INTO THE CROSSFIRE

Author: Lisa Marie Rice ISBN: 9780061808265 8/2010 EROTIC Publisher: HARPER COLLINS

Former Navy SEAL Sam Reston keeps to himself. His world is dangerous, uncertain, violent...and there is no room in it for the helpless and weak. Then the most beautiful woman in the world moves in next door to him . . . . Nicole Pearce's life is complicated enough—with an ailing father and a new business to worry about—and the last thing she needs is to get involved with a secretive, hard-bodied, hardheaded neighbor. Yet Sam leaves her breathless—her body tingling with erotic desire—and it takes every ounce of her fabled control to resist offering herself to him, no strings attached. What she doesn't know is that Sam Reston is on an undercover assignment . . . and she's about to step into the crossfire. Never has Sam ached for a woman so badly, and he's never fallen in love before. Now that Nicole is in grave danger, he will become her shield, and guard the tempting body he longs to touch and taste. Because a terrorist plot hatched half a world away is heading to their doorstep—and it can only be derailed by one man and one woman.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The start of her Protectors series, Lisa Marie Rice's INTO THE CROSS FIRE brings the story of ex-SEAL Sam Reston and translator Nicole Pearce.  After leaving the SEAL Teams, Sam now heads his own security firm, located in the same building as Nicole’s new business.

I thought Nicole was a great character.  The reasons behind her actions were clear, and her love for her father came through the pages easily.  I can’t say the same for Sam.  He didn’t come across as genuine to me.  I found it unbelievable that these two people fell in love over the course of the book.  Additionally, I thought the sex scenes were unfeeling. While Rice was slow to introduce the danger to Nicole, I loved the idea of it and the way the antagonists made their plans.  It was the most believable aspect of the book. 

INTO THE CROSS FIRE includes Sam’s foster brothers Mike and Harry, both more interesting and possessing more depth than Sam himself.  My hope for the next story in the series would be a more seamless way of blending both the Paul Preston plot with the relationship between the main characters. 

Christina Baker