I received an arc from Netgalley. While I like military and action packed romances this one just did not grab me and keep me interested. I admit Inskimmed through most of it.

I am also not sure if the book was quite formatted properly but it was hard to follow between sections and seemed to switch gears.

3 stars

I was not a fan of this book. Even though it was pretty action packed, I just couldn't get into it and I didn't care what happened to the characters.

Well written action packed story with terrific characters. This is my first in the series and it’s a fantastic suspense romance full of intrigue, danger and adventure that’s fast paced to the end. Well developed characters in alpha Dare and kicka$$ Jenna. Worth the read. Thanks to NetGalley I voluntarily reviewed an ARC.

I didn’t realize when I got this book it was book number five. This isn’t the first time I have done this. Normally if I accidently read a book out of order I am able to follow along. This time it was a lot harder to follow along and I found myself wondering what was going on the entire time. It took me more than half the book to somewhat figure out what was going on.

I believe this could be a good series if I had started from the beginning.

Close to the Edge
Unbroken Heroes series book #5
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Review copy provided by the publisher

Oy! I don't even know where to start. This book was so confusing and all over the damn place. From the moment I opened the book on my kindle I was lost. It felt like there was something missing.

I was hoping that after a few pages you'd get to go back in the past and see how Dare and Jenna meet. But it never happened. There were so many questions. It's like the the entire beginning of the book was nonexistent.

Honestly, I DNF'd it. And I hate doing that, but I couldn't connect with the characters because I had no idea how they came about.

Unlike with the previous book, it took me a while to get a grasp of this story for it seemed that something was missing from the content at the very beginning. There was no explanation of how the initial scenario came about. Once I started to get an understanding from the snippets, I quite enjoyed the storyline.

Dare is the team leader of one of the special ops team. He decided to go in that line of work at a very young age due to some tragic circumstances. There isn't room for anything else in his life.

Jenna is drawn into an ongoing investigation by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is under the protection of Dare's team after mistaken identity is confirmed. They start off by loving to hate each other until they become aware of the sparks that ignite between them.

Jenna is being persued by the villains and when she is abducted, she realises that she is up against some unscrupulous individuals. What she witnesses makes her feel sick and she decides to play her part to stop anyone else from being subjected to that disgraceful fate. Dare reluctantly agrees, but the enemy is cunning for everything backfires and they are back to square one.

Dare and Jenna take a plunge with the understanding of having a fling for he cannot offer anything else. Just when their feelings start to surface, they are in the firing line once again. This sends them in separate ways until once again Jenna finds herself in the wrong place. Dare is now convinced that he has been played and is ruthless in his handling of the situation. More to the point, with Jenna.

One of the ploys leads to misunderstandings with negative impact. In the meantime, the villains continue with their deceitful plan, no matter the cost. Jenna and Dare become the primary targets. Can they survive these powerful and corrupted public figures?

This installment is a little slow to begin with, but once it picks up, it becomes an exciting read. It's action packed and there is violence, love and lust. The chemistry between Dare and Jenna is pretty intense and he has a change of heart. It has a good ending, but part the problem remains unresolved. It will be interesting to see whose story comes next and how far they get with their mission.

I was kindly issued with an eARC and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Dawn Ryder’s Unbroken Heroes series, and this latest installment is another enjoyable read.

Agent Dare Servant isn’t an easy man to like … or love … but he is an effective and dangerous agent. He’s also a man determined not to ever love anyone. What a silly fool. Jenna Henson is a rocket scientist helping a friend cater a big party when the chef had last-minute car trouble. Only, when she was loading into the kitchen, she stumbles across Dare, dressed in a black ski mask, planting bugs and listening devices. Rather than letting her run and think she stumbled on some type of burglary, his team snatches her and implants a tracker in her shoulder.

But Jenna is no squirrelly, shrinking violet. Suspecting her house is being bugged, she starts poking around and discovers her intuition to be correct. Dare’s Shadow Ops team is watching her because they suspect the man they’re trying to shut down, Kirkland Grog — who forces young, impoverished women into pornography — already has her in his sights. And they’re right. Beyond the fact Kirkland wants Jenna dead to ensure she can’t talk, he wants her dead because she’s tied to Dare. His team has been after Kirkland for a while, and Dare isn’t going to let any passing attraction slow him down in his pursuit

The cold, hard fact is that Jenna’s life will never be the same. Forced to cut ties with everyone she knows and abandon her work as a NASA contractor, and to relocate under a new identity, she doesn’t hesitate to step up and work with Dare’s team to help stop Kirkland. The attraction between her and Dare is combustible, yet he’s pushing her away with one hand while the other is pulling her closer. Perhaps the biggest question that brings the characters (and the readers) close to the edge in this story is: How far is far enough to prove your innocence and willingness to help catch a human trafficker … and how far must you stretch yourself to prove your love? Even though you want to feed Dare to the alligators, stick with him. Though he may seem as dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to romance, once he gets out of his own way, he’s actually a likable (and even lovable) guy.

*Originally published with USA Today's Happy Ever After: https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2018/03/08/dolly-r-sickles-recommended-romantic-suspense-close-to-the-edge-dawn-ryder/.

In this next installment we finally have Dare Servant, the one who states that the love bug would not get him, like it has bitten the other members of his team. I had a couple of issues with this story, first of all the ARC delivered to me started with Chapter 2. It wasn't until I read on here from other readers, that the first chapter was actually located in the back of the book. So I started there and I still was trying to figure out what was going on. Jenna is a combustion expert that works with contracted work from the government. She inadvertently gets involved with Dare's Op and then things start to change. I have to say that it took me several tries and skimming through most of the book. Dare was a complete and total jerk to Jenna. I was like, really know? I just couldn't stand him in his own book and I so looked forward to a woman giving him his just desserts but wow was he a douche bag to her. I tried to like it more than I should but Dare pretty much shut it down for me. I like my alpha's OTT but there is a point where it isn't cute anymore. This is an ongoing action packed series as one bad guy leads to the next bad guy. Though I enjoyed the other books in this series, this one not so much. Dare and Jenna do get their HFN. 2.5 stars.

Is the first part of this book missing????

DNF 15%

I don't get this book which may be because I haven't read any other books in this series but then it should be noted that this book cannot be read as a stand alone. The book opens with Jenna in a room apparently being watched while searching for jobs online. It's not clear who is watching her and why. Yet when confronted she doesn't see this as a huge issue and actually expects the cameras to be there.

There's no background to who she is, why she's being watched or what is going on. Very confusing.

First things first... Never start a series that's many books in. Second? Make sure that the first chapter is included. While it's at the very end (saw someone else's review and learned that tidbit) it still makes it inconvenient.

Being lost on those two things made it hard to keep up and stay interested. I'll have to read this once published and sure that all chapters are included. Maybe just start from very first book of series.

This was okay nothing special. There were times when the author kept having the characters say stuff like was that vulgar well yeah but it's fine and really it got very annoying because it was said so much and really for no reason. I did like Jenna. I could take or leave Dare. This book continues from the previous ones, you can read this as a stand alone but I recommend reading the others first for background story.

I loved reading the riveting and engaging romance story. I voluntarily reviewed a story through NetGalley.
When Agent Dare meets Jenna, he is instantly attracted to her, but his attraction leads Jenna to danger. As Jenna's bodyguard, Dare must protect someone he cares about, keep his hands off of her, and safeguard her from his enemies.
Read the highly recommended and wonderfully written, full of romance, intrigue, and mystery, and a must read love story.

Close to the edge was an action packed story that continues on form the last book in the series. The storyline draws readers in from the first page to the very end.

Dare Servant is a member of the Shadow Ops task force. Fiercely dedicated, he has no intention of letting emotion cloud his judgement. When innocent Jenna Henson stumbles into the middle of his op, though, all his plans go up in smoke.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. Romantic suspense is probably my favourite of all the many genres I read, and a tall, dark and handsome Special Forces agent is definitely my favourite kind of hero. The problem is that Dare Servant is a complete and total d**k. Jenna actually calls him out on it, more than once, and he never fails to carry on still being a d**k. Why she actually decided she was interested in him beyond a basic physical attraction was utterly beyond me. He appeared to have no qualities one might want in a romantic partner at all beyond his physical attributes.

It wasn’t the only thing wrong with the book. Jenna is a ‘combustion expert’ which is a fancy name for someone who blows things up for a living. This is made much of in the first couple of chapters, so I expected it to be a Chekov’s Gun plot device; at some point Jenna and Dare would be in a situation where Jenna uses her skills to build a bomb from some kitchen-sink chemicals. But no. It was just… forgotten about and never mentioned again. Seriously, why give your heroine a cool skill like that and not let her use it?

The worst part for me, though, and the most unbelievable, was when Kagan, the Shadow Ops leader, deliberately put Jenna back in play without actually telling Dare or anyone else about it. Dare wasted hours of valuable time concentrating on her, convinced she was working with the bad guy (despite having already witnessed the bad guy attempting to kill her). Kagan’s reasoning for doing all this? He wanted Dare to get in touch with his emotions. That really isn’t what I’d expect of the leader of a covert action group dedicated to bringing down bad guys.

I basically noped out and coasted to the end of the book after that. Not having read any of the others in this series, there was a heck of a lot going on I had no clue about, too; this is definitely not a standalone. If you’re a devoted fan of the series, you might enjoy it, but if you’re not, definitely don’t start here. Frankly, I wouldn’t start at all. One star.

The Unbroken Heroes are back! Agent Dare Servant is aghast at this fellow Ops members settling down. He knows without doubt that the domestic life will never be for him - the thrill of the chase and the high of danger to strong to ever give up. But when a quirky and charming caterer ends up smack dab in the middle of a criminal mastermind's plot, Dare will uphold his honor and protect her. Even though she pushes all his buttons. Even though her beauty drives him to distraction. Even though he's in danger of losing his heart to her and hanging up his Shadow Ops life for good….

Review:
I will start off by saying this is book number 5in the series, but it can totally be read as a stand alone with little difficulty. I read these books out of order and started with book number 4 in the series. I want to go back and read the first three books, but I still have not had the chance.

The one thing that was the biggest issue for me was that the ARC started out in chapter 2 and not having chapter 1 really got me a little lost and missed the whole Jenna witnessing the crime that set her into protective custody.

In this book the main couple is Dare and Jenna. As a couple they are thrown together when Dare is the one who is in charge of her protection. Dare tries to fight his attraction because of his history and job, but it is no use. I really liked Jenna, she is fearless, whether going up against the killers or their attraction and stubborn Dare.

This book is very suspenseful and action packed. It is also very sensual and sexy, Dare and Jenna have great chemistry. I loved that both of them fight together and are both strong characters. It is told from multiple points of view.

4Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

Dare likes the adrenaline rush of being a special operative. He fears falling love and getting benched like many of his fellow team members. Jenna Henson is a temptation he's determined to resist even if he can't help watching her through the surveillance system set up by his team. This is a great well paced thriller that will keep fans entertained from beginning to end.
Then Jenna is kidnapped by Dare's enemies. While the surveillance systems fail fortunately Jenna has an embedded tracker that allows Dare and his team to track down and save Jenna. Dare pulls in all his favors to keep Jenna safe. Unfortunately Jenna has a target painted on her back and Dare's bosses have no qualms about using her as bait.
The fast paced action will keep your adrenaline pumping and the plots and counter plots that emerge will make you dizzy. If you've read earlier books in the series some of the characters and relationships will make more sense but you can read it as a stand alone and still enjoy the story.
I'll say it again, romantic suspense is my new catnip.

OMG I absolutely loved this book from the very first page till the very last word. A must read and a page turner in my opinion. The story had me on the edge of my seat with all the twists and turns going on. I found it impossible to put it down at all. Loved the intrigue, action and adventure in this book. Really made it a 5 star book in my opinion and then you add the characters and wow I loved the interactions between them. They grab your attention and hook you right into their story and believe me they don’t let go at all. Wish I could give this book more than the 5 stars I can as it totally deserves more in my opinion and I will definitely be on the look out for future books by this amazing and talented author. I would definitely recommend this book

A fast paced romance with a decent plot. Not my favorite book of all time as it bounces around a lot and doesn't flow as smooth as I'd have liked. but an overall good story

Intense romance with confident alpha male lead, strong female lead and a HEA.

First of all, this book started out very slow and took about half the book before it really picked up, overall once it got past the slowness, I liked the story line...however, the book started with chapter 2 (I found out at the end, chapter 1 was at the end of the book!) which caused a whole lot of confusion, chapter 1 had all the pertinent information you needed to understand what was going on. There are A LOT of grammatical and spelling errors that should have been caught before this book was sent out.

I haven't read the previous books, but for me the crossover didn't really cause me any problems with the story line, it was the fact that chapter one was missing that caused me problems!