As yet another selection from my bookshelf cleanout (yeah, this is going to take a while…sorry), I picked up Take No Prisoners by Gayle Wilson.
From the Cover:
Kidnapped by marauding tribesmen when her helicopter went down outside Kabul, tough-skinned CIA operative Grace Chancellor had little choice but to entrust her life to the only man she’d ever loved—and lost.
Years earlier, tough-as-nails special agent Landon James made a harsh choice: duty over personal life. Now, he was single-handedly going in to rescue Grace and prove how wrong he was. As Landon and Grace fled through the mountains, faced with heat, thirst and gunfire, would old wounds reopen and turn them into permanent strangers—or would old desires be reignited?
What I Loved:
If I’m really honest, I didn’t expect to like this book. I didn’t think a Harlequin romance set in the Middle East sounded all that exciting. I didn’t think I’d enjoy reading about CIA operatives battling their love for each other while also battling their way out of a very dangerous and uncertain situation. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Take No Prisoners starts off with a great action scene, with Grace’s helicopter going down in dangerous territory. Her backstory is nicely sprinkled in throughout the rest of the book without long stretches of exposition. Most of the time, our characters are moving, thinking, and planning. The plot definitely thickened toward the end. I’ve never been to Afghanistan, but the author did a great job of describing and creating this foreign land our heroes are stuck in.
What I Didn’t Love:
While I can’t claim that this is some astonishing literary masterpiece, it really did keep me going and wanting to know what would happen. That being said, it’s not really anything special that changed my life. There were a few typos and grammatical mistakes here and there, but nothing that made it unreadable.
Rating and Recommendation:
Take No Prisoners is a quick, easy read. If you like military heroes, larger-than-life bad guys, and foreign settings, it’s definitely for you. 4 stars.
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Ashley O’Melia is an independent author and freelancer from Southern Illinois. She holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. Her books include The Wanderer’s Guide to Dragon Keeping and The Graveside Detective. Her short stories have been published in The Penmen Review, Siren’s Call, and Subcutaneous. Ashley’s freelance work has spanned numerous genres for clients around the world. You can find her on Facebook and Amazon.
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Ashley O'Melia, Author 