Cover Me: Elite Forces: That Others May Live, Book one [Mass Market Paperback]

Cover Me by Catherine Mann
Romantic Suspense -July 1st, 2011
4 stars

Cover Me was a surprising suspense novel. It is set in the cold, barren wastelands of Alaska where the two main characters must fight for survival with just their wits and their well honed skills.

Real life hero, Wade Rocha is part of an elite team of Pararescuemen who go on death defying missions to save people from terrible conditions. His latest assignment is to save a group of climbers in the frigid Aleutian Islands. There he and his team find a straggler and Wade parachutes down. His mission is to find her and help her survive the deadly cold weather until help can safely rescue them both. But Wade is in for a big surprise when the woman he is supposed to save doesn't want to be saved at all! And she shows him some tricks that have him dazzled.

Sunny Foster and her dog Chewie are stranded. Caught in a blizzard until she can reach her `off the grid' town. She and the local deputy have escorted two of their town members, Ted and Madison, to a new life away from their secret community. Sunny lives in an isolated town that wants nothing to do with the outside world, let alone the government. Although Sunny finds her `hunky' rescuer attractive she knows she must loose him and keep the knowledge of her town safe from the rest of the world. But Wade is tenacious. When they are both shot at and then stumble upon the dead bodies of Ted and Madison, Sunny finds that she may need some extra help after all. Because she suspects someone in her small community may be the murderer...

This story was very original. I liked how the author gave the feeling of living in a hostile environment and how the two main characters were very savvy at surviving. Both seemed very well matched. But since Sunny has been living in an isolated town cut off from much of the rest of the world, she was a little naïve and paranoid. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Wade's character. For women who love living heroes like firemen. I have to tell you, Pararescuemen are even better! He and his team of buddies are funny, hot and save the day. And not even break out into a real sweat! I hope the author writes about the rest of the team members.

As for the story, while not overly complex, I also found the mystery behind the murders involving. The villain was certainly twisted and clever. The only thing I found a bit strange was Sunny's brother. I was still confused about his involvement in the story and felt his character was a bit tacked on. There is also another side love story including Sunny's seemingly vulnerable, deaf sister which was very entertaining.

Awesome real life heroes and an engrossing and tense mystery. Plus two romances round out a very suspenseful read.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

Ever have one of those books you just couldn't put down, even when you had to go to sleep because you had work the next morning? Cover Me, by Catherine Mann, is one of those books. I couldn't put it down if I wanted to, and trust me, I didn't want to.

I've loved Catherine Mann's books since her Ops series. This book measures right up there with those. The writing flows and kept my attention. Heck, I wasn't even sure what time it was when I finally did close the book. The scenes are vivid and the characters unforgettable. I don't know a whole lot about paratroopers and pararescue techs but in the case of this book, it wasn't a huge deal. It was really like I was there on the Aleutian Islands, tromping through the snow with Brick and Sunny.

Let's talk about the characters. Sunny is more than a little hard-headed, but she's realistic. I liked that she wasn't about to take guff from Brick. Plus the chemistry is spot on. Who can honestly knock a guy who wants nothing more than to rescue you? Not me.

Then there's Brick. He's just as stubborn, but again, it's believable. I rooted for him because I wanted to see him melt a little. And I liked how they melted together. Phew.

There's a ton of plot twists and things I didn't see coming in this book. Bodies in the snow? Check. Scorching snuggle time between the hero and heroine for the sake of keeping warm? Check. A baddie that's all bad and it's so much fun? You guessed it. Check.

If you want a book that's got a little mystery, a little action, lots of snow, and lots of heat, then you need to snag a copy of Cover Me. It's a great read.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

STORY BRIEF:
In the Aleutian Islands (in Alaska near Russia) is a village of people living "off the grid" (no credit cards, no utilities, no tax returns). They grow their own food in hot houses. The sun and volcanic heat provide energy. When Sunny was a teenager her family moved there because her brother Phoenix went AWOL from the military, and they wanted to keep him out of jail. She has a younger sister Misty. Sunny is now 27. She runs an exercise club, does survival training, and performs guide services. Occasionally village members leave. Anyone who leaves is asked not to return to protect the secrecy of the village. Ted and Madison left. Sunny was their guide taking them through the mountain pass. As she was returning, a blizzard temporarily stranded her.

Wade is a pararescueman with the U.S. Air Force. His team rescued some hikers who were stranded near Sunny. They noticed Sunny and sent Wade to stay with her until the weather calmed enough to allow a pickup. Sunny doesn't need him or want him there. She won't tell him about her village. She tries to sneak away from him and falls into a ravine. He follows her and they discover the dead bodies of Ted and Madison. Then someone starts shooting at them but runs off when the rescue helicopter arrives. Sunny is forced to go with Wade to the authorities where an investigation discovers more dead bodies in the ravine.

The main bad guy is taking money from the Russian mob. He brings in terrorists and weapons and has them live in the village temporarily until moving on into other parts of the U.S.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This was pretty good for romantic suspense. I had no major problems with it. Sunny and Wade are drawn to each other but the odds are against a relationship. She needs to return to her village which must to be kept secret from him and the authorities. He will be sent on a four-month mission to Afghanistan. Knowing they couldn't be together was the main conflict between them for much of the book. During the bad-guy-crisis Sunny and Wade have a fight. It didn't fit. It felt unnecessary. I suspect some editor or other person advised the author to include a fight, so she added it after the fact. Oh well. On balance, if you're looking for romantic suspense and have nothing else to read, go ahead and try it.

I had a logic problem but it wasn't major. Someone warns the military that some bad guys are going to blow up a nuclear power plant. The military goes there to catch the bad guys and find the bombs. Why did they take three civilians with them? I saw no reason. Of course something bad happens to one of those civilians.

I was disappointed that the author never finished the story about Sunny's brother Phoenix. There were a couple of bad guys living in the village. I wanted to know more details about those guys. I also wanted to know more about the traveling terrorists who would come into the village for a while and then leave. How did they interact with the locals? Why would the local accept these "foreign strangers" and trust them to keep their secrets.

DATA:
Story length: 322 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 5. Approximate number of sex scene pages: 16. Setting: current day Alaska. Copyright: 2011. Genre: romantic suspense.