Review – Surrender by Stephanie Tyler

Publisher: Signet

Publish Date: Out Now

How I got this book: NetGalley

 

DESPERATE, FEARLESS, AND HUNTED

For former Navy SEAL Dare O’Rourke, Section 8 was legendary. The son of one of its missing members, he grew up in the shadow of its secrets. All he knew was that it was a cabal of operatives discharged from branches of the military and reassigned to extremely dangerous, off- the-books international missions. And that their handler was as shrouded in mystery as the missions themselves.

NOTHING CAN STOP THEM. NOTHING CAN BREAK THEM.

Now the handler of Section 8 has given orders to kill any remaining members, along with their families. Dare must save his long-lost half sister, Avery, whom he was never meant to meet. Determined to fight for their lives and find their missing father, Dare and Avery bring together for one last mission those who are in danger because of their relationship to Section 8—to avenge their families and to survive.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

 

I was a little hesitant to read this book, mainly because it has one of the worst written blurbs in the history of romance. I didn’t think that Tyler would have a love interest between siblings, but I did read a romance once from a very popular author where the hero and heroine were 2nd cousins, so you can never be too sure.

Dare is a bit broken. His life as a SEAL is officially over, and after a hellish last mission, his body is as messed up as his spirit. When an old family friend shows up on his doorstep with word of a half-sister who is in danger, Dare is forced out of hiding and thrown into a messy situation that he fears he won’t be able to live through.

Grace is the daughter of a very powerful and dangerous man who will stop at nothing to get her back under his thumb. When Dare and his crew offer her their protection, all their individual problems will come to head and the fight of their life will be bloody and dangerous, and someone won’t make it out alive.

This is a little bit of a different romantic suspense book. Usually our heroes are active military, or work for some kind of black ops group. Instead, Dare and his ragtag team are former military and spooks and are all a little bit broken and crazy. Their lives are forfeit because of their relation to Section 8, and the only way out is to take down the man behind it all. It had a little bit of a different vibe, with the good guys being hunted, and I liked that.

The supporting cast of characters were great in this story. I loved Avery, Dare’s half-sister, who found herself facing murder charges. She had just the right combination of spunk and uncertainty about their situation. I’m excited to see what happens between Avery and Key, the unsuspecting career military man who saved Dare’s life on his last military mission. I love the crazy ways of Jem, Key’s CIA brother who was a perfect mix of crazy and sane. And Gunner, the tattoo artist with a military background and a secret he’s desperate to keep. They were all so crazy, and yet together as a team, they worked!

There were times that I liked the supporting cast more so than Dare and Grace. Not that they weren’t both interesting characters, but their romance lacked a little for me. I had a hard time believing in their lust and love for one another. At times it felt as if they were only together because of the convenience of it all. There were only one or two moments that I truly felt they were in it 100% for each other.

I’m both excited and apprehensive to see where Tyler takes this series next. Things were both wrapped up nicely and left hanging. While the mystery and intrigue surrounding Section 8 is pretty much done and over, Dare and crew have formed a team on their own. Where they all go from here is a mystery for the next book.

All in all I thought Tyler had an interesting first book in the Section 8 series. I adored the secondary characters and am anxious to see what happens to each of them as their stories unfold. While the romance didn’t work for me in some ways, I did enjoy both Dare and Grace as individuals, and that made up for the romance let down.

I give Surrender a C+

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