Blog Tour: Rescuing Rayne by Susan Stoker

Author: Susan Stoker
Publisher: Self
Date of publication: February 2016

** Rescuing Rayne is the 1st book in the Delta Force Heroes Series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings **

As a flight attendant, Rayne Jackson is used to cancellations, but she never dreamed her latest would lead to a whirlwind tour of London with a handsome stranger…or a life-altering night in his bed. One evening is all the enigmatic man can give her, and Rayne greedily takes it, despite suspecting it will never be enough.

Heading home after another extreme mission, Keane "Ghost" Bryson hadn't planned to seduce someone during his layover, but Rayne is too sweet to resist. Being a Delta Force member means lying to protect his identity, which is unfortunate, considering Rayne seems made for Ghost, right down to the tattoo on her back. For the first time in his life, regret fills him as he slips away the following morning.

Both are shocked when, months later, they meet again—under the worst possible circumstances. Seems fate has given them a second chance…if they can survive the terrorist situation they're in. If Rayne can forgive Ghost his lies. And if Ghost can trust Rayne to be strong enough to endure the secrets and uncertainty that come with loving a Delta Force soldier.

Rescuing Rayne is the first book in a new series and the first one I have read by this author. Keane, aka Ghost, is on his way home from a secret mission when he meets Rayne in an airport.  After their flight is canceled, they decide to see the sights of London together. Their one night stand leaves a lasting impression on both of them and six months later, both of them still can't forget the other one.

I have mixed feelings about this story.  I loved the first part of the book. The first half is pretty much their day in London and them getting to know each other.  I liked their chemistry a lot .I was looking forward to the later meeting between them.  I was really rooting for them to get their HEA.

What I was unprepared for was the middle part when Rayne is taken hostage.  I'm not usually one for saying a book needs a trigger warning, but I really feel like this one does.  The captors go into great detail about what is going to be done to Rayne and I was kind of surprised at that part.  I really felt like the amount of detail was unnecessary and kind of turned me off on the story at that point. 

This new series seems to be an offshoot of the author;s "Seal of Protection" series.  I'm going to have to go back and check that one out.  The next book in this series comes out later this summer.  I look forward to checking it out.

Excerpt:

“Is this seat taken?”

Ghost turned toward the low, husky voice that immediately made him think of sex. He’d been aware that she’d been walking toward him, as he was of everyone who moved around him. He was always on alert, ready to take whatever action might be needed. It was engrained in the very marrow of his bones.

A brunette stood next to him. Her hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck. There were wisps of hair hanging around her face, which had obviously fallen out of their confinement. She was fairly tall, especially in the heels she was wearing. Ghost guessed her to be around five-eight or so. She was pleasantly rounded in all the right places. Her Marilyn Monroe physique was a turn on, as was the bright smile she was aiming his way.

Her accent gave away the fact she was American. She was wearing a navy blue skirt and shirt, and was pulling a blue suitcase and a small matching bag behind her. Obviously an employee of the airline, a flight attendant, she greeted him warmly.

Ghost shook his head and gestured toward the seat, inviting the woman to sit next to him.

“Thanks.”

The woman sat down, opened the small blue bag, and fished out her cell phone. She turned to him and asked, “Going somewhere fun?”

Ghost wasn’t sure he really wanted to get into a chat, but he was bored, and he might as well pass the time. He’d never been one to reject an opportunity to talk and flirt with a pretty woman. “Home.”

His one-word answer didn’t seem to daunt the flight attendant. “Ah, American. Where’s home?”

“Texas.”

“Really? Me too! How funny that we’re going to the same place. Out of all the people I could’ve sat next to, I picked someone who was going to be on my flight.” She laughed. “You are on flight eight twenty-three, right?”

Ghost nodded.

“Cool. But my place in Texas is really more of a place to store my stuff than a home, since I’m usually working. I currently have the European shift. I’m gone more than I’m home.”

Ghost smiled inside. The woman was very pretty and her bubbly personality was pleasant. “Yeah, I travel a lot too, so I know what you mean.”

She beamed. “Ah, I didn’t really peg you as a businessman, but I guess looks can be deceiving, huh?”

“What did you peg me as?”

The woman tilted her head, contemplating his question. Her lips pursed and then she bit her bottom one. Amazingly, Ghost felt himself getting excited.

Jesus, was he that hard up for a woman? He tried to think about when he’d last had the pleasure of a woman’s company in his bed, and was amazed to realize he wasn’t sure. The team had been busy lately with ISIS ramping up their efforts to cause panic around the world, they hadn’t had a lot of time to themselves back home. But it was more that he was tired of all the tag chasers in Texas…women who only wanted to sleep with military men to say they’d done it. Military men were accused of being sex-crazed, but the reality was, around military bases, there were plenty of women who saw marrying a military man as a way out of their destitute existences. Not only that, but some were obsessed with sleeping with as many soldiers as possible.

“Bounty hunter,” she said resolutely.

Torn out of his internal thoughts of when he’d last had sex, Ghost chuckled out loud in surprise at her deduction. “Bounty hunter? Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

When she didn’t elaborate, Ghost crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at her. “Why?”

“Let’s see…”

Goodreads:

www.goodreads.com/book/show/28398502-rescuing-rayne

Buy links:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/1nPk9ZK

B&N Nook: http://bit.ly/23tyEDb

iBooks: http://apple.co/1Kb1LV7
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Kb1FwK

About the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She's married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.
She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

Website: http://www.stokeraces.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Susan_Stoker
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8247140.Susan_Stoker