War destroyed him… could she save him?Special forces operative Hoyt Crowe wasn’t just damaged… he was broken. After suffering brutal torture in captivity, his once lively spirit is shattered. Now his greatest adversary isn’t some unknown terrorist in a foreign country, it’s himself.Hayden James watched Hoyt slide into a private purgatory of post-traumatic stress disorder, taking her heart with … taking her heart with him. No longer warm and loving, he is cold. Hardened. A shell of his former self.
When an old enemy threatens Hayden’s life, Hoyt must find the strength to slay his inner demons or lose the woman he loves forever.
This is a stand-alone love story. It is book 6 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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Fantastic read. Poor Hoyt can’t catch a break. In previous book he was caught and tortured and he’s not the same. He keeps pushing Hayden away even though he loves her. He thinks she deserves a better man. But when her life is threatened he’ll do anything to save her. Lots of action, love, hurt and yes, terrorists.
Although this could be a standalone book I feel that Reckless River should be read first so that the reader can better understand Hoyt’s psychological pain and his PTSD. The author writes it beautifully and respectfully. Hoyt & Hayden’s story is full of action, mystery, red herrings and compassion. I recommend the entire series.
Fantastic read. Poor Hoyt can’t catch a break. In previous book he was caught and tortured and he’s not the same. He keeps pushing Hayden away even though he loves her. He thinks she deserves a better man. But when her life is threatened he’ll do anything to save her. Lots of action, love, hurt and yes, terrorists.
Hoyt is on Task Force-Scorpion, several months ago he he held hostage and tortured by his own cousin. Scarred and feeling unworthy, he tries to commit suicide. After spending time in a VA psych ward, he’s finally getting back to a sort of normal but refuses to see Hayden. Hayden was his girlfriend until he had his brother tell her he no longer wanted to see her again. Hayden is a psychology student and after being avoided has decided to try and get on with her life. When a home grown terrorist cell is operating in their little town, the team will stop at nothing to keep their family safe. The danger is closer to Hayden than they thought. Then she is shot and Hoyt is devastated and realizes he can’t live his life without her. But is he too late?
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Guessing who the terrorists are or where they are going to strike next. Second chance at love and lots of action.
Book 6 in the Men of Mercy series belongs to Hoyt Crowe and Hayden James. After the nightmare that has been Hoyt’s life since his kidnapping and torture, how could he possibly continue to let Hayden believe they were still together? He has MAJOR problems and feels he’ll never recover which is why he pushes her as far away as possible. He makes it clear he doesn’t want her. To hurt her is the only way to get her to move on. What happens when danger comes to Mercy? Who will protect Hayden then?
Great story! My heart bleeds for Hoyt. The story started strong in chapter 1 and doesn’t let you go until the end. It’s full of action, adventure and sexy alpha men. As always, I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Men of Mercy.
This story was darker in terms of I think for the first time we get to see like the real effect of PTSD more so than the other books. Those PTSD feelings were very strong and god they made me feel terrible and so heartbroken and I could feel how Hayden felt when she tried to pull Hoyt out of his PTSD and I honestly think with these stories you know she does her research and that she is one of the people who have family in the military and she interacts with others. I think she so did it justice and it was amazing.
Hoyt I just wanted to give him a hug through this PTSD aside he was in a whole of self-pity (understandable of course) and he was just so far gone that he really struggled with this new version of himself. I loved how regardless of how he felt about himself he was always willing to protect Hayden.
Hayden man I felt bad for her after the shit she went through with Shane and then the stuff she was going through with Hoyt I just wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her safe. I liked the insight we got in this book about her and Shane and how she felt about it and how Hoyt helped her with those feelings. I loved it. I feel like we saw a different side of Hayden in this which I’m glad.
I loved Merc and Hunter and actually, I just loved them all these characters just make you want to stay in this world and keep coming back I think I’m going to be very sad when I finish reading all of these because what am I going to do?
Hayden is so damn stubborn and I loved that about her, how she wasn’t willing to give up on Hoyt and she knew their feelings for each other would win both of these babies need a big massive hug.
One of my favourite scenes is when Hoyt tells Hayden what he thought of when he was being tortured that even in the darkness she was his light and I loved that.
I also love that Hoyt let Jared back in and they were acting like real brothers again and they made up. (Wow I wonder how many times I said loved in these reviews).
The action scenes were written fabulously! I loved this story so much and it hit me more than the others did in terms of feelings I was sobbing all the way through this book it was amazing.
Hoyt has been put through the wringer, emotionally and physically. He feels he is no longer the man he was and that Hayden is best off without him. I almost blubbed at a certain points cos his pain was just to palpable.
I loved that Hayden didn’t see the scars and pain, she just saw Hoyt. Once she was determined to get him back into her life, the devious minx was determined to get him to see that too. I loved how the author took the evidence available to the characters and managed to spin it so that you were never quite too sure who the bad guys were. All I’ll say is don’t let you preconceived ideas get in the way of a brilliant story.
Please make sure that you read Reckless River first as they will set you for the continuing storyline and you can absorb just how harrowing Hoyt’s torture was.
Love, life, betrayal and The Men Of Mercy are Alphas you just can’t stop reading about as you follow this story engaged from page to page just to find out what happens. A must read series.