DARK OF NIGHT by Suzanne Brockmann

DARK OF NIGHT by Suzanne Brockmann

This isn't so much an interview as it is a stream of consciousness of my thoughts about reading this book.

Life is hard. Life is complicated. And, boy oh boy...life is messy!

Once again I'm in the shower, the place I do some of my best thinking, and I just can't shake my thoughts about DARK OF NIGHT. Is it the characters? The plot? The ending? What? What? I'm thinking...and thinking...and thinking.

The stories that Ms. Brockmann writes, whether about her Navy SEALS or the gang at Troubleshooters Inc., in theory would seem a bit implausible. However, that's never what I'm thinking when I'm reading her books. I'm usually wondering how I would react in the same set of circumstances.

Would I find love? What would I do after excruciating loss? Do SEALS really come and go with as much frequency as her books imply? And, most frequently, I'm wondering how I would endure being a military wife. Could I, with a life and career of my own, in love with a man who's life and future are dictated by someone else, stay in that relationship? Accept our lives being tossed about by the Navy's whim? Do I have enough spine to endure the worry and separation?

Back in the shower I'm wondering whether it says more about me or the writer that I'm thinking this much about the book. Like the proverbial mouse on the wheel over and over again I'm trying to break down why Decker and Tracy, the most unlikely of friends, much less lovers, won't let me go.

I bought this book because as a general rule I love the way Suzanne Brockmann writes. Not every book is a grand slam, but I've never left one of her books feeling cheated either. I also bought it because I wanted needed to read how Ms. Brockmann was going to resolve the surprise ending in the previous book INTO THE FIRE. Frankly, though, I really enjoyed the focus on the relationship dynamic between Tracy and Decker.

One other thing I was conscious of while reading this book was the dense and complex world Ms. Brockmann has created. More so than many other books and series, her characters populate more than one book and may have a secondary story in another book after they've been the focal story. Conversely, a single or group of characters can have secondary story lines for several books before taking center stage.

It makes the reading both more fun and more frustrating. However, it is always a marvel to see these characters from previous books grow, evolve and see their lives go on beyond the book they 'starred' in.

As I was reading DARK OF NIGHT snippets and vignettes of characters came and went through the pages. I was amazed that these didn't feel like add-ons and one dimensional people appearing on the page. Some how Ms. Brockmann retains their character integrity and often enhances it.

At the end of the day and this book, I find myself thinking about what loving someone means. How far do you go? How much do you endure? Is it really 'falling' in love or walking straight ahead knowing that it's going to be hard and saying 'yes' to it anyway?

So maybe I should have started by saying,

Love is hard. Love is complicated. And, boy oh boy...love is messy.

Good book. B+ from me.

2009 Re-Read Challenge

Letters to Kelly by Suzanne Brockmann

This is for Nath's Re-Reading Challenge. I haven't formally signed up for her challenge because in truth I rarely re-read even though my bookshelves are full of books I love. My theory has always been that when I'm old and can't afford books my shelves will be full of all these great books to re-read. This book fits that premise to a 'T'.

Every once in awhile, as I mentioned in previous posts, a book from the past pops into my head and just won't let go. The irony of this is that on any other day you may mention the title of the very same book and I will look at you with a blank stare. My brain and books are tricky like that.

So I fell into the re-read challenge because LETTERS TO KELLY just wouldn't leave me alone.

In this story the H/H meet when she is only 12 years old. Of course Jax doesn't have any romantic feelings for his best friend's little sister right then, but over the course of the next several years he watches her grow up and his feelings change.

Kelly O'Brien is not your average 17-year old. For one thing her parents have made sure she has a good sense of self. Sure she thinks Jax is fun, good looking, smart and a good person, but she isn't a little girl following her brother's best friend around wearing her heart on her sleeve and carrying a trunk sized crush. She has plans for herself and her life.

When her date gets sick and can't go to prom, Jax who has been waiting for Kelly to get a little older, volunteers to take her instead. They have a wonderful evening, stay out too late and almost cross a line that Jax had promised Kelly's brother, and himself, he wouldn't.

The argument and split friendship that follow are not only plausible but realistic. Ms. Brockmann does well to portray the worry, betrayal and outrage a friend might feel finding his kid sister in a clinch with someone seven years older than she is.

What happens? Separation. A separation that is painful for both of them, but in drastically different ways. More than three years go by. Between them they survive marriage, divorce, going back to college and imprisonment in a Third World country.

This little category romance explores whether or not their individual experiences apart have created too great a chasm for them to cross to begin again. Trust, obviously, plays a big part of this.

I enjoyed my second reading of this story. I thought that Ms. Brockmann had just the right touch dealing with the age difference and did so honestly. I picked this up thinking that Jax had been a soldier. I was surprised, but not disappointed when I remembered and realized he was a journalist and not a man in the military. However, my memory of the sensibility of a young man being far away from home and longing for the people he loves was present and tangible. I'm glad I read this one again.

RWA List

I don't have one. A list. You know for RWA. I don't have a list. No list of books I'm taking to read on the road trip. No list of books I'm going to buy at the Literacy signing. No list of stuff I need to pack and not forget, like a sleeping bag for Jane for Tuesday night. She might appreciate me getting it cleaned too don't you think?

Yep, I said it. I don't have a list. For all of you free thinkers out there who capably fly through life without a list. Here's my big fat raspberries to you.

Some of us lesser mortals need things like Lists like babies need binkies, blankies, or woobies. I need lists. Absurdly they make me feel safe, comfortable and in control.

Yes, all that and I don't have a list for RWA. Yet. I started my first one tonight. Want to guess what it is?

List for RWA

1. Make list of authors I need to tackle meet at the Literacy signing.

Anybody want to tell me what it means when one starts a list making a note to make another list? If I weren't so happy I'm getting organized I think I'd be worried.

One last note completely unrelated to the rest of this post. I can't get a couple of elements and storylines from the Brockmann book out of my head. Hurry, somebody read it so we can talk about it.

INTO THE FIRE by Suzanne Brockmann

INTO THE FIRE by Suzanne Brockmann

I'll get this out of the way, INTO THE FIRE (excerpt) was a damn good book and I just spent most of Sunday reading it. I'm tired and spent from the experience. I should be asleep, but sleep is overrated when you have a good book isn't it?

I know that military suspense isn't for everyone. In my opinion this book is more than that. This is a book about people and relationships. Yes, there is covert operations, military and spy stuff in this book, but there are also some great characters in this book. While the blurb on the jacket will tell you that it's about Hannah Whitfield and Vinh Murphy there are several story lines going on and I found all of them interesting. While INTO THE FIRE has the requisite HEA for the main characters, some story lines end and others are left dangling.

One other word of caution I have is to first time readers of Brockmann, (are there still some out there?) I had moments of getting characters and situations from previous books confused.

Ms. Brockmann has written over 40 books now and there's been a lot of couples between the Troubleshooters Inc. agency and SEAL Team 16. Multiple story lines and couples in those books have overlapped. I haven't decided whether or not this is more of a detriment to people who have read the books or those who haven't. Ms. Brockmann does a pretty good job of clearing things up in a few paragraphs or pages, but it still made me a little dizzy a time or two.

Hannah and Murphy are both emotionally and physically damaged people. The one thing each of them has is their friendship. They both use their relationship to anchor them. They each, in their own way, use the other to help weather the individual tragedy of their lives. There is some powerful stuff there and I only wish we could have spent more time with just Hannah and Murphy as the story's focus.

One thing I can say, is if you are a Brockmann fan you'll love this book. If you are looking to visit characters from past books you will, but not the usual suspects. Ms. Brockmann is beginning to arc story lines for secondary characters from other books. Izzy Zanella? He's in this book. Decker? Dave? Sophia? They are in this book. They all have interesting secondary story lines that at times almost over take the main focus from Murphy and Hannah.

I wanted to read more about all of them. It definitely left me wanting more and to know what's going to happen next. INTO THE FIRE also reminded me to never miss an opportunity to tell someone I care about, "I love you". You can never say that too many times. Any time a book makes me think like that, in a real way that impacts my life, well I have to call that a good book and a good way to spend a day.

You don't call...you don't write...

Is this going to be one of those chicken and egg things? I'm talking about Twitter. Will I never feel the same way about my comfy and familiar blog now that the new kid's in town?

When you don't have a lot of time just typing a quick 'tweet' for Twitter is a quick fix. Kind of like fast food. It tastes good and feels good when you do it, but it's just not as satisfying as a good, well balanced home cooked meal. *dun dun dun* Or is it?

I'm already wondering if I'll neglect my blog because the temptation for the quick fix for updates and contact with my pals out in Romancelandia is so easy with Twitter. Time will tell.

In the meantime, if you don't Twitter just remember you can catch up with what I'm doing on my sidebar. I'm not promising a thrill a minute. I'm just a regular homogenized sort of gal who secretly wishes for thick lucious magenta/purple hair just trying to get along in this world like everyone else. *dun dun dun* Or am I?

Oh, exclusively here on the blog I have to announce I innocently walked into Barnes and Noble after the movie (DARK KNIGHT which was WOWZERS btw) and found INTO THE FIRE by Suzanne Brockmann. I have to say it was a total lovely unexpected surprise. I had to buy it. I had to I tell you.

I'm off to catch up with you all again. Good Lord it's just 10 days to RWA. My heart rate just increased again. I still can't believe I'm going.

JADED

Off and on there's discussion about whether or not because we read so much we become more difficult to please and jaded. I think this is probably more likely to happen to those of us who read one specific genre almost exclusively.

GG and I were talking about this over the weekend. Since I've been on a reading binge, so has he. In fact he asked me to give him a book to read. Now normally he reads military, courtroom suspense, or westerns. However, he gets a kick out of reading one of my books every now and then. Surprisingly, in the last two weeks he's read DANGEROUS LOVER by Lisa Marie Rice and he just finished FORCE OF NATURE by Suzanne Brockmann. I can't remember his reading two of my books back to back before...ever.

FORCE OF NATURE was the second Brockmann book he's read. He liked the book well enough. He sort of rolled his eyes a bit over Jules and Robin's love story but he wasn't put off by it at all. He wanted more action! Hands down he liked DANGEROUS LOVER better for it's spiciness and the alpha male. My sweet, kind, considerate husband thinks he's an alpha male. Yeah...NO! But let's keep that between us. It makes him happy to believe it and it amuses me to no end.

It's fun hearing his reactions to books because he's a more eclectic reader than I am not to mention a news junkie so he always has an interesting perspective to offer me. Of course, the drawback is I don't think the book has been written that he thinks has too much sex and not enough story. Oy!

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes when we talk amongst ourselves I think we are a little jaded. My theory goes something like this. Because we read such a high volume of books maybe we don't savor and appreciate a book that someone who reads less frequently might. Or, because we read so much we have higher expectations. Either way, those of us who are prolific readers are discriminating and hard graders I think. That's why having a discussion with someone who reads our favorite genre so infrequently is so much fun. And interesting. And, uh...stimulating.

Meanwhile since GG's on a roll he asked me for another book. I wanted to give him THE HOLDING by Claudia Dain because Jane at Dear Author said Ned liked it. But alas my copy is in one of the tubs in the storage shed and way too much work to rescue. So I'm thinking of giving him HIGH NOON by Nora Roberts or CROSSROADS CAFE by Deborah Smith. I don't think he's ready for FAIRYVILLE by Emma Holly, do you?

What do you guys think? Is there a favorite book of yours that your DH or brother or Dad or best male friend read that I need to be handing over to GG? What would you recommend?

Can we talk about books?

Books in Winter by Jessie Wilcox Smith

I've been tagged for a book meme by KristieJ and I decided what the heck I'll give it a whirl. Although I have to confess I did some estimating with my book count because I didn't take them all off the shelves to count. There are just too damn many to move. K? But if I erred it was on the conservative side I didn't round up.

1. Total number of books I own: Just me? Uh, 2302. Guess I don't have to worry about having something to read when I'm old...right?


2. Last book I bought: COMING UNDONE by Susan Andersen


3. Last book I read: AGNES AND THE HITMAN by Bob Mayer and Jennifer Crusie


4. Five books that mean a lot to me: This one is hard. The most I can say is that just for today these are the five books I'd choose. Tomorrow I might choose a different five books.

a. FAREWELL THE STRANGER by Saliee O'Brien. My first romance. A book found in my grandparents basement. I talked all about it here.

b. OVER THE EDGE by Suzanne Brockmann. This is special for a weird reason. In the book terrorists take over a plane. I finished this book the night of September 10, 2001. Just two weeks before we'd seen a repeat on 60 minutes about this guy Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. When 9/11 happened the first thing I said to GG was it was terrorists and I bet it was that Bin Laden guy. The primary love story isn't what resonated with me it was that Suzanne Brockmann had probably written the book a year (or more) earlier and captured the political times of the world we live in and the men and women who fight against terrorism.

c. SHADES OF TWILIGHT by Linda Howard. I just love the characters Roanna Davenport and Webb Tallant. It's about family, betrayal, dynastys. It's one of the few books I own that I've re-read more than once. I could name a couple of other of Howard's books, but I picked this one to represent them all.

d. JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte. I remember reading this and thinking that everyone deserves to be loved.

e. EXODUS and MILA 18 by Leon Uris. I mentioned MILA 18 before in a meme because this book was very powerful when I read it. These books were written about Jews after the WWII when they were trying to establish a home and country in Israel (Exodus) and about the Polish Jews resistance in the Warsaw ghetto (MILA 18). The books gave history a human face and made it real to me. I cried my eyes out.


5. Tag 5 people. I hate tagging people. I never know who to pick...but I always like reading what other people write. So if you read this and want to do it...please do. How's that?

All I wanna do is

...read. Today I read a grand total of 10 pages. Ten. Ten pages. If you want to get technical about it I re-read five pages to get back into the story and was able to read five more in the waiting room of my eye doctor. Can you believe it? All those appointments with Shmoo over the last six months and we waited a half hour or more. So what happens today? They call me to get my eyes dilated right away. I was ready to read damn it!

Tonight I had to go to a Board meeting of our fire district and be introduced as a new employee. So work, doctor appointment, dinner and Board meeting. Note there is no time for reading. Of course, I guess I could have skipped my blog hopping and writing this post and that would have given me some reading time. At least that's what GG reminded me when I was wanking about it earlier. It goes without saying (doesn't it?) that as things go to complain about lack of reading time is a pretty luxurious one. So time to shut up about it. Besides tomorrow is Friday and then we have the glorious weekend.

Now I better drag my tired butt to bed.

Oh, one final observation of the day. So I confess online, and you can't get much more public than that, that I've been reading two books at once. You can guess what happened right? I'm no longer interested in the other book because I'm getting impatient to read the Brockmann book. I can't remember her last release that I didn't read in a day. So, for now, I've set aside the other book I was reading and am concentrating only on FORCE OF NATURE.

Now I really got to go to bed because my eyes aren't dilated any more but everything looks blurry. That's got to be fatigue and NOT my age. :) My rheumatologist told me that a healthy 50-year old woman (that's me) can now expect to reach the age of 90 if she does two things: stays on top of preventative medicine that is available AND exercises. Yippee! Works for me. I need to keep exercising for flexibility or I'll turn into the Tin Man anyway. By my game of LIFE calculations that's double bonus points for me. I get flexibility and longevity just by exercising. Besides, who needs to be creaky and stiff? Anybody got an oil can?

INTO THE STORM by Suzanne Brockmann

I'm talking about books for the first time in a long time! The book I want to talk about is INTO THE STORM by Suzanne Brockmann. Now I probably wouldn't even have mentioned this book on the blog except that I had read a review of it at AAR . I didn't realize when I started this review I would end up writing a sort of rebuttal of the AAR review, but I found myself doing so because it has been along time since I found myself having such a completely different reading experience than a reviewer.

I admit I'm a fan of Ms. Brockmann. While I have been disappointed by some of my auto-buy authors not delivering the goods (IMO) in hardcover release, she hasn't been one of them. I decided to take a chance on the book. Having been a military brat I've found Ms. Brockmann's books to capture, if not all the reality of life in the military, at least the spirit of that life as I experienced it as a daughter of an Air Force fighter pilot. Regardless of the branch of service, the life of military families nuturing and supporting each other regardless of the diversity in culture, education, religion, socio-economic background etc. is very real. One makes friendships that would probably not be made in any other circumstance. This is even truer for the men and women who are comrades in arms. Both of these realities are integral elements of Ms. Brockmann's books and ones I identify with alot.

I have to say was surprised when I read the AAR review. However, now having read the book I understand better some of Ms. Coleman's criticisms, but disagree with her overall assessment of INTO THE STORM. Ms. Coleman does make some valid points about the language used by the characters, i.e. "prolly". I'm not a big fan of e-euphemisms either, however, it doesn't occur through the whole book and it didn't take me out of the story. At any rate, I thought it was age appropriate to the characters.

Which brings me to my biggest difference of opinion of the book with Ms. Coleman, and that is her opinion that Ms. Brockmann is targeting a younger audience. I am 51 years old and I was engaged in the book from the beginning. I didn't feel put off by the characters ages, actions or speech at all. In fact, I don't really see a twenty-something being as interested in the story as I was...I could be wrong about that, but I don't think so.

Here is the blurb about the book from Amazon:

In a remote, frozen corner of New Hampshire, a Navy SEAL team and the elite security experts of Troubleshooters, Incorporated are going head-to-head as fierce but friendly rivals in a raid-and-rescue training exercise. Despite the frigid winter temperatures, tension smolders between veteran SEAL Petty Officer Mark “Jenk” Jenkins and former cop turned Troubleshooter Lindsey Fontaine after an impulsive night goes awry. And then, suddenly, Tracy Shapiro, the Troubleshooters’ new receptionist, vanishes while playing the role of hostage during a mock rescue operation.

Teaming up with the FBI to launch a manhunt in the treacherous wilderness, Jenk and Lindsey must put aside their feelings as a record snowstorm approaches, dramatically reducing any hope of finding Tracy alive. The trail is colder than the biting New England climate until a lucky break leads to a horrifying discovery–a brutally murdered young woman wearing the jacket Tracy wore when she disappeared. Suddenly there is a chilling certainty that Tracy has fallen prey to a serial killer–one who knows the backwoods terrain and who doesn’t play by the rules of engagement.

In a race against time, a raging blizzard, and a cunning opponent, Jenk and Lindsey are put to the ultimate test. Rising everything, they must finally come together in a desperate attempt to save Tracy–and each other.

Jenk has been in other SEAL books of Brockmann's and I have to admit he wasn't someone whose story I was burning to have told. For one thing Mark Jenkins is hardly the average alpha stud usually described in romance novels. In fact, as the book begins he's pretty stupidly focused on a old crush. Weirdly, this was something I identified with--his reluctance to give up on his idealized fantasy relationship. Not that I wanted the crush relationship to be "the one". It was more like, "Hey, sh*t happens". We don't all fall for the right person first time out of the gate.

Lindsey is flawed also. I liked this character alot. There are more people like Jenk and Lindsey in the world than the sort of perfection we usually read about in romance novels. The characters are engaging, flaws and all and I think accessible and easy to identify with for most readers. It was no hardship to follow them through their trials and tribulations to HEA.

The AAR review also noted a sad lack of secondary characters for the reader to care about. I disagree here too. Brockmann does well layering in secondary characters in several books before their own stories are told. I found several characters I would be interested in hearing more about like: Irving Zanella, Dave Malkoff, Decker and Sophia to name a few.

My sister, who is a huge Brockmann fan, was anxious to find out how I liked the book after we had discussed the AAR review. This is what I told her, "Is it her (Brockmann's) best book? No. Is it her worst book? No. It's stardard Brockmann fare."
Good writers can't write an exceptional book every time, but I think it is reasonable to expect a good read from a good writer. For me, I got what I was looking for. One could say that the books I've read recently might have been just too light weight when compared to the writing chops of Ms. Brockmann and perhaps that's the reason why I liked the book...something a little meatier to sink my teeth into. Or, one could say, Suzanne Brockmann wrote a good book.

Lots of Stuff...

Have you ever been in a situation where your employer keeps offering you a promotion to a job that while you are flattered to be asked, you really don't want the job? It's been happening to me for a couple of months now. It actually began when I turned in the ill fated two week notice and got sucked back into my original job, albeit with a lot more money.

As for the promotion, I have emailed, phoned and had face to face conversations being as polite and firm as I can refusing. I've finally gotten blunt. It's heady stuff that ego boosting "we can't do it without you" pitch. But I think they finally know I really, really, NO REALLY don't want the job. In fact, I'm holding on to my original agreement to leave in another 5 months (of the 6 month term I agreed to come back for).

You know I've had some tough employers, nice employers...all whom have given me great reviews and references, but I don't think I've ever had an employer seem so genuinely anxious to retain my services. Like I said...very heady stuff. Have to keep your eyes or your personal goals and ideals or you end up prostituting yourself for more money and hating your life. Okay I totally said that to remind myself of same. ; )

Next on the agenda...book news.
I'm pretty excited about some recent book purchases. First of all I'm a Lisa Kleypas fan and her latest IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN was a fine read. I admit that I try to refrain from having too high expectations with authors I like because it never seems to fail that as soon as I get hyped they pen a real clunker. This was good though.

OTOH, I usually enjoy Christina Dodd's books and her latest which was a part of her governess series was, to borrow Karen's phrase, a real snooze fest. Bummer!

Off and on I read Erin McCarthy books which to date have pretty much fallen into the "okay" category. However, I really enjoyed THE PREGNANCY TEST. For those of you who don't know, Erin won a writing contest put on by Lori Foster and that's how she started her publishing career.

Right now I'm anxious to read the second Lynn Viehl book in the Darkyn series, PRIVATE DEMON. I'm anxious to see if she can continue the intrigue and uniqueness she created in the first book.

Lastly I just purchased Emma Holly's COURTING MIDNIGHT. I've read Emma Holly books that I absolutely love and other's I've finished scratching my head and saying WTF? So I've got my fingers crossed on that one.

By the way since I know I haven't mentioned it before. I think Suzanne Brockmann did an awesome job with the Gina and Max story line in her last release BREAKING POINT. If you go to the Amazon link it only show 3 1/2 stars with a lot of complaints about how she handled the age difference, etc. If you are a fan I think she did a great job. Most people would be conflicted if they were Max about the circumstances of their meeting. If you don't know the history and haven't read the book that set their story up I think you may have a problem with the book, but as a fan with high expectations, I thought she did a great job with their story line.

Don't be fooled by this paltry list. I've got a TBR pile that is shameful, but I just can't stop buying a new release that catches my fancy. I'm damn lucky I have such a generous book allowance and a very indulgent husbink.