Sophia Rose Reviews: Shadow Mission by Kendall Talbot

Today my friend Sophia Rose returns with a review of Shadow Mission by Kendall Talbot an author she loves. Stop by and see if  #5 in Kendall Talbot's Alpha Tactical Ops series lived up to her expectations.
Enjoy!

Shadow Mission by Kendall Talbot

#5 Alpha Tactical Ops

Romantic Suspense

Publisher:  Kendall Talbot

Published:  6.1.23

Pages:  378

Rating: 5 stars

Format: eARC

Source: Booksprout

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

 

GoodReads Blurb:

She’s paying for her father's mistake. He thrives on breaking the rules.
But running from their pasts was never an option.

Held for ransom by a hideous overlord, the once fiercely independent Yasmin Sanders is now paying for her father’s deadly mistake. But she knows too much and fears the monster she’s forced to work for will never set her free.

Fearless ex-army hero, and leg amputee, Cole Tanner (Codename: Cobra) hacked into his first computer when he was twelve. That reckless action pitched him into an underworld that’s had him on a knife edge ever since. When Cobra cracks a supposedly unbreakable system, he gains intel on a shipment that could provide answers to the disasterous mission in Antarctica that he and his Alpha Tactical Ops team have failed to solve.

Cobra and his team launch a covert mission onto a freighter in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But trapped in the rusted hellhole, they are severely outnumbered. Cobra discovers a fiery redhead hiding from the chaos and she turns his world and his heart upside down when she unwittingly reveals a secret that proves the ruthless killers on the massive ship are the least of their worries.

With the ghosts of his past hell-bent on revenge, will Cobra make the right sacrifice to set Yasmin free? Or will they both drown in mistakes that will trap them forever.

Shadow Mission is a steamy, opposites attract romance, featuring a protective hero who is battling his demons and a feisty heroine who doesn’t trust anyone. Shadow Mission is packed with action, forbidden steamy moments and a mysterious hero who must learn from his past, to be free in his future.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

Kendall Talbot keeps the action and the romance explosive in each installment and I was excited to see the team hacker, Cole, gets his story this time.  Like the others, he has a boat load of baggage to unpack and I was curious to see who would be his special someone.

 

Shadow Mission is the fifth of the series that is made up of standalone romantic suspense adventures that tie together with the background series plot and recurrence of the team and previous love interest characters.

 

So, Cole isn’t like the previous team members in that he tends to do his magic through the computer systems and technology.  And, unlike the others, he came to the military when he was forced in or do prison time for getting caught hacking.  His past has led him to not think much of himself so he has no idea what a capable exciting woman might see in him and definitely doesn’t want her tangled up in his ongoing horror show of a private life.

 

His opposite is Yasmin.  Her father’s sins are passed down to her and she’s taken prisoner.  But, she doesn’t wilt or hope for rescue.  She’s a capable woman with agency and goes about rescuing herself.  Her past has taught her to depend on and trust no one so she doesn’t make it easy on Cole and gets up in his grill and anyone else’s.  Action heroine material right here.

 

I love that each book has its own unique action setting and situation with this one going out on the water on a freighter where the villainous Chui was holding Yasmin captive and coming back around and following up on a situation introduced in book two about that tantalizing Russian sub and gold plus some answers to the distant past sitch back in their military days.  Yasmin gets up to speed quickly to work with Cole and the team encountering the escalated danger of hunting their nemesis down.

 

Shadow Mission focuses strongly on the mission and romance development is crafted as part of that.  The romance does wrap up with Cole and Yasmin and the book ends things in a good place for the series plot.  I am parts satisfied, tired out from the excitement, but oh so eager to push forward into the next installment.  Action-loving Romantic Suspense fans really need to put this series on their wish lists.

 

Author Bio:

Kendall Talbot is a thrill seeker, hopeless romantic, virtual killer, and award-winning author of stories that’ll have your heart thumping from the action-packed suspense in exotic locations and the swoon-worthy romance.

Kendall has sought thrills in all 46 countries she’s visited. She’s abseiled down freezing waterfalls, catapulted out of a white-water raft, jumped off a mountain with a man who spoke little English, and got way too close to a sixteen-foot shark. When she isn’t writing, she’s enjoying wine and cheese with her crazy friends, and planning her next thrilling international escape.

She lives in Brisbane, Australia with her very own hero and a fluffy little dog who specializes in hijacking her writing time. Meanwhile, Kendall’s two sons are off making their own adventures – look out world.

Kendall’s book, Lost in Kakadu won the acclaimed title of Romantic Book of the Year 2014, and her books have also been finalists for Best Romantic Suspense, Best Crime Novel, Best Continuing Series, and Best New Author.

I love to hear from my readers!
Find my books and chat with me via any of the contacts below:
Website: http://www.kendalltalbot.com.au/
Email: kendall@universe.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KendallTalbo...

Or you can follow me on any of the following channels:
Amazon Author Profile: https://www.amazon.com/Kendall-Talbot...
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Newsletter: http://www.kendalltalbot.com.au/newsl...

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose