Rogue Christmas Operation - Juno Rushdan (HI #2033 - Nov 2021)

Series: Fugitive Heroes: Topaz Unit (Book 1)

He'll sacrifice his safety…for a woman who could completely upend his Christmas.
 
After Gage Graham saves her from drowning, Hope Fischer revives, determined to learn the truth about her sister's death. All she has to do is infiltrate a mysterious closed Virginia town and discover why the attractive -- but secretive -- Gage feels compelled to help her. Can she trust him? Will he risk being discovered by his former employer, the CIA, for a woman he just met? Neither will matter if a killer succeeds.
 
Terrific book. I made the mistake of starting to read at 10:30 last night and closed the book at 3 am - I could not put it down. The story opens with a rush as someone runs Hope off the road, and her car ends up in the lake. Luckily, Gage Graham witnessed it and saved her.
 
Hope arrived in the rural Virginia county looking for answers about her sister Faith's death. Though ruled a suicide, Hope knows Faith would never take her own life and believes she was murdered. Unfortunately, she gets no cooperation from the off-the-grid and restricted community of Benediction where Faith lived and worked and has been refused entry entirely. Luckily, when Gage rescues her, he talks the gate guards into letting him take her to the town's clinic.
 
Gage knows that Hope is hiding something from him, but he has secrets, too. Though publicly returned to Benediction to care for his stepsister and nephew, he has reasons for hiding out off-the-grid. Once he finds out why Faith is there, Gage must decide whether to help her or protect himself.
 
I loved both Hope and Gage. As an international photojournalist, Hope frequently gets herself into and out of tricky situations. Determined and intelligent, she accepts Gage's help, though initially unsure if he can be trusted. Hiding from his previous employers who had sent people to kill him,  Gage hoped to have longer to prepare for his next move. Helping Hope will likely put the crosshairs back on him, but he can't deny his need to assist her in finding the truth.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Gage and Hope develop. From the moment he pulled her out of the water, there was an undeniable connection between them. Though wary at first, Hope quickly comes to trust Gage and his commitment to helping her. Hope's ingenuity and resilience add to her appeal for Gage. In the rare quiet moments, Hope and Gage take the opportunity to exchange stories and get to know each other better. I loved Gage's surprise at Hope's support and lack of judgment when he told her about his past. The danger they experience adds to the intensity of the feelings that grow between them. But when it's all over, Hope and Gage must decide if their future lies together or apart.
 
The suspense of the story kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end. The way that Hope kept getting stonewalled made it evident that something fishy was going on. Hope's presence at the clinic created quite a stir, adding to her certainty that they were hiding something. Gage agreed with her and, when he witnessed her escape from the clinic, promised to help her. The intensity built from one action to the next as Hope and Gage raced to discover the truth before they could be caught. The twists and turns as each discovery led closer to the truth kept me guessing until the end. Complicating matters, a suspicious sheriff unwittingly led Gage's pursuers right to him, leading to a nail-biting confrontation. I loved how well Hope and Gage worked together.
 
Gage's escape "parachute" intrigued me, and I can't wait for the other books in the series. The series theme of why Gage and his team became targets looks like an intriguing storyline and I look forward to learning more. 

 

The Bookstore on the Beach - Brenda Novak (Mira - Apr 2021)

How do you start a new chapter when you haven't closed the book on the last one?
 
Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac's husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers—she still has no idea where he went or why. After being happily married for twenty years, she can't imagine moving forward without him, but for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.
 
Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort by working alongside her mother and aunt at their quaint bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a life change neither of them saw coming and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into Quinn Vanderbilt—the boy who stole her heart in high school—old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband's return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won't lead her astray.
 
This was an emotional roller-coaster of a book, a story of three generations of women at crossroads in their lives. Each woman faces a life-changing decision that will impact her and those around her. Though the combination of events stretched likelihood, I felt that each one was handled realistically.
 
Autumn, the mom, needs a break. Her husband Nick disappeared a year and a half earlier while on a business trip to Ukraine. She spent the time since then using every means at her disposal to find him but with no success. Nick's disappearance has been hard on their son Caden and daughter Taylor also. Autumn feels they need to get away from the memories at home and takes them to her hometown for the summer. Time at the beach and with their grandmother will be good for all of them. She never expected to run into her high school crush and feel the stirrings of old feelings.
 
Autumn's mom, Mary, loves having her family there for the summer, but this summer, she is on edge. A secret that haunted her for many years could hurt her family if exposed. She doesn't know whether to come clean about it or try to bury it even deeper.
 
Meanwhile, Autumn's daughter Taylor doesn't know what to do. She loves her father, and his disappearance left her feeling emotionally adrift. In an attempt to feel some emotion, Taylor did something she regrets but can't be undone. A chance to enjoy her summer appeals, but the consequences of her actions make that enjoyment problematical. A new friend both helps and complicates the turmoil Taylor feels.
 
The last central character is Quinn. After his divorce and his wife's imprisonment for attempting to kill him over imagined infidelities, he returned to his hometown. Quinn helps his parents with their restaurant as his mother battles cancer. Autumn's arrival brings some light to a dark time in his life.
 
I loved the interweaving of the storylines as the summer progressed. Each character and their problems were vividly portrayed with realistic thoughts and actions. I liked following each one as they slowly worked through their problems, knowing that their family would be there when needed. Mary broke my heart as she dealt with her past. The horror she survived and overcame was devastating and amazed me with what she accomplished. Her overprotectiveness with Autumn and the children made sense. I could feel her fear when she learned about the private investigator and her reluctance to do anything about it. There were some unexpected twists as she faced the past, but in the end, she was stronger than she knew.
 
Taylor's situation wasn't uncommon for a teenager but had some added complications. Depression over her father's disappearance led to drinking too much at a party and contributed to the mistake of sleeping with her brother's ex-best friend. Now she faces the consequences of that mistake and the potential of hurting her brother in the process. Never one to make friends easily, Taylor is surprised by how quickly she connects with a local girl, Sierra. Sierra is a bit of an outcast, rough around the edges but amazingly sensitive and supportive. It was easy to see where their friendship was headed, and I thought it was beautifully handled. Sierra's support also helped Taylor deal with the boy in question (a first-class jerk) and face her family. I loved how it worked out, though there were a few bumps along the way.
 
The most significant part of the story belonged to Autumn and Quinn. They saw each other for the first time since high school on Autumn's first day in town. Her memories of that high school encounter still embarrass her, but Quinn tries to put her at ease. She intrigues and attracts him, but her wariness forces him to be patient. Autumn is exhausted, mentally and physically, from long months of uncertainty. She doesn't know if she's still married or a widow, whether she should keep searching or let go and move on. The more time Autumn spends with Quinn, the more she realizes the differences in her feelings for him and her feelings for Nick. Quinn is a nice guy, patient, and kind, but also determined to show Autumn how much she means to him. Autumn's internal battle with herself was hard-fought, but she couldn't deny how he made her feel. I liked watching her slowly let go of her fears and open herself to the possibilities. Not everything was sunshine and roses, as various family issues added to Autumn's stress. Quinn has some great scenes with the kids, a couple of which have the potential for disaster. There was a bit of a hiccup when Quinn confessed a secret, but that was handled quickly. I loved seeing Autumn take hold of the future with optimism while wondering if fate was done with her. The intensity of the ending had me glued to the pages until it was all over. I wish there had been an epilogue as I would like to have seen them a couple of years down the road.