Customer Reviews

Breakpoint: A High Risk Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This could have been a great book were it not for some really silly things in it which got in the way of it working well as either a suspense or a romance.

First we get way too much background on the hero Dallas at the present time, and not enough on the way he and Julianne first met.

Second, all of the mental lusting after her gets in the way of everything, plot, setting, character (he comes off as a badly behaved hormonal teen). She comes off as the ice princess for most of the book, and the thaw is never really that believable. Nor is the fact that the 'playboy of the armed forces' doesn't have a condom for most of the book, so they don't 'make love' til page 309?? I put that phrase in quotes because the scene is so bad and over so fast, wham bam sounds slow by comparison.

Then we have Wiccans/pagans in the armed forces, not developed, just a throwaway, and the suspense and any sort of danger or thrills in about the last 30 pages with the kidnap of, well, you will be able to guess from the endless details about Julianne's sexy dress from the start of the book.

I am giving it 3 stars because there are some people who like armed forces-type action romances, who will find this a good beach read, but to me it just read like a lot of slang and alphabet soup of acronyms and insults. But in terms of romance, there is so much sizzle at the start, it is bound to fizzle, and in terms of the suspense, it is just too uneven throughout the book.

JoAnn Ross continues her pulse pounding High Risk series with Breakpoint.

Tech Sergeant Dallas O'Halloran is loyal do his family and friends. He gets assigned to a new unit and is paired up with the one woman who tried to send his teammates to prison.

For former JAG officer Julianne Decatur her life is strictly black and white with no gray areas on what is right and wrong. She isn't too happy either to be paired with Dallas O'Halloran but she is a professional and can per her feelings aside for the investigation.

Dallas and Julianne are assigned to investigate a possible suicide aboard a naval carrier. Once aboard things are not what they seem. The suicide turns out to be murder and someone is willing to silence anyone that gets in their way.

As they investigate the murder their attraction to each other takes them both by surprise. But can their love survive is someone is out to kill them and those that they love?

JoAnn Ross's High Risk series will keep you enthralled from the very first page. This is a fast paced, delightful sexy story. The military part is intriguing and will keep you guessing who all is involved. The chemistry between Julianne and Dallas will knock your socks off. I am anxiously looking forward to this authors next book.

I love the first three books in this series.

And this book had such great promise...is this going to be another "Tailhook" scandal? Did the female "top gun" commit suicide or was she murdered? Based on the genre you know it was murder.

But this book really never has any heat/focus/continuity. The first half of the book is reviewing past interactions of the hero and heroine. It has a weird sidebar with the heroine's very pregnant (with twins) sister (who becomes a poor plot device in the end - eyeroll). But the time the H/H get on the boat you think "finally we're going to get to the mystery". Again, no. In the end with no real investigation, the hero works out the mystery with GEOMETRY! (eyeroll)

Here are some of the other eyerolls:
1) NCIS doesn't investigate this murder/suicide - they are mentioned many times but NO! there is a new gov't agency (THOR) investigate.
2) Why does the 1st guy they talk to commits suicide? It was never made clear what his part of this scandal/cover up was.
3) Paganism as a "major" religion on this this boat. Who cares - it wasn't germane to the plot.
4) The pregnant sister.
5) Security cameras that never get investigated.

I could go on but you get the point. Oh one more...after 4 books shouldn't we know a bit more about Phoenix Team? Who started it? Why? What's their mission (because it seems to be all over the board)?

Here's hoping the next book in the series will be more focused.

I like reading this book with all of it characters seemed like real. It gave our boys that in service good reviews. Good book and super good author. I like her high risk Novel. Will read the rest of them. The book is for adult reading with some strong words.

This is the fourth in JoAnn Ross's High Risk series following a group of military men who forged a bond whilst in combat in Afghanistan but who are all working out their new life paths now that they have joined civilian life.

This story focuses on Dallas O'Halloran, former Air Force combat controller, who appeared briefly in Shattered and Crossfire (I haven't read the first book in the series, Freefall) but about whom I knew very little as he's been a fairly minor character up till now.

I had begun to wonder if this author had a rather similar plot theme in her books as the previous two both had hero and heroine having previously had a relationship when we meet them in the story. In this book, although Dallas already knew Julianne Decatur it was as an opponent in a court martial (she was prosecuting his friends over the helicopter crash in Afghanistan).

This story begins a year or so later when Dallas finds himself tasked by THOR (a high-up government agency) to investigate the suicide of a female pilot on an aircraft carrier. Dallas finds himself teamed up with Julianne, a woman he finds himself attracted to. But why are they investigating a suicide when NCIS could do it? And might they uncover some rather more significant events that are taking place on the carrier?

I really enjoyed the aircraft carrier setting of this book. The detail was excellent and it's clear the author's done her homework. I also liked the growing relationship between Dallas and Julianne which felt more solid than some of the other books' main relationships.

What was less successful about this book was its pacing (it seemed quite slow at times) and the actual mystery; neither Dallas or Julianne seemed particularly good at investigating. They had a ship of 6000 people and they kept their investigations to just a handful of people on that ship. How fortuitous they chose the right handful, even if some were a bit of a surprise!

I like this author's books, particularly the military detail, although reading three in quick succession shows a fair bit of repetition ("No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy", "the only easy day was yesterday" etc pop up over and over again), and I feel perhaps that the military setting is more successful than the romance part of the story. But overall it's a good enough read!

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2011

Like the "high risk" novels of Ms Ross. Excitment and adventure in most of them. Another fun read from Ms Ross. Have read them all.

Once again, an author which I enjoy. This is only the 2nd book I have read by her. Action, some love interest and intrigue. Pluto "Book Hound"

Air Force Combat Controller Dallas O'Halloran is not happy when he finds he has to work in an anti-terror unit, teamed with JAG officer Julianne Decatur who almost court-marshaled his friends, to investigate a supposed suicide of a Navy pilot.

Needed a glossary, badly. This is what took it from a 4 to a 3. CCT, LSO, BOQ, CV, SWO, CDO, SOAR, MCBH, CODS, IED, SAW, NEO, MA, Dboys, CAG, NCIS, NPJ, THOR, POS, DEFCON1, OOD, JAG, UCMJ, PTSD, CTA
I know what some of these mean but not most of them.

Also, while Dallas and Julianne lusted after each other, for most of the book, like hormonal teenagers, when they finally had sex it covered a few pages and was not very interesting. And why is it that in so many books it's the goal of the leads to have a baby even if they've only been together a few days? It's as if their life isn't complete otherwise even though they barely know each other. Guess what? Not every couple wants to have a baby because their lives are complete without it.

While I'll definitely read her next in the series this one left me lukewarm.

...but I've got to swim against the tide on this one.

I can't remember which one of the High Risk novels I read first, but after discovering the first one I gobbled up, I *inhaled* all the rest, too. I usually try to find bargains on books or wait for coupons (because I read a LOT) but I gladly forked out full price for this one. What a disappointment.

I don't know what happened to Breakpoint, but it just wasn't up to her talented par. The baseline plot was a great invention, but the main characters' actions and dialogue were just so -out there- (sometimes downright awful) I just couldn't get into it. The purple prose really got out of control this time, too.

Overall, I just felt that unlike previous entries in this series, it wasn't a well-developed story featuring some steamy romance. It was more like a series of sex scenes strung together with some bad military soap opera drama. And honest, I swear it pains me to say something so harsh, because I LOVE the other books in this series and have rec'd Ms. Ross to a lot of people.

This book alone won't keep me from buying the next one, but if the that one is this far off the mark I may have to hold off on any more of her stuff. Here's to the next one.

They were adversaries in a military courtroom years ago. However, now former JAG officer Julianne Decatur and ex-Air Force combat controller Dallas O'Halloran work for the government's top secret THOR group. Although on the same side, there remains a bit of antagonism due to her efforts to court-martial some of his brothers in arms. Yet they are also attracted to one another.

They have been assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of a Navy pilot. The pair quickly finds contrary proof affirmed by two other suspicious deaths. Julianne and Dallas begin to wonder if a serial killer or a conspiracy to conceal something is leading to military murders. At the same time each understands the irony of them falling in love with one another as not so long ago they were natural enemies.

The newest High Risk romantic suspense (see SHATTERED and FREE FALL) is an action-packed thriller that never decelerates until the finish. The lead couple makes the tale work. Their changing relationship from antagonists (in a military courtroom) to teammates to lovers provides a deep character driven entry to one of the better high octane sagas on the market today.

Harriet Klausner