out on missions or plotting their own attack. The attackers were coming to their home and they were staying there to defend it and protect the women.
The relationship between Mace and Paige had a nice slow build up. They had met years earlier, and Paige got a “reading” off Mace after picking up his knife and knew that while he has a dangerous edge to him, he's just so much more. He scared her at first, but she knew if Gray trusted him, then she needed to as well. The interesting piece of their relationship was her not touching him, not reading anything off him until they were both ready for that landslide of emotions. I looked so forward to that scene when she finally touched him and they were fully open to each other. It was very well written and very emotional, everything you’d want that build up to be.
She dropped her hand from his neck and reached down to give his a quick squeeze before going back to work.
A small gesture for some couples. For them, it meant everything.
Oh, Caleb, how I love you. It’s no secret that my love of side characters often competes side by side with my love of the leads, but Stephanie writes such strong supporting characters and in this case the conclusion to Caleb and Vivi’s story, they didn’t need to be compared to anyone, their own story stood on its own. My heart broke for Caleb, not being able to remember anything about his time in captivity on the mission that went horrible wrong. Memories are coming back slowly and even when Vivi shows back up in his life, the memories didn’t return with her. To watch them struggle through the awkwardness of their reunion to where they end up, it’s a tough road, but well worth it.
“Then tell me.”
“I’m remembering…but I still feel like I’m going to break apart.”
She moved to him, pulled his sweatshirt up and off, stroked her hands down his bare back. And then she let her hands roam along his chest and down to the button on his jeans before she murmured, “Go ahead, break apart. I’ll put you back together.”
Without going into any spoilers, there were a couple parts at the end that had me thinking, hmmm, both revolving around her brother. But he was completely creepy and I would ultimately put nothing past him. And as always with Stephanie’s connected series, I’m left feeling all warm and fuzzy about Mace/Paige and Caleb/Vivi but I’m left wanting more for Kell and Reid. This was a great addition to her Shadow Force series.
My Review: This novel features several characters with a LOT of emotional trauma that they are dealing with...as well as a LOT of current danger and stress. There is a lot happening in this book with these poor characters that really could use a break.
Mace & Cael are on leave from their time with the Delta forces. They have just come back from a mission where they were captured and tortured. This was the same mission where Paige's brother, Gray, was killed. Cael is dealing with amnesia from the incident and no one really knows what happened with him. They need him to get his memory back, but no one is sure if that recollection will actually turn out to be a good thing when clues start to indicate that he may have been drugged to the point where he hurt some of the team members, including the murder of Gray. Lots of prolonged stress and nightmares for all involved in this.
Then there is Paige. She grew up with an evil brother who murdered her friends in a huge school shooting when she was in high school. She has been dealing with his evil her entire life, but now he is currently in a psychiatric prison. Paige also has psychometric hands...if she touches a person or certain objects, she can read their history.
There are also several additional characters that run along the periphery of the story. Vivi, the girl that Cael loves, but doesn't remember. She has decided not to wait for him any longer so has come to him in upstate NY. There is also the additional team members of the Delta team, Kell & Reid, who all pop in and out of the story as they are also dealing with the stress from the mission that went completely wrong. Then there are Dylan & Zane (Cael's brothers) and Cam & Noah and Keagen, the bartender with the motorcycle gang past
EVERYONE at the bar is dealing with all of this...along with a string of mysterious murders, a rogue motorcycle gang, and just the daily stresses of running a bar in upstate NY in the dead of winter when most people are getting a little stir-crazy.
There is so MUCH going on in this story, that it seems like the main story would get lost in the shuffle and confusion, but Stephanie makes it work. Her stories always seem to feature sub-plots, but wow, this one had a lot. Nevertheless, the book flows really well and it doesn't seem like too much until after the book when you start to reflect on all the different aspects of the book. LOL! She pulls it off and pulls it off really well. I loved all the different characters, the different story lines, the different aspects to the suspense lines. It was all really good. Fantastic, riveting reading. Another great installment to this fantastic series.
When ER nurse Paige Grayson get's attacked at the hospital just two weeks after she is notified that her brother Gray died in combat, she seeks answers, and solace in the Catskill mountains with Mace. Her brothers teammate in the Delta Force.
Mace is battling demons of his own. Tortured for three weeks along with the rest of his team at the hands of DMH (Dead Mans Hand), he is on leave, running his bar and aiding Caleb {Cael} in restoring his memories. Memories that could either shatter their lives forever.
In the Air tonight by Stephanie Tyler is book three of her shadow force series, and I admit it's been a year since I read the first two. I did read the end of book two right before starting this one, but it only made me angry. You see, at the end of Book Two, Vivi is waiting for Caleb, and Caleb left on a mission. End book.
In this book, Caleb has no memory. He is hamming it up, bumping and grinding on women at the bar, and Mace just shakes his head, KNOWING Caleb has someone waiting for him. Someone he loves. But the doctors, and his superior officers, don't want Mace TELLING Caleb anything, they want his memories to come back on their own. I was so sad and mad and uncomfortable throughout the majority of this book.
With Tyler novel you know you are going to get mulitple points of view in the book. I knew this going in. The storylines revolve around Caleb getting his memory back and dealing with guilt and backlash. The other revolves around Paige and her pyschotic brother, who when he was in high school opened fired and killed everyone of her friends.
I'm going to interject my review here and say that I pretty much read this novel for the plot. I didn't really feel a connection between Mace and Paige, other than what Ms. Tyler TOLD me to feel. I just didn't feel it between them.
The plots were well done, and interesting. I wanted to find out what happened the night Gray died, and I wanted Caleb to get his memories back.
Why does he have two names? Cael/Caleb. I don't understand and it drives me crazy in the Shadow Force series.
I will read the next novel, because I already have it, and I hope it has more believable romance.
Another great book in the Shadow Force series.. Main characters are Mace and Paige.. Again as with a Stephanie Tyler book you have to hang on for a wild ride.. She has so many POV's going on and some with there own back story to bring into the ongoing story that continues through all the books.. This one takes place quite time after the last book.. What surprised me is Cael/Caleb and Vivi are back as a secondary romance.. I will not spill the beans on why.. We also get to see or hear about all the characters from the previous books. Looks like Kell is up next and I hope Reid after that...
Stephanie Tyler's "Shadow Force" series gets better and better. "In the Air Tonight" was everything a romantic suspense reader wants in a book. Emotionally-charged, riveting suspense, sexy, and romantic with a touch of something different in this one.
Good story, both the hero and the heroine were good people and I liked her very much. I like how ST uses always several pairings going on. It makes me more curious about their stories.
All her life the heroine has lived with the nightmare of her childhood. Her brother was an evil creature who made her fear genuinely for her life but no one would ever listen to her claims. With her power of seeing into people’s minds through touch she had a first-person perspective into the mind of a serial killer. When he did finally unleash his horror on the public by shooting 7 people in her school, she knew it was coming and the guilt over having thought she could somehow stop it has been eating her alive ever since.
Now, 13 years after the incident she is still running from everything that happened, dying her hair and hoping no one recognizes her. But her past once again comes back to haunt her as an incident at the hospital she works resurfaces her identity so, she knows she has to run. Without anywhere to go, she knows she must go to the man who both attracts and repels her. Her stepbrother said if she ever needed anything, she was to go to Mace because he'll take care of her.
Now, her stepbrother, the only person she ever felt loved her wholeheartedly, has been killed on a secret mission and she's desperate for answers. Arriving in the bar in the middle of nowhere she comes faced to face with the man who she considers by far to be the most danger to her heart.
The hero never expected the sister of his best friend to walk into his bar that night but he knew he'd eventually have to face her. His strict code of silence keeps him from giving her the answers she wants but what's worse is the very inappropriate desires he has for a woman who should be off limits. He's obvious in his hesitation to let her stay but with the storm raging outside, she has nowhere to go. And she belongs in this run-down home for the tortured and tormented, just like he does and his combat buddies do. This place is a trap for all the evil of his childhood but something just keeps drawing him back. Now, he has to battle the desire to take the heroine beneath him. He knows of her powers and the fear of her discovering the darkness of his past manage to keep him from crossing that line. But the characters share more than just traumatic lives and guilt, they have the desire to feel alive. It's hard for either of them to trust but soon they realize just how naturally trust comes between them. The hero is the strength the heroine needs to deal with the return of her psycho brother and the heroine is the strength the hero needs to deal with the loss of his friends and the guilt over having failed them. They realize that they have a home when they're together and that no one is truly alone.
I was surprised by the tone of this book. I was expecting a suspense action novel with gun fights and bomb and the hero and heroine in the middle of chaos but it was very subdued. It was more a psychological thriller than anything and I liked that. It was mainly focused on the damaged characters and all of them were indeed damaged. The hero and heroine both share a traumatic childhood that shaped them into the suspicious and loner type people they are today. Both shared a love for Gray who brought them together before his death, leaving them both to find comfort in each other while dealing with his loss. Both struggled with guilt and the burden of wondering if anything more could have been done. But they were meant for each other because of all these similarities. I really enjoyed the care this author took into delving into the characters heartache and fears while at the same time allowing them to experience joy and laughter. The serial killer brother was super creepy and his army of followers who stalked the small-town killing people added that layer of immediate danger. There is also a broader scope of characters to this book with Caleb and his memory loss. Also, the other members of the hero's squad who all convene in the place the hero hates but needs. I liked this book despite the fact it was not what I was expecting and I do love seri
Paige Grayson works as a nurse in the ER. She has the ability to touch things and people and then she knows about their past. When Paige was a teenager she kept getting feelings about her older brother, that something was really wrong with him. She tried to tell her mother and step-father but they never belived her. The only person she trusted was her older step-brother but he was away in the army and unable to help her. Her brother was psychotic. One day he took a gun to school and held Paige as he shot each of her friends. He told her it was all her fault because she would not keep her mouth shut about him. The town blamed Paige and her parents. Things were so bad for then that they had to move. Both of Paige's parents started drinking and her mother blamed her for everything that happened. When Paige is old enough she changes her nane and her looks and heads off to college. When Paige gets word that her step-brother has been killed in action the army will not tell her when or what happened. To get the answers she will have to go to his best friend and team mate. Mace Stevens, Delta Force operative, is home from a mission that went very wrong and resulted in the death of one of his team members. Mace almost did not survive. Now he is home running his bar and trying to help his team mate, Caleb, regain his memory. Mace promised Paige's step-brother that if anything ever happened to him he would help Paige's if she ever needed it. He is not surpirised when Paige walks through the door of his bar. He is unable to tell her anything about the mission that killed her step brother.. When he finds out that some one is after her he vows to do whatever it takes to protect her.
This is the third installment of Ms Tyler's Shadow Force series. This story is full of action and not one but two romances. The first romance between Paige and Mace gives two wounded souls who find their chance at a lifetime of love. The second romance is between Vivi and Caleb, from the book Promises in the Dark. I hope Ms Tyler keeps these book coming. They are great. Ms Tyler is an auto buy for me. The next book in the series is Night Moves which will be out in September 27 2011.
I just finished the third book in Stephanie Tyler’s Shadow Force series, In the Air Tonight. Now I have to wait till October for book four’s release. That makes puppies cry. I will be in the corner with them weeping.
This may have been my favorite of the series so far. I think I loved it because it involved so many of the characters we have met in previous books, as well as a few new ones. There were updates on the “stars” we already have spent some time with, as well as a lot of development for the characters we have yet to get to know well. The updates were enough to keep me happy and the background information got me completely hooked on the characters we have yet to really get involved with.
I know I keep saying it, but Tyler’s ability to write her supporting characters in as much depth and detail wile giving them so much less page time is just amazing to me. I find myself time and time again just as invested and sometimes even more so in her secondary folks than her main.
This book primarily takes place in one location. The boys and their teams all have a Cheers like hang out / home base. At first I thought that with everything being so stationary we would miss some of the excitement and adventure that we have come to love in the previous books. There were no treks through the jungle, or sprinting across continents. Just one building where everyone gathered and trouble came to them. It could be a recipe for high drama and little else. That was really not the case.
This book was just as exciting and thrilling as a cross country escapade and just as steamy as ripping the clothes off of your Seal in the rain of a jungle, possibly even more so. The romance in this book was a little more endearing than the previous books. All of the characters involved had a lot more to work through. Tyler also added a touch of the paranormal, which I love. It wasn’t overdone, and it while it was a focal point of the book, it still remained more of the Special Ops Romance genre.
I am counting down the days till the next installment. I am not being very patient either.
Oh man I loved this one. Maybe it was because it was two stories this time and not three. Maybe because Vivi and Caleb continue their story and it is so sad and heartfelt to me. Loved Paige and Mace. This book starts out with a bang. I was left thinking that I had missed something. I mean in the first chapter I find out a character I really liked died, another has amnesia and two more were tortured . This blew me away. Without all of that though then this book wouldnt be what it is. Paige is a certain someones sister and goes to Mace to find out the detail about what happened to her brother. Paige also has a gift that she hates and for most of the book refuses to use. Let me say that Paige has another brother and hello creepy. I mean he gave me the chills. But the scary thing is that he seems sane.
This book was different that the other one. It was based at home not in the jungle. It was fast paced, lots of emotions from both couples . Lots of hot loving when it happens. I was cheering both couples on. I have to say that Vivi was strong, I would have given up at some point. Well maybe not but damn it would be hard not to.
Haunted by a mission he barely survived, Delta Force operative Mace Stevens still carries a soldier’s burden. Running a small bar in upstate New York, he remains a stone cold warrior who guards dangerous secrets and stays ready for anything. Anything except beautiful, vulnerable Paige Grayson, who shows up at his door, demanding answers about her heroic stepbrother’s death under his command.
Paige bears burdens, too. She’s plagued by demons unleashed by an older brother who committed mass murder before her eyes. But here in this snowy haven with Mace, she almost feels safe from the menacing promises of her insane sibling. As a nurse whose hands can read the deepest thoughts of anyone she touches, Paige knows Mace needs her as desperately as she needs him. And when a faceless killer begins unleashing fresh terror, Mace proves just how far he will go to save the woman who means everything to him.
Wow. A good read. I stayed up late to finish the book. Paige is haunted by a traumatic past and her brothers involvement in it. She tends to shy away from people because of her past and her gift. Mase is haunted by a mission gone wrong and the death of his best friend Gray, Paiges step brother. She shows up looking for answers and starts a bar fight. From then on its action as they try to figure out who is after Paige and Mase helps his Delta Force brother Caleb try to remember the mission that went wrong and what part he may have played in Grays death. You felt for Paige because of all she's been through and the way she fights to keep going and being strong even though she carries around this guilt for the past tragedies. And you can't help but want Caleb to remember his past and feel his frustration. Can't wait to read the other guys books!
I have to admit, when I first started reading this book, I was leery of Paige's "gift". My thoughts were, this is a romantic suspense novel, not a paranormal novel. The "gift" could have turned cheesy really quickly, but Stephanie Tyler pulled it off beautifully. I have loved each of the Shadow Force books, but I have to say, I think this is my favorite. I remember thinking a few times, holy cow this girl has been through the ringer, is there HEA that is actually going to happen? There were so many emotional scenes, and several with Caleb that actually made me cry right along with the characters. The thing I love most about these characters is the family unit they have made. I can't decide who I want to learn more about, Kell or Reid, but it is a good thing Kell is next, I think I have a crush on him.
Okay, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a really good romantic suspense novel. This story had lots of characters but it was very easy to follow. I didn't need to read the previous novels to know what was going on. The author does a good job of filling new readers in. This is Mace and Paige's story. Paige has a psycho brother who is in jail but someone seems bent on making her suffer and relive the past. Mace has promised Gray, Paige's brother, that he would take care of her even if it means opening his heart and helping to stop a killer.
Not crazy about this. It may have been too long since the last book for me. I spent too much of the book trying to remember what happened in the previous ones. I also didn't completely fall for the main H/h. Oh well. I'll still read the next one though.
Mace and Paige just heat the pages up once they get going. I cried at times when reading the story of Gray dying. Just a little emotional while reading Paige's grief over her stepbrother's death and then find out she has a crazy psychotic serial killer of a brother in prison. Lots to unpack there. (Just read the book) I was happy with how Caleb and Vivienne were reunited and finally worked out their relationship.
In the Air Tonight is the third installment in Stephanie Tyler’s Shadow Force series.
Delta Force operative Mace Stevens is recovering from a mission he barely survived and in which he lost his best friend Gray. He has returned to his childhood home to recuperate both physically and mentally, to run his pub and help his close friend Caleb Scott - Cael who is suffering amnesia recover his memories after being drugged and also held captive by the terrorist cell known as DMH.
Paige Grayson is an ER nurse with the ability of psychometry, she is able to touch a person and read their deepest thoughts; she has spent most of her life running from her past, particularly those involving her older brother Jeffrey, a psychopath who has been imprisoned for committing mass murder. After an incident at the hospital, she decides to avoid the media circus again associated to who she is related to and heads to upstate New York and to Mace in the hopes of receiving answers about the recent death of her Delta Force step-brother, Gray.
Mace isn’t thrilled to see Paige, she seeks information he isn’t able to give due to confidentiality but has been entrusted by her late brother to look out for her. He has a strong physical attraction to her but is cautious about getting involved because of her ability, allowing her to get too close may reveal too much of what he is trying to keep hidden, not only the mission and his torture but also his troubled childhood.
When a killer starts targeting those around Paige, Mace honors her brother Gray’s wishes to protect her at all costs; so when evidence comes to light that her psychotic brother may be the one who has been terrorizing her, it becomes a personal mission to put a stop to it once and for all. The antagonist was certainly able to manipulate those around him for his own purpose, he was true evil but I liked the way it all came together in the end.
I loved both Mace and Paige – they have both been through a lot and are hiding hurtful pasts, I enjoyed the dialogue between them, the chemistry and eventual trust.
I especially like seeing the reappearance of the operatives/team from previous books and we learn more about characters Kell and Reid, they both have me intrigued.
The sub-plot of Caleb Scott (Zane’s brother from Promises in the Dark) was done well, his system was pumped so full of drugs whilst held captive he can’t remember anything from his past, he is starting to remember snippets and sketches the same faces over and over again but cannot for the life of him remember the fateful mission where it is unknown whether he was the one who actually killed Gray and attempted to kill Mace. I truly felt for Cael and the emotional roller-coaster he was on, thinking he could have committed such an atrocity caused him pain and heartache, as I was turning the pages I had my hopes high that it wasn’t him responsible for his best friends death. I enjoyed the reunion between him and Vivi but wish it wasn’t clouded by pain, I was saddened by what they both had to endure but the attraction between them was undeniable.
I really enjoy Stephanie Tyler’s Shadow Force series, as always she weaves together an exciting plot with serious sensuality, all are perfectly written with non-stop action, enjoyable sub stories and wonderful romances. The heroes/heroines each have tortured pasts but the way the HEA’s are written is well done.
I am looking forward to reading the next novel in this wonderful series which features Kell Roberts.
Night Moves has a 4th October release date.
Shadow Force series in order:
1. Lie with me 2. Promises in the dark 3. In the air tonight 4. Night moves
Good book with some excellent suspense. This book starts a few months after Promises in the Dark. The Delta Force guys participated in a mission that went bad and are on temporary leave as they deal with what happened. The team was captured and tortured, and Gray was killed. Mace is staying at the bar he owns in upstate New York, along with Caleb who has lost his memory. They are taking things one day at a time while they wait for Caleb's memory to return, when Paige Grayson shows up.
Paige has had a rough life. She watched her older brother murder her friends right in front of her. She grew up to become an ER nurse and just had the husband of a patient try to kill her. The resulting media frenzy brought her past back to the present. She decides it's a good time to get away, and go ask Mace for some answers about her brother Gray's death.
Both Mace and Paige have secrets that haunt them. Mace feels guilty about not being able to save his friend or prevent the torture that caused Caleb's amnesia. He is determined to be there for Caleb as his memories return. Events from his childhood have also caused him to keep his feelings locked away. Paige is haunted by what her brother did and the feeling that she could have done something to stop him. She has a psychic ability that allows her to read someone's feelings when she touches them, and knew that her brother was up to something, but no one would believe her.
The relationship between Mace and Paige was an interesting one. They had met several years earlier when Mace was visiting with Gray. Paige had accidentally picked up a knife that belonged to him and got a sense of him that both scared and intrigued her. Mace was attracted to her even then, but as Gray's sister, the "bro-code" made her off limits. When she shows up at the bar, the heat between them is even stronger. But Mace is very wary of letting her get that close to him. I loved the slow build up of trust between them, as they are careful that Paige's hands do not touch him until they are both ready. I loved how that was shown when it happened and the effect it had on both of them.
The suspense of the story was excellent, as trouble followed Paige to Mace's. There are a couple of grisly murders, and Paige starts getting frightening messages from her imprisoned brother. The suspense builds as Paige and the guys try to figure out who is behind the murders and if they are connected to her brother. The final confrontation was intense with one character I expected and one who was a complete surprise to me. It definitely kept me glued to the book until I was all the way through.
The secondary story involving Caleb was very good. He had also been in the previous book, and seeing what he was going through in this one was heartbreaking. He had no memories of his past, just flashes of things that made him worry that while under the influence of the torture he had been the one to injure his friends. When his girlfriend from the previous book, Vivi, shows up he tries to keep her away because of it. I loved the way that she didn't give up on him, and showed him that she had confidence in his innocence. I loved seeing how their part in helping Paige also ended up helping him. We also get to see a little bit of the other members of the team, along with a lead in to the next book.
Description With danger closing in, all they have is each other.
Haunted by a mission he barely survived, Delta Force operative Mace Stevens still carries a soldier’s burden. Running a small bar in upstate New York, he remains a stone-cold warrior who guards dangerous secrets and stays ready for anything. Anything except beautiful, vulnerable Paige Grayson, who shows up at his door, demanding answers about her heroic stepbrother’s death under his command.
Paige bears burdens, too. She’s plagued by demons unleashed by an older brother who committed mass murder before her eyes. But here in this snowy haven with Mace, she almost feels safe from the menacing promises of her insane sibling. As a nurse whose hands can read the deepest thoughts of anyone she touches, Paige knows that Mace needs her as desperately as she needs Mace. And when a faceless killer begins unleashing fresh terror, Mace proves just how far he will go to save the woman who means everything to him.
My Thoughts:
I already read the first two books of the series, “Lie to Me” and “Promises in the Dark” and was addicted instantly. Just like the other two, “In the Air Tonight,” did not disappoint. Mace was such a dominant yet vulnerable character. I tend to be drawn to books with strong male heroes and Stephanie Tyler delivers. I simply could not put the book down. Page after page, moment after moment, I was spellbound. I love how she follows two to three story lines at one time. While you’re following one, you can’t wait to get back to the other. Page’s special ability adds a certain amount of unexpected flavor that was very inviting. The action feels real and exhilarating and I would certainly recommend this book to people who need to get caught up in their novels from the get go. I will caution those of you who do not like strong language, that there is language in this book. Although personally I do not use language in my own writing, it does not detract from the fabulous story that I always expect from Ms. Tyler.
Love, love, looooovvvved this book! Why hasn't someone knocked me over the head with Ms. Steph's stuff before now? I love all the military/ex-military sexy goodness written by authors like Cherry Adair, Amy Fetzer, Cindy Gerard, Lucy Monroe, JoAnn Ross, and Lisa Marie Rice/Elizabeth Jennings, but I can always fit in a few more good authors.
Paige Grayson is not having a good day...or a good life. Years ago, she failed to convince her parents that her brother was a psychopath in the making - until he mowed down her best friends in school. Now she's just survived an attack by a patient's abusive husband at the hospital where she's a nurse. So when this latest attact stirs up old publicity, Paige runs to the man her late stepbrother, Gray, had told her would take care of her.
Having survived being captured and tortured by a homegrown-gone-international terrorist cell, Mace Stephens is still recuperating from his injuries while playing minder to one of the men who didn't fare as well in captivity. Bad enough that his best friend, Gray, didn't survive, but Caleb, a fellow operative, was drugged and brainwashed by the terrorists and now has little memory of what happened. Neither of them can go back to duty while Caleb fears he was turned against his own comrades. So when Paige, his old friend's step-sister turns up on the eve of a blizzard with questions about how Gray really died, Mace's hands are full. Bad enough that she has stayed in his head in the years since they first met, she's also brought trouble...because it's not just old publicity following Paige. And when bodies start piling up, Mace and his fellow Delta Force soldiers will have to join forces to keep Paige - and themselves - alive.
This is one sexy, steamy, and dangerous thrill ride!
In the Air Tonight is the third installment of Ms. Tyler’s Shadow Force series, and it picks up a few months after the conclusion of Promises in the Dark. I was a bit confused for the first 40 pages or so of the story because I was trying to remember who was who from the last book AND I didn’t realize that time had passed since the conclusion of the second book. Prior to the start of this one, the Delta team goes on a mission that goes bad where Gray is killed and Cael walks away with amnesia (these aren’t spoilers, I just didn’t pick up on the fact that time had passed and a mission took place.)
Once I got myself straightened out (well even before) I was hooked on the story. Ms. Tyler does an excellent job of mixing action and suspense with romance. I adore that her characters are never perfect, in fact can have significant flaws, but they are always able to move past them without completely forgetting their problems or suddenly finding out everything is alright.
This book has much more of a whodunit feel to it than the first two. Someone is helping Paige’s evil brother torment her and the clues point back to Paige’s allies. Each time I thought I’d figured it out, there was a new twist in the plot.
I really enjoyed this one... It’s my favorite of the series so far. The book had a real sense of closure, even though I know more stories are coming. The story was quick-paced and high action, but full of emotions and detail.
First off, if you haven't read the prior installments in the Shadow Force Series, Lie With Me and Promises in the Dark, pick those up before you read In the Air Tonight. The events of In the Air Tonight start a few months after the end of Promises in the Dark, and in between the stories a failed mission has taken place where the Delta Force team lost one of their members. It took me a while to realize that there was a lapse in time, when I first started reading I was thinking, wait, did I miss something in the last book? When I began In the Air Tonight, I was really wondering how Stephanie Tyler was going to pull off bringing paranormal elements to the story (the heroine has psychic ability through touch) when none of the prior installments had anything of this nature. Even though I am a PNR fan, I was thinking, whoa, mid-series game change? However, after reading the book I thought the psychic element was well incorporated and did not devalue the series at all. There were a few elements of the plot I thought less believable, and I didn't think the relationship between the hero and heroine was as well developed as some of the others in the series; however, I still felt that this book was pretty solid. I will definitely continue reading the series, and am looking forward to Night Moves coming out in October.
In the Air Tonight is easily my favorite Shadow Force novel. I love everything about it; the characters, the plot and the writing style.
I actually like all the male characters in Tyler's book. They can be sensitive but at the same time tough as nails with a protective streak a mile wide, not to mention the loyal to their teammates. What's not to love about that? And Mace was no different. And I think Paige is my favorite female character of all in the series.
What makes me anticipate Tyler's novels the most is how she always includes characters from older books in the current one. I always have trouble letting them go after the book is done so I loved the little glimpses of Cam and Dylan in this book. Especially Dylan. I'm a little in love with him.
The plot was thrilling. It kept me constantly guessing what would happen next. Paige's brother made my skin crawl every time he opened his mouth. He's really creepy.
In the Air Tonight also continues Caleb and Vivi's story. With a new twist in their relationship they're trying to hold it together, at least Vivi does, but I honestly wasn't sure if they're gonna make it. Tyler is that good at keeping you guessing.
I cannot wait 'till Night Moves and I hope it won't be the last one in the Shadow Force series.