The Defiant Hero

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Unsung Hero....
Review: In Brockmann's second book featuring Team Sixteen, we are introduced to single mother Meg Moore who will do anything to save her kidnapped daughter and grandmother--including kidnapping at gunpoint a known terrorist. To help her through this situation, Meg asks for help from Ens. John Nillson for whom she has had feelings for in the past. Will these two be able to trust each other long enough to save Meg's daughter and grandmother?The relationship between John and Meg is very rocky troughout the book, and it's not until the very last three chapters that they finally give into their feelings. Unfortunately, the relationship between these two felt a bit unequal to me. I can understand Meg's sacrifices for her family, but in the process she constantly put John in danger. Meg's treatment of John annoyed me greatly at times. I actually found the secondary relationship between Sam and Alyssa to be better and can't wait to see what happens to them in Brockmann's next book.The flashback story in this book involving Eve, Meg's grandmother, seemed out of place as well. In The Unsung Hero the flashback was compelling and meshed really well with the rest of the story. But here, I felt that it slowed the story down and didn't leave much of an impression on me.While I felt that this wasn't as good as Ms. Brockmann's previous effort, I still found it enjoyable and well worth the time I spent reading it. I very much look forward to the next book in this series!

Rating:
Summary: Saves the Day-or is it Love?
Review: Johnny or Nils is an awesome guy, he admittedly saves her life, her daughter, and her grandmother's life. He shows an outstanding amount of love for Meg, even while she's married. It has a plot that I have never read before-go figure-and that made it all the more refreshing. I got a little confused with Alyssa and Sam but I have to buy their book to understand. He-he. Read The Defiant Hero, have some popcorn and some tissues and then tell me if you liked it. K?

Rating:
Summary: A real page-turner!
Review: Not being one to read book jackets (they give too much away), I didn't know this was the second in a series, and the large cast of SEALs confused me until the book settled down to three sub-plots with only two characters in each.

The book gave me both wonderful romance in very different shading with the sub-plots and suspenseful adventure in the main plot. Truthfully, I didn't know how it was going to turn out since I didn't know if I'd categorize this as a suspense/adventure or a romance. I grew to love all the characters -- something I rarely do -- and was wholly caught up in their situations. Very glad to see that one of the sub-plots will be dealt with in the next book, because that was one of the few disappointments with this for me, that the one sub-plot, though given a reasonable ending, didn't follow through far enough. (I also was uncomfortable with the many permutations of John Nillson's name, which confused me while he was still just one of the crowd until I caught on later.)

And may I add that the love scenes are particularly sensuously written? It's always a pleasure when a writer knows how to write a love scene well instead of the way most are written: like 1-2-3 sex primers with no soul. Definite hot-lava mojo and deep emotions going on here!

Excellent choice for reading, but be warned that you won't be able to put it down. I will certainly go back and buy the first volume and keep a lookout for the third.

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!!
Review: Suzanne Brockmann has quickly become one of my favorite authors. In the second installment of her Troubleshooters? series, the focus is on John ?Nils? Nilsson and a frantic mother, Meg Moore. Meg?s daughter and grandmother have been kidnapped by terrorists in order to force Meg to kill or kidnap a foreign diplomat.

This is my least favorite of the Troubleshooters? series. I love John Nilsson, but it took me quite a while to warm up to Meg. It was not until the very end of the book that I liked her. This is mainly because she was under duress the entire novel, but the Nils' character more than makes up for my dislike of Meg. An extra chapter or a glimmer or two of her treating Nils with the love and trust he deserved from her would have helped. Fortunately, this happens in future books (at least, it is heavily implied!).

Equally captivating was the WWII story and the beginning of the Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke saga. As many other reviewers have spoken of Alyssa and Sam, I will not delve too deeply in that direction. Their storyline continues in the next two books in this series. This was one of my favorite WWII storylines! Ralph (pronounced Rafe) was by far my favorite WWII hero, and I was as captivated by their story as I was by the rest of the novel. This book also blended the WWII storyline much better than Unsung Hero.

Suzanne Brockmann is a brilliant author and this series has quickly inserted itself in my top ten, along with the Anita Blake series, J.D. Robb?s Eve Dallas series, and Christine Feehan?s Dark series.

Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!!
Review: Suzanne Brockmann has quickly become one of my favorite authors. In the second installment of her Troubleshooters? series, the focus is on John ?Nils? Nilsson and a frantic mother, Meg Moore. Meg?s daughter and grandmother have been kidnapped by terrorists in order to force Meg to kill or kidnap a foreign diplomat.

This is my least favorite of the Troubleshooters? series. I love John Nilsson, but it took me quite a while to warm up to Meg. It was not until the very end of the book that I liked her. This is mainly because she was under duress the entire novel, but the Nils' character more than makes up for my dislike of Meg. An extra chapter or a glimmer or two of her treating Nils with the love and trust he deserved from her would have helped. Fortunately, this happens in future books (at least, it is heavily implied!).

Equally captivating was the WWII story and the beginning of the Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke saga. As many other reviewers have spoken of Alyssa and Sam, I will not delve too deeply in that direction. Their storyline continues in the next two books in this series. This was one of my favorite WWII storylines! Ralph (pronounced Rafe) was by far my favorite WWII hero, and I was as captivated by their story as I was by the rest of the novel. This book also blended the WWII storyline much better than Unsung Hero.

Suzanne Brockmann is a brilliant author and this series has quickly inserted itself in my top ten, along with the Anita Blake series, J.D. Robb?s Eve Dallas series, and Christine Feehan?s Dark series.

Rating:
Summary: Writing At The Top Of Her Form!
Review: Suzanne Brockmann is in top form with another novel featuring a hero Navy SEAL, Nils. This time the SEALS are saving a single mom, her daughter and her grandmother from terrorists. In the course of this operation, 3 love stories unfold. My favorite love story, as it was in "Unsung Hero," is her World War II story told in flashback form by the grandmother to the granddaughter while they are being held hostage. Her story even holds one of the terrorists spellbound, making him put off their executions so he can hear the tale himself. The World War II story specifically ties into the Battle of Dunkirk in which the grandmother herself played a rescue role. (Of all authors Brockmann desperately needs to write a WWII romantic novel without tying it into other time periods; this era is crying out for its own novel by her!) Almost as good though are her 2 love stories involving SEALS present day. Nils love story with the single mom, Meg, and Sam's with the FBI agent, Alyssa. This book also really moves and its plot will sweep you away right from the get go. Will the SEALS, FBI, and Meg be able to save Meg's daughter and grandmother before they are killed by the terrorists? That is the overriding question throughout. For those of you new to Brockmann, she is a big up and comer in the online romance world. It is hoped by her fans that she eventually crosses over to the non-online romance world. An appreciative nod from here to Blythe and Linda over at "Pandora's Box," which reviews romances online, for their enthusiastic endorsement of this novel right before I sat down to read it. Personally, my absolute favorite novel of Brockmann's is "Heart Throb," the love story between a leading man actor clawing his way back into Hollywood films, after drug and alcohol rehab, and the woman producer on his comeback movie. If you are going to order "Defiant Hero," do yourself a favor and toss "Heart Throb" into the order too if it is still available. My friend Ellen M maintains that if Hollywood wants to make "Heart Throb" into a movie itself, Robert Downey, Jr., was born to play the lead. I concur.

Rating:
Summary: Brockmann's forte is her subplots
Review: Suzanne Brockmann is one of those rare authors who consistently scores highly in my book because her writing has the three most important ingredients a romance novel should possess: 1.) believable dialogue, 2.) excellent characterization, and 3.) more than a touch of reality. Brockmann does her homework. She knows her story, she knows her characters and she's got one of the sharpest minds in the business when it comes to banter, emotional insight and depth, and plot development. Her skill is unparalleled.

After having said that, I must say that the romance between beefcake Nils (an amalgamation of Ben Affleck in Armageddon and Tom Cruise in Top Gun, with a dash of Michael Biehn from Navy SEALs) and Meg (eerily echoing Meg Ryan from Proof of Life) was not as interesting as the little interlude between Vanessa-Williams-with-a-bad-attitude lookalike Alyssa Locke and the blonde, bronzed demi-god Roger "Sam" Starett. Good gracious but my underwear were on fire, especially during their flashback scenes later on in the novel! The other subplot with Meg's daughter and grandmother was touching and sweet, but not as satisfying to a reader who is almost six decades removed from WWII.

The author has a lot more going for her besides her ability to engage her characters in too-real-to-believe sexual encounters. Brockmann's talent for humor catches the reader off-guard in so many places (I have one word for you: chocolate) that I think she should contemplate a side career writing romantic comedy screenplays, if she should ever be interested. The other aspect of "Defiant Hero" that impressed me was the amount of research Brockmann has obviously brought to the story, with her recreations of a Navy SEALs training run, the situation in Kazbekistan and the authentic verisimilitude of World War II Britain.

There are three major mistakes an author would have to make in order to win my emnity: anachronisms, "false facts" (author takes the concept of artistic license a wee bit too far) and redundancy in the usage of words. To my knowledge, Brockmann has never committed any of these blunders, and she is able to create strong women with common sense, male characters who are "men" and not "boys," and a story that makes you want to read more than just the "good parts" over again.

All in all, a pretty good tale with an excellent subplot, some moments of sheer comedic genius, and those little details (Nils had sweat stains in the pits of his T-shirt in one scene) that manage to make the story come to life. And why did I like it so much, besides all of that academic stuff? It made me laugh, it got me hot and the good guys won in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Brockmann dazzles with follow-up to Unsung Hero
Review: Suzanne Brockmann is the only author I know who can successfully weave three sub-plots into one novel and give each the attention it deserves. Even more impressive, she makes the reader care about each sub-plot. The book starts off with a bang when Meg Moore is informed that her daughter and grandmother have been kidnapped by Kazbekistani extremists. They want Meg to kill or bring them a K-stani terrorist in exchange for the lives of her family. Faced with impossible choices, Meg asks for help from Navy SEAL John Nilsson, a man with whom she has a complicated past. At the same time, Meg's grandmother, Eve, keeps her granddaughter, Amy, from being afraid by telling her about the first love of her life in the days before Britain's involvement in WWII. Adding spice to the mix, Brockmann reintroduces Navy SEAL Sam Starrett and once Navy now FBI agent, Alyssa Locke, two adversaries who are wildly attracted despite tremendous differences. The book is fast-paced, the dialogue is crisp and resonates with authenticity, the characters all compelling. Bring on the next one in this fantastic series, Suzanne!

Rating:
Summary: Not her best effort
Review: Suzanne Brockmann's novel, UNSUNG HEROES, was marvelous. This sequel is far more poorly conceived and developed. It is only because of Brockmann's basic writing skills that THE DEFIANT HERO deserves even three stars.

Her research is excellent, as alway. One cannot help wondering if Suzanne Brockmann herself has done high level intelligence work, so compelling are these details. And, again, her flashback sequences to World War II are fascinating. Yet even the flashbacks, I regret to say, had a more believable plot in UNSUNG HEROES.

Here, the premise strains credulity. The daughter of a U.S. diplomat is kidnapped and the diplomat turns to a Navy SEAL she had met on an earlier mission for rescue. These two people, according to an underlying premise of this novel, had fallen in love at first sight. And even in this strained situation, they cannot refrain from having wonderful sex, despite the horrible circumstance by which they are trapped. Ms. Brockmann, as always, does a wonderful job with the sex scenes.

I will await her next book with interest.

Rating:
Summary: A winning romance
Review: The hostage incident inside the Kazbekistan Embassy started with an extremist group kidnapping widow Meg Moore's seventy-five-year-old grandma Eve and her ten-year-old daughter Amy outside the Smithsonian. The terrorists demand Meg, who has access to the embassy, must kill a rival leader, Osman Razein of the Islamic Guard of Kazbekistan if she wants to see her beloved family members alive.

Knowing the seriousness of the terrorist threat, Meg captures her target and several other hostages before holing up in a bathroom. Her only demand is that Navy SEAL John Nilsson negotiates with her. Meg knows John from an incident he successfully performed when she worked in the American embassy in Kazbekistan. John is stunned when he learns about the situation inside the DC embassy because Meg is the woman he loves and he will assist her in any way possible.

DEFIANT HERO is a fast-paced action adventure novel with a touch of romance that works because the reader will realize the dilemma facing the heroine feels real. The characters make her Hobson Choice feel genuine as everyone plays their part to near perfection, which in turn provides the audience with a powerful story line. Suzanne Brockmann will garner new suspense thriller fans even as her current audience will remain faithful with this action-packed drama.

Harriet Klausner