Review: Against All Odds by Irene Hannon (Heroes of Quantico Book 1)

Against All Odds by Irene Hannon


My rating: 4.5/5.0
I picked this up because I had seen it around the internet and heard good things about it. It was also romantic suspense and that is my favorite genre. Added to that it was Christian romantic suspense and I definitely wanted to try it and I'm glad I did.


About the book:

For FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Evan Cooper and his partner, dignitary protection duty should have been a piece of cake. Unfortunately, Monica Callahan isn't making it easy. Estranged from her diplomat father--who is involved in a sensitive hostage situation in the Middle East--she refuses to be intimidated by a related terrorist threat back in the States. That is, until a chilling warning convinces her that the danger is very real--and escalating. As Coop and his partner do their best to keep her safe, Monica's father triggers an abduction that puts his daughter's life at risk. And with every second that ticks by, Coop knows that the odds of saving the only woman who has ever breached the walls around his heart are dropping. After all, terrorists aren't known for their patience--or their mercy.

My Review:

From the start I really liked Monica and Coop. Monica was a very strong woman who is faced with a tough situation. Her life is in danger. This makes her face her mortality and also face an estranged relationship with her father. Monica is a well-known communication expert who has written several books and she does her job well. Monica is also a Christian, but she is not a preachy character - her Christianity is just a part of her. Ms. Hannon brings this out with references to Monica reading the Bible and from some things she says to Coop, but you can tell she is very human and knows it and struggles with some issues in her life. I like that Monica was strong, but she knew when she needed help. She was stubborn but smart too. Sometimes that is overlooked in the characterization of heroines in books and it goes to far to one side or the other. Monica is a perfect balance and a joy to read about.

Coop is definitely the brooding distant male. He's good at his job but he doesn't want to form attachments. Some of this goes back to some instances in his past. The problem is Monica is starting to slip past his defenses and in his protecting her he may also be falling for her. As I said in my interview with Irene - I want Coop if my husband ever leaves me. :)

For the plot - it moves along well with the characters and the suspense line pushing it along. We get a glimpse into all sides of this, Monica's, Coop's, her father's, and even the bad guys behind the plot. But even though you think everyone is known, not everyone is known, there are several subplots going on and it is suspenseful to the very end.

The romance is wonderful too. Watching Coop and Monica deal with their growing feelings for each other and sensing their attraction is amazing. It's a great love story to go along with the suspense.

In summary, this is a great romantic suspense with Christian elements. It's not preachy, yet it doesn't have sex or foul language which can be refreshing. It's full of romance and it's very suspenseful. It kept me reading and turning the pages. I also can't wait to read the next one in the series - An Eye for An Eye to learn more about Coop's partner, Mark who was also in this book.

So give it a try - I think you will really like it. Maybe you will want a Hero of Quantico all your own too.

Also see my giveaway of the first two books in the Heroes of Quantico series (Against All Odds and An Eye for an Eye) here, and my interview with Irene Hannon, the author, here.

I received this book through my membership with booksfree.com.

Challenges:
100+ Book Challenge

Giveaway - Against All Odds and An Eye for an Eye by Irene Hannon (Heroes of Quantico)

Up for grabs today I have the first two books released in Irene Hannon's romantic suspense series - Heroes of Quantico. I will order you a copy of Against All Odds and An Eye for an Eye from Amazon and have it shipped to you. Two brand new books in an awesome romantic suspense series for you. I have a review coming up later today of Against All Odds, but as a hint - this is an excellent book. If you haven't read it, you'll want to read it.

So how can you enter - I'm going to do this a little different. First the basic rules - it's open to the US and Canada and please include your email address if it's not available in your profile. The giveaway will run through 10/30.

• Enter by going to my interview with Irene Hannon that was posted yesterday, read through and share what your favorite question and answer was, or share a thought to go along with one of Irene's answers. Leave that comment on the interview post. (+5 entries)
  
• For an additional entry ask a question of Irene. I will combine all the questions into one email and have a followup interview after the giveaway is over. Leave this comment on the interview post also. (+5 entries)
  
• Tweet or post about this contest on twitter or your blog (+3 additional entries per tweet or blog/day) (Leave comments for this on this post)
  

That's it. You have to either share what your favorite question and answer were or ask a question on the interview post here to be entered. The tweeting and blogging are for additional entries. I'll count up all your entries so you can leave one post on the interview for both questions (I'll count 5 for each).

Thanks for checking this contest out. I will have the review up later today for Against All Odds by Irene Hannon

Booking Through Thursday - October 15th

Here is this week's Booking Through Thursday question:

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)

And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore? SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I weed out my books from time-to-time, but not down to my reading essentials. I probably have 1000+ books at the moment spread out between my house and my work desk (I keep a kind of library for people at work who ask). Most of the time my books are out-of-control though - just ask my husband. :)

When I do get rid of them I either give them away on my blog (review copies and ARCs) or on Paperbackswap (my books) or take them to our used book store to buy more books for myself. I also plan to start donating some of my new hardbacks to the library. I just can't keep all my books and I'm looking to start paring down. This means I'm reading as fast as I can.

So what do you do?