PROMISE TO DEFEND (Rescue Ops #2) by Diana Gardin-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 12, 2017

By saving her, he might just save himself…

I’m broken. I have been for seven years. Ever since my wife was murdered while I was deployed overseas. I was protecting our country, but I should have been protecting her. I haven’t looked at another woman since–but then Olive Alexander crossed my path. She stirs up feelings I thought were long dead. So when her house is ransacked after she receives a threatening message, I know I have to step in and keep her safe. I failed my wife, but I won’t fail Olive. Unfortunately, Olive isn’t exactly ready to accept my help…

With her sexy-as-sin pencil skirts and sleek ponytails, Olive clearly doesn’t let anything–or anyone–mess up her perfectly ordered life. But years spent working as a special ops soldier has taught me how to read people… and I know Olive is hiding something. When my covert mission for Night Eagle Security collides with Olive’s past, I’ll have to get her to open up-or risk losing her. And losing Olive is not an option. If she’s in danger, I’ll defend her…even if it costs me my life.

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REVIEW: PROMISE TO DEFEND is the second installment in Diana Gardin’s contemporary, adult RESCUE OPS romantic, suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for Night Eagle Security. The Rescue Ops series is a spin-off from the author’s Battle Scars series and several characters cross over for cohesion and familiarity. This is former US Army Ranger Ronin ‘Swagger’ Shaw, and interior designer Olive Alexander’s story line. PROMISE TO DEFEND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line or series is revealed where necessary. Olive Alexander is best friends and business partner with Berkley Connors (Last True Hero-Battle Scars #1).

Told from dual first person points of view (Olive and Ronin) PROMISE TO DEFEND follows the building relationship between security specialist Ronin Shaw, and interior designer Olive Alexander. Having met months earlier, Ronin and Olive have circled one another for weeks until the fateful day Olive calls Ronin for help. Someone from Olive’s past is demanding a second chance using threatening texts and physical violence. When the threats become personal and familiar, Ronin becomes guardian and protector for our story line heroine. What ensue is the building relationship between Ronin and Olive, as the search for a killer comes full circle threatening the woman that Ronin loves.

Ronin Shaw is a broken man; a widower whose wife was murdered while our hero was serving his country over seas. For seven years Ronin has struggled to move on with his life including the mind numbing guilt that haunts him day and night. Meeting Olive places temptation at arm’s length but the death of his wife keeps Ronin battling between his heart and his mind. The relationship between Ronin and Olive is one of immediate attraction although Olive keeps secret a tempestuous past. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Berkley and Dare Conners (Last True Hero), Grisham Abbot (Saved by the Seal), and Drake Sullivan (Man of Honor)-all leading characters from the author’s Battle Scars series. The requisite evil has many faces including a major connection to the Margiano mob.

PROMISE TO DEFEND is a fast paced, action packed story of intrigue and romance. The premise is engaging; the romance is passionate and seductive; the characters are colorful and dynamic but saying that, in true romantic suspense fashion, I have to question the heroine’s constant disregard for her own safety including the distinct lack of sense as she willingly offers herself up to the mob…..*sigh*.

Click HERE to read Sandy’s review of book one

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy