Out of Mind in the second book in Kendall Talbot's Maximum Exposure series, but it's the first book in the series I've read, and the first of her books I've read, and this book opened like it was shot out of a cannon and finished that way too, and it impressed the heck out of me. It gets 5 stars from this new Kendall Talbot fan.

It starts out innocently enough, Holly and her fiance, Milton, and Milton's son, Kane, are vacationing in Canada and Milton and Kane are keen to view the high mountain peaks from a helicopter, but Holly has a premonition that something bad is going to happen, and it turns out her premonition was correct--the helicopter meets turbulence, crashes, and Holly is the sole survivor, broken bones, burned by flying debris when the helicopter explodes, and spending the next 23 hours in the bitter cold surrounded by death, and so injured she can't move at all. She awakens from her coma more than 8 months later, scarred on half of her face and her body, devastated when she learns that Milton, Kane and the pilot are all dead, and her plans for her happy future are gone.

Years go by as Holly she heals and goes through rehab, but her scarred face, all the notoriety around the crash and her rescue, especially since Milton was a billionaire, all made worse by Milton's harpy of an ex-wife claiming that Holly was a gold digger and she orchestrated the crash, and which all lead Holly to change her identity and relocate--she's now Amber, and she remembers part of what happened after the crash, when she was stuck on a ledge in the crevasse which opened when the helicopter crashed, and she saw two people in each others arms, frozen inside their icy tomb within the crevasse for who knows how long, but sadly, once she's awake and lucid, no one believes her.

When Holly/Amber happens to see an interview with an elderly lady whose only son was lost in a plane crash 40 years earlier, and was vilified in the press for supposedly kidnapping the woman Holly/Amber saw in his arms, Holly/Amber has a new reason to live, a new goal, and she pursues getting ready to go back to the crash site with so much strength, determination, grit, nerve, and fervor that she's perhaps one of the strongest and gutsiest heroine I've ever encountered. Her first step is getting fit and arranging private lessons with Oliver, who owns a nearby rock climbing and fitness center.

There's a second, seemingly unrelated story in addition to Holly's, told from the point of view of an 18-year-old teenager, Regi, who gets into serious trouble with an extremely wealthy and corrupt gangster, Carson, by accidentally backing up into the front of his incredibly expensive Corvette. Carson demands payment, Regi has no money and no insurance, nor does he own the car he was driving, it belongs to his drug-addicted mother's current boyfriend. Carson never lets up on poor Regi, having him regularly harassed and beaten by Carson's main enforcer, Pope, who makes Regi's life a living hell. Carson also has Regi doing odd and illegal favors for him as well, and he has little hope of ever paying Carson back the as yet undisclosed debt amount. The way Ms. Talbot brought these two disparate story lines together came out of left field, but it was absolutely brilliant and masterfully done.

While, as I stated, this novel kicks off in high gear, once Holly awakens from her coma, and slowly recovers from her massive injuries, the pace does slow down, however, it's never boring and it gives the reader a chance to get to know and understand what drives Holly/Amber. It also gives the reader time to know Oliver, understand him, and watch his admiration for the shy, scarred, and reclusive Amber slowly grow from rock climbing session to rock climbing session. Yes, this is a novel of romantic suspense after all, but I truly enjoyed the fact that there was neither insta-lust or insta-love in this novel, but a slowly building relationship instead, which was a nice change.

When the two seemingly unconnected story lines finally do connect and you realize the way that Regi's story connects to Holly/Amber and her quest, the tension, suspense, action, adventure and danger ramp up into high gear and there are many more surprising revelations to come from this cast of unforgettable characters, and just when you think everything is settled, and you're headed to an epilogue and an HEA ending, there are even more surprises to come in this nail-biter of a novel. It was, quite simply, an excellent, well-plotted, well-written, and exciting read, and I'm happy to recommend it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Kendall Talbot is one of my must read authors, OUT OF MIND is the second book in the Maximum Exposure series, a sequel to OUT OF REACH which I reviewed here; and it is just as good. In fact pick a book she has written, any book, and you will not be let down.

When Holly’s multi-millionaire fiancé and his son die in a chopper crash he leaves her, the sole survivor, his fortune. Her fiancé’s ex-wife, left nothing, accuses Holly of being a gold-digger and the media frenzy picks up on this and hounds Holly. So with disfiguring scars, and broken in both body and spirit she hides away in a small town where no one can find her. While Holly was waiting on the mountain for rescue she saw a couple frozen in an ice cave next to where she was lying. Watching a documentary about cold cases one evening she sees the couple she decides to go back to Whisky Mountain and find the couple to give their next-of-kin peace of mind. With this plan she starts to put her life back together.

Holly meets Oliver when she demands that he teaches her to climb – private lessons so she doesn’t have to appear in public with the scars on her face. She also goes to a nearby ski field to learn how to ski. These two skills will be needed when she returns to the mountain.

Gradually Holly learns to trust and love again and tells Oliver about her past – and what she wants to do. She isn’t instantly cured – but now she has someone to help her continue on the recovery road. They head off to the Canadian Rockies to carry out her mission. A simple matter you would think – but there has been a seemingly unconnected story bubbling along in the background about a young teen called Regi; he gets caught up with a Crime Boss because of one stupid mistake, and now his life consists of heavy beatings as he is forced to work for to pay off that mistake.

When Holly and Oliver arrive on Whisky Mountain to carry out their mission the pace suddenly cranks up to full ‘edge of the seat,’ ‘can’t put down’ and ‘cook your own tea’ pace!!! The two stories finally make the connection and Holly and Oliver need to fight hard to get off the mountain alive. The build up to, and the actual, climax will leave you breathless and is written beautifully. There is a lot going on in the story, but author Kendall Talbot never drops a thread and cleans all the loose ends (even ones you didn’t know where loose) by the last page.

OUT OF MIND and OUT OF REACH can each be read separately, and there is a third as yet untitled book coming out in the not too distant future.

MS Talbot knows how to put her characters through a wringer and bring them out on the other side to a fabulous HEA and she sure knows how to keep her readers on the edge of their seats and turning the pages, I highly recommend that you join Holly and Oliver on this journey of strength and courage and a beautiful romance.

Holly takes a trip with her fiancé and his son to a snowy Whiskey Mountain in Canada in a helicopter and Holly just knows that it will end in tragedy and what happens to Holly is beyond belief but what she sees stays with her and haunts her and then later becomes the a quest to get to the truth of what she has seen, but she needs to learn a few things to do what she must, starting a new life and meeting Oliver who teaches her to rock climb and opens her heart up again.

Oliver is stunned when a woman asking for private lessons and complete secrecy, she has scars that are very visible but he also thinks that there are scars not so visible, but he is pulled towards her and agrees to training and along the way he learns the truth and loses his heart to this woman who shows such strength and nerve to do what she must, and together they retrace the trip to Whiskey Mountain where danger arrives again.

There is a lot happening in this story and I loved it from start to finish, fabulous characters good and bad ones and the romance between Oliver and Holly is beautiful with all of the danger going on around them, but Holly what a heroine beautiful on the inside and the outside what she has gone through has added to her strength and Oliver was just the hero to meet her soul and together they can move forward. I do look forward to more in this series, this one is fabulous.

Out of Mind by Kendall Talbot is the 2nd book in the Maximum Exposure, and my first book by this author. I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more by this author. Although this is book two, I was not lost reading this book. Holly had a bad feeling when she went on a helicopter ride with her fiance and his son to a mountain top, that no one else has ever land on before. When the helicopter crashes, Holly is the only survivor. Holly remains in a coma for months, when she wakes up she has a long path to recover. This book is full of adventure with a well thought out story line. I recommend this book for any one who like a romantic suspense story.

I was given a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

This was a great story about finding put how strong you really are. At first I was a bit over the way Holly was scared of her own shadow, but she really grew once she put herself out of her comfort zone. Oliver was a lovely character and I loved the chemistry between him and Holly and how he helped with her growth while still being totally in awe of her. If I had the kind of guts Holly did, I would be able to conquer the world. I enjoyed Kelli and her unfiltered mouth and she was just the kind of friend Holly needed. Regi , well Regi was a bit of a sad case, but once his story came out completely and then once he met Holly, he also came into his own. There was plenty of adventure and mystery and some nail-biting scenes throughout the story, I look forward to reading more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a copy in return for an honest review.

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The Delight

While I thought a jungle adventure would be hard to beat, I realized that a combo of a cold-weather survival and a broken woman coming back to life crashed over my senses with an amazing fury. Out of Mind just up the ante when sensational settings, situations, and characters come to min.
Review

The second of the Maximum Exposure series, Out of Mind is a separate story from book one and could be read standalone just fine. At the same time, fans of Out of Reach will recognize the tiny crossover moment.

The unthinkable happens when Holly Parmenter, her billionaire fiance, and his son go on an impulsive helicopter ride from their ski resort in the Canadian Rockies and the helicopter crashes under horrific circumstances. Holly is the lone survivor. She thinks death stalks her because of the chain of losses in her life. Now, her fiance’s ex is out to paint her as a golddigging murderess and her own friends look on her askance. She needs a reset and takes it.

Meanwhile, a stupid teenage stunt lands Regi in an untenable situation to crime boss, Carson, for years and maybe his whole life if a miracle doesn’t happen.

Holly finds new interest because of a cold case mystery and her new climbing instructor while Regi learns a secret that will either clear him or kill him.

You know how a book can catch you just right? You may not even have expected it to tick off every single box and boxes you didn’t realize you wanted ticked. This was that book for me. I knew I’d like it because I generally like everything I’ve read by this author, but it was even better than expected. I got the survival story, the adventure, and the nice romance, but it was the extras that floored me. I loved how the heroine was shattered and broken in the beginning, but then put herself back together. Yes, she had a romance, but it wasn’t a great guy or super sex that suddenly made trouble disappear. She worked and she worked hard because of her own need to help someone else she didn’t even know plus she got the guy.

At first, I was very confused about the two storylines that shifted between Holly and Regi, but it did eventually show the tie-in and I nodded my head at the author’s brilliance. Still, keep in mind these were two separate and seemingly unconnected stories for much of the book. Holly hiding out and avoiding anything outside her front door because life out there beat her and broke her and Regi’s miserable existence avoiding beatings from the criminal gang he is forced to work for to pay off a mistake.

The story also split between edge of your seat chilling danger up on a high ridge of a frozen snow-capped mountain and then the relative safe ‘normal’ life back home. Things got moderately brutal, but also had those moments of slow progress while Holly came into her own. The big climax end was the payoff as well as the satisfying denouement for all the important parts to get wrapped up.

All in all, this was a fast and entrancing read for me. Fabulous heroine, riveting mixed with engaging plot, a mostly sweet romance, and an all around solid adventure mixed with romantic suspense. Those who enjoy survivor romances should look into this book/series.

I rec’d this book from Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Out of Mind by Kendall Talbot blew me away. This new author for me to read has impressed me with this book. Enough so that I recently purchased the first book in the series.

Two seemingly unconnected stories that came together in an amazing and dangerous way. From the beginning, Holly/Amber’s POV was heartbreaking and awe inspiring. Her obsession seemed over the top but also a reason for her to live, I got that. Still how her story would connect with Regi’s was baffling to me until it did connect. We only saw her fiancé through her eyes so the twists and turns in this story kept me surprisingly shocked with each revealation while also turning the pages as quickly as I could.

The romance is a natural progression, but it is the adventure/ thriller plot that makes this such an amazing read. Well-written with several POVs that even had me empathizing with Regi which normally would be difficult after first meeting him in the story. Kudos to this author.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Owner and operator of the rock-climbing facility, Oliver Nelson was astounded at the young woman in front of him, as she insisted he give her private lessons. After negotiation, they agreed to three nights a week – and as Oliver slowly came to know this enigmatic young woman, he found himself admiring her deeply. She had a strength that was rare, but the desolation and pain in her eyes, and the scars, both visible and not, showed him she was a woman with a tragic past. But he was willing to let her confide in him if she wanted, and in her own time…

When she finally told Oliver of her past, and what was driving her so hard, he convinced her to let him help. Eventually their journey took them to the Canadian Rockies and a mountain which had featured in her past in a tragic and traumatic way. She was determined to get the answers she knew she had to have. But there was another angle she was unaware of – and the danger of the mountains was the least of their worries. Would they survive their mission? Or would they become another terrible statistic?

Out of Mind by Aussie author Kendall Talbot is the 2nd in the Maximum Exposure series and it’s brilliant! Harrowing, heartbreaking and fast-paced, the plot is intriguing, and the characters are a mixed bunch with Amber/Holly and Oliver being well-crafted and likeable, while there are a couple of others who are not so nice! (understatement!) The beauty and danger of the Canadian Rockies shines through, while the determination of the MC is admirable. A thoroughly enjoyable romantic suspense, which is oh-so-heavy on the suspense (just as I like it!) Out of Mind is one I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Another enjoyable read in the series. Certainly reads like a lot of research is done and it sure makes for a good read.