FRACTURED VALOR by A.A. DaSilva
Fiction, Romantic Thriller, Steamy
5*****
Blurb: Xavier
After a mission gone wrong, the life of valor I once led bleeds away one drink at a time. But a brother-in-arms from my past needs my help, so I reluctantly agree. The assignment: transport a scientist and her antidote to a base on the west coast for international security. As we race against the clock and face danger at every turn, I become fixated on more than just the mission. For someone so accustomed to feeling nothing, she makes me want to feel everything.
Isabel
Shaking off the tatted, sardonic hired bodyguard isn’t as easy as I’d hoped. My sharp tongue and defiant nature are supposed to chip away his resolve and allow me to arrive at my destination solo. But my efforts are stirring something in him—something I shouldn’t want from a man like him. The more protective he becomes, the harder I fight to resist the desires hidden in my guarded heart. Because if I let him in, I don’t think he’ll give me back. Especially once he learns I’m the reason he’s lost everything once before.
THOUGHTS: The story starts off with high intensity as the hero is an assassin for the government and on a mission that goes horribly wrong. Fast forward two years, he’s retired from the army and is basically a badly scarred drunk with no prospects. Enter an old army buddy who runs a security company and has been trying to get Xavier on his team for a while. He convinces Xavier to take on a small job—take a woman scientist with an antidote to a nasty drug across the county to her brother on an army base in San Diego. Isabel is stubborn and determined that she doesn’t need a babysitter – until she does. But even then, she fights against it—and against the feelings she is developing for Xavier.
Both Isabel and Xavier have issues with things in their pasts. It takes the entire trip for them to come to grips with those issues, especially when Xavier finds out about Isabel’s ties to his failed mission. As the danger escalates, so do their feelings for each other—leading to several steamy sex scenes. And a HEA that satisfies.
I will note that the story is told in multiple first person with each chapter headlined by who is the lead in that chapter. I know some people have an issue with this, but trust me, the story is worth it.
Recommended.
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