Sandy M’s review of The Night is Mine by M.L. Buchman
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 7 Feb 12
A hard-as-steel Army major who’s the best Black Hawk pilot. A captain who is his equal in everything but rank. An attraction as hot and heavy as the Afghanistan desert they work in lies between them, one that can’t be acted on. A sudden reassignment stateside removes the captain from her beloved flying, leaves her grounded – in the White House?
Oh, yeah, this book has as many twists and turns as that old Mississippi. Maybe even more. And through it all, the sparks arcing between Major Mark Henderson and Captain Emily Beale need a whole lot of water to put them out, but even that’s debatable. Even when they’re trying to stay cool with each other, there’s sizzle underneath the facade.
Major Henderson has never complimented her on her work with the unit, but he has given Emily more and more assignments every time she comes back from a successful mission. She’s had to put up with a hell of a lot throughout her career, being the only woman making it into such elite ranks, but once she proves herself, the men show her respect and admiration just as they would any other team member. When she finally receives that hard-earned “Nice job” from Henderson after an extremely dangerous close call, all is right with Emily’s world. Then because of the fluff piece on CNN – a smiling, sexy woman cooking steak, not a word about her accomplishments or her flying – her world changes as fast as her helicopter can fly.
He’s always had the best in his unit, and Emily Beale is the best he’s ever seen. She’s cool under pressure, never complains, and works just as hard as any man. And she has curves to die for. But Army regulations prevent them pursuing any type of relationship. And the next thing Henderson know is he’s got reassignment orders for Beale – stateside with no other information. Letting her go is a double-edged sword, but he does get one kiss in before she flies out of his life forever. And then the guilt begins to set in. He’s her commanding officer and he just stepped over the line. No matter how right it felt.
As exciting as the opening flying scenes are in this book, at this point in the story it now becomes fun. The First Lady just happens to see that fluff piece on Emily. And the First Lady just happens to need a chef. And the President of the United States just happens to be Emily’s childhood friend and first crush. Emily is a product of Washington, D.C. – her father the FBI director and a very high-minded socialite mother. Now, there are some top secret things going on that instigate Emily’s summons to the nation’s capital. So with that and the President’s appeal to her for her help, she reluctantly takes on the task of cooking for the First Lady. We meet some interesting characters going through Emily’s kitchen, most prominently the Secret Service aka the Blacksuits. The scenes with her and the agent in charge are all priceless.
Eventually Mark discovers where Emily is and he can’t stay away. By the time he gets there, her top secret mission, so to speak, has escalated and things begin to happen around the First Lady that take on a mysterious and dangerous edge. Mark and Emily’s father are brought into the situation, and I love this section with Mark playing his role as the laid back surfer dude cum paramilitary mercenary. He and Emily work together to try to figure out what the hell is going on. And that’s where all those twists and turns come in. I had to laugh at what Emily walks in on near the end when things are beginning to become more clear to her and Mark. Though, in reality, it wouldn’t be the least bit funny. The resulting helicopter flight where all is revealed and where all goes wrong is one suspenseful scene.
I enjoyed this book immensely. A lot of fun, terrific characters who pull you in immediately and never let you go. An equally fun plot line, even if it sounds too coincidental to you. I have no problem at all seeing it happen this way with all the movers and shakers in D.C. Other scenes that are fun are those later in the book when Mark knows he’s losing his edge after being away from flying, even if it’s a short period of time. He and Emily have a friendly competition flying from base to base with Marines as their backup. Those poor Marines. And the sexy, steamy scenes after the race is over is worth mentioning too.
I wasn’t sure how Mr. Buchman was going to get these together at the end, because Emily’s life is flying. As is Mark’s. Those Army regulations must be adhered to, so would they be able to walk away from each other? Well, as romance readers we know there’s no way. I have to say he handles it very well and quite satisfactorily. This is a book worth picking up. Do it soon.
Grade: A+
Summary:
NAME: Emily Beale
RANK: Captain
MISSION: Fly undercover to prevent the assassination of the First Lady, posing as her executive pilot.NAME: Mark Henderson, code name Viper
RANK: Major
MISSION: Undercover role of wealthy, ex-mercenary boyfriend to EmilyTheir jobs are high risk, high reward:
Protect the lives of the powerful and the elite at all cost. Neither expected that one kiss could distract them from their mission. But as the passion mounts between them, their lives and their hearts will both be risked…and the reward this time may well be worth it.
Read an excerpt. (click Excerpt tab)
