Review: Taking Fire

Taking Fire by Cindy Gerard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What does a Mossad agent have in common with a dishonourably discharged special ops man? They have a passionate fling in a hell-hole city, Kabul. All is fair in love and war takes on a different meaning when Bobby crosses paths with the sexy Talia. Bobby knows in his gut, Talia is up to something but he ignores it to his detriment. He falls into her honey trap and precious intel Bobby is working on is blown away, literally. Bitter to be double-crossed again, Bobby will never forget or let himself be taken in again. Six years later, his reputation is restored and he is working on another undercover mission. When he meets Talia again, he is shocked and blown away again, literally.

Full disclosure, I have not read any of the previous books in this series. I think it is fine to read this one as a standalone. It was quite easy to pick up the One-Eyed Jack reference. As a military suspense, it is quite mild on the suspense. On the terrorist and military element, this book is well done. It sort of reminds me of the much loved British TV series, Strike Back. The book contains similar grittiness and a hint of desolation. This weighs upon the two characters. Talia and Bobby seem ill matched when they first meet. This second time, it is quite a shock as Talia is no longer a military agent. On top of it, she is a mother of a five year old child. Quick on the uptake, Bobby figures out just how much more in common he has with Talia.

This story shows the underbelly of hypocritical terrorists who say one thing yet do another. It also shows how young adolescent males can be manipulated into this heinous cause and become disillusioned. Ms. Gerard takes the bad parts of war and frames it from different people's perspective. It is interesting because it makes each character more human, even the villains. It also shows that war is not one sided. It especially brings to the forefront, Bobby and Talia's relationship. Their chemistry is smoking hot at first. Then it becomes strained with a sense of frenetic energy. Their relationship is not an easy one and it is nice to see how Ms. Gerard doesn't make it a forced happily ever after. It takes time for Bobby to come to a place where he can forgive Talia. It is also nice to see how Talia screwing Bobby over, isn't brushed off lightly as many romance novels tend to do. It is clear that Talia deprived Bobby and whilst it is understandable why she did it, the pain she caused is still there. It isn't expected for Bobby to "just get over it".

This story does move at a nice pace. It starts out at a trot and then moves to a full out run. By the latter part of the book, the pace evens out and slows to a nice romantic stroll. This pulls out of the reader a nice range of emotions and energy. This engaging romantic suspense is recommended to erotic readers who enjoy second chance themes.

*provided by Edelweiss