Customer Reviews

Feel the Heat (Black Ops, Inc.)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Adrenaline surging action keeps one riveted to every daringly risky scenario in FEEL THE HEAT, while romantic thoughts turn from compassionate to desirous. The fourth book in the winning Black Ops, Inc series begins with an undercover mission filled with suspenseful danger, an uncertain outcome and teasingly snarky dialogue. As Cindy Gerard manages to up the peril in each following development, especially when closely guarded feelings become involved, FEEL THE HEAT will keep you engrossed as new and often terrifying details are revealed.

When B.J. Chase and Raphael Mendoza met undercover, they at first pointed guns at each other and their parting was not on good terms. With B.J. working for the Defense Intelligence Agency and Rafe being a Black Ops, Inc. member, their approach to any assignment is handled by following different rules. When it is discovered some highly classified weapons technology has been found in the possession of terrorist, she is covertly sent to the U.S. agency from where the information might have been leaked. This leads to unexpected revelations and another meeting with Rafe, guns drawn again.

Although Rafe and B.J. are basically on the same side, she does not like when her boss assigns her to work with the Black Ops, Inc. members, as she feels their methods are too different from her own. As facts are shared, they quickly realize the situation could be exceedingly disastrous if the terrorist plot is actually carried out. When a target date is uncovered, all involved know they must swiftly find answers and Rafe believes he might have the means. He was originally from Colombia and is related to those who are possibly holding vital information about the plans, so he and B.J. are to pretend they are an engaged couple and visit his uncle to hopefully learn what this drug dealer knows. When they go to Columbia in order to stop a disruptive disaster from occurring, Rafe and B.J. will face some dangerous dilemmas, while threats to their hearts are just as worrisome.

Grippingly enthralling with insightful emotions describes a romantic suspense story by Cindy Gerard. This talented author masterfully builds tension in her books as every second passes, and the result is always captivatingly spellbinding. With no idea of when a situation may turn deadly in FEEL THE HEAT, the reader is frequently caught unaware, thus mounting the eagerness for reading the next page. There are enough mysteries to keep you guessing, while the danger surrounding many of these unknowns just continues to escalate. The premise for this story is cleverly innovative, and the plausible threat is all too conceivable and causes chills with its possibility. There are a multitude of irresistible heroes in this book, where you only get to enjoy their delightful outer personalities, except when their own personal story is being told and then some of their innermost secrets are exposed. Discovering more about Rafe is skilling interwoven into the plot, and I found myself loving him even more for what he has endured. B.J. is definitely a feisty heroine, and seeing her interact with all the Black Ops warriors made for some entertaining moments. These two are written with strong characterizations, as they are depicted as being courageous when needed yet also finding it difficult to control their caring sides when it comes to each other. The passion between Rafe and B.J. starts simmering from their very first meeting, and the encounter is blazingly steamy when these feelings turn combustible. Whatever emotion is felt by these two characters during a scene, the sentiment is expressed with much heartfelt earnestness, though often shown by actions and not in words. With numerous secondary characters whose stories still need to be told, I am looking forward to many more Black Ops books. FEEL THE HEAT has danger, romance and even some laughter, where emotions are sincerely conveyed and confrontations constantly arise.

SingleTitles review

4 1/2+ stars (closer to 5 than 4)
This is the fourth in Gerard's Black Ops series.

Rafael "Choirboy" Mendoza meets B.J. Chase on an op in Venezuela when their missions cross paths. The sparks begin to heat up from their first touch, but anger keeps them separated.
Three months later their objectives cross paths again. Only this time they are on the same side. There is a traitor selling US secrets and they need to find out who and how to stop it.

Like all the other books in the series, this one gets into the action right from the very beginning. The story moves along quickly with no dragging in the plot.

B.J. concerned me at first because she was such a stiff, cold character. So many female characters who are written like this end up not being likable. No so with B.J. I actually liked her. She had a softer side and the history as to why she was so cold was well explained.

I also think that Rafe was a well developed character, though no as well as B.J. His family history played an important role in the story, but at the same time I didn't feel like I got into his head enough with it. I didn't sympathize with him as much as I did with B.J.

The romance blends well into the story and I didn't feel overwhelmed with too much of the push-pull of the romance. It fit well and made a great romantic suspense story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I'm looking forward to more from the BOIs and also more from Stephanie. I'm hoping that is the next book...whatever it is, I am sure it will be an auto-buy for me!

FEEL THE HEAT is the forth instalment in Cindy Gerard's fast paced and super-sexy Black-Ops series and fans won't be disappointed. This is yet another great ride, filled with action, adventure, exotic locations, sweet lovin and top notch writing. Although for some reason I never felt as connected to B.J and Raphael as past couples I still enjoyed their story and with the entire wise-cracking team back for this particular mission (loved catching up with them) and a sweet secondary romance there was plenty going on here to hold my interest. My only gripe would be that about halfway in it all started to feel very familiar and I realized with disappointment that I had already read this exact plotline in one of Lora Leigh's Tempting Seals books. However I still enjoyed Cindy's version and she remains a definite auto-buy for me.

B.J Chase is a brash, somewhat emotionally cold Defence Intelligence Officer who first meets bad boy Raphael Mendoza while they're both undercover in Venezuela. It's not a great meeting for our future couple what with the guns they have pointed at each other, it does however leave a lasting impression.

Back in the States B.J is assigned to work with the Black Op's and she's not exactly thrilled, these boys are a very tight team who play by their own rules and B.J is used to working alone. Of course this book starts out with a bang and just keeps going, with multiple shoot outs, car chases and a general feeling of suspense. Gerard gives us a clever storyline, oozes the sexual tension and in the second half manages to put our couple in close quarters as they pose as a newly engaged couple and go deep undercover in Columbia.

This is where Rafe gets reacquainted with his long lost (drug cartel) family and in BJ's case she takes on the hilarious alter ego of `Brittany.' A fluffy, gum cracking, money digging, true blonde that Rafael can`t keep his Latin lovin hands off (I actually preferred Brittany to B.J) Anyways, from here things really start to steam up and emotions neither of them expected come out to play. Along with some serious explosions, a runaway train and several more hair raising shootouts where BJ proves her worth to the team, they try to stop an armed submarine and Raphael finally learns what B.J (!) stands for.

All in all this is another great read, complete with Gerard's signature ending and while it could be read as a stand alone I highly recommend the entire romantic-suspense filled series. Now the wait begins for the next instalment begins. Cheers!

STORY BRIEF:
BJ has hurts from her past - mostly due to an alcoholic mother. She has no friends or love relationships, and she doesn't want any. She is a field agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). There has been a leak inside the NSA. Stephanie works for the NSA as a cryptanalyst. BJ is assigned to work with Stephanie to help discover the source of the leak. Stephanie uncovers some information and her boss suppresses it. Her boss is killed and someone tries to kill Stephanie. BJ saves Stephanie from the killer. The Black Ops group helps BJ protect Stephanie and find the bad guys.

Rafe is a member of the Black Ops group. He came to the U.S. as a teenager when his family was killed in Columbia. The group learns that the bad guys are connected to the drug lord Emelio in Columbia. Rafe's uncle is a banker who works with Emelio. Rafe and BJ go undercover to visit those two men. Rafe pretends to be a businessman wanting to expand. BJ pretends to be a stupid, gold-digging bimbo. She wears revealing clothes and flirts sexually with other men. She and Rafe are sexually attracted to each other and act on it while undercover. He is falling in love. She won't let herself have an emotional relationship.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Readers hungry for romantic suspense will probably like it. There was a lot of action throughout. It was ok, but everything worked out too easily and predictably. I have no desire to reread it. This felt like a formula. It was good but nothing special or different. I want interesting characters or combinations of characters. These guys were like too many others. Rafe and BJ were both smart and skilled. They took risks, did smart things, scary things, and succeeded. I was pleased there was no heroine stupidity or vague communication between the couple. But too many things felt TVish - too smoothly sewn up.

The sex scenes were pretty good. But I didn't feel much emotion in the relationship which I would have liked.

Some specific problems follow:

1. Stephanie is reading through hundreds of messages on the computer to decode them. She stays up late and falls asleep at the computer. Why didn't they get other people to help her read through the messages? They have six days to discover what's going on. You'd think they could get her some help.

2. Rafe and BJ believed there were cameras in the bedroom in the uncle's home. Then BJ sneaks through the house, picks the lock on the uncle's office, and goes through his desk. Did she think there were no cameras anywhere else? That didn't make sense.

CAUTION SPOILER:

3. The good guys want to know who the U.S. traitor is. They shoot a bad guy, and just before he dies he tells them the name. That was convenient. What if the bad guy was lying and gave them the wrong name? There was no evidence proving who the traitor was. Ok, so maybe I'm being too picky. At least they got a name so they know where to start looking for evidence, but we didn't get any of that. We just see the traitor getting arrested. This plot resolution was too easy.

OTHER BOOKS:
Bodyguard Series:
3 stars. To The Brink (#1)
4 stars. Under The Wire (#5)

Black Ops Series:
2 stars. Show No Mercy (#1)
4 stars. Take No Prisoners (#2)
3 stars. Feel The Heat (#4)

DATA:
Story length: 372 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 5. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day Venezuela, D.C., Virginia, and Columbia. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.

...so it all levels out at a 3. The first half is pretty good. Although it's definitely overly dramatic and unrealistic, that is often part of this genre and I can usually just go with it - but, when BJ starts driving a train it hit that "ok, this is too ridiculous" point. Plus, I hate the whole poor me and my messed up childhood self-pitying bit. Mendoza is way too good for the load that she lays on him at the end.

I should say right off the bat that, overall, I liked the book but I really do feel as if we, the readers, got jipped.

Throughout the series, it has been implied that eventually Mendoza and Stephanie Thompkins was going to get together. Always the books end, with Mendoza on the couch talkign to Stephanie. There was always this expectation that eventually they would get together and that, possibly, they would get married which would have brought life full circle.....the end of Bryan's life reconciled with the marriage of Stephanie and Rafe.

I honestly believe that pairing Rafe Mendoza with B.J. Chase was the wrong move. There is absolutely no reason this story could not have been written so that Stephanie and Rapheal were together and Green and B.J. Chase together.
So, in that regard, I was disappointed. I may be the only person to think this but I would have loved this book had the couples been switched.

Other than that, it was a good book.


Dena:)

Each time I read a Cindy Gerard novel I'm reminded why I love her books so much. Feel the Heat hits the perfect note in the romance suspense genre. Raphael Mendoza and BJ Chase are assigned to work together on a mission in Colombia. There is obvious chemistry and tension between the two from a previous assignment that had them at cross purposes. Raphael is HOT and BJ's character takes some warming up but not enough to turn you off these enngaging H/h. The suspense in this was sky high since it involved national security and I love the doomsday, battle against time storyline . You cant help but get caught up. Familiar faces from the black ops team are working behind the scenes suporting BJ and Rafe. Whats great about Gerards novels is that there is always an element of realness to the characters, her plot and the military details. I read this in one sitting(not unusual)When I finished I felt like I'd watched a great movie with the perfect HEA

I've really enjoyed the BOI series but 'Feel the Heat' was a little slow for the first 100 pages or so. I thought the plot could have been introduced about 30 pages earlier. But I kept going because I knew Ms. Gerard would not disappoint. By the end of the book I was another happy reader. I can't wait to begin book 5: 'Risk No Secrets'.

It's been awhile since I visited the boys of Black Ops and it only took a page or two before I wondered how I could have been so remiss! Ms Gerard is the consummate author if one wants well-written suspense. It is obvious she takes time to research and acquaint herself thoroughly with whatever subject she is tackling whether that of terrorists tactics, drug cartels, military munitions or any one of the vast and varied subjects we, as readers, get to learn about in each of her novels. The genius of Gerard shows through, however, because we don't feel bogged down by the information but rather enlightened by it. It flows with the story so flawlessly that it all makes sense while adding to the angst of the suspense.

The romance aspect in this installment was the only thing that didn't click for me this time around. I have loved Raphael since his introduction books ago. B.J., however, was a hard nut for me to crack. Her ice-queen coldness just didn't cut it for me because that is all the reader gets to see. We are told of her vulnerability but never get to actually understand and sympathize with it enough to make her deserving of the love Raphael gifts her with. She was harsh and rude throughout the entire story with only a weak explanation of an alcoholic mother and a deceased father. Many people have experienced much worse in life and still retain some measure of kindness!

Surprisingly enough the overall quality of the book succeeded in surpassing the disappointing love story in this one - truly a feat for one who usually requires the relationships be believable before awarding anything above a three star.

This is another great installment in the series. The back story of the main characters could have been stronger, but was still solid. The author excels at pulling you into a story and allowing you to vicariously, and thus safely, experience an exciting world that in reality would cause most of us to run screaming (me leading that pack). The romance side of the story I give a 3.5, mostly because it moved a little to fast given the limited amount of interaction between the two characters. The overall story / plot I give a 4.5, it was intriguing and suspenseful.