TAKEN (Deep Ops 1.5 ) by Rebecca Zanetti-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 30 ,2019

Hunter Holt might be the most stubborn ex-soldier ever born, but when he’s called on to help find a lost foster kid, he jumps into action. Even if it means working with the woman who broke his heart five years ago—the woman who still haunts his dreams . . .

Faye Smith has spent five long years trying to get her life back on track. She knows she should’ve turned toward Hunter and not away from him. But they both had too many demons to destroy. Maybe now they’ll get another chance—and save someone else’s life too . . .

But first they’ll have to stop arguing long enough to trust the Deep Ops team. Hunter was a lost boy himself once. In fact, he ran away from the exact same man, their monster of a father. Now he and Faye will have to unite to find the brother he never knew—and maybe each other .

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REVIEW:  TAKEN is instalment 1.5 in Rebecca Zanetti’s contemporary, adult DEEP OPS romantic suspense series focusing on a new Homeland Defense Department (HDD) unit known as the Requisition Force headed by FBI profiler and Special Agent Angus Force. This is ex-solider Hunter Holt, and former psychologist Faye Smith’s story line. TAKEN can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for history and backstory of the secondary characters. For fans and followers of Rebecca Zanetti, there is a slight cross-over with another of the author’s series-see if you can spot the ‘Easter Egg’ 😉 .

Told from several third person points of view including Hunter and Faye TAKEN follows the search for a kidnapper, turned robber turned serial killer, whose willing captive is a sixteen-year old boy unaware of the truth. When Faye gets a call from her former foster mother Miss Angelina that her latest charge is missing, Faye seeks out the only man capable of finding the missing boy but a man whose history with Faye is heartbreaking and dark. Enter ex-soldier turned river-tour guide Hunter Holt, and the man Faye hasn’t stopped loving. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Faye and Hunter, as they join the Requisition Force in the search for a killer whose numbers are increasing on a daily basis.

Faye and Hunter’s history is filled with abuse and addiction. From dysfunctional family dynamics to drugs and abuse, Faye and Hunter would find peace and solace, along with Raider Tanaka, in the arms of their foster mother Miss Angelina. But life, and everything it had to offer tore Faye and Hunter apart, and in the ensuing time neither forgot about their history and their past.

The relationship between Faye and Hunter is one of second chances; a rekindling romance between two people whose earlier lives were filled with neglect and abuse at the hands of people sworn to love and protect. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Miss Angelina, Jackson Holt and Louise Stockley. We are re-introduced to the Requisition Force leader Angus Force, and team members: former Lieutenant Commander Clarence Wolfe who carries a kitten (aka Kat) in his pocket, and Angus Force’s quirky whiskey guzzling, lipstick eating, high heel wearing German shepherd Roscoe; and Raider Tanaka-Hunter and Faye’s childhood friend, now a member of the Requisition Force Team.

TAKEN is a story of murder, madness and revenge; of suspense and mystery; of second chances and love. The premise is intriguing and exciting; the romance is fated; the characters are energetic, sexy and spirited. TAKEN is a spirited, character driven story that is sure to catch your attention.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one HIDDEN

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy