Light,romantic,feel good story. A little bit of mystery and a twist at the end.

I’ve not read anything by this author before but the blurb for this book just called to me and I had to get my hands on it and I was not disappointed at all. It’s one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading by a author I hadn’t read anything by. I will definitely be coming back for more by her. It’s has everything I love and like I a fantastic story that grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go till the very last page. It’s full of action, adventure, intrigue and romance that will keep you glued to your iPad. It sure did that to me and once I started reading I could not stop till I had read everything in this book. I would totally recommend this book to everyone

This was my first book by Dana Marton. It was very good. It had romance, suspense, and a happily ever after. I will definitely check out more of her books!!

Silent Threat is the first book in the Mission Recovery series written by author Dana Marton. I like this series as much as the Broslin Creek stories. Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the advance copy.

Good read. A different story about a romance between a disabled vet and his therapist. Lots of action and romance. Kept my interest till the end.

Dana Marton is one of my all time favorite authors and I thoroughly enjoyed Silent Threat. The very different and unpredictable story of Annie & Cole. Annie is a therapist at a treatment center Cole goes to purportedly due to PTSD but with this author, you know there will be MUCH more to the story. Annie isn't your everyday therapist and Cole is much more than a patient. I would have given the book 5 stars, however, I felt the vastly different lead characters didn't have enough time to interact before large amounts of acceptance of the differences occurred. The story needed a longer book to flesh things out a bit more in my opinion. The author didn't disappoint though with her unique storyline and quick wit throughout the book and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

So many times I've heard people say that helping others, helps yourself.
Annie Murray is "like one of those mythical woodland creatures that protect the forest."
She's a woman who embodies goodness, light and positivism and who truly believes that in healing others, we too, can find ourselves healed, in helping others to obtain peace, we too, can attain it.
Cole Makani Hunter on the other hand, is a hardened, cynical, ex-Navy Seal struggling with PTSD along with learning how to deal in a now silent world where he doesn't have the full use of his right arm.
This book is a great read that reminded me of the sacrifices and hardships that those who serve to ensure our protection and keep our countries, keep us, safe face and the toll that their protection, their sacrifice can have on them.
It was a beautiful read that was packed with action and mystery and featured characters that I felt an immediate emotional connection with.
Annie and Cole's story will stay with me for quite some time and I will definitely be reading more books by this author in the future.
Highly recommended.

An early copy of this book was provided to me by Montlake Romance via Netgalley.

Dana Marton kicked off her new Mission Recovery series with a bang in SILENT THREAT. This suspense is romantic, timely and different. Great pacing, great characters … just great storytelling all around.

Former Navy SEAL Cole Makani Hunter is a new patient at Hope Hill, an alternative-therapy rehabilitation center. His last black ops deployment was traumatic, and not only did he lose his best friend, he lost the use of his right arm, along with his hearing. And he was held as a prisoner of war for six months. Mixed in with things like acupuncture, traditional counseling and meditation is ecotherapy. With Annie Murray.

Cole is drawn to her “earth-mother goodness.” Having never heard of an ecotherapist, I was immediately intrigued. There’s sound logic in going outside, walking barefooted through the grass, listening to the rain and grounding yourself in nature.

For a battle-hardened soldier like Cole, listening to the birds sing is not his usual M.O. As a sniper, open spaces — not a leafy nature trail — were necessary to do his job. Awareness of his surroundings meant nobody would get the jump on him, and nowhere was that hyperawareness more important than when he was a POW. Letting down his guard and relaxing meant a sure death. And now that he’s lost his hearing, there’s a constant possibility that anybody could sneak up on him. It’s exhausting. Being back in the civilian world is hard for Cole, and I think Marton does a wonderful job mirroring real-life struggles faced by our veterans in the characters at Hope Hill. Some days there are successes, and some days there are setbacks. The struggle is a daily effort.

Annie is battling her own demons from childhood and kicks off each day with positive affirmations. She is kind-hearted and hopeful, but she’s got a spine of steel and is courageous as any soldier Cole served with. She’s got a stable of rescued animals in the garage of her small rented home, ranging from a one-eyed donkey to a couple of llamas, to a litter of baby skunks.

The sheer goodness of Annie draws Cole like a lodestone, and for the first time since escaping captivity, he’s able to sleep in the middle of a meadow, subconsciously knowing she’s nearby keeping watch. Even unintentionally, she brings him peace, just by being herself. Everybody needs an Annie.

Darker intentions abound, however, and Cole’s purpose at Hope Hill isn’t only to find solace and therapy interventions. Annie’s on the radar of a stalker who just realized she’s falling for a patient, and that makes her unworthy. Cole’s new physical limitations are frustrating, but when Annie is kidnapped, all of the other strengths he’s relied on for years kick in. Balance is important in life, whether it’s in the real world or in fiction. Cole and Annie provide the perfect balance to one another because they help each other discover the perfect balance within themselves.

*This was originally published with USA Today’s Happy Ever After: http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2018/01/11/dolly-r-sickles-recommended-read-silent-threat-dana-marton/.

I received an invitation from the publisher via Net-Galley to read and review Silent Threat. The book description interested me so I decided to accept. I don’t recall reading a book by Dana Marton, so she is a new-to-me author. I enjoyed this book a great deal so I’m glad I read it.
When Annie Murray has a chance meeting with former Navy SEAL, Cole Makani Hunter, she is scared at first, but quickly learns he is not a threat to her physically, but on a second meeting, she soon realizes he may be a threat to her emotional well-being.

Cole is working undercover at the Rehab Center Annie works for. He is drawn to her immediately, so refuses to see her in a professional capacity. The physical attraction is too strong to deny.

Someone is pulling pranks toward Annie. She believes they are coming from a disgruntled man from her past, but the incidents become more violent. Cole is determined to find the person behind these malicious activities. When threats turn life-threatening, can he save her in time?

Annie’s character is engaging. She has not had an easy life and is afraid to open her heart to anyone. I enjoyed her character development a great deal, and Ms. Marton does an excellent job showing that growth.

Cole is a hero I could love. He’s suffered great physical complications from a mission gone bad, which left him deaf, along with problems to his left arm. I enjoyed his pursuit of Annie, and his determination to protect her.

The romance between Cole and Annie is satisfying and I truly wanted them to find their happy ending. The sexual tension is good and had me rooting for them as a couple.

The suspenseful aspect of this book is excellent. It had me grabbing the arms of my chair several times, especially at the climax. And…I didn’t figure out who the villain was until the end! That kept me guessing and that’s always enjoyable.


If you enjoy romantic suspense with an intriguing plot and likable characters, then you will enjoy Silent Threat. I look forward to reading more books by this talented author. Happy reading!

Dana Marton happens to be one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. She got that way by writing fast paced stories that are filled with suspense, but don’t short-change the die-hard romantic in me. Silent Threat didn’t disappoint me in either the romance or the suspense, and took things up a notch this time with a unique heroine and hero.

I read a lot. Last year it was 163 books. So it’s hard to impress me by having a unique heroine - one who isn’t like anyone else I’ve ever read. And even the hero was a unique twist on the often-cast Navy SEAL. So hats off to Dana Marton for creating Annie Murray and Cole Hunter!

Cole Hunter is a former Navy SEAL, recovering - physically and mentally - from a mission gone bad. He gets to know Annie when he is sent to Hope Hill - an alternative-therapy rehab center that caters to former members of the military - on an undercover mission to discover who is sharing sensitive information with the enemy in the Middle East. However, Cole also happens to be in need of the therapy that Annie specializes in. As an ecotherapist, Annie helps people use nature and animals to treat anxiety, stress and PTSD.

As you can imagine, Annie’s hippy-dippy ways don’t go over well with the macho, manly, alpha-male that Cole happens to be. Cole is gruff and cranky, and Annie - despite having a pretty rough past - is very zen and upbeat. In fact, their personalities couldn’t be more different. But it’s what made this book so fun to read.

As Cole works on his mission, he also becomes protective of Annie, who is dealing with a stalker. His unique injuries added an extra depth to his character, and there was plenty of suspense going on throughout this story that made it hard for me to put my Kindle down! Even though I think I like Cristin Harber’s method of telling the reader who the bad guy is right up front (and not making us guess who it is!), I really like Dana Marton’s writing style and the way she gives us an equal amount of romance and suspense. It makes for a completely satisfying read!

* thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance/Lake Union Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

This was the first book from this author I have read and I am looking forward to more in the future. This book was a little more suspenseful and intense then I usually read but absolutely loved it!

How have I not read Dana Marton before now?!? I loved this book and the story. It made me so very happy. I was even happier when I realized I have some books in her Broslin Creek series that I picked up as Kindle freebies a while back. :) :) That's a good thing as the next book in this series, "Threat of Danger , isn't out until June. :( This series appears to be a spin-off, or at least related to the Broslin Creek books but I had no trouble reading it as a stand-alone.

What I Liked:

1) Our hero, Cole Makani Hunter, is not the standard white, abled hero. He's mixed race, Hawaiian Pacific Islander and Caucasian. How about that, an MC who's not lily white. That was a nice change. He has limited mobility in one arm and deafness due to injuries sustained while on active duty. He does pretty well reading lips but he doesn't get it right a hundred percent of the time which seems to be true to life. I appreciated that our heroine, Annie, was always careful to look right at him or otherwise place herself so he could see her lips easily to read them. While being deaf came with certain challenges, it wasn't a main part of the story, and there was more to Cole than being deaf or having limited arm functionality. They were part of who was, like his dark eyes, his impatience, and his love for his pickup truck. Neither his ethnicity nor his physical challenges were the focus of the story, but simply aspects of the character.

2) Annie Murray was a wonderful character even if her name gave me fits. Every time her whole name was on page, I thought of country singer Anne Murray. I even visualized Annie as Anne Murray. Yeah, I know. I'm showing my age. But hey, I listened to some Anne Murray songs while typing this up and that was good. :D

Anyway, Annie Murray, our heroine, loves animals, nature, and helping. She's a nurturer and a caretaker. She runs an animal rescue out of her garage with dreams of expanding into proper facilities. Meanwhile, she works as an ecotherapist. In Annie's words, "Ecotherapy is basically ecopsychology. We use nature to connect to our inner nature...Ecotherapy is about healing both people and their environment." I was a little unsure of ecotherapy at first and so was Cole. He was resistant at first but over the course of the book he starts to see its benefits and accept it as a legitimate and useful form of therapy.

While Annie is a lover and a healer, she's not weak. She can does take care of herself, both emotionally and physically, but also asks for and accepts help. Okay, she had trouble with the latter but she was able to do it. She seemed like someone I would want to be friends with and I'd happily help with the animals. Even the skunks.

3) The story. Cole is undercover at the rehab center and that means therapy sessions in a variety of fields while he investigates. Several times, he wonders if there really is a mission or if the commander tricked him into getting help, and I admit, I had the same doubts. But there are mysteries, yes, more than one. Marton reeled me in, kept me reading, and kept me guessing. I had so many guesses and eventually I was right, lol. She provided lots of clues and hints, you just had to decipher them correctly.

The story grabbed me from the first page and I read it in one sitting. The pacing, the characters, the settings, the details, it all worked for me. The story flowed and was a good balance of action, dialog, humor, and romance. I had one qualm and that was that Cole and Annie were therapist and patient when they met and their relationship developed. Annie is hyper aware of this and tries to restrain to keep things professional. I didn't completely buy Marton's workaround to the ethical problem but it did ease my mind. I liked the gradual development of their feelings, the slow burn, and that they didn't rush into things emotionally or physically. The payoff was worth the wait.

"Silent Threat" was 4 solid stars, a wonderful blend of mystery and romance, with wonderful characters, both human and animal. Bring on book two!

Good read, strong characters, well written with a good storyline.

This is the first book by this author that I've read and I was gripped by the first chapter. This is the first book in this series by this author. This story has a great mystery story line which kept me guessing till the end. This book has amazing characters, both strong leads. I can't wait to read more from this series and this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

3 Stars - 3 Flames

Have you read the blurb? Read it again. Because if you don't like or get Military books, this one isn't for you. Especially considering this takes place in a rehab facility.

Disabled ex-SEAL, Cole has been assigned a mission. Not the typical mission since he's disabled and can't go back in to the line of fire. This mission is more recon, finding the leak that's put the military in a tough situation. But Cole finds this mission isn't going to be as easy as he thought.

Annie is...different. She's not the typical girl next door, nor a nerd. She falls more under the category of eccentric. Her methods of doing things, unconventional, but it works for her. So when Cole becomes her new patient, she has more than enough ways to get him to open up to her. And now things look like they're moving into more than just a client/patient relationship.

This. Is. Very. Slow. (FOR ME) It felt like it took these two forever to finally except the "relationship". However, the mystery surrounding the story and the twists make up for it. Considering this is the first book in the series, I was a little disappointed, hoping to be drawn in a little more. To be honest, I'm still on the fence.

*I was gifted this book from the Jeep Diva in exchange for my honest opinion.

reviewed by Chris

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

In this new romantic suspense by Dana Marton, first volume in a new series, the author presents to us Annie, who works in a rehab center for vets, and Cole, one patient of this center, when the first is threatened by an unknown stalker and the second is sent undercover to discover a traitor.

Annie is ecotherapist, i.e. a kind of psychologist who uses Nature as an approach to treat. There are several descriptions of mediation sessions centered on nature and trees, and even if I think contacts with nature, especially animals, can actually help some people, I share Cole’s opinion when he says he’s not the type to hug trees. Annie makes me think of the hippies of the 80s, minus the smoking. She’s also Mother Theresa for animals; she takes in every wounded or abandoned animal, including those no one would want like baby skunks.
I liked that she resists to her attraction for Cole during a long time because she knows a therapist-patient relationship is not ethical. I liked less her TSTL moment when she walks alone through a corn field when someone tried to kill her two days before.

Cole is a former Navy SEAL who was tortured in Afghanistan and came back deaf and with his right arm disabled. For a sniper it hard to bear and he feels broken and useless. He’s determined to learn how to compensate his problems, and even if he’s resistant to the treatments given in this center and especially ecotherapy we see his evolution in his acceptation of his limitations. Seeing him persevere at each failure was both painful and pleasant. I liked less the moments where he thought he was not good enough for Annie even if I understood it. I thought they were cute together and completed each other nicely.

The plots about Annie’s stalker and the traitor progress slowly, we regularly have glimpses of the stalker’s thoughts, and in spite of this when we finally learn who he is I was kind of frustrated because I thought it lacked some explanations. So the bad guy is a bit inconsistent, he lacks depth, and seeing how unhinged he is I can’t believe nobody in the domain he was working in ever saw something was wrong with him.

To conclude a good RS but not as good as what the author got us used to.

I received this free from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
I loved this book. I loved how Cole's deafness was handled, how it dealt with the concerns of vets, the therapies, the romance, the mystery, the suspense. In short as I have said before, I loved this book. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: murder, PTSD, stalking, attempted murder, drugged against will

Cole and Annie have a great story. I liked the two very different aspects of their lives coming together. The mystery and the challenge of the non-romantic questions was intriguing and felt that they moved along well. Nothing was ever sedentary.

Annie is a gentle soul who wants to help others reach their potential to engage with what's around them. She also has a soft spot for animals who are in need. I loved how she was able to "handle" Cole and his surly attitude. She never pushed, but she also didn't really let him get away with things either.

Cole, despite his double reasons for being at the center, learns from others around him. When he is confronted with the truth, he not only is a hero, but a man on a mission.

I can't wait to see what's next for this series.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars

There’s a whole lotta story in this book. Cole goes undercover to a veteran’s rehabilitation centre where someone is selling state secrets. But he doesn’t expect to fall for his touchy-feely ecotherapist while he protects her from an escalating stalker.

I feel like there is way too much going on in this book. There are three different suspense storylines that only come together at the very end. I was able to guess the culprit a little too early, which made for a disappointing end to the story. Beyond the suspense, there’s a seemingly pointless storyline about Annie and a reality TV show, another follows Annie’s family relationships, and a third focuses on her animal rescue centre. It’s too much. I was more interested in the murders, the stalker, and Cole’s investigations, but the book kept sliding away from the suspense and into small town domestic romance territory.

I enjoyed the thriller aspect of the story more than the romance. Cole is great and he’s just what I expected from a military romance hero. But I really couldn’t warm to ecotherapist Annie and her touchy-feely, tree hugging, animal rescuing ways. I’m not sure she’s going to appeal to many fans of military romantic suspense. She feels naive, a bit wet, and far too helpless to be interesting.

I like that Cole and Annie are pretty unusual leading characters. Cole’s PTSD and hearing loss make him an unlikely hero and Annie is an unlikely match for a military man. I just didn’t like her very much.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆
Being betrayed by those who are supposed to help you is devastating, but when the victims of this betrayal are wounded combat vets, it makes the crime all that more heinous.

Cole is working undercover to find the source of the leak at Hope Hill, a rehab facility for wounded vets. What he doesn't expect is to actually benefit from some of the therapies at Hope Hill. Or is because of the ecotherapist, Annie.

Annie loves working at Hope Hill, helping vets with their service related issues. She's also trying to mend a few fences of her own with her cousin and grandfather. There's something about Cole that calls to her, but she knows that getting involved with a patient is forbidden.

There is lots of drama and intrigue in this book and a well thought out romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of Silent Threat by Dana Marton that I read and reviewed.
Silent Treat was the first book in the new Mission Recovery series by Dana Marton and for a series kickoff it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the two lead characters Cole and Annie and how their relationship progressed throughout the book. I also enjoyed the fact that the lead male character was deaf and was dealing with a disability that the female character had to help him with and had to remember to compensate for. Both characters had their flaws in this book and that added a second dimension to the story.
As for the suspense part it was ok for me. It was the typical stalker style when it comes to how it was written and really did not have that much of a wow factor for me so that was a bit of a let down and really did not grab my attention like I was hoping it would. But, it did help with the relationship story so that made it fit for me.
I am giving Silent Threat four out of five stars because I loved Cold and Annie.

Former Navy SEAL Cole Hunter has been through hell, and had the nightmares and flashbacks to prove it. His hearing was gone, his right arm useless but he was alive.
Annie Murray, a therapist at Hope Hill, was dealing with a pain in the neck ex boyfriend stalker, her tiny animal sanctuary at her home was housing a litter of baby skunks, and a wall in her house collapsed. What next?
It turns out big, bad SEAL Cole was going to be her patient. Hope Hill was a facility for vets, and had a good reputation for using alternative psycho-therapy, one of which was ecotherapy. Cole enjoyed the nature walks they took, but insisted their would be no tree hugging!
Great read, emotional and suspenseful.