REVIEW: Sniper’s Pride by Megan Crane

Sammy’s review of Sniper’s Pride (Alaska Force, Book 2) by Megan Crane
Romantic Suspense published by Berkley 07 May 19

I need to tell you upfront, I simply love this series. The men of Alaska Force are grumpy and obstinate and very sexy and tough and maybe a little damaged. The women of this series have a backbone, determination, and a lot of patience. While this book came close to Book 1 in terms of LOVING IT and I will go back and re-read it, it almost followed Book 1’s ingredients too closely. I did notice it and I would rather each book dealt with how each individual deals with their issues. It didn’t take away from enjoying this story, but I think if Book 3 travels along the same setup toward the end, the shine may be dulled.

Mariah McKenna is from the wrong side of the tracks. Lucky for her she met her very wealthy Prince Charming while working at her family’s diner. David Abernathy Lanier is from old money. What a great trophy wife to have on his arm, not to mention a good story to tell people, all the while planning his political career. After Mariah finds David in bed with the house staff, she has had enough and files for divorce. Mariah finds herself in the hospital with a deadly allergy to seafood, after a dinner she attended. At first she second guesses all her thoughts and she chalks it up to an accident by the wait-staff. It’s the second time she finds herself on the brink of death that she can no longer dismiss that her estranged husband just might be trying to kill her. Mariah also likes to watch conspiracy videos on You Tube. It’s there she remembers hearing about a group of men in Alaska who can help with these kind of situations. Mariah hunts down the video and sends an email that she thinks her husband has tried to kill her twice. She immediately gets a response back with the location for her to meet them at.

Mariah makes her way to Grizzly Harbor, Alaska. It’s almost spring, yet there’ still a bite to the air. It’s also a sleepy town comprised of tourists and the people who call this harsh yet beautiful place home. Mariah steps off the ferry and makes direct eye contact with the most gorgeous yet cold man she has ever laid eyes on. She puts on her very crafted mask that she’s been honing for the last ten years married to David, and with it firmly in place, casually walks up to him. Griffin Cisneros is now really annoyed, Not only does this fool woman show up like a princess in the wrong clothes for such a harsh environment, but, dammit, she looks like his ex-fiance who dumped him to marry his best friend. Things are not looking so good for Griffin. He has made standoffish an art form, building little compartments and walls to distance himself from everyone. Of course, Griffin is there to ask her a ton of questions and to make sure she’s on the up and up. He takes Mariah to the Inn and tells her, after he speaks with his team, he will let her know the outcome of Alaska Force taking her case.

Of course, Alaska Force votes to take her case on and that makes Griffin very unhappy. Griffin unhappy means he’s going to be surly and mean. It also means Mariah will fall back on her training into old money society. Griffin thinks he knows her, and Mariah is glad to prove him wrong each and every time. Their chemistry is palpable. You also know Griffin is going to be a hard nut to crack. Meanwhile, Mariah could have sworn she saw someone watching her from the alley. Alaska Force puts the guys on watch detail, while they follow up with everything Mariah has told them. During this time Griffin and Mariah are playing a game of who’s gonna crack first. I love this part of the book where she breaks down all his misconceptions. I also love that she isn’t afraid to go after what she wants, especially because she came so close to death twice. When Mariah finally breaks down a few of his walls, it is glorious.

Meanwhile, someone is getting very close to Mariah and manages to kidnap her right from under their noses. This is because Griffin feels the threat to her on Grizzly is minimal. The bad guy gets the jump on the new guy and takes Mariah, by force, out of Alaska and back to Georgia. Griffin is beside himself. He and his team go wheels up and follow behind to rescue her. Things come to a head, and Griffin says his good-byes to Mariah. He likes things in their little compartments and he doesn’t want the complications of him actually feeling something for someone who could break his heart. Mariah is clear to him about her feelings and she will not beg him and she will not call him. She feels she deserves better, and I fully agree with her. Of course, Mariah has a knack for the stock market and Everly (wink wink) asks her to come back to Grizzly to help her to invest money. Mariah has been there a week and hasn’t seen or feel Giffin anywhere in her vicinity until he does. It’s so good! All his fears, hopes, dreams, and allowing Mariah to hold them in her heart and Griffin trusting her not to hurt him. So damn good. With that said, I left out a lot of the plot, because that’s the suspense part and you need to be shocked and surprised while you read.

This was a great installment in this series, and I can’t wait to read the next book out in November!

Grade:B+

Summary:

After Mariah McKenna lands in the hospital with a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction she knows she didn’t cause, she realizes her cheating, vindictive husband would rather have a dead wife than a divorce. Afraid that he will succeed in killing her next time, Mariah goes to Grizzly Harbor to hire one of the Alaska Force special operatives to help her survive long enough to finally live a little.
Griffin Cisneros traded in a comfortable future for boot camp, where he learned the virtue of patience and focus—skills that served him well as a Marine sniper. Few things get to him these days, but something about Mariah’s mix of toughness and vulnerability gets right under his skin. Until it’s clear she’s the one thing in the world that might melt the ice in stoic, reserved Griffin, whether he likes it or not.

If he can just keep her alive…

Read an excerpt. NA

Other books in this series: