Well, well, well. A prime example of what a couple of plot twists can do, hidden in plain sight - and yours truly reaaaally liked that!

In the first book of Rockfort Security, we see Jack Brandt, one of said Security's members, struggling to escape from an illegal military organization, where he was tortured when its leader found out he was a spy. Beaten bloody and naked, he ends up suffering from slight amnesia outside Morgan Rains's wood cabin. Morgan is a young widow who's been going through the motions of life ever since her husband died. By finding Jack and helping him, she becomes involved with the mess following him - and for once in her life after her dead husband passed away, starts living again, as they both fight to make it to safety and bring down the evil chasing them.

I enjoyed this story way too much. Not only was it carefully written, but its pace was fast and unforgiving, and the love scenes were scorching hot and well-placed! The suspense never left the story until the very last pages, and the emotional roller-coaster we had to go through because of Morgan and Jack was much appreciated.

Speaking of Morgan and jack, they were amazing. Jack was full of honor, so protective, always putting Morgan's well-being above everything else. He was so obviously in love with her it hurt to read, but didn't even realize it until she was taken from him - typical male, but still understandable. His concern for her being happy and safe even reached the point where he had convinced himself she would be better off without him, because he didn't wish to have her repeat the experience of losing a husband to a gun.

Morgan, on the other hand, was the epitome of wonderful female lead. While she was hurting and she was scared of all this sudden danger in her life, she had enough sense in her to realize she could move on and fall in love again, and the world wouldn't come to an end - she would not be betraying her husband by being happy. She was determined and clever, even if she knew she was weak and at many times helpless. She used her mind and her psychological knowledge to cover up for her mishaps, and she balanced emotional and logical like a pro.

I wish I get to read many more couples like those two, they were what I needed these days. I've read the next book and I'll be reviewing that one, too, sometime soon, but I have a feeling Morgan and Jack are my favorite couple in the series yet. ( )

Bad Nights by Rebecca York
#1 in the Rockfort Security series
★★

Synopsis: When Professor Morgan Rains goes out to investigate a strange sound coming from her backyard, the last thing she expects to see is a naked man covered with burns and bruises. Jack Brandt is a former Navy SEAL on an undercover mission, and he's barely managed to escape from a terrorist militia's torture. When his torturers come back to claim him, he and Morgan are thrown into a pressure cooker of danger and intrigue, and they soon find themselves falling in love. When Morgan is captured, Jack must rescue the woman whose life now means more to him than his own.

My Thoughts: A book with a great premise that just didn't live up to it's potential.

What Worked: The set up for this book was really great. An ex-Navy SEAL who goes undercover to investigate a militia group is compromised and tortured, barely escaping with his life. How awesome does that sound? This really could have been touted as a thriller similar to the likes of Lee Child's Jack Reacher books yet it falls so very flat on every aspect that finishing it was a chore. Which leads me into.....

What Didn't Work: A series of unlikely events compromised the integrity of the book. We're to suspend our disbelief that a man tortured so severely he can barely see, walk or even maintain consciousness is able to rally after only a few hours of sleep to escape a burning cabin, traipse through the woods, take out an enemy soldier and fight off a mountain lion. We also have to believe that a professor of Psychology doesn't know the difference between a psychopath, a sociopath or someone with an antisocial personality. "Did that mean she was in the clutches of a psychopath? Or sociopath? Or someone with an antisocial personality? Whatever you wanted to call it." (straight from said professor's thoughts.) We also have to believe that a security firm made up of an ex-Navy SEAL, an ex-Army MP and an ex-cop would take a job without investigating their new client, after they all agree isn't telling them the full truth and know he didn't even tell them his real name. We also have to believe that the money man behind the militia is waging war on Washington DC and planning on killing hundreds if not thousands because he lost his son at war. And yes, we are also to believe that a woman still mourning her husband who died a year and a half earlier (yes we know she is because that is all she thinks about and is actually watching old video tapes of them together just prior to finding Naked Man outside her cabin) is no longer thinking of her dead husband but hoping to make a relationship work with said Naked Man a mere 48 hours after meeting him.

In addition to this we have inconsistencies with a ladies button down long sleeve shirt which Gail had to take off so Naked Man can inspect her forearm because her button down shirt didn't have buttons on her cuffs to which she could simply undo and roll up her sleeve. A situation where those crazy kids were soaked with rain yet their shirts were stiff with blood (wet blood does not get stiff), Gail's unusual forearm that happens to be above her elbow. "The animal had left teeth marks in her forearm, above her elbow." and her amazing ability to hypnotize someone by simply saying "Relax now. Relax now. We're going back to that beach." because she took a class once in college.

In a Nutshell: A series of unbelievable events, inept professionals and insta-love makes Bad Nights just, well, bad. I couldn't recommend this in good conscience to fans of Romantic Suspense which is a darn shame. I have read several of York's Harlequin Intrigue Rom/Susp books and I very much enjoyed them. Too bad this wasn't one of those. If it had been it would have been 100 pages shorter and less taxing to read. ( )

This book has lots of running and suspense. But then that makes sense since it's romantic suspense ;)

The book starts when Morgan finds a nekkid man outside in the rain. She is nice and takes him inside. Now she is careful too, I mean he is a weird nekkid man. She has compassion and common sense.

The nekkid man is Jack. He was working undercover and was found out. Ex navy seal, tough guy, good guy. Together are they, well there is suspense so you can understand that it get intense (for I reason I wont say.) At the same time there are some feelings slowly growing (well slow and slow, but thinking how much they go through I will say slow.) But she is a widow and mourns, and he is the tough guy whose work is not safe.

There were a few parts that were a bit so and so, but overall they did not bother me too much.

Oh and the evil guy was a total creep.

Romance, suspense, danger! ( )

I'm getting more into romance. Here we have a grieving woman and a man who feels major guilt for things in his past. They meet most unusually and the adventure helps both of them heal and open themselves to the future. ( )

I've only read Ms. York's paranormal books so I'm familiar with her writing and kinda knew what to expect, but she blew me away with this one. I loved that both characters were strong but slightly flawed in some way. With Morgan still greaving for her husband and being able to sit that aside and come back to a place where she takes control of her issues and fights back to save not only herself but Jack and his friends was amazing. Jack is suffering from guilt for coming back alive when all his fellow team mates were killed, but he still fought like a madman to get to Morgan and the truth. I felt as if I was right there with them in that cave and I loved every uncomfortable minute of it. Hopefully, I won't have to wait to long to read about Max and Shane.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. ( )