Review: Free Fall by Catherine Mann

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 1402274963
Pages: 352 pages
Genre: Romance/Contemporary/Military
Series:  Elite Force-1,2,3
Challenges- TK
Buy this Book: Amazon, Indiebound, Powell's

Summary:

On This Mission, There Are No Accidents...
Pararescueman Jose "Cuervo" James is the guy they call for the most dangerous assignments. He lives for his job.
On a high-risk rescue deep in the African jungle, Jose encounters sexy, smart Interpol agent Stella Carson. They'd once had an affair that burned hot and fast, but family is everything to Stella, and Jose just can't go there.
Fate has thrown them into the deadly hot zone together, and sparks will fly...but only if they can live to tell about it.

 

My Review:

It's not often that I branch out into the realm of military romance but when I do it better be good or I'm going to give up after 20 pages. I breezed through Free Fall because it was just that good.

I wasn't sure about Stella at first. I find that many heroines in romantic suspense or military romance have too much of the Mary Sue in them to be likable. Stella had some of those characteristics---the knowledge of nearly everything, the need to be rescued. But as I kept reading I realized that Stella was not a Mary Sue at all. She was one of the more likable heroines I have come across in a non-historical romance. She was brave and smart and had not one obnoxious moment. Jose was great, too. He was the typical strong and brave hero but with a nice vulnerable side. He also had an interesting backstory.

I really liked Free Fall quite a bit. The action sequences were well done. The descriptions within the action scenes were amazing. Very vivid and lively. I also like how the action didn't overwhelm the development of the romance. Stella and Jose also had great chemistry. They had a past, a history together and it was interesting to see how their relationship developed from their past relationship to their current reunion. I also appreciated how seamlessly the story of the past and present were woven together. That can sometimes come across as clunky but it was done very well in this one.