Reckless Endangerment, By Amber Lea Easton

Heroes come in many forms--soldiers who fall and rise, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, women who battle for their marriage, reporters who fight for truth and justice, and men who put it all on the line for the women they love.

Sometimes heroes fall.

Colonel Michael Cedars is a decorated war hero returning home from Afghanistan. Wounded, unsure if he’ll walk again, he’s not sure how he fits in civilian life, and he definitely questions if he wants to remain married to the feisty redhead, Hope Shane.

Hope’s never been one to play it safe. She met the Colonel while working as a war correspondent, fell in love with the man in uniform, watched him get blown up, and isn’t willing to give up on him now.

Back in Denver, Colorado, she’s working as an investigative reporter who becomes entangled in a human trafficking story. As the danger of her story intensifies, Hope and Michael are tested more than they ever imagined. Will Michael be able to see beyond what he’s lost to embrace what remains? Is he still the man she married or has he become a liability that could get her killed? Is he still the hero she claims him to be? Will her reckless pursuit of justice endanger the life they’ve pieced together?

 Review Time:

There are a bunch of military theme books out in the writing world right now and the one thing that most of them have in common is the BDSM aspect.  I was in the military and I can tell you there isn’t that much of that happening in the military world.  I’m sure there is plenty that goes on behind closed doors, but it’s not as open as the books make it seem.

With this book, there is the military aspect to it, but it’s not about anything like that.  It has to do with the Marine who was wounded, the woman who saved his life and how they adapt to their lives after the war.  You have Hope, who is a reporter that goes to the “scary” places and tells the real stories about what is happening.  And then you have Michael, the Marine that was wounded in the war, but isn’t sure what to do with himself anymore.

While the book seemed to have a slow start, there was enough there that it grabbed my attention and I kept reading it until the end.  The drama that seems to have followed Hope all the way back to Denver and puts her life in risk again.  Who would have thought that after surviving the war overseas, her life would be in danger in the United States?

Both of these characters are written extremely well.  They have just the right amount of strengths and weaknesses that they are able to balance each other out very well.  Even if neither of them is sure that they should be together.  

If you are looking for a suspenseful book, with a side order of romance this is the one for you.  Even if you are not sure this is the book for you, you never know if you don’t try!

I was lucky enough to have Amber do a guest post on the blog today!!  Check out what she has to say :)

Weaving current world issues into romantic suspense

Thanks for hosting me, Crystal, during my virtual book tour for 'Reckless Endangerment'.  For my guest post, I thought it would be interesting to talk about incorporating real world issues—current news headlines, in other words—into fiction without diluting either.

The romantic suspense genre is perfectly suited for this combination, in my opinion, as are mysteries, chick lit, women's fiction, etcetera. Since I write romantic suspense, though, I'll focus on that. 

Romantic suspense is an intricately woven balance between the love story and whatever dangerous elements are involved in the mystery.  In 'Reckless Endangerment', I incorporate the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder in both of my main characters, Colonel Michael Cedars and Hope Shane.  PTSD is an issue in soldiers returning from war and has been the subject of many news stories over the years.  It's also prevalent in many who've suffered a traumatic experience. Until recently, however, it was a subject tainted with shame, which led people (especially war veterans) to hide it.  In my novel, this isn't mentioned overtly.  Rather, I incorporate the symptoms of it into the characterizations of my hero and heroine instead of overtly saying "Hey, you, these people have PTSD".  By weaving it into their mannerisms, their nightmares, or what have you, an author is able to bring the subject to light in fiction by fully fleshing out the characters.

The suspense plot in 'Reckless Endangerment' revolves around a human trafficking ring in Denver, Colorado, that Hope Shane is hunting as an investigative reporter.  This is a very real issue—and a grossly unreported crime all over the world.  Again, it's been in the headlines more and more recently.  By making this the source of the danger in the novel and weaving it into the conflicts between Michael and Hope, it's easily balanced into the storyline without taking away from the love story. 

In my last novel, 'Riptide', I dealt with the issues of stalking...and also post-traumatic stress disorder.  I admit I've had personal experience with PTSD so I'm able to bring a lot of realism to my characters in this area.  In 'Riptide', the stalking issue is again layered into the novel in a way that brings the two main characters together, affecting them directly.  In another novel, 'Kiss Me Slowly', my lead characters were dealing with a lot of trust issues while sorting out an embezzlement scam and running from diamond smugglers. 

In my genre, romantic suspense, the key in all of these has been balancing the romance with the danger through characterization and direct impact on the lead characters.  Achieving this balance—meshing the primary conflicts—is why I love writing this genre.  It's a challenge, but in a good way. 

 Let's Meet Amber:

Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published cross genre author of romantic suspense, action adventure, mystery thrillers and new adult (coming in summer 2013). Her current releases cross all boundaries and appeal to a wide audience. If you love a clever plot, action that will leave you breathless, riveting characters and sexy love scenes, her books will appeal to you. "Smart is sexy," Easton says, which is why she focuses on smart heroines who always have a lot to lose yet find the courage to face their fears to overcome adversity. She's an avid reader of all genres or "whatever turns her on in the moment".

Easton grew up in Hartford, South Dakota, where she spent her time daydreaming of big adventures over the horizon under a giant blue South Dakota sky. Now living in Colorado, she's an avid traveler who incorporates her real life travels into her novels as much as possible (minus the illegal activities her characters become immersed in--she swears). To her, setting is another character in the novel and often serves as an inspiration. Love is her motivation for all things--whether it be writing, traveling, playing with her dogs or hanging with her two teenagers--if it's not done with love, then what's the point?

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