*** ABOUT THE BOOK ***

Title: Going Dark (The Lost Platoon #1)

Author: Monica McCarty

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Goodreads Amazon

*** 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.

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...

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.

Author: Monica McCarty

Title: Going Dark

Series: The Lost Platoon

Cover Rating:

Book Rating:

Buy This Book:

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. .

Crazy busy, could have used a glossary or some kind of diagram of how everyone is connected and could have focused more on the main h/h but McCarty did spend a lot of time world building which she does so great. The romance kind of took a back seat while the world building and character building began taking form to build the plot for this new world.

As a start I am quite impressed with how well McCarty has done transitioning from historical romance to contemporary. Readers also get more than one romantic involvement which sets up some couples for more installments in the future for our Lost Platoon guys. I look forward to reading more books in the future.

Until next time book lovers...

Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Penguin Publishing.

All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!

Krissys Bookshelf Reviews

 

 

Krissys Bookshelf Reviews has a QR code for your phone!

My review cross-posted from Wit and Sin

When things go horribly wrong on a mission in Russia, the surviving members of SEAL Team Nine are ordered to scatter and go dark. It’s been two months since everything went to hell, and Senior Chief Dean Baylor is now living under the radar in Scotland, working as a dive boat captain. He doesn’t need any complications, especially if they come in the form of beautiful marine ecologist Annie Henderson. Annie is on the Isle of Lewis to protest a potentially hazardous offshore drilling venture, but when she learns the activists she arrived with are up to something dangerous, she has no one to turn to for help except for the even more dangerous looking dive boat captain. It’s the second time in two months that things go south for Dean, but he’s not about to let anything happen to Annie, even if it means risking blowing his cover.

Monica McCarty starts off her Lost Platoon series with a bang. Going Dark is an intense, interesting, and engaging romantic suspense. I’ve enjoyed Ms. McCarty’s historical romances in the past, so I was thrilled to discover that she’s every bit as adept when it comes to romantic suspense.

What sets Going Dark apart from a lot of the military romances I’ve read lately is the characters. Badass heroes are a dime a dozen, but while the members of SEAL Team Nine are definitely strong alphas, they’re not over the top (which I was grateful for). Dean is a strong, resourceful, straight-shooting conservative hero. He’s both sexy and endearing, but he doesn’t have the best opinion of people like Annie, who he considers liberal academics in their ivory towers. Annie is a liberal vegetarian marine ecologist who is an idealist at heart. Though she can be naïve, Annie won me over because she truly has a good heart and is trying to make the world a better place. The two seem like total opposites, but they actually fit one another perfectly. I loved that they were able to discuss their different ideologies and that they actually listened to one another when they were disagreeing. Ms. McCarty did a great job of showing where Dean and Annie came from and the events that shaped them and their beliefs. It’s not an easy thing to do, particularly given the current political climate, which is why this really stood out to me. I read most of Going Darkin one sitting because I really enjoyed the dynamic between Dean and Annie.

The suspense plotline involving eco-terrorists balanced out the romance and kept the story moving at a good pace. While I enjoyed this storyline, I’m definitely more invested in the overarching series plot. I want to know who betrayed SEAL Team Nine and why. One of the people looking for answers is Colt, a former member of Dean’s platoon. The subplot involving Colt and his ex-wife, Kate, had me on the edge of my seat. The two of them made such a strong impression that they almost threatened to steal the show. I say almost, because Dean and Annie were definitely the heart and soul of the story and they really left a good impression on me. I finished Going Dark a well-satisfied reader and I cannot wait to see what Ms. McCarty has in store for the rest of the Lost Platoon.


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.