After an explosion that should have killed her, Caradine Scott barely escaped her criminal family by leaving her old identity behind her. These days she runs the Water's Edge Café in a rugged little town on the edge of nowhere, vowing never to let anyone close to her again.
Isaac Gentry is back home after his career in the military, playing the part of an unassuming local in Grizzly Harbor, while also overseeing Alaska Force's special ops work as the leader and commanding officer he was in the Marines and beyond. He has better things to do than obsess over a woman who claims she hates him, but every glimpse he gets of the vulnerability beneath her prickly exterior is a distraction...and a challenge he can't ignore.
When Caradine's demons catch up with her, her café isn't the only thing that blows up. Her past pushes them together, and closer to a future that's been waiting for them all this time. They just have to survive long enough to enjoy it.
Available tomorrow from Berkley
The beginning of this book captured my attention and pulled me into an interesting story. I haven't read the previous books in this campaign series and that wasn't a problem. I learned about Alaska Force and the small town of Grizzly Harbor along the way. I was mostly interested in the mystery that was Caradine Scott and that kept me turning the pages.
There are a lot of alpha males in this book, Isaac being chief among them. It's clear Isaac and Caradine have or have had a relationship though it seems neither of them will admit it, even to the other. Isaac is a calm man that just gets calmer when things get bad but Caradine has him rattled. He spent 20 long minutes believing she's dead and he's not going to let her forget it. But then she ran.
Alaska Force men (and one women) are all ex-military that don't quite fit in other places. They fix problems with no solutions. Caradine has one of those problems but she isn't willing to let them fix it. It's all about who stays safe and what's chasing her. Then there's the little matter or who she actually is.
While I really liked Isaac, I wasn't a fan of Caradine. She poked at Isaac just to get a reaction and while some of that is fun she got on my nerves. Some of it was her trying to be in character because she is on the run. I get that but sometimes it's too much. Really, I was fine with her until near the end of the book when she poked him some more. It was where I drew my line. I'd had it with her. I think I stopped caring about whether she got the guy.
On the other had, I did want Isaac to get the girl. Isaac is a man with lose in his life. He has fought for everything and doesn't really know how to stop fighting. He needs to figure out if he wants to have a life with another person. It's a lesson he learns the hard way and at the hand of a lot of that poking from Caradine. That may have been my real problem. She poked him where it hurts a little too hard. I know it came from love but I just didn't appreciate it.
The story was pretty good. There was some unknowns that needed to be flushed out. I enjoyed that part of the story. Who was doing what and why. A little suspense, though really mystery. There was some action when things went south a few times. All of that was enjoyable. There was this touch of chic-lit in there about figuring what's important and what you actually want. That's the part that I didn't really enjoy. I felt like that part was too contrived. It came after the climax and felt like a delaying tactic. I guess it was so the characters could grow and develop. But it felt out of place to me. I wish that the issues that Isaac was struggling with were more integrated into the story itself and not left to the end.
Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read. I may go back and read more from this series.
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