Catalyst

Rachel Grant

Nov 2017 · Flashpoint Book 2 · Janus Publishing

About this eBook

Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018

When a food storage depot in famine-struck South Sudan is torched, American aid worker Brie Stewart flees, only to land in a market where she’s the next item up for auction. Is the attack on the aid facility another assault upon the war-torn fledgling democracy, or has her family set her up as a pawn in their quest for oil rights?

Chief Warrant Officer Sebastian Ford crossed paths with Brie years ago when she was a shill for her family’s company, pushing a pipeline that threatened his tribe’s land. Determined to lead the rescue operation to save her, he won’t let her abduction—or the attraction that flares between them—get in the way of settling their unfinished business.

The Green Beret’s skills are put to the test in the flooded grasslands of South Sudan, where they must battle nature and dangerous factions who are after more than oil. Bastian and Brie put their hearts on the line as they find themselves embroiled in a conflict that extends beyond country and continent. Together they must douse the spark before it reaches the flashpoint and engulfs everything they hold dear.

Topics: military thriller, political thriller, political romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, thriller, mystery, hot romance, women's romance, action and adventure, Special Forces, Green Beret, military romance, special ops romance, archaeology, paleoanthropology, anthropology, alpha hero, strong heroine, social worker heroine, international aid worker heroine, wealthy, billionaire, multicultural and interracial, Native American hero, international, Africa, Djibouti, South Sudan, Morocco, Rachel Grant, Flashpoint Series.

Ratings and reviews

Along with a great suspenseful story the author always gives us a great history lesson throughout the book. South Sudan has is a country full of violence and has been in a civil war since 2013. And if that isn't bad enough first world countries are using and exploiting Africa over its oil fields. Now you are probably wondering why I just gave you a history lesson. Well those two things – the civil war in South Sudan and foreign oil corporations exploiting Africa are the heart of this book. Gabriella Prime was the daughter of the multi billionaire CEO of Prime Energy. She used to work for her father's company until she washed her hands of her family and the company due to their unethical practices and changed her name to Brie Stewart. She is now and aid worker in South Sudan helping those that were displaced by the civil war. What she had no idea of is she is just a pawn for the CIA (Savannah James) and on the radar of evil Russians who want her for their own nefarious purposes. Sebastian Ford has been stationed with his Army Special forces A Team in Djibouti. Sebastian is known as Bastian the bastard and he did play the roll well in the previous book but here we find out its a rather large chip he has on his shoulder from the wrongs that were done to his Native American tribe in the past with Gabriella and her family being at the top of his hate list. He is shocked to see her South Sudan and figures she is there for her family to steal their oil. He makes quite the ass of himself before Brie tells him she has cut all ties with her family and is there doing aid work. And the action takes off from there.. Both Brei and Bastian had a world of past pain that sat on their shoulders that they needed to work through. Problem was, Brei though that her past was firmly behind her and she rudely finds out that is not the case. Another page turner full of suspense and action and the next book should be explosive with the CIA agent and the Army guy who loathes her ways..

An exciting on the edge of your seat ride that grabs you from the first page until the last. Brie is an aid work with a secret that only a few know about. Sebastian knows all about her and her past when he sees her he can’t help but put his foot in his mouth. Even with a different name, hair, makeup and clothes change she can’t seem to hide who she is from him or does she…. She has worked so hard since she found out what her family is really like to outlive what they stand for. Her family does their worse for money she does her best to help those they hurt. Brie is the black sheep of the family. A family who would love to pull her back in using her and her body for their cause to make more money. Brie is a very bright she thinks on her feet with come back after every comeback for Sebastian who tries to put her in her place not believing a word she is saying. She throws her hands up and said who cares leaving with tears in her eye…she just needs to hold it together long enough to get out of his sight then she can fall apart… Sebastian has come up in the world he is second in command of his unit, he has worked hard coming far from his reservation and his tribe. He is proud of his Indian blood but he is also proud of his unit and all they stand for. He also has a secret of how much he would love to have one night with the princess as he calls her. He has mixed feeling from years ago and her help with trying to put a pipe line through their native land. When he follows her out after all the cruel words he said he finds her in tears, he fights what he sees and what he knows to be fact…but are they? The narrator does an outstanding job really bring the story to life holding your attention keeping you on the edge. He gives the right amount of pause to really let you take in what he just read keeping you hooked as you picture each detail in your mind. I don’t feel it would have had the same effect if I had read the story he really delivers a strong emotion listen. With a very strong voice that really brings his male characters to life but a very feminine one that makes his females very pleasant interesting and lively, I really loved his different character voices. You have no trouble putting the voice with the faces they are well balanced and really sound as you would picture them to be. You know just who is talking and what they are feeling, you can hear their pain, sadness, sorrow, joy, love and fear. There are no background noises, no volume changes if any breaks were taken I could not tell. His performance was outstanding, very clean, and clear delivering a highly entertaining audio I got lost in. From start to finish this is how an audio should be done bring life to the characters, making the listener buy into the story, feeling each emotion making the listener hold their breath, laugh and want to cry, keeping the listening on the edge delivering a story that makes you not want to put down. Just delightfully outstanding I can’t wait to listen to more of his work. The author gives you a well balanced story with a delightful plot that keeps you spellbound. It is very entertaining with many twists and turns that keeps this story moving at a fast pace, highly thrilling, and exciting. There will be times you will have your heart in your throat waiting for the end to be near. When the attack came on Brie and her co workers I was holding my breath when she was taken to the salve market my heart broke. What a tough lady that really knows how to handle herself in so many ways. When Sebastian shows up she doesn’t know what to think, with very mixed feeling she does her best to trust him but has to wonder if she put her trust in the wrong person. When his team put the children first I lost my heart not only to him but his team. It is touch and go through out with lots of action, danger. I loved the characters, the humor, danger, excitement and the love story.

**I received an Advanced Reader Copy for my honest review** Catalyst can really be broken down into two separate books. The first section features Brie escaping a USAID compound in South Sudan, captured and taken to a slave market where she’s rescued by Bastian. At that point, they go on the run to avoid capture by those hunting Brie. The second section features Brie and Bastian going to Morocco to take down a Russian oligarch trying to start genocide in South Sudan – who also happens to have an unhealthy obsession with Brie. Both of these sections could be completely separate novels and, honestly, I’m not sure they tied together as seamlessly as they could have. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this novel. It’s just that on the one hand, you had Brie and Bastian trying to survive on barely having enough food and clothing in some of the worst conditions you could imagine. On the other hand, you had them in Morocco in a palace with servants around every corner where every desire is granted. I suppose that was part of Rachel Grant’s plan – to show the utter differences between the two worlds. And in that regard, she did a fantastic job so obviously I’m contradicting myself and they did tie together seamlessly! Ha. The storyline was well developed and thought out. It shows that Ms. Grant did her research. The descriptions were vivid and I could picture the images easily. The romance between Brie and Bastian was the perfect push and pull. I’m one of those readers that wants the coming together of the characters to happen quickly and yet, I quite enjoy the slow development. Some of the intricate details regarding the storyline outside of the romance portion were a little confusing but that might just be me and it never once got to the point where I was taken out of the story. I did find the appearance of Ivan to be a little startling. The last time I read about him was in the Evidence series where his life circumstances were quite different. I won’t give much away for those that haven’t read the Evidence series – and if you haven’t, I suggest you do. I appreciated the author’s note at the end giving a little explanation for his presence in the book. I have two main critiques of the book. The first being that there wasn’t an epilogue. It would have been nice to have a little time jump to see if Brie had been able to patch things up with Rafe. I also would have liked to know if Bastian’s parents accepted Brie into the fold and how they felt about things. The second was the subtle (or not so subtle) political statements. This is my review – my opinion – but all I’m saying is that when I’m reading, I am doing so for entertainment. I’m doing it to escape the outside world. I’m just not a fan of authors inserting their own political beliefs into their novels – particularly if it doesn’t enhance the novel any. Having said that, I realize that – just as I can insert my opinions in my reviews – the author can insert their opinions in their novels. On another note, I appreciated Ms. Grant highlighting the problems in South Sudan (and I do not see this as a political issue as it’s a human issue). Americans don’t often think about the fact that girls often have to drop out of school when they reach puberty. The availability of sanitary products for those girls would literally change the course of their lives. In a world where we’re constantly being shown republicans and democrats fighting each other, it’s sobering to be reminded of – and encouraged to donate to – issues that other countries are dealing with that can, at times, make our problems seem small and petty. Just something to mediate on.

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Rachel Grant worked for over a decade as a professional archaeologist and mines her experiences for storylines and settings, which are as diverse as excavating a cemetery underneath an historic art museum in San Francisco, survey and excavation of many prehistoric Native American sites in the Pacific Northwest, researching an historic concrete house in Virginia, and mapping a seventeenth century Spanish and Dutch fort on the island of Sint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children and can be found on the web at Rachel-Grant.net.