I have really enjoyed this book. Nicki’s new found faith was strong, but her life was in shambles. She is pregnant, she lost her job, and she has someone trying to end her life. The madman called and finished the conversation with the word “Boom.” She called the police to report the threat, and that’s when she met Jackson, and Titian. Jackson is a k-9 officer, and Titian is his dog. With every new threat that Nicki faced Jackson and Titian was there to help her through. I also really enjoy Harold’s personality in this story. He was Jackson’s uncle. He lived out at the ranch with Jackson. Jackson, and Harold needed a cook, so they hired Nicki to be their cook. She moved to the ranch, so the two men could better guard her against the dangers that seemed to be following her. The two men enjoyed having meals cooked for them, but the threats against Nicki didn’t stop.This story offered action, suspense, Romance, and also a dash of humor. Sample from chapter 12He snapped a leash on the dog’s collar and took command. With one arm around Nicki and the other controlling Titan, He hurried them away. Harold met them at the door to the barn. “What’s all the yelling out here? You two are scarin’ the chickens right off their nests.” “Nicki says Titan alerted,” Jackson explained as he passed both his charges to the older man. “You stay put with them. I’ll call boomer and get the bomb squad out here to check the truck.” “If that’s where the explosive is supposed to be, I reckon I’ll back up a tad more,” Harold said, slipping an arm around Nicki’s shoulders. “Come on. We’ll go into the barn.” Sample from chapter 14“I wish I had a sidearm to carry in a holster the way you and Harold do.” “That’s all we’d need. Arm the cook, and we’d never be able to tell you we didn’t like your recipes.” It’s time for another “riveting inspirational romance” or romantic suspense novel which, as most readers know, 99% of the time features a cover with people running. Here, it’s one man running with his K-9 dog, and it’s presumably the assured hero, Jackson Worth, who trains a bomb-sniffing dog named Titan, a black Labrador retriever. This is also one of a series of books set in Sagebrush, Texas, where an organized crime ring has been operating for some time. Nicolette (Nicki) Johnson is in trouble. She has been abandoned by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend after she revealed she was carrying his baby, she’s about to be fired from her job for not showing up (due to morning sickness), she’s behind on her rent, and now she has been implicated as a member of the crime ring by her now-deceased cousin, Arianna Munson. She is also receiving threatening phone calls and bomb threats, which put her under the careful watch of Jackson and Titan.Jackson is a man of integrity and wants to protect Nicki and her unborn baby. Under the dubious orders of his chief, Jackson hires Nicki to be a cook at the ranch he owns and lives in with his uncle, a retired police officer. However, my suspension of disbelief only goes so far. I cannot imagine any police chief in any town, no matter how small, suggesting this as a means to protect a potential witness. It serves the plot, because Jackson and Nicki grow closer to each other as the bomb threats become real (Nicki’s apartment is partially destroyed by a small homemade bomb).Nicki does get a bit of slut shaming from her boss at the Truck Stop Diner, Lou, when he fires her. However, Nicki is a bit too naïve for her own good. Her ex-boyfriend saddled her with a lot of debt after he ran up her credit cards without her knowledge as well as impregnating and abandoning her. She was bullied and verbally abused by her shady cousin, Arianna, and apparently never told any adults about this while growing up. It’s easy to see why Jackson would want to help her, but at some point she really needs to get her head screwed on straight and stop being so gullible. Nicki’s being related to a criminal would be enough for a subplot, but the author just piles on the additional angst for no apparent reason.Also, at one point Jackson tries to reach Nicki but her cell phone battery has died, and she never thought to recharge it. Come on. You need a cell phone to call for help because of the threats you’ve been receiving and you simply state, “it never rang”? In an age where everyone has a cell phone to their ear 24/7, this type of behavior is ridiculous. In another instance, Jackson is searching for a person near the woods and Harold, his uncle, has been ordered to wait with Nicki in the car. Nicki impulsively jumps out to get a better vantage point to help Jackson search. Again, come on. One minute she is a frightened mouse and the next she is a cat ready to pounce. Valerie Hansen is a favorite author of mine, and I really like most of her books. The minor characters are familiar to others who’ve read books in this miniseries (“Texas K-9 Unit”). I wanted to like this book, but the romance felt forced, and the heroine’s continual angst over her situation was irritating.
What do You think about Explosive Secrets (Mills & Boon Love Inspired Suspense) (2013)?
Pretty standard, and written with very "purple prose."
—feerpilao
