Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Hmm, this book just wasn’t for me. I kept going because of the rave reviews but the shifting sand that was the foundation just gave out at 25% for me.
A one night stand with a stranger after an exhausting day spent in the field leads to pregnancy. Presumably they are together only a few hours as they left for work very early the next day. Then he lies about her and tries to get her fired from the job she loves. Fast forward to now and he’s calling her nicknames and it’s like they have some sort of friendship.
They are complete strangers who had sex. That’s it. Any relationship would need to be built not magically exist because of sex. Their only other interaction was his betrayal of her.
To make matters worse the author uses constant repetition of the most basic thoughts and facts of the story and characters.
So I just couldn’t move forward. Very disappointed because the premise was interesting and I liked the idea of the tough outdoorsy no nonsense archeologists female lead.
A one night stand with a stranger after an exhausting day spent in the field leads to pregnancy. Presumably they are together only a few hours as they left for work very early the next day. Then he lies about her and tries to get her fired from the job she loves. Fast forward to now and he’s calling her nicknames and it’s like they have some sort of friendship.
They are complete strangers who had sex. That’s it. Any relationship would need to be built not magically exist because of sex. Their only other interaction was his betrayal of her.
To make matters worse the author uses constant repetition of the most basic thoughts and facts of the story and characters.
So I just couldn’t move forward. Very disappointed because the premise was interesting and I liked the idea of the tough outdoorsy no nonsense archeologists female lead.
I've given this an A- for narration and a B for content at AudioGals.
Rachel Grant embarks upon a new series of romantic suspense novels with Into the Storm, book one in the Evidence: Under Fire series. The premise grabbed my attention immediately; a group of Navy SEALS arrives at a remote location for a top-secret training exercise only to find themselves fighting an invisible enemy, their communications severed and with a severe weather system closing in. As always, the author’s research and attention to detail are impeccable and she imparts a lot of fascinating detail by weaving it into the fabric of the story.
A couple of months before Into the Storm begins, its protagonists, Audrey Kendrick and Xavier Rivera, meet (in the novella, ([b:Before the Storm: One Hot Night|63032290|Before the Storm One Hot Night (Evidence Under Fire, #0.5)|Rachel Grant|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666101471l/63032290._SX50_.jpg|98349835]) when Xavier, a Navy SEAL trainer visits the Olympic National Park to scope out the historic Lake Olympus Lodge and surrounding area as a possible location for a top secret training mission. The chemistry that sparks between the couple is hot and intense, leading to their spending a passionate night together. A few weeks later, Audrey discovers she’s pregnant – despite the fact they’d used contraception – and decides, straight away that she’s going to keep the baby and that even if Xavier doesn’t want to be a part of their child’s life, telling him is the right thing to do. She asks the mutual friend that introduced them to ask Xavier to get in touch – and is delighted when, later that day, she bumps into Xavier at the Lodge, pleased to be able to share her news in person. But she realises something is wrong immediately; not only is Xavier in uniform (he never told her what he did for a living), he’s cold and hostile, telling her he’s filed a complaint about her because she refused to sign off on the Navy’s proposal for a training mission because she was angry that he’d rejected her. Reeling at the unjust and unfounded accusations that could tank her job and her career, Audrey doesn’t tell him about the baby.
(Note: It’s not essential to have listened to Before the Storm, as the relevant information is contained within Into the Storm).
A few weeks later, with her job still on somewhat shaky ground, Audrey receives a call telling her that the security cameras she’d had installed at an archaeological site after it had been looted a couple of months earlier have stopped transmitting. Concerned for the integrity of the site, and for one of the tribal elders who lives nearby, Audrey makes the treacherous drive to the Lodge to check out the circuit breakers in the basement, and is annoyed when her key won’t turn in the lock. Before she can try again, she’s attacked from behind, handcuffed and patted down – and rolls to her back to find herself looking up into the eyes of Xavier Rivera.
Xavier still feels guilty about throwing Audrey under the bus in order to make sure that this exercise could go ahead, but duty – and the importance of this particular training op – come first and regrets are a luxury he can’t afford. Thrown by Audrey’s unexpected appearance, Xavier’s immediate thought is that she’s there to stop the exercise from going ahead as a way of getting back at him for what he did, but he does listen to her when she tells him about the cameras, and decides it’s worth checking out.
At the dig site, they discover that the camera lines have indeed been cut. With this unaccounted-for activity in the area, Xavier has no alternative but to delay the op while they find out what’s going on, but when he radios the team to give the order, he’s met with nothing but dead air. Yet the communications black-out isn’t due to start for another ten minutes. Things go from bad to worse when Audrey spots that a large pit has been dug in the middle of the site, which Xavier immediately recognises as a hiding place. Those looters weren’t looters at all; whoever they were, they’d buried a cache of weapons on the site, and now they’re out there in the woods and there’s no way to warn the incoming SEAL team – who aren’t carrying live ammunition as per the terms of their permit – that any hostiles they meet will be the real thing.
Audrey and Xavier’s animosity is very real – what Xavier did was despicable so she’s certainly entitled to her anger – but at least he’s adult enough to be able to set that animosity aside and take her concerns seriously and later, to apologise, as they work together to try to alert the team as to the danger they’re in, while at the same time keeping each other safe and out of the line of fire.
I loved the premise of this book, which hits the ground running right out of the gate, the tension stretched taut right from the start as Audrey and Xavier circle each other warily while beginning to realise that whatever is going on has been meticulously planned and that the lives of the entire team and those still living on park land are in danger. Audrey is a great heroine – intelligent, determined and resourceful – and Xavier, taking that one reprehensible action out of the equation for a moment, is a hero cut very much from the same cloth – and best of all, he’s certainly not one of those chest-thumping, ‘Me Tarzan’ types so often found in romantic suspense novels.
I’ve enjoyed many of Rachel Grant’s romantic suspense novels – her Flashpoint series is a real standout of the genre – but while the suspense plot of Into the Storm works pretty well, the romance is less successful. First of all, Audrey lets Xavier off the hook a bit too easily. I was pleased when he apologised sincerely and made it clear that he’s prepared to stand up, admit what he did and take the consequences in his professional life, but still – I’m not sure I’d have been that forgiving so quickly! Then there’s Audrey’s pregnancy. I’m not the biggest fan of babies/kids in romance novels anyway, so YMMV, but the pregnancy is mentioned way too often. I also found it hard to buy that Audrey – who, at thirty-eight, has landed her dream job (and actually ended her last relationship over it) and is presented very much as someone whose career is of paramount importance to her, would go so very ga-ga over her unborn child and decide immediately to become a (possibly lone) parent. There’s no internal discussion as to how she will juggle her job and parenthood and no consideration of other options, which felt very out of character. And finally, while I did like the way Audrey and Xavier’s relationship progressed – they’re very in sync in how they approach problems and they work well together – I was never quite convinced they were together because of how they felt about each other rather than because of the baby.
I had a bit of an issue with the pacing, too. Because of the way the story is told, Audrey and Xavier can’t know what is going on while they’re in hiding or on the run from the bad guys, so to fill in the gaps, we get a number of other points of view, including Flyte (the leader of the SEAL team) Park Ranger Jae-jin Son, the Big Bad and Undine (from Cold Evidence). While I understand the need for these other PoVs, they slow things down and, as someone who’s in it for the romance as much as the plot, take too much time away from Audrey and Xavier.
Finally, there were a couple of things that took me right out of the story, but they’re late on in the story so I’m putting them under a spoiler tag.
I was really pleased to see Nicol Zanzarella and Greg Tremblay teaming up again for Into the Storm. They’re both extremely good voice actors and their performance is polished and confident, with a good range of vocal characterisations and clear character differentiation. Their engagement with the material really helps to convey the growing emotional connection between Audrey and Xavier, and they’re as good in the in the high-stakes action scenes as they are in quieter, more intimate moments. Ms. Zanzarella reads the chapters and sections from Audrey and Undine’s perspectives, while Mr. Tremblay reads those from Xavier’s and the other male narrators; the nature of the story means there are more male characters than female ones, and while Ms. Zanzarella’s male voices are good, she’s not always able to differentiate clearly between more than a couple of them in any one scene, so that sometimes, it’s not always clear who is speaking. That’s really the only criticism I can level at the performance as a whole, and it doesn’t happen frequently.
Although Into the Storm isn’t going on my list of ‘favourite Rachel Grant books’, I enjoyed it despite my reservations, and I’ll be back for book two, Trust Me, when it comes out next year.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals.
Rachel Grant embarks upon a new series of romantic suspense novels with Into the Storm, book one in the Evidence: Under Fire series. The premise grabbed my attention immediately; a group of Navy SEALS arrives at a remote location for a top-secret training exercise only to find themselves fighting an invisible enemy, their communications severed and with a severe weather system closing in. As always, the author’s research and attention to detail are impeccable and she imparts a lot of fascinating detail by weaving it into the fabric of the story.
A couple of months before Into the Storm begins, its protagonists, Audrey Kendrick and Xavier Rivera, meet (in the novella, ([b:Before the Storm: One Hot Night|63032290|Before the Storm One Hot Night (Evidence Under Fire, #0.5)|Rachel Grant|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1666101471l/63032290._SX50_.jpg|98349835]) when Xavier, a Navy SEAL trainer visits the Olympic National Park to scope out the historic Lake Olympus Lodge and surrounding area as a possible location for a top secret training mission. The chemistry that sparks between the couple is hot and intense, leading to their spending a passionate night together. A few weeks later, Audrey discovers she’s pregnant – despite the fact they’d used contraception – and decides, straight away that she’s going to keep the baby and that even if Xavier doesn’t want to be a part of their child’s life, telling him is the right thing to do. She asks the mutual friend that introduced them to ask Xavier to get in touch – and is delighted when, later that day, she bumps into Xavier at the Lodge, pleased to be able to share her news in person. But she realises something is wrong immediately; not only is Xavier in uniform (he never told her what he did for a living), he’s cold and hostile, telling her he’s filed a complaint about her because she refused to sign off on the Navy’s proposal for a training mission because she was angry that he’d rejected her. Reeling at the unjust and unfounded accusations that could tank her job and her career, Audrey doesn’t tell him about the baby.
(Note: It’s not essential to have listened to Before the Storm, as the relevant information is contained within Into the Storm).
A few weeks later, with her job still on somewhat shaky ground, Audrey receives a call telling her that the security cameras she’d had installed at an archaeological site after it had been looted a couple of months earlier have stopped transmitting. Concerned for the integrity of the site, and for one of the tribal elders who lives nearby, Audrey makes the treacherous drive to the Lodge to check out the circuit breakers in the basement, and is annoyed when her key won’t turn in the lock. Before she can try again, she’s attacked from behind, handcuffed and patted down – and rolls to her back to find herself looking up into the eyes of Xavier Rivera.
Xavier still feels guilty about throwing Audrey under the bus in order to make sure that this exercise could go ahead, but duty – and the importance of this particular training op – come first and regrets are a luxury he can’t afford. Thrown by Audrey’s unexpected appearance, Xavier’s immediate thought is that she’s there to stop the exercise from going ahead as a way of getting back at him for what he did, but he does listen to her when she tells him about the cameras, and decides it’s worth checking out.
At the dig site, they discover that the camera lines have indeed been cut. With this unaccounted-for activity in the area, Xavier has no alternative but to delay the op while they find out what’s going on, but when he radios the team to give the order, he’s met with nothing but dead air. Yet the communications black-out isn’t due to start for another ten minutes. Things go from bad to worse when Audrey spots that a large pit has been dug in the middle of the site, which Xavier immediately recognises as a hiding place. Those looters weren’t looters at all; whoever they were, they’d buried a cache of weapons on the site, and now they’re out there in the woods and there’s no way to warn the incoming SEAL team – who aren’t carrying live ammunition as per the terms of their permit – that any hostiles they meet will be the real thing.
Audrey and Xavier’s animosity is very real – what Xavier did was despicable so she’s certainly entitled to her anger – but at least he’s adult enough to be able to set that animosity aside and take her concerns seriously and later, to apologise, as they work together to try to alert the team as to the danger they’re in, while at the same time keeping each other safe and out of the line of fire.
I loved the premise of this book, which hits the ground running right out of the gate, the tension stretched taut right from the start as Audrey and Xavier circle each other warily while beginning to realise that whatever is going on has been meticulously planned and that the lives of the entire team and those still living on park land are in danger. Audrey is a great heroine – intelligent, determined and resourceful – and Xavier, taking that one reprehensible action out of the equation for a moment, is a hero cut very much from the same cloth – and best of all, he’s certainly not one of those chest-thumping, ‘Me Tarzan’ types so often found in romantic suspense novels.
I’ve enjoyed many of Rachel Grant’s romantic suspense novels – her Flashpoint series is a real standout of the genre – but while the suspense plot of Into the Storm works pretty well, the romance is less successful. First of all, Audrey lets Xavier off the hook a bit too easily. I was pleased when he apologised sincerely and made it clear that he’s prepared to stand up, admit what he did and take the consequences in his professional life, but still – I’m not sure I’d have been that forgiving so quickly! Then there’s Audrey’s pregnancy. I’m not the biggest fan of babies/kids in romance novels anyway, so YMMV, but the pregnancy is mentioned way too often. I also found it hard to buy that Audrey – who, at thirty-eight, has landed her dream job (and actually ended her last relationship over it) and is presented very much as someone whose career is of paramount importance to her, would go so very ga-ga over her unborn child and decide immediately to become a (possibly lone) parent. There’s no internal discussion as to how she will juggle her job and parenthood and no consideration of other options, which felt very out of character. And finally, while I did like the way Audrey and Xavier’s relationship progressed – they’re very in sync in how they approach problems and they work well together – I was never quite convinced they were together because of how they felt about each other rather than because of the baby.
I had a bit of an issue with the pacing, too. Because of the way the story is told, Audrey and Xavier can’t know what is going on while they’re in hiding or on the run from the bad guys, so to fill in the gaps, we get a number of other points of view, including Flyte (the leader of the SEAL team) Park Ranger Jae-jin Son, the Big Bad and Undine (from Cold Evidence). While I understand the need for these other PoVs, they slow things down and, as someone who’s in it for the romance as much as the plot, take too much time away from Audrey and Xavier.
Finally, there were a couple of things that took me right out of the story, but they’re late on in the story so I’m putting them under a spoiler tag.
SPOILER ALERT
I was really pleased to see Nicol Zanzarella and Greg Tremblay teaming up again for Into the Storm. They’re both extremely good voice actors and their performance is polished and confident, with a good range of vocal characterisations and clear character differentiation. Their engagement with the material really helps to convey the growing emotional connection between Audrey and Xavier, and they’re as good in the in the high-stakes action scenes as they are in quieter, more intimate moments. Ms. Zanzarella reads the chapters and sections from Audrey and Undine’s perspectives, while Mr. Tremblay reads those from Xavier’s and the other male narrators; the nature of the story means there are more male characters than female ones, and while Ms. Zanzarella’s male voices are good, she’s not always able to differentiate clearly between more than a couple of them in any one scene, so that sometimes, it’s not always clear who is speaking. That’s really the only criticism I can level at the performance as a whole, and it doesn’t happen frequently.
Although Into the Storm isn’t going on my list of ‘favourite Rachel Grant books’, I enjoyed it despite my reservations, and I’ll be back for book two, Trust Me, when it comes out next year.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals.
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is well written and an
Intriguing can’t put down thriller.
Into the storm by Rachel Grant is thriller which has morally grey characters. Xavier is the front and center of this characters. I highly recommend Into the storm. For the plot I suggest picking up the book.
This is a start of a series called Evidence Under Fire. While this is primarily a thriller there is a romance which is a part of the subplot between Audrey and Xavier.
Intriguing can’t put down thriller.
Into the storm by Rachel Grant is thriller which has morally grey characters. Xavier is the front and center of this characters. I highly recommend Into the storm. For the plot I suggest picking up the book.
This is a start of a series called Evidence Under Fire. While this is primarily a thriller there is a romance which is a part of the subplot between Audrey and Xavier.
Into the Storm by Rachel Grant
Evidence: Under Fire #1
Pulse-pounding thrill-ride from beginning to end – Couldn’t put this book down!
What I liked:
* Audrey: intelligent, woods-savvy, knows the terrain, strong, independent, caring, protective, controlled, has a secret too share with Xavier, s…really admired and liked her
* Xavier: strong, lethal, injured on a mission – now works in training, in charge of important SEAL training operation, willing to do what it takes, protective, would like a second chance with Audrey
* The way Audrey and Xavier worked together and worked through some issues they need to deal with – strong team in more ways than one and well suited
* George: ex-Vietnam Veteran, master carver, artist, from the Kalahwamish tribe, cares about tribal heritage, good friend to Audrey, played a big part in helping save several people
* The plot, pacing, character development and writing style
* The location
* The backstories and how they played into the story
* The tension and suspense and feeling I was right there with the characters
* That all the threads of the story were pulled together by the end
* Reading a new-to-me author I will read again
* Knowing that there is another book to look forward to
What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Hoping that the bad guys would be taken out
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Janus Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Evidence: Under Fire #1
Pulse-pounding thrill-ride from beginning to end – Couldn’t put this book down!
What I liked:
* Audrey: intelligent, woods-savvy, knows the terrain, strong, independent, caring, protective, controlled, has a secret too share with Xavier, s…really admired and liked her
* Xavier: strong, lethal, injured on a mission – now works in training, in charge of important SEAL training operation, willing to do what it takes, protective, would like a second chance with Audrey
* The way Audrey and Xavier worked together and worked through some issues they need to deal with – strong team in more ways than one and well suited
* George: ex-Vietnam Veteran, master carver, artist, from the Kalahwamish tribe, cares about tribal heritage, good friend to Audrey, played a big part in helping save several people
* The plot, pacing, character development and writing style
* The location
* The backstories and how they played into the story
* The tension and suspense and feeling I was right there with the characters
* That all the threads of the story were pulled together by the end
* Reading a new-to-me author I will read again
* Knowing that there is another book to look forward to
What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Hoping that the bad guys would be taken out
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and Janus Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
Quickie review: 3.75 stars. This was pretty good. It was heavy on the suspense and action but I enjoyed the story and writing style. There was not as much chemistry and sexy focus as most romance. But the characters were mature and there were no silly miscommunications. It kept my attention and I wanted to keep reading. This was my first read by this author but will definitely not be my last.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Into the Storm by Rachel Grant in return for my honest review.
Into the Storm is book one in the ‘Evidence: Under Fire’ series by Rachel Grant and the first I have read by this author. If you enjoy Navy Seal action/ romance books then you’ll love this one, it had me hooked from the start till the end. This is a story full of action with a few twist thrown in once you start this you won’t want to put it down, can’t wait to see where this series goes next.
Into the Storm is book one in the ‘Evidence: Under Fire’ series by Rachel Grant and the first I have read by this author. If you enjoy Navy Seal action/ romance books then you’ll love this one, it had me hooked from the start till the end. This is a story full of action with a few twist thrown in once you start this you won’t want to put it down, can’t wait to see where this series goes next.
5 Stars
I really adored this book from start to finish. It was so well written that I felt like I was there. I spent my entire day reading because I couldn’t put it down. Thank you to the author for such a wonderful book.
I really adored this book from start to finish. It was so well written that I felt like I was there. I spent my entire day reading because I couldn’t put it down. Thank you to the author for such a wonderful book.
This book right here is why I love romantic suspense! The on the edge of your seat, what could happen next feelings along with the perfect amount of romantic tension makes this book hit the perfect spot. This book was filled with unknowns and kept me on my toes the whole time. My heart pounded during the suspenseful scenes and kept me reading well into the night because I could not put this book down. The story was wonderfully written and I could not get enough of Audrey and Xavier! I'm excited to get the prequel, Before the Storm, to see how these two first hit it off! I also can't wait for the next book in this already brilliant series!
I’ve been meaning to read Rachel’s work for sometime since we was an archeologist for a while before she made the switch. I decided on the 4th that I would read a fun book and I’m so happy I picked this one! It’s her new series- it’s won awards and it was very ❤️