The guardians, the shadowy heroes of the top-secret program designed to protect members of the most elite government organizations, are being hunted down one by one. There is a single explanation: a traitor must be embedded somewhere in their midst. But if they themselves are the target, who will protect them? CIA operative Renee Niezen has heard tales of the guardians, though she’s never really … never really believed in their existence—until she is approached by Charlotte, an old friend who desperately needs her help to stop the systematic destruction of the guardian program. Renee accepts the plea for assistance, but not everyone is thrilled to have her on the team. Kade—one of the last guardians standing—is unimpressed with Renee’s qualifications and turns instead to the legendary Saint Squad for help. But when Renee is caught in the crosshairs, Kade must set aside his antagonism for the woman in order to protect her. Their grudging alliance soon develops into much more—but before the pair can examine their feelings, their investigation takes a dramatic twist. With lives on the line, Renee and Kade must use their spy training at every turn as they draw dangerously close to the shocking truth.
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The Guardians are Ghosts. No one knows they’re alive–they all have death certificates, grave sites and their relatives and friends believe they’re dead–so how can someone be killing off the Guardians? There’s got to be a mole or a leak. But where is it–CIA, FBI, NSA, SEALS? Who wants them all dead and why? Renee Niezen is a CIA operative and finds out the tales she’s heard of the Guardians is true when her friend Charlotte asks for her help to find out who’s killing them off one by one. The only problem is Kade (a Guardian himself) doesn’t really want her there to help.
I don’t think Renee knew exactly what she was getting into when she agreed to help Charlotte. She probably thought she’d be poking around some secure data bases looking for a backdoor program or something. I already know I couldn’t be a spy but I don’t think I’d be a very good Guardian either. Kade has to keep his cool and work with people under very distressing and often dangerous circumstances, while trying to get them to safety. That’s definitely not in my wheelhouse.
I liked that we got to see the Saint Squad when Kade asked them to help out. It’s always good to see those guys. I feel as if they’re old friends because I’ve read all of the books about the elite SEAL team. I liked that we got both Renee and Kade’s point of view in the book. I’m in love with this new series by Traci Hunter Abramson and hope there are many more Guardian books in the future.
This is one of those Traci Abramson books that’s hard to review without giving things away. If you’re looking for suspense you’ve come to the right place. So much suspense, and even in the parts that are a little “quiet” (for lack of a better term) there’s still a lot of tension in the air. I was so sucked into this story sometimes I forgot I was reading about fictional people.
I listened to the audiobook on the Deseret Bookshelf app.
Once again, my husband and I quite enjoyed this book in the Guardian series. The intrigue and mystery really kept our attention as we read. I feel like since Traci worked in CIA herself, she’s able to cover a lot of holes others might not even be aware of. Obviously I don’t know anything about government intel and intrigue or the processes that are followed with some of the things that happen in these books, but I think Traci covers everything quite well.
I love Renee and her willingness to do the hard things she’s expected to do. The unexpectedness that comes with her sudden job offer would be really tough. She has a lot of problems she has to deal with and I think she does really well with everything. I liked that she eventually learned how to use her operative CIA training to assist Kade in the work he had to do.
Kade (Ghost) is such a surly companion. My husband and I laughed quite often at his insistence to stay apart from everyone, even Renee. He definitely learned a lot throughout the book and it was interesting to watch him open his shell to Renee. He may still have more to learn but watching him grow some was fun.
Also, the SEALS and their wives were pretty awesome. I hope we see more of them in the future!
Once again, there is a definite romance thread weaving through the story, maybe even more than the first book. But the mystery and suspense was still strong.
Note: steamy kissing, still very clean, nothing more than that. Intrigue, shooting, some blood.
The characters in this book are exceptional.
I love the characters in this book and the unique premise. Makes me think this could really happen. This author really knows how to keep me turning the pages.