The third book in the Lost Platoon series was full of so much action, an intense plot with several plot twists, a conclusion to the main conflict in the series and an opening for a new spin on the series. It was great. Loved every second of Natalie and Scott’s story. I really don’t want to say much because there is so much that goes on that I don’t want to spoil it. Natalie and Scott had a hard road ahead of them to deal with her betrayal, her role in what happened in Russia, and his ability to bend the rules from time to time. Colt and Kate’s story was also so good and I liked that they got back together and had their own happily ever after, but that is all I’m going to say on the subject. You definitely should read this series. It is filled with intrigue, suspense, great and well developed conflicts and plot and great characters. I’ll hope there will be more in the series.

This one wasn’t as good as book 1. The switching between Kate and Colt (which was so intense; I wish it was their book), to LC and John, and then John and Brittany got tiring after a while. I get why it had to happen; I don’t think it would have been a strong plot without it, but I wanted more of Brit and John, and then I wanted it to stay with Kate and Colt. The plot itself was good, conflict was strong, and character development was good. Not yet decided whether this will be as good or better than her Highland Guard, but will read more in the series. I want Kate and Colt’s book for sure. They will be explosive. Brit and John had their highs and lows which make for great romance and this one takes place mostly in Europe, miss Scotland :-P. I’m glad he opened his eyes before it was too late and lost her for good.

*** ABOUT THE BOOK ***

Title: Going Dark (The Lost Platoon #1)

Author: Monica McCarty

Genre: Romantic Suspense

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*** BOOK BLURB ***

Like Rome's Lost Legion, a SEAL platoon goes on a mission and vanishes without a trace.

After walking into a trap on a covert op in Russia, the men from top secret SEAL Team Nine are presumed dead. Not knowing whom they can trust, and with war hanging in the balance, the survivors must go dark and scatter around the globe.

Marine ecologist Annie Henderson joins her new boyfriend on a trip to the Western Isles of Scotland to protest a hazardous offshore drilling venture. When she realizes that she may be swept up in something far more dangerous than she'd intended, there is only one man she can turn to...

She and the mysterious but sexy dive boat captain haven't exactly gotten off to the best start, but something about his quiet confidence makes her think that he's the kind of man she can depend on. Because he's gruff and guarded, she can tell Dan Warren has secrets. But she could never imagine how high the stakes are for him to keep his cover, even as he risks everything to protect her...

*** REVIEW ***

Going Dark was a high stakes non-stop action story that had some good military and romance elements.

I had several issues with this book. First off, it starts off with the botched mission. While it provided background on what happened, it was focused primarily on team member Brian Mruphy, who wasn’t the character the book was about. So I’m not sure why the book started off focused on him instead of the team member the book was actually about. Also a little too much filler for me in some chapters.

The relationship between the hero and heroine is best described as how opposites attract. Annie and Dean couldn't be more different, from their ideologies to their lives. But their attraction and relationship building was believable and a bit steamy.

While I’m curious about what really went wrong on the Russian op, I’m not sure if it’s enough to get me to read the next book in the series.

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

When a top secret mission goes wrong in Russia and more than half of SEAL Team Nine is killed, the survivors are ordered to scatter and go dark. Only not everyone is willing to let them stay off the grid. Reporter Brittany Blake can smell a government cover up a mile away and since this one involves her missing – possibly dead – brother, she’s not about to let it rest until she discovers the truth.

John Donovan hates being stuck in Finland, doing nothing, while he waits for orders from his lieutenant commander. And while he would like to pretend otherwise, John also can’t move past the death of his best friend and teammate, Brandon Blake. When he’s ordered to shut Brittany up – for her safety as well as the rest of his surviving teammates – it throws him for a loop. Years ago, Brandon made it clear Brittany was off-limits. But with the adrenaline rush of danger and the pull neither John nor Brittany can deny, it’s clear that some promises are meant to be broken…

I really struggled with rating Off the Grid. On the one hand, Monica McCarty’s writing is engaging, drawing me into the book and keeping the story moving at a quick clip. The action is cinematic and the overarching series question of who betrayed SEAL Team Nine and why was interesting. That being said, I struggled with the characters which kept me from liking this book as much as I wanted to.

Brittany Blake gave me flashbacks to Lois Lane (always a good thing). She’s a reporter with a sharp mind and dogged determination to get her story. She has been wronged more than once by a government cover up and her brother is one of the missing SEALs, so I did understand why she was so determined to find out what happened to the group of men she dubbed “The Lost Platoon.” That being said, Brittany’s strengths were also her weaknesses. She can get tunnel vision, which is frustrating when she doesn’t seem to fully understand – or more importantly care – that she’s putting other lives in danger besides her own. One of those lives belongs to John Donovan, the man who broke her heart five years ago. John is known for his laid-back ways, but he’s mostly intense and frustrated in this book. He definitely has reason to be, but at times it felt like his personality had melted away and we were left with a generic military hero, which was a pity. John and Brittany do have chemistry, but their romance paled in comparison to the sexual tension between two supporting characters. Added to that, Brittany and John suffer from the same problem that a lot of characters in this book do: a lack of honest communication. It’s a common enough plot device, but it’s one that I find a bit frustrating, so people who aren’t bothered by this may like their romance more than I did.

Off the Grid isn’t just John and Brittany’s story. Former SEAL Colt and his ex-wife, CIA analyst Kate are working to discover who betrayed Colt’s former team. Colt and Kate are the reason I am so invested in this series. Their chemistry is off-the-charts explosive and the pure drama keeps me coming back for more. The pain, anger, distrust, and lust practically jump off the page and I cannot wait to see if/how Ms. McCarty makes things work for these two. She definitely has her work cut out for her, because even though I got a fair sense of Colt’s history and why he acts the way he does, he definitely is cruel to Kate; so much so that I’m honestly not sure if I should be rooting for him to win her back. Whether or not he does, he and Kate livened up the book and their storyline ensures that I’ll be back for Out of Time, the next Lost Platoon book.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Monica McCarty is well known for her historical Scottish romances, especially her Highland Guard series, so when I heard she was going to start a new series set in modern times in Scotland focusing on Navy SEALS, I had my doubts. I was pleasantly surprised. She writes just as good modern romances as she does historical (though the Highland Guard will be really hard to beat).  I loved it. I liked the premise; a group of Navy SEALS that are betrayed and have to go dark in order to unearth who betrayed them. Dean is set up as a charter boat captain in a small village in the Hebrides of Scotland. He goes by the name Dan and he is very blunt and a bit rude to Annie who is there to protest oil drilling with her boyfriend. She is naïve and soon finds herself in a whole lot of trouble and it is up to Dan to rescue her, though he fights tooth-and-nail their attraction while they try and discover the real murderer, real plot that the ecotourists have planned, and get Annie to safety and Dan back into hiding. Dan finds it harder to leave Annie then he expects and when her life is threatened again he knows that he will never let her go again. It was passionate, adventurous, thrilling, suspenseful, and fun to watch Annie and Dean grow close together and fall in love. Loved their chemistry and their partnership. Great start to a new series by one of my absolute favorite authors.