Darkness at Dawn (Berkley Sensation) [Mass Market Paperback]

I'll try not to give too much plot away, but here's a bit more than the blurb. We have Lucy who works at the Smithsonian as a rare documents restorer. Her parents were CIA operatives, and she grew up all over the world, sometimes caught up in very dangerous situations for a child. Now, as an adult, she likes to keep her life as stress-free and low-key as possible, until her Uncle Edwin asks her to do something courageous for her country.

Her Uncle is the CIA Deputy Director of Operations, and he wants her to return to Nhala, a country Lucy knows well and whose royal family she has close ties to. The CIA has intel that there is an Al Qaeda biowarfare lab in Nhala and that this lab has mutated and weaponized a viral hemorrhagic virus like Ebola with plans to attack America and Israel. Also, someone in Nhala has plans to use the virus against a bordering nation in order to gain more land.

With Lucy as the free pass into the country, Captain Mike Shafer of the Tenth Mountain Division, US Army, will go undercover as Lucy's fiance. He's to protect her while at the same time finding out more about the lab, the plans of the attack, and making contact with the double agent inside the Nhala palace. I hope I explained enough but not too much. I thought the story was a good idea, the concept complicated enough to be exciting and intriguing, but that just didn't happen for me, not at all.

I found the story flow slow and even tedious. It wasn't until about 60% in that I felt things were picking up some. In my opinion, most of the real action was confined to the last 25% of the story. This made it seem rushed to me. First, really slow, and I mean slow, with repetitive descriptions of the palace, Lucy's past and memories, and so on. There was a lot of thinking to one's self, of the same thoughts, over and over again, like why Mike needs to stay focused, how brave Lucy is, what she's been through. It just seemed to me like killing time, and then suddenly, we're at the end of the book almost so we better hurry things up and end the story.

So for me, the action was slow to begin with, then rushed at the end, hurriedly tying things up, and the romance aspect of the story was practically non-existent. There was just a little sexual tension and sex, and what was there was lukewarm to me, really a pale shadow of what this author can do. That was a total let-down. I feel as if I didn't get to see the h/H really connect until the very last quarter of the story, almost like a Hail Mary pass. While this was satisfying, finally!, it was too little too late. Just not enough to make this story a good read for me.

And I have to tell you I absolutely LOVE Lisa Marie Rice/Elizabeth Jennings and thought I'd never be giving a story of hers less than 4 stars, but I have to do it here. This story just does not compare or live up to her other work, even her work as EJ. This is only my opinion, but I'm feeling let down by the story pacing and execution, the bland h/H connection, and the lack of really good romance. For me, this story is only okay at best, definitely not good or great, and not what this author is capable of doing. It's hard for me to say it, but 3 stars may even be generous. I am very disappointed.

When Lucy Merritt was fourteen years old, her CIA operative parents died on a mission in the Himalayan kingdom of Nhala. She watched both of them get killed and chose a quieter and safer lifestyle, that of a book restorer.

However, the monarch is under attack by terrorists. As her father the king is dying, Princess Paso asks America for help specifically requesting her friend Lucy. The CIA recruits Dr. Lucy Merritt who would do almost anything for her friend although she has gigantic doubts about this request. The Feds sweeten the pot by enabling her to look at an ancient document when in the Himalayas. Accompanying her on her `pilgrimage" to where her parents died in the line of duty is her fake fiancé U.S. Army Captain Mike Shafer; whose mission is to keep Lucy safe and obtain a flash drive allegedly containing information on the terrorist scheme that threatens millions. However, her courage under fire forces him to reassess his partner as she takes one for the cause.

This is an exhilarating romantic suspense in which readers will feel they are at the top of the world. The lead couple are a wonderful pairing as each is brave, intelligent, caring and knows frozen tundra (he is 10th Mountain); their attraction does not overwhelm the mission. Although the changing viewpoints provide a 360 story line that is two edged as readers understand what is going on from the perspective of the key players but also makes a choppy flow to the action-packed story line. Still fans will feel the biting cold while trekking mountainous Nhala alongside Mike and Lucy.

Harriet Klausner

Found this book by accident and, going by the reviews given by other readers, decided to take a chance. I enjoy lots of different genres in books, but it takes more(for me anyway)than sex scenes every few pages to make a good book. It almost reminds of Mary Stewart's books only fast-forwarded in time. This has a pretty good story to tell and it kept my attention throughout. I will probably take a chance on her other titles.