Target Engaged

October 19, 2015
Love blossoms amid constant danger in the start of Buchman’s new military romance series focusing on the elite soldiers of the Delta Force counterterrorism team. Sgt. Carla Anderson is the first woman to ever make the unit, and she’s done so by being tougher, faster, and more persistent than any of her male colleagues. Any, that is, save for Sgt. Kyle Reeves, arguably the best of the very best. They challenge each other through training and form the perfect team, both on assignment and in the bedroom, where their mutual passion ignites into blistering hot sex. But what starts out as a fling between equals soon deepens, much to Kyle’s surprise and Carla’s annoyance; she’s sworn off love in favor of duty, and he never expected to lose his heart so thoroughly. When their team is sent to deal with a drug-smuggling operation in Venezuela, they must reexamine their relationship in order to complete the mission. As usual, Buchman skillfully balances the romantic and military aspects of his story, populating it with memorable characters and pulse-pounding action. Though spun off from his Night Stalkers series, this can be read on its own.

Starred review from November 1, 2015
The first of Buchman's (Hot Point, 2015) new Delta Force series features Carla Anderson, the first woman to complete Delta training, and her lover, competitor, and teammate, Kyle Reeves. After delaying a burning attraction for each other during training, they fall into serious lust, but love is more elusive because, while Kyle is used to getting any woman he wants, Carla's heart is frozen because of her brother's death four years earlier. Their very sexy but ambiguous relationship almost ends during a two-part covert mission to start a war between the top Venezuelan drug lords, free hostages, and prevent huge shipments of cocaine from coming into the U.S. The ending, with a perfect last line, is a nice twist on the damsel-in-distress trope common in military romances. The pacing and technical details are superb (this is a Buchman book, after all), and favorite character Delta Colonel Michael Gibson, from the Night Stalkers series, makes a cameo appearance. So far, Buchman cannot write a bad book, and this, possibly his best yet, is another great example of what military romance should be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)