Sandra Walsh was a deadly sniper for the Sweet Briar Group, a covert agency with assassins for hire, until her last mission went horribly wrong, accidentally killing an innocent girl. Knowing she’s a danger to her team, Sandra goes off the grid, becoming a Shade—an agent declared dead but secretly hiding among the living. She intends to honor her vow never to pull another trigger or have contact with the spy world again. Until she meets Casper Grady…
Grady is a former Marine with a troubled past and a debt to pay. His life mission has gone from protecting the nation to helping local children and their families. The moment he meets Sandra, he knows there’s more to her than meets the eye, but he can’t help but be drawn to the mysterious femme fatale. And when Sandra’s past suddenly catches up to her, Grady is determined to protect her at all costs, no matter how dark and dangerous her secrets are.
As the danger increases, so does their intense attraction. But when they’re forced to choose between each other and the people they’ve sworn to protect, their growing love might not be enough to keep them together—or alive…
*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review*
I don't read too many action books but the ones I do I typically fall in love with them. Exchange of Fire by P.A. DePaul is definitely one I like!
'Sandra Walsh' aka Wrath, was a deadly sniper for the Sweet Briar Group. She is living her life behind a mask. The rest of her team believes she is dead after their last mission went wrong. Sandra is working in an arcade with Casper Grady. Casper Grady is a big man, former marine and all things protective and hard working. He was immediately attracted to Sandra when she applied to be manager of the gaming center. Sandra knows it's a bad idea to get involved with anyone because she is never in one place for to long. She knows that if she doesn't keep her cover, the SBG will discover she is still very much alive.
Sandra becomes spooked and quickly runs away from Casper but Casper is having none of that. From there, the protectiveness and the chemistry between Casper & Sandra grows to the point they can no longer deny their feelings for each other.
"I win," she whispered, her voice husky as he dropped the bag onto the dining room table.
"Did you?" he retored, taking the moment to enjoy the desire readiating from her hazel eyes.
"You sure?" He crowded into her space and ran a hand up her arm. Everywhere his fingertips touched, a trail of goose bumps followed. Ohh Rah.
"'Cause this doesn't feel like losing."
While Sandra and Casper's attraction goes, Sandra starts to lose focus on keeping her identity hidden. It isn't until her team from the Sweet Briar Group swoop in does she realize how much danger she is in and how much danger she is putting Casper and the little town he love so much in danger.
I liked this book for the action.. The action keeps you hooked. You can't stop reading because you just HAVE to know what is going to happen. I loved Sandra for being a touch chick. She wasn't a weak girl who let her heart take over. She honestly could protect Casper better than he could her and I loved that in a way. I loved that she would do anything for her man. I loved Casper because he was protective of Sandra and the business and town he loved. The thing I loved most about him was he didn't let Sandra's exceptional skills get him down. He worked with her and they protected each other.
The think the biggest downfall of this book for me (and this may be a little bit of a spoiler) was that Casper and Sandra were apart for a majority of the book so I felt like I didn't get the whole extend of their relationship building. I wanted to watch more of their love grow for each other BUT I understand why it was written this way. I think I just loved their relationship so much I didn't want to see them apart. All in all, I loved this book and recommend it for those who love action and those who want to try something a little different from their typical read.
Grady had had enough of the bullshit. Too many people were dropping in, and he was tired of being the only one who didn’t know the whole story. He needed to jump-start the explanations, and the best way to do that was to go for the throat. He lifted his chin and locked gazes with Cappy. He held up his fingers and started counting. “Cappy, Wraith, Talon, Romeo, Magician. Not your typical Christian names. Add to that Sandra’s confession that she’s a former sniper and Lethal Fuzzball Boy’s acclamation of her world-famous skill before she ‘died’ and became Jesus with her resurrection . . . I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re the Commanding Officer of this clandestine team, right? Trained with them in Kansas and now lead everyone on missions? Tell me, does the company you work for start with a big C?” Cappy stiffened, and the reserved expression on his face eclipsed into a thundercloud. “What. The. Fuck?” “Here we go,” Romeo muttered, but everyone heard due to the sudden silence at the man’s bellow. Even the sun seemed to pause its ascent in the sky for a moment. “Someone had better start talking,” Cappy demanded in his gruff voice. “And, yes, I mean you, Wraith.” He spread his weight over his feet and slapped his hands on his hips. Sandra lifted her chin and met the CO’s incensed stare. If her arm hadn’t been touching his, he wouldn’t have known that a tremor raced through her before she opened her mouth. “I made the decision to fill Grady in on details I thought he should know. Especially after an assassin took shots at his head earlier this evening.” “Granger,” Talon inserted, crossing his arms. Cappy’s eyes flashed and his jaw hardened. He dipped his chin once as if to acknowledge Talon’s contribution and began to pace. “So, despite the oaths you took, you decided to compromise this team by talking to an outsider?” “Yes.” “And what else does he know?” Grady hated being talked around. “Not nearly enough,” he stated bluntly, not caring that Sandra now gripped his arm as if to warn him to back off. Grady had this guy’s number. He was completely lethal, no doubt, but he also seemed to be levelheaded and fair. Time to test that theory. “For example, why do you all act like Sandra’s a ghost? Why would a confessed sniper be insinuating herself into my company as an Operations Manager? Why was a gunman shooting at us earlier? Why did Calvin and Hobbes here”—he pointed to Talon and Romeo—“decide it’s better to break in than knock on the door?”
Thank you so much for the review!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate your time in reading Exchange of Fire and writing the review. :)