A Gentleman and a Soldier

Rating:
Summary: She was supposed to hate him...
Review: Ten years ago, Susan Monroe's heart was broken by Mac Conlon, a member of a secretive and highly trained unit called Charlie Squad. She didn't realize at the time that it was a ruse, and she managed to get caught in the middle of a sting operation and was nearly killed. Now, every day she looks at herself she's reminded of that - she has a scar along her neck, and her shattered knee joint doesn't let her dance or run any longer. But when she sees the assassin once more, she knows that she has to get in contact with Charlie Squad - and she has to learn how to trust the man who had broken her heart all those years ago.

Mac hadn't wanted to break Susan's heart, but he'd been young and had followed orders as he had thought best possible. He had been ordered to get Susan far away from the site where the bust would go down. Trouble was, he hadn't figured that Susan would come charging into the middle of the sting and almost get killed. Now, the assassin was back to finish the job, and Mac had to protect Susan better this time. And even though he held himself responsible for Susan's wounds, could there possibly be another chance for them?

This book was really good, and earned a solid 5 star review in my opinion. The action starts early in the book - the assassin makes his appearance a mere four pages into the book, and he's there pretty much throughout the entire story. The action never really slowed down, either. You'll feel your heart racing as Susan and Mac manage to once again elude the assassins, but you have to wonder how long their luck will hold out.

The romantic tension starts as soon as the characters come in contact with one another, and honestly I read through this book wondering if the characters really could try again at their relationship (even though you know they will!) or if they would be unable to get past their mistakes. Mac was a great character, definitely strong but sensitive enough to become a really likeable guy. And the author definitely knew what she was writing about - enough technical detail to give you an idea of what is going on, but not enough to bore you. And what a great balance of romance and action - it was great!

This is the third book in a series of sorts about Charlie Squad. Captain Folly's book (first in the series) is called "Behind Enemy Lines" and Tex's book (second in the series; Tex is Susan's brother) is "Line of Fire" (both by Cindy Dees). I can't wait to read their books, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Charlie Squad!