I've read other books by Lynn Blackburn and enjoyed them.

I like smart female characters and Ivy Collins fits that description. I like that Blackburn gives Ivy and Gil a history that makes their condensed time to romance in the book more believable. I liked the literary reference of Gil's and Emily's names mentioned in the book. I also like that Blackburn doesn't resort to having Ivy captured/kidnapped and waiting for Gil to come save her. She also doesn't have that be the catalyst for the two admitting that they love each other (these last two points are quite common in books in this genre by this publisher). In fact, Blackburn even has Ivy as an active participant in the climax of the story. A most welcome change! ( )

Faith based romance can be difficult to write but Blackburn has learned the ropes and has put in the effort and it shows. I really enjoy her series and was glad to be sent a copy by the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

I was grateful to receive an ARC, and was looking forward to reading the book. The story has potential, and the characters are nice enough, but I hadn't realised it was a Christian publisher - the constant mentions of God, praying, church going, and blessing the food, were very distracting and irritating. ( )

A fun read, with believable and likeable characters, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The plot provides enough suspense and mystery to keep the reader turning the page while avoiding the annoying tropes that populate so many novels of this type. I would gladly read more of this author's works. ( )

I absolutely love an action-packed romantic suspense story centered around a team and Lynn Blackburn never disappoints. I absolutely devoured her Dive Team series and now the Defend and Protect series is turning out to be top notch as well. This story kept my attention from beginning to end and kept me guessing. This story centers around Gil and Ivy who were childhood friends and are reunited under not so great circumstances. Romance can often be hard to find realistic in a suspense novel due to the action and timeline so it helped that they had a history. I appreciated Gil's protective nature and Ivy's intelligence and independence. I loved updates on other members of the team and also some surprise appearances from old friends from her Dive Team series. I can't wait for the next in the series which releases next year.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this story. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. ( )