Eye of the Storm
Title: Eye of the Storm
Author: Dee Davis
Copyright: 2006 (HQN); 379 pgs.
ISBN: 0-373-77163-0
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Warm
Who: Simone Cooper Sheridan and Reece Sheridan
Where: cross-country; South America
Two years ago, I read Dee Davis’s Last Chance, Inc trilogy and liked her storytelling enough to snatch up her other romantic suspense books.
Simone Cooper Sheridan is a former covert operative, part of a group attached to the CIA. After the group was disbanded, Simone adjusted to the normal life and eventually met Reece Sheridan. They fell in love and married. Reece and his brother offered Simone something she never had: a family.
Reece’s parents had died in an accident while he was serving in the Army. He gave up his military career and became a lawyer to better raise his much younger brother, Martin. They welcomed Simone into their lives and everything seemed to be going along smoothly. However, Simone’s reluctance to talk about her past causes a rift when he learns that a story — supposedly about her past — turns out to be just that, a story from a magazine. Fed up with her secrecy, he files for divorce.
You don’t come across too many romance stories were the heroine has the black ops past. It was interesting to see the roles reversed. Simone was easy to relate to because she wasn’t a super-spy. She could handle herself in any tough situation, but she still human and imperfect. She loves Reece but she can’t tell him the truth. She’s reluctant to sign the divorce, and only does so when she receives a message from her former mentor, summoning her. The children of a man Simone’s team failed to extract from South America are looking to avenge their father. Somehow, they’ve learned who the surviving members are and where to find them. Simone doesn’t want to endanger Martin or Reece. The best way to ensure their safety is to sign the papers and get out of town quickly.
Reece doesn’t want to be divorced either, but as a lawyer, he’s big on the truth. His frustration is understandable. His marriage, he feels, was based on a lie. He doesn’t really know the women he married. Even when he learns the truth about her past, it doesn’t immediately fix their problem. They are on the run from an unidentified killer who has already wounded Martin. Not the best situation to discuss relationship issues. However, the danger to Simone makes Reece realize that he does love her, regardless, and is willing to start again if they all get out of the situation alive.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. You do have to suspend belief at times, but no more than you would for an action movie of the same genre.
Started: 20 July 2009
Finished: 5 Aug 2009
Rating:
Enjoyed it!
What Others Have Said:
Dear Author
handbook
The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.
The rules are very simple: spotlight a book that begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.
This week’s letter is: D
This week pick: Dark of the Night (Dee Davis)
From the back: When she was only eight years old, Riley O’Brien survived the unimaginable: the deaths of her mother and sister. As a result she vowed never to desert her father, a brilliant young congressman whose star was on the rise. Now, twenty-one years later, after trading her dreams of a normal life for his ambitions, Riley stands by her father’s side as he makes a bid for the presidency. Growing up in the political spotlight, she has become an expert at hiding her feelings behind the surface of her regal beauty. But her defenses are about to be shattered.
- Dark of the Night
Investigative reporter Jake Mahoney resents wasting his time covering an ice princess at a presidential campaign rally. But when a car bomb throws him-literally-on top of the candidate’s daughter, Jake quickly realizes that Riley O’Brien is pure fire. No one has ever gotten under his skin like this before. Their attraction is instant, and possibly fatal, as dangerous secrets from the past explode into the present, destroying one life after another in a nightmare of blind ambition.
Comment: I let Random.org pick this week’s book since I couldn’t made up my mind. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve read several of the author’s recent books, including a book that starts with the letter “E”. I might spotlight that one next week, even if the review isn’t ready by then.
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2 Sep – Carol – Sounds like a romance I might enjoy. Thanks for spotlighting it.
2 Sep – You’re welcome. 
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2 Sep – Vicki – Sounds good, I’m putting this on my TBR list. Thanks for playing!
Exposure
3rd in the Last Chance, Inc. Trilogy
Author: Dee Davis
ISBN: 0-373-77060-X (HQN Books)
Finished: 20 July 2007
Who: Melissa Pope, CIA agent and Nigel Ferris, British intelligence
From the back: British special agent Nigel Ferris has devoted his life to avoiding relationships — until he’s called upon to help foil a terrorist plot, and comes face-to-face with the one woman who ever came close to scaling his emotional walls. Photojournalist Melissa Pope knows that people would kill for the intelligence she’s been gathering. But the man assigned by Last Chance to protect her is another kind of threat altogether.
Comments: The book was good, but my reaction to this one was different than the first two. The author spends more time with the villain in this book, and it was easier to see how to connect the dots and figure out what was going on. To me, it didn’t unfold the same way.
That being said, I’m also glad that the author varied her plots from book to book. Each of the three heroes had a different perspective going into their individual romantic relationships: Gabe fell in love for the first time; Payton was haunted by the memory of his first wife; and Nigel got a second chance with the one that got away. The core plot point, the mysteries, were also different — though the focus of all three were on the heroines.
Melissa Pope, the heroine of this book, is different from Madison and Samantha, yet still similar. She’s a CIA agent, though not black ops like the men. She’s good at what she does and happy with her career, but lately she feels she’s missing out. And, like all the others in Last Chance, she’s afraid to commit. The one thing that didn’t come up, that I thought would have been the biggest obstacle, was that he’s British intelligence and she’s American intelligence. What about conflict of interest? Apparently, it wasn’t an issue for them.
My favorite parts of the book are when the members of Last Chance are out on missions. By now, they’re an experienced team. Too bad Harrison didn’t get his own book. And I liked the epilogue.
Favorite Quotes:
“Something involving murder and mayhem, if I’m to guess. I’ve heard it’s your stock-in-trade.”
“That and matchmaking. I do seem to be rather good at that.”
— Andrew Ferris, Cullen Pulaski
Enjoyed it!
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