
I think is the best I-Team book yet.
First of all it wasn’t as predictable as the other books, the book left a few of the elements of the formula from the other ones out. The whole fear of losing everything as the catalyst for the final plunge shtick especially with respect to sex was not employed here.
Natalie and Zach didn’t have any sort of relationship before they were intimate.
The author also took us out of Denver for a good part of the book which is good because I was getting a little tired of all the ‘Girlfriends’ episodes and wanted to read just about the two main characters.
The Author delivered in a great way with the suspense, Zach’s torture and Natalie’s ingenuity at breaking them out was well done as you could feel the desperation in their attempt to escape the Zetas.
It was a little hollywoody with their ability to take on a bunch of armed, brutal drug cartel members especially after Zach had endured a week’s worth of extreme torture. But they do escape the torture and make their way back to the States from Mexico with the cartel chasing after them. They get there but the danger doesn’t end, with the help of the other I-Team members they manage to sort thing out but not without a few unexpected/unpleasant twists.
As usual Natalie and Zach are rewarded with a walk into the sunset filled with love and hope that they hadn’t dared hope for.
Their love breaks them free from the hopelessness that they both had suffered in the past, Natalie having survived certain horrors during hurricane Katrina and the death of both her parents and her fiancé .
Zach beating his nightmares and survivor’s guilt brought about by the loss of his comrades at war. He finds healing with Natalie as she does with him.
As usual I loved Ms. Clare’s writing and ability to keep the story flowing even if I have a few issues with military hero worship, I managed to overlook (sometime literally) these parts of the book and enjoy the suspense and drama of this romance.