Into the Night

Rating:
Summary: Not the best but a must read if you are following the series
Review: Courtesy of A Romance Review

Into The Night, the fifth book in the Navy SEAL Saga of Suzanne Brockmann, surely promises a lot of action, laughter and excitement. Readers of the series will be happy to meet those sexy SEALs of Team sixteen again in this book. Mike and Joan's on and off romance may make you feel a bit frustrating but the love and romance of Charlotte and Vincent will surely make you forget Mike and Joan temporarily. For Sam and Mary Lou, we will need to find out what Ms Brockmann's plan with them in the next book of the series. Once again, it is highly recommended to read the series in order so you won't miss out any guys of the Team sixteen.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Continuation of her Seal Team 16 Series
Review: Ever since I read Suzanne Brockmann's The Defiant Hero, I have been a fan of hers. I relish a good read featuring strong, capable women, sexy, yet imperfect, men and a suspenseful story line. Brockmann delivers with believable characters, witty dialogue and interesting story lines.

In her Seal Team 16 series she weaves sub-plots featuring secondary characters involved in WWII into the main story. I like the way she ties the past into the current story and the sub-plot in this book is an especially poignant one.

Since her books in this series revolve around a character in Seal Team 16, characters from her previous books make appearances. For those of us who have read the previous books, it is fun to see how the previous characters and their love interests develop. Two of her characters, Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke, have had an ongoing and unresolved love affair throughout her past books and Brockmann addresses this again in this book. Sam's wife, Mary Lou, is a main character in this book and her story almost overshadows the main story between Muldoon and Da Costa. For this reason, I would suggest to anyone interested in this book, to start with a prior one in the series, which will make the story that much better.

I like Suzanne's realistic depiction of the men and women in her stories, both in their physicality and character. I enjoy reading her stories for the action, the suspense, and the spicy relationships between her lead characters: interesting, vibrant women and hunky, strong guys who have vulnerabilities and weaknesses, but who can also kick ass!

This is not the best book in the series but enjoyable none-the- less and has me anticipating the next one!

Rating:
Summary: Great book...but not her best
Review: I wish there was a 4.5 star choice.

I own all of the Troubleshooters and most of the Tall, Dark and Dangerous series and consider myself to be a die hard fan of either of Brockmann's SEAL novels. I impatiently looked forward to her new book INTO THE NIGHT, especially because I really loved Mike Muldoon as an ancillary character in her other Troubleshooters books.

As with all Troubleshooters books, there are several stories running concurrently which eventually intertwine. INTO THE NIGHT is no exception. The WWII story is lovely and well told, and I also really enjoyed getting to know Mary Lou Starett who I really didn't like prior to this book. Brockmann does a great job of creating a sympathetic character who you find yourself identifying with. Her humaness is what makes her so compelling. It also shows a new side of Sam Starett, who is my all time favorite SEAL character the author has written, and not all of that side is pleasant. Also fun is getting to see what our favorite past heroines are up to and how they deal with their husbands' scary jobs.

The primary love story, between Mike and Joan DeCosta is well written, but not as dynamic as her other stories. The build up of sexual tension is not up to Brockmann's usual par and when the two finally get together, it's almost anticlimactic, although the scene itself is unbelievably steamy.

I found myself rooting for the secondary characters more than the primary characters and have to admit to being a bit disappointed in not getting to see more interaction between Sam and Alyssa Locke, but I guess that the author is just whetting our appetites for her next outing GONE TOO FAR.

I would definitely recommend this book, however if I were recommending a Troubleshooters book to someone new to Suzanne Brockmann, I'd choose OUT OF CONTROL or THE UNSUNG HERO, which I think are even better than this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic Times Review
Review: SEAL Team 16 is preparing for a presidential visit to their home base of San Diego, CA. Lt. Mike Muldoon is assigned as the official liaison to White House staffer Joan DaCosta. Joan has the unenviable task of setting up positive press for the president's headstrong, troublesome daughter Brooke.

The minute Mike lays eyes on Joan he is attracted to her; but Joan sees him only as a handsome younger man. Under Mike's persistence, Joan finds herself weakening; however, a PR disaster with Brooke puts a large monkey wrench into the works.

Rising fears that the president's upcoming visit could increase the risk of a terrorist attack prove correct when an elaborate assassination plot is uncovered.

INTO THE NIGHT is timely, thrilling and makes for excellent reading. As with the previous books in this series, there are multiple story lines melding together to produce a complex new tale. (Dec., 480 pp., $6.99)

Rating:
Summary: A "Dog and Pony Show" Not to be Missed!
Review: This was my very first Suzanne Brockmann book, and once I started reading it, I simply couldn't put it down. I was completely enthralled with all four interwoven stories: Joan and Mike, Sam and Mary Lou, Vince and Charlotte (Joan's grandparents), and the plot regarding the "dog and pony show" for the President. The comradarie between and dedication of the members of Team Sixteen was evident throughout the novel and the dialogue between all the characters was witty and fun; so much so, that I found myself often laughing aloud, which is rare for me. I found this book to be a wonderful first-time read, and I can't wait to catch up on the rest of Team Sixteen.

Rating:
Summary: NOT EVEN ONE STAR
Review: Wow did I pick up the wrong book. The subplots were fairly decent. Mary Lou was the most compelling character in the book as she struggles to grow up, shed her excessive baggage, do the right thing and get her priorities straight. She certainly had much more compassion and caring for Donny than his own sister, Joan. The Vince/Charlotte story was a nice one but I find it most unlikely that a woman like her and in her 80s would be using such terms as "pissed off". The main storyline about Joan and Mike was absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. In actuality I skipped through pages and pages of their frivolous, uninteresting (filler)banter. Unfortunately the author chose to write in this age difference conflict. She then proceeded to paint Joan as chronologically 7 or 8 years older than Mike but with a maturity level at least 10 years younger than his 25. What's the point then? Joan is a shallow, silly, self-centered, sewer-mouthed unlikeable character. As for Mike Muldoon, I found him rather bland and unbelievable in his attraction to this woman. The book started out with about a 15 page wonderful action sequence but that was it except for a few pages at the end of the book. I got the impression there was going to be lots of SEAL action. No more Brockmann for me thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Should have been subtitled "A Soap Opera"
Review: Wow, this book has more boring page fillers than any other book that I've ever read.

The main storyline is about Seal Team 16 member Mike Muldoon and Joan DaCosta who works at the White House. Mike and Joan are thrown together when the President decides to present an award to the team at their base in San Diego. Mike is assigned to Joan as her liaison while she scopes out the base for the President's visit. Unfortunately, the the Seal Team commander is not happy about this high profile visit due to possible terrorist threats. Of course, Joan and Mike are instantly attracted to each other, but Joan has a problem with their age difference. Mike is 25 years old and Joan is 32. Mike pursues her and is basically rebuffed due to Joan's insecurity.

The reason I call this book a soap opera in my title is due to the fact that there are so many characters and storylines going on at once. There is Joan and Mike. The love/hate quadrangle of Sam, Alyssa, Max, and Mary Lou. Mary Lou and Ihbraham. Charlotte and Vince. Last, but not least, Donny who has a severe mental illness and the brother of Joan.

Whew! There is just too much going on and these storylines do not connect fluidly with each other. I'm reading about Joan and Mike one minute and the next thing I know I'm reading about someone completely different. Each storyline comes to a jarring halt every few pages. I found the WWII storyline completely superfluous. I was very irritated much of the time while reading this book.

I assumed that this book was a Suspense/Romance story, but it lacked suspense and the romance just dragged on and on between the main characters for strange and unbelievable reasons.

I will try one of SB's other books as I have read some of the reviews for "Out of Control" and "Over the Edge" and these books sound promising.

Moreover, from the reviews that I have read, Sam and Alyssa seem to appear in SB's other books and I did read the preview pages for Sam's story at the end of the book. From the pages that I read, Sam's book also seems promising. I just hope that SB does not add unnecessary characters and storylines so that it seems like a thick hardcover book. The editors should realize that the reader looks for a satisfying read and not necessarily a long read to feel that we got our money's worth.