Close to the Edge: An Unbroken Heroes Novel

Dawn Ryder

Feb 2018 · Unbroken Heroes Book 5 · Sold by St. Martin's Paperbacks

About this eBook

They are part of an elite unit. On task. Off grid. These are the men of the Shadow Ops task force. Be seduced and thrilled by Close to the Edge, the next Unbroken Heroes novel by Dawn Ryder.

HOW FAR WILL ONE MAN GO

Jenna Henson always plays it safe. It’s what has gotten her through all these years . So she never expected to end up in arm-to-arm combat with a gorgeous, muscle bound mercenary named Dare...

Agent Dare Servant lives for the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline high. He’s fully committed to his job, fully armed, and full-on dangerous. But when innocent, irresistible Jenna Henson walks in on his latest mission, the need to keep her safe becomes all-consuming.

TO PROTECT THE WOMAN HE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT?

Jenna’s captured the attention of Dare’s deadliest enemies, and with a target on her back, she needs Dare’s protection. But being Jenna’s bodyguard might be his hardest challenge yet. How can he keep her safe when he longs to take her in his arms and never let her go?

Ratings and reviews

CLOSE TO THE EDGE is the fifth instalment in Dawn Ryder’s contemporary, adult UNBROKEN HEROES romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for an elite Special Ops Team made up of ex-SEALs and other special forces warriors. This is Agent Dare Servant, and combustion expert for the space program, Jenna Henson’s story line. CLOSE TO THE EDGE should not be read as a stand alone; I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an on-going premise throughout the series. Told from several third person perspectives including Dare and Jenna, CLOSE TO THE EDGE follows the building relationship between Special Agent Dare Servant, and combustion expert Jenna Henson. Trying to help her neighbor’s out of a bind Jenna Henson offers to help cater a party at pop-music sensation Kirkland Grog’s mansion only to find herself detained and in custody by a covert government Special Ops Team. Enter Agent Dare Servant, the man with whom Jenna will fall in love. What ensues is the tempestuous relationship between Dare and Jenna, and the potential fall-out as our leading couple have been targeted by the leaders of a human trafficking ring; and the man vying to be the office of president of the United States. Jenna was only trying to help out her friends Sam and Paul whose ‘Joyful Occasions’ was hired to cater the pop-star’s high end party, only to find herself in witness protection, on the run, with no place to go. Falling in love with her captor aka handler was never her intention but too many mixed signals from Agent Dare Servant found our heroine unable to trust the man with whom she was about to spend a good amount of time. The relationship between Dare and Jenna begins acrimoniously. Dare must take Jenna into custody unaware of what she knows or how she came to be at a suspect’s party. Dare doesn’t do relationships because of the demands of the job but something about Jenna calls to his heart. Jenna knows that to fall in love with Dare means losing her heart to a man who claims he doesn’t’ have time for love. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including, Scottish Agent Greer McRae; Team leader Kagan; agents Thais Sinclair and Zane Bowan: Colonel Bryan Magnus, Vitus Hale and his wife Damascus Ryland, as well as Damscus’ mother Miranda Delacroix. The requisite evil has many faces with close connections to Washington DC including Kirkland Grog, Mack, and Carl Davis, who has plans to dismantle the Special Ops Team. Once again, similar to the previous story lines, the back and forth between numerous points of view is manic; the whip-lash affect may be too erratic for some readers as the story line relentlessly jumps between characters without so much as a break or introduction. It can be confusing and unsettling from paragraph to paragraph, several times throughout each each chapter, such that the reader may have to re-read the previous passages to follow the jump in perspectives. CLOSE TO THE EDGE is a fast paced, action packed story of suspense and intrigue. The premise is engaging and complex; the characters are colorful, charismatic and dynamic ; the romance is edgy, provocative and intense. If you can get past the constant change in perspectives, I know you will enjoy the latest instalment in the author’s UNBROKEN HEROES.

The newest Unbroken Hero novel is a rollercoaster ride of danger and emotional turbulence that holds readers in its grip from start to finish. The hero and heroine of this book draw readers in and refuse to let go as they work through a relationship that highly impacted by some emotional turbulence that has readers emphasizing with the characters and determined to find out if they can ever work things out enough to discover that they just might have what it takes to have a happily ever after type of romance. Alpha male dominance clashes with fiery female passion with strong, sexy and sizzling attraction mixing things up for this couple which really has sparks flying in every direction. Suspense builds throughout the steady to fast paced plot full of danger and thrills as Dare tries to keep his client alive even though she fights him every step of the way. Lots of twists and turns keep readers glued to the pages as bad guys and bosses slip unexpected surprises in the couple’s path which makes things very interesting as readers have to wonder what will happen next. I was quite taken with Dare from the very first, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book. I have read the other Unbroken Hero novels though and I knew that Dawn Ryder wouldn’t disappoint me and sure enough, after I got past the first couple of chapters, I was totally captivated by the story, I still don’t know what happened at first that was keeping from getting in to the story so I hope no one else has this problem but if you do be sure and keep trying because this book will take you Close To The Edge and have you wanting more.

Contrary to one other book in this series that I have read and was totally confused with all the character references from previous stories, this one is truly a stand alone. The members of Shadow Ops are complex characters with the sole goal of keeping the country safe, and ridding it of corruption. By doing so, the members really have no personal life. The main character in this story Shadow Ops operative Dare Servant, a man whose past has molded his present. The group is charged with investigating and bugging the home of a man that is involved in human trafficking. Jenna, a rocket scientist who as a favor to a dear friend is catering a party at the same house, gets caught in the crossfire of the investigation and is put in danger when the bad guys fear she can identify them. It’s a story filled with intrigue, bad guys, black ops operatives, a strong alpha character and a female that is spunky and challenges him in every way possible. And of course a hot romance. Lots of gray areas as well in righting the wrong. My only objection is that the scenes changed quickly and I had to take a moment to adjust to the change. Could be that I had an ARC copy and the final editing had not been completely. All that said, I am ready to read the next book in this series. I was gifted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

About the author

Dawn Ryder is the contemporary romance pen name of a bestselling author of historical romances. Her official naughty inner child. The author of Dangerous to Know, she is commercially published in mass market and trade paper, and digi-first published with trade paper releases. She is hugely committed to her career as an author, as well as to other authors and to her readership. She resides in Southern California