Lori’s review of Breaking Point (I-Team book 5) by Pamela Clare
While investigating border violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Denver journalist Natalie Benoit is caught in a bloody ambush and taken captive. Alone in the hands of ruthless killers, she will need every ounce of courage she possesses to survive.
Betrayed by another operative, Deputy U.S. Marshal Zach McBride has endured a week of torture and interrogation at the hands of a bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel. Ready to give his life if he must, he remains unbroken—until he hears the cries of an American woman.
Although Natalie is only a voice in the darkness of their shared prison, her plight brings renewed strength to Zach’s battered body. With her help, he overpowers their captors, and they flee through the desert toward the border, the attraction between them flaring hotter than the Sonoran sun.
But past loss and tragedy leave both of them reluctant to follow their hearts, even when the passion between them reaches its breaking point. Faced with feelings neither expected, they fight to stay ahead of the danger that hunts them as forces more powerful than they can imagine conspire to destroy them both…
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Oh how I love Pamela Clare’s heroes. And, this one had a wonderful heroine as well. Natalie did what she had to, but never ventured into TSTL. She always asked for help when necessary, but used her wits as well. Smart and sexy. With a lot of heartache in her background.
Zach… mmm. He was smart, confident, and I loved how he had to earn the respect of Julian, Gabe, and Marc. And how it took a long time, but he did it, even though he pulled some dumbass moves. He was smart and resourc…moreOh how I love Pamela Clare’s heroes. This one had a wonderful heroine as well. Natalie did what she had to, but never ventured into TSTL. She always asked for help when necessary, but used her wits as well. Smart and sexy. With a lot of heartache in her background.
Zach… mmm. He was smart, confident, and I loved how he had to earn the respect of Julian, Gabe, and Marc. And how it took a long time, but he did it, even though he pulled some dumbass moves. He was smart and resourceful. Of course, a former SEAL, why wouldn’t he be?
I liked watching them work together and maintain and grow a mutual respect for each other. While Natalie had been through a lot, she wasn’t a pushover, and made Zach stop and look into himself. Clare really has a way of getting her heroes to open up and fall at the heroine’s feet without emasculating them. Their fears, their tears, their revelations all do nothing to change the raw masculinity that they emit. And while her heroines are strong, competent women, they all keep their vulnerability and their femininity as well.
I dislike it when heroes pull the “I’m not good enough for you” line, which is why Zach left Natalie. But here, Zach had some serious guilt playing on him, and I understood it. I still wanted to smack him up one side and down the other, but I understood it.
I also really enjoyed seeing the camaraderie between the precious I-Team heroes. And how protective they were of Natalie and of their wives.
All in all, another suspenseful winner from Clare, complete with a *gasp* moment that, while it doesn’t rival the one in Naked Edge, still made me sit on the edge of my seat.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
You can read more from Lori at I Just Finished Reading…
This book is available from Berkley . You can buy it here or here in e-format.