Taylor's Temptation (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #10)

Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann is her tenth book in the Tall, Dark, & Dangerous series about Navy SEALs.

After Bobby Taylor is injured in a mission he needs some time to recover. When his best friend Wes Skelly is assigned to go overseas on a mission, he asks Bobby to go to Boston to talk his little sister, Colleen, out of going on a humanitarian mission to one of the most unstable countries on the planet.

Bobby and Colleen have been a little in love with each other for years, but did not know the other person felt the same way. High stress and close proximity to one another leads to temptation.

Bobby has to decide if the beating he will take from his best friend is worth the risk. The reward could be a life with the woman of his dreams.

The Tall, Dark & Dangerous series was Brockmann's first series. Each of her books is better than the last.

Suzanne, Brockmann. (2001). Taylor's Temptation. New York: Silhouette.

Behemoth (Leviathan #2)

Behemoth is the second book in Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy - set in an alternate history of WWI.

Dylan Sharp is a midshipman on the airship Leviathan - he is actually Deryn Sharp disguised as a boy to be able to serve in the British forces. Along with her usual middy jobs, she is to keep an eye on their prisoner, Alek - who is Austrian royalty disguised as a commoner.

Together Deryn and Alek will influence the outcome of the war in Europe. They are currently headed toward Istanbul - an neutral nation that may decide the course of the war.

In this alternate history the war is between Clankers - those who use machines - and Darwinists - those who splice DNA into new creatures used for everything from transportation to military.

Westerfeld has more imagination that can be contained in one genre. This brilliant series is a must read for fans of science fiction, history, steampunk, and adventure. Gorgeous illustrations by Keith Thompson help readers with stranger creatures that do not exist in our own time.

Westerfeld, Scott. (2010). Behemoth. New York: Simon Pulse.

American Assassin (Mitch Rapp #11 - Prequel)

American Assassin by Vince Flynn is his eleventh book about Mitch Rapp - a CIA covert operative / assassin. This book is a prequel and tells of Rapp's initiation to the world of black ops.

Since the hijacking of the Pan Am Lockerbie flight, Mitch Rapp has been a cauldron of seething revenge. Though his exterior looks relaxed and in control, he is plotting how to get back at the terrorist who blew up a passenger plane and killed his girlfriend.

Irene Kennedy, a member of the CIA's black ops management finds Rapp and thinks he would be a great addition to the program they are creating - program that will be super secret and fight back covertly against some of the US's most dangerous enemies.

When Rapp arrives at the training facility, he is some what an anomaly in that he is the only person to get there without being in the military in some branch of special forces.

Fans of Flynn's previous books will enjoy learning about the spy's initiation into the CIA, and his journey to becoming the top assassin in the United States arsenal against terrorism.

Flynn, Vince. (2010). American Assassin. New York: Atria Books.

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Bloody Jack #8)

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, on Her Way to Botany Bay by L. A. Meyer is the 8th book in his Bloody Jack series.

While it is hard for me to pick one favorite book or series in any genre, this series is definitely near the top of the list. It is an historical fiction series about a bold young woman who makes her way through life using her wits. She is a great hero and her adventures are a delight to read. Start the series today!

After Jacky's last adventure, she has some money and is finally expanding Faber Shipping Worldwide by buying a brigantine named Lorelei Lee. She plans to use it to transport people between England and the colonies in the US. Once she receives a letter from her James Fletcher that she has been cleared of all past wrong-doing she will set sail.

Of course, as soon as she leaves another letter arrives from Jamie telling her to wait, that two of her enemies in the British Royal Navy are spreading rumors about her. But by that time she has set sail for London.

Upon arrival she is arrested and sentenced to life in the new penal colony in Australia. To add further insult, her Lorelei Lee is seized and turned into a convict transport ship. She will be locked up in her own ship.

What follows is a plot that only Jacky could pull off - more freedom than the captives of any other convict ship, the ability to make money while in port to pay for a better berth, being forced into marriage, captured by pirates, made a concubine to a famous Chinese Pirate, and more.

This series is a must-read for any fans of action, adventure, pirate stories, history, or just a great read. I LOVE these books.

Meyer, L.A. (2010). The Wake of the Lorelei Lee. New York: Harcourt.

It's a Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith is the best picture book I have read in a while.

There are three characters in this book that seems simple but packs a punch - a monkey, a mouse and a jackass.

Monkey is trying to read his book while Jackass asks questions about it - questions like how do you scroll down?, does it need a password?, etc... At one point, after Monkey reads a passages from the book to Jackass, Jackass reduces the entire passage to two lines of text language.

This is a must have book for any adult who has noticed the trend of young people to ignore the printed word and focus only on electronic gadgets. It is a brilliant comment on the times in which we currently live.

Buy a copy today!

Smith, Lane. (2010). It's a Book. New York: Roaring Book Press.

Identity: Unknown (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #8)

Identity: Unknown is the eighth book in Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

When a man wakes up in a homeless shelter in a small town in New Mexico he has no idea who he is. He does not recognize himself in the mirror or know his own name. He has no wallet but in his left boot is a .22 caliber pistol and a wad of 100 dollar bills. Wrapped up with the money is the name of a ranch - The Lazy Eight.

Not knowing what else to do, but instinctively knowing not to tell anyone he has amnesia, he heads for the ranch. He is currently going by the nickname Mish - because the man who runs the shelter he awoke gave it to him.

When he gets to the ranch the manager, Becca Keyes, thinks he is the hand she has hired and starts calling him Casey. Mish doesn't think his name is Casey but begins work at the ranch. As Mish and Becca grow closer together he tries to keep his distance. It is not fair to get involved when he has no idea who he is - what kind of man carries a gun in his boot?

But the attraction between Mish and Becca is getting stronger. He will have to tell her the truth and warn her that he might be a criminal. He is not sure whether he wants her to run away or help him get his memory back.

Brockmann has written an enjoyable puzzle for readers to figure out along with the characters in this book. Her characters, as always, are instantly real and readers will find themselves caring what happens to them.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1999). Identity: Unknown. New York: Silhouette.

Diamondhead (Mack Bedford #1)

Diamondhead by Patrick Robinson is a fast-paced military / political thrill ride.

U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander "Mack" Mackenzie Bedford is stationed in central Iraq with his team. When they are called on to rescue another team that has come under enemy fire, two of their armored vehicles are hit by the new French-made weapon the Diamondhead.

The Diamondhead, banned by the UN as inhumane, is a high-speed, armour piercing rocket that has a napalm-like chemical that causes everything in the area to burst into flame - including the soldiers in the vehicles. When most of Mack's team is killed and then the terrorists he just watched sent the rocket across the river try to surrender, Mac guns them all down.

Now Mack is in a military court defending his position that after seeing other false surrenders where US troops were killed by suicide bombs strapped to those surrendering, he could not let more of his people be hurt by the men he watched kill his friends. But since the story was leaked (somewhat inaccurately) to the press, the political pressure to rule against Mack in some way is too strong to resist. Mack is given a reprimand that will strip him of his rank.

Suddenly Mack, whose whole identity is tied to being a Navy SEAL, finds himself unable to stomach being in the Navy. And the problems facing his family become his main focus. His seven year-old son has been diagnosed with a rare disease. The only known effective treatment is at a clinic in Switzerland - and costs one million dollars. Also facing the family, the town they live in and love on the Maine coast, is facing a total economic meltdown. Remson's Shipbuilding has been the main employer of the town for over 100 years. But the only thing keeping the factory open is a standing order from France for one frigate every three years. And now, the man sure to be the next president of France, Henri Foche is calling for an end to outside military contracts.


As these factors come together to decide the fate of Mack and his family, Robinson weaves a great story with political intrigue and desperate plots to create a novel that will pull readers into the book and have them calling in sick to work to finish it.

Robinson, Patrick. (2009). Diamondhead. New York: Vanguard Press.

The Admiral's Bride (Tall, Dark & Dangerous #7)

The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann is the seventh book in her Tall, Dark & Dangerous series.

Dr. Zoe Lange is a biological warfare specialist with the CIA. She has been called into the Pentagon to a secret meeting to discuss a break in. A right-wing militia group has stolen the worst nerve agent known to man.

Zoe will be going undercover with a team of SEAL in Montana. The leader of the group, Admiral Jake Robinson, has been her idol and fantasy since she was a teen. In Vietnam Jake saved her father's life - along with hundreds of other wounded and captured American soldiers.

Now they will be posing as man and wife inside the compound of the lunatic who stole the nerve agent. While in close contact their feelings for each other will grow to the point where emotions could get in the way of the operation.

Brockmann's Tall, Dark & Dangerous series is a great choice for romance fans who like plot with their romance. Her stories of suspense would hold up even without the personal connections in the stories - the romance just makes them more fun to read.

Brockmann, Suzanne. (1999). The Admiral's Bride. New York: Mira.