They say you can’t go home again. Jared Crowe never wanted to. Home meant facing memories of abuse and neglect. Of dark closets and evil nightmares. Of his own relatives intent on killing him. But now his brother’s kidnapping forces him to face those demons. Only this time, Jared isn’t a scared little boy. He’s a full-grown Special Forces operative bent on revenge.As a little girl, Sparrow … Sparrow Pickney risked her life to free two abused boys. As a grown woman Sparrow needs to earn a place in her adopted family’s business or be forced into a life of degradation. The chance to prove her family loyalty comes when she catches Jared spying on the compound and captures him.
When Jared sees his captor, he realizes she’s the girl of his dreams and vows to rescue her from a life of poverty. What Jared doesn’t know is Sparrow may not be the savior he remembers…but the one responsible for abducting and torturing his brother.
Jared is determined to find the truth. But that truth may be more than his heart can take.
This is a stand-alone love story. It’s book 3 in the Men of Mercy series.
Author Interview:
Q: You write Military Romantic Suspense, and though it seems like the Navy SEAL romance books are the most popular, even Black Operations. So why did you choose Special Forces?
A: My husband is active Army and a veteran. The top tier of the Navy is the SEAL Teams. The top tier of the Army is the Special Forces.
I think the SF deserves just as much recognition as the SEALs…they are like the Ghostwalkers of the Army.
Plus- I don’t know jack about swimming.
Q: You based your military romance series on a Special Forces team – Task Force Scorpion. Why did you also decide to put them in a small town setting?
A: Just because you come from a small town, doesn’t mean you can’t be hard core. I grew up in a small town. The men there can be bad boy alpha males just as easily as the men from big cities ☺
Plus, I grew up reading small town romance. I think readers love the feeling of belonging to a community, getting to know all the quirky folks who live there and falling in love with not only the hero but also their friends and family.
Q: You’re books are often about second chances – big secrets. Why?
A: Who doesn’t root for a hero dying for a second chance? Yes, he probably screwed up big time in the past, but how much sweeter is the love between the hero and heroine when they show forgiveness?
As far as big secrets – they’re just fun. Secret babies, corrupt politicians, love triangles…
Believe me – it ALL happens in a small town romance and real life.
Q: Why write Military Romance?
First off, I am kin to and am friends with a lot of military men, and they’re all sweet and well mannered and love their country. But a lot of them are badass, too. Which is what we want when someone’s fighting for our country – 🙂 – and in a hot romantic suspense : A fearless bad boy alpha male who fights for his country and his woman.
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This is a wild read. The brothers Hoyt and Jared return to the Tennessee mountains for revenge. At least Jared is, Hoyt was younger at the time and doesn’t remember much. Although he doesn’t want to go back to the mountains, he has his brothers back. But because of Jared’s insistance, Hoyt is captured and tortured. A lot of sad and terrible things happen in this book.
Wow
This one was a little bit more intense. The brothers head back to Crowe mtn,to get back at the aunt that tortured as little boys. Jared finds Sparrow the little girl who helped them escape, but they have to find Hoyt.
This is a wild read. The brothers Hoyt and Jared return to the Tennessee mountains for revenge. At least Jared is, Hoyt was younger at the time and doesn’t remember much. Although he doesn’t want to go back to the mountains, he has his brothers back. But because of Jared’s insistance, Hoyt is captured and tortured. A lot of sad and terrible things happen in this book.
Sparrow has lived on Crowe Mountain most of her life. When she catches a man spying, she takes him back to her trailer as her prisoner. Jared and his brother are rightful heirs to Crowe Mountain but his aunt tried to kill them when they were children but the escaped. Now military men, they’ve came back to take out their aunt but Jared’s brother is taken and that’s how he gets caught by Sparrow. He convinces Sparrow to help find his brother and when he does, he’s been badly tortured. Delirious, Hoyt says Sparrow helped torture him. Jared kidnaps her and takes her with them. Jared takes them to a brother’s compound like home and keeps her there, locked in a room, until Hoyt can tell them if it was her or not. Sparrow escapes after having her heart stomped on by Jared and goes home to warn Kay, the leader on the mountain, that her son is going to try and kill her. Can Jared get her to forgive him for all the crap he’s put her through?
Sex and edge of your seat action. Great story. I love Mrs. Cross’s books. You feel like you are right in the middle of it.
Book three of the Men of Mercy series is about Jared Crow, Hoyt Crow and Sparrow. When all three were little, Sparrow had rescued the brothers and set them free. Their aunt had them locked away and was starving them. Now grown and members of Task Force Scorpion, Jared is out for revenge on those who wronged him and his younger brother when they were children. Going back to the mountain, the first person he ran into was Sparrow. Can he trust her after all these years or is she now loyal to his evil aunt, Miss Kay?
One problem kept overshadowing this fantastic story. Jared couldn’t make up his mind. One minute he loathes Sparrow and wants to choke her because he thought her responsible for injuring his brother. The next minute he couldn’t keep his hands off her in a completely sexual way. Sparrow was flip-flopping the entire time too! I love the series and I’m a little disappointed in the fickleness of these two characters. Even so, I can’t wait to read the next book.
Also, I love the fact we get a dossier of who is who at the start of the book, it always helps and I’ll never stop loving that!
I think it’s important to say that almost immediately this book was darker than the others and I liked the change and Lindsay Cross wrote it perfectly she manages to find a balance between the light and the dark and she did it so well! I think there is one thing I can say for definite and that is all of Lindsay’s books that I’ve read send me in a spin emotionally and she can apparently get me crying within a few chapters which not many authors can do that to me!
Jared I loved his character I felt bad for him so many times his conflicting feelings over Sparrow about Hoyt. He was such a great character and seeing him going all badass was so hot. I also loved how he had a caring side especially when Sparrow got hurt after trying to escape.
Sparrow oh I felt so bad for Sparrow after finally deciding to leave the mountains with Jared shit happens and he thinks she hurt Hoyt. She had such a shit time and was trying to survive in a world she didn’t even want to be in.
I loved the moments that Jared and Sparrow were together it was so cute and I loved that they built their relationship and they had some cute moments and he was so conflicted about liking her at one point. I loved that they essentially got their happy ending. It was interesting watching how they were being that not only was Jared a strong Alpha Male like the other females in this serious Sparrow was badass and strong and she had much more to prove.
I loved the plot I did not see where this story was going at all and my heart broke for Hoyt. One thing I didn’t see coming was Hoyt and Hayden but I think I totally ship it. So I am very excited for the next one!
Reckless River, the 3rd book in the Men of Mercy Series, was a surprisingly darker, but good read. I have to say there are some dark parts in the first 2 books, but this book took a walk on the darker side.
What this book is about
When brothers Jared and Hoyt Crowe were little their parents died, and their aunt Mrs Kay abused and tried to kill them. The reason they are alive is because a little girl name Sparrow, with golden eyes, snuck in and set them free, saving them. Well Jared isn’t a fearful little boy anymore, and he is hell bent on revenge. When Jared and Hoyt go home to get the revenge Jared needs, Hoyt is captured. Then while trying to save his brother Jared is also captured by none other than Sparrow. When Sparrow realizes who she has captured, she releases him, and vows to not only help him get his brother back, but to go with them. Jared and Sparrow are wildly attracted to each other, and want to start a life together, once they get Hoyt, and get back to safety. But that all changes when they find Hoyt hanging from the ceiling skinned alive and tortured near death. When Sparrow steps forward to help cut Hoyt down, he yells please don’t let her cut me. Jared is seeing red now. He can’t believe the woman he has dreamed about since she saved him, the woman he was going to try to start a life with, did this to his brother. Something Dark snaps inside Jared seeing his brother in so much pain, near death. He doesn’t care if Sparrow swears she didn’t do it. He ties, gags, and kidnaps her. She will pay for what she did to Hoyt. After some time Jared starts to question if this women who he wants so badly, who has helped him many times, could really hurt his brother this way. Will Jared find out the truth? And when he does will he find out the only woman he has ever cared for is evil, or will he be crushed with guilt over the way he treated Sparrow after he finds out she is innocent, and all she did was try to help him?
I really liked Sparrow she was very spunky. She had a horrible life, but she didn’t let it beat her down. She learned to fight. Sparrow had a tough side, but she had a soft, innocent side. Sparrow’s mother was a whore, and a pill popper, so she, never wanting to be like her mom, has never even kissed a guy. She gives her first everything to Jared. My heart broke for her. She fell in love with Jared hard and fast. It was hard to read how one minute he was sweet, tender, and kind then next a total mistrusting jerk. Jared was a complex character. He was damaged, broody, and dark. But Jared also had this sweet side, and this broken child like side that when he showed it made him vulnerable and endearing. Boy could he be an prick! Some of the things he did, and the way he treated Sparrow after finding his brother, wow hard to read, but at the same time I could kinda understand. Hoyt was so messed up, I think anyone would lose their mind to find the one they love like that.
One thing I really liked about Sparrow was that even though Jared didn’t believe her. Even though he had her tied, gagged, and was treating her hostile, and harsh, she didn’t just take it, or break down and cry. She raised her tied up hands and flipped him off. She gave him the slip a few times, and she fought him every step. Jared and Sparrow had a roller-coaster relationship. I loved that when Jared finally wised up, he apologizes. This book was all kinds of angsty drama. The only reason this book isn’t five stars for me, is I wanted a little more of a HEA. They make up and that is it. The epilogue was about Hoyt, which is cool cause I can’t flippin wait for Hoyt’s book, but I would have liked to have seen a little into Jared and Sparrow’s HEA. Maybe it’s that way because the next book will pick up right where this one leaves off. What a deliciously angsty read. I hope Lindsay Cross writes a book for Merc too.