"The Paris Betrayal" by James R Hannibal

After a rough mission in Rome involving the discovery of a devastating bioweapon, Company spy Ben Calix returns to Paris to find his perfectly ordered world has collapsed. A sniper attack. An ambush. A call for help that brings French SWAT forces down on his head. Ben is out. This is a severance--reserved for incompetents and traitors. Searching for answers and anticipating a coming attack, Ben and a woman swept up in his misfortunes must travel across Europe to find the sniper who tried to kill him, the medic who saved his life, the schoolmaster who trained him, and an upstart hacker from his former team. More than that, Ben must come to grips with his own insignificance as the Company's plan to stop Leviathan from unleashing the bioweapon at any cost moves forward without him--and he struggles against the infection that is swiftly claiming territory within his own body.

One thing I have gathered from the books I've read by James Hannibal, you can count on a fast-paced international thriller with plenty of twists and turns. The villains are so clever you'd think the hero has no chance--until it proves that the good guys are cleverer yet. 

The story seems to be set post-corona--there are references to the pandemic, but more so in past tense. At this point I'm pretty sick of anything pandemic-related, but it didn't bother me in this book--rather surprising, given that the plot centers on weaponizing plague. But that's the power of engaging characters and captivating plots. I loved how this book continued to surprise me. It would make a great action movie. The author tosses in the occasional spy tip, and the weird thing is, some of them are actually practical for everyday life--like how to survive going through the ice on frozen lake. 

While the story never mentions God or Christianity, it has an allegorical feel; it wasn't until I read the author's notes at the end that I discovered that the story derives a lot from the book of Job (which sounds strange, given this is a spy thriller, but it actually works).

Thank you Revell and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

"The Nature of a Lady" by Roseanna M White - The Secrets of the Isles, book 1

Lady Elizabeth "Libby" Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn't favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage's former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished. Oliver Tremayne--gentleman and clergyman--is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he's happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth's summer cottage . . . especially when he realizes it's the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can't quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him. As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most mysterious phenomenon of all: love.

As one who enjoys botany, I was looking forward to an in-depth look at naturalists of the early 1900's. While it is a subject important to both Libby and Oliver, lets just say the story turned in a different--but plenty exciting--direction: towards local lore and pirates and treasure hunts. I was surprised to discover that the pirate John Mucknell--commissioned by the Prince of Wales in exile himself--is an actual part of the history of the Isles of Scilly (even if the treasure was fiction). As they say, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!

Oliver is as sweet and kind as can be (when not dealing with his arch nemesis, at least), an excellent match for Libby. Libby lacks confidence early in the book, but she grows more of a backbone as time goes on. If I had a problem with the story, it's that Libby's lady's aid, Mabena, is a supremely compelling character--to the point that she overshadowed Libby, and I wanted to skip ahead to Mabena's parts. A decent portion of the book is from her point of view, and she has a fascinating backstory so at odds with her current appearance and profession. And an equally entertaining romance.

I'm excited to spend more time with the characters! Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of Beth and Sheridan and Emily in the books to come. I suspect certain disreputable characters will continue to make life difficult for them as well.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Secrets of the Isles
1. The Nature of a Lady
2. To Treasure an Heiress
3. Worthy of Legend

"Let It Be me" by Becky Wade - Misty River Romance, book 2

Having graduated college at 18, Sebastian Grant has continued to leverage his intelligence and determination to become a pediatric heart surgeon. Then he meets high school math teacher Leah Montgomery, and his fast-spinning world comes to a sudden stop. A math prodigy, Leah has always wanted to pursue her PhD, but after her parents' abandonment, she willingly put that dream on hold to raise her brother. Now that he is of age, she's set on avoiding any obstacles to her goal--including romance. When Leah receives surprising news in the process of taking a test for tracking her ancestry, she asks Sebastian to help her comb through aged hospital records to learn more. Soon his presence isn't so easily ignored. When Sebastian learns his best friend also has feelings for Leah, he feels honor-bound to step back.  Attaining their deepest desires may require more sacrifices than they ever imagined.

Leah is funny. Really funny. When I think of personality traits that might characterize a math prodigy, a solid sense of humor is not one of them, but I loved Leah's way of expressing herself. She's not funny because she's socially inept--in fact, though she is well aware of her lack of skills in the department of interpersonal relations, she's not actually an awkward person. And when she senses she's verging into awkward territory, she will flat out state what she means and and ask what she wants to know--no beating around the bush. While Sebastian can be funny, he's super intense, and Leah's humor balances him nicely. 

Sebastian and Ben's relationship was one of the hardest--and most rewarding--factors in the book, as Ben has been openly (to Sebastian, that is) in love with Leah for two solid years. As infatuated as Sebastian is with Leah, he absolutely refuses to cross the line in pursuing Leah while Ben is in love with her. And even after Ben offers his blessing, it is more important to Sebastian to make sure his relationship with Ben is on solid ground. Theirs is a friendship for the ages.

I can't wait for Luke and Ben's stories--we get a hint of what Luke is up to (freshly released from prison), and we know that Ben is nursing a broken heart, made more complicated by the fact that the girl of his dreams is in love with his best friend. 

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Misty River Romance
0.5: Take a Chance on Me (prequel novella)
1. Stay With Me
2. Let It Be Me
2.5: You and Me (novella)
3. Turn to Me