To the Brink by Cindy Gerard

I read the first book in Gerard's Bodyguard series, To the Edge, and wasn't that impressed with it (gave it a C+) but decided to try the 3rd book in the series after hearing good things about it. Whoever recommend this on their blog, thank you! TTB is a jungle story combined with a second chance story, two of my favorite storylines.

The series is centered around a family security agency called E.D.E.N, Inc. founded by the father and named after his four children (Ethan, Dallas, Eve and Nolan) who are now employed by the agency. As the story begins, Darcy Prescott, Ethan's ex-wife, is in trouble. She works in the diplomatic service in Manila. When a co-worker leaves her a tape just before being killed in an alleged hit and run accident, she calls her ex-husband, Ethan, begging him for help on his answering machine. But before he can return her call she is kidnapped off the streets by terrorists.

Ethan and his siblings all have experience in covert operations so he was the right person for Darcy to call. But Ethan and Darcy have a past which is slowly revealed in several flashbacks. The couple met in Lima, Peru, and fell in love at first sight and marry. Darcy is employed by the diplomatic corp and Ethan is a special forces soldier so they see each other infrequently. After an incident in Tel Aviv when Darcy is attacked and Ethan kills her attacker, their marriage falls apart and they divorce. When Ethan hears Darcy's message and learns of her disappearance, he gathers a rescue team and tracks her to the jungles of the Philippines.

Of course, Ethan and Darcy have never stopped loving each other. I liked both these characters and they made a very likeable couple. Ethan has issues and like a typical male :) doesn't like to talk about them. The action was fast paced and edgy which kept my interest and made it hard to put down. The flashback scenes were interspersed throughout the action and showed how their relationship developed from the beginning with sizzling loves scenes through their breakup. These flashbacks could have been distracting but weren't at all. They helped explain how these two got to the present state of their relationship and I think it was an excellent piece of writing. Gerard's writing reminded me quite a bit of Brockmann's best. The secondary romance was also intriguing but I don't believe that book (#6 - Into the Dark) comes out until next year (damn).

My grade: A-

I'm hoping the first book in the series was a hiccup because I plan on finding book #2, To the Limit (Eve's story) and book #4 - Over the Line. Book #5 - Under the Wire, is scheduled for release in December.