Third book in Guardian series. Bianca is drawn into the world that she had been trying to get out of and ends up in Paris. ARC from NetGalley.

The Fifth Doctrine is book three in Karen Robards The Guardian Series and the first one that I have read. You can follow the story quite well but I would recommend starting at book one so that you can form a better connection with the main characters . The book follow Bianca St. Ives , she has returned from Russia and is being hunted by the CIA , Colin/Mickey finds her in Savannah and offers her one last chance at a clean slate and normal life. Bianca goes under cover in North Korea as a female hacker who recently stole top secret intel from NORAD. With the help of Colin she must survive this undercover mission filled with a few twists and turns . This spy thriller is filled with intrigue and touch of romance. Best for a Sunday read .

Bianca is wanted by the CIA. When she is captured she is offered a deal, a deal that could cost her everything, including her life, but if she succeeds she will have a future where she won’t be looking over her shoulder. This book starts out fast and never slows down. If you enjoy a thriller with a little romance thrown in this book is for you. Thank you to net galley for a copy.

A wild ending to Robards trilogy of espionage, and sci-fi level human experimentation. A great read with plenty of action, intrigue and romance.

This is the third book in a series, and what a great way to continue the story. I don't normally read or enjoy the spy or Korean story lines, but this was masterfully done, and worth your time and effort. Recommended!

I enjoy the character of Bianca St. Ives. As all of her books they are an easy read, a thriller with some romance added in.

In the third book of The Guardian series, Bianca St. Ives, owner of a private security company called Guardian Consulting, is rather forced to take on an assignment. Bianca is being hunted by the CIA, and she is offered a chance that could save her life. She must complete a dangerous mission. Should she succeed, Bianca would have the opportunity to be free of danger.

In this thrilling book by Karen Robards, Bianca must take on the role of another woman. She must enter into the belly of the beast, as it were, and plant false information that could prevent a major disaster involving North Korea. This job is extremely delicate, because one simple mistake could not only cost her to lose her life, but also countless other lives.

The Fifth Doctrine is an espionage thriller of the highest caliber. The action begins from the very first page and never, ever lets up. Bianca is working with Colin Rogan, and she finds it incredibly difficult to trust him, so there is more than a bit of cat-and-mouse activity there. Also, some of the scenes will stop your heart! In particular, when Bianca’s car is suddenly remotely controlled by her enemies while she is speeding along, then forced into heavy traffic, all while being moments away from being captured.

Another incredible scene is when Bianca manages to deliver herself and several others from capture. Oh my, I almost forgot to breathe! That is the sort of pacing in this book. It never lets up.

If one enjoys excellent espionage thrillers, then this is certainly the book to read. I simply must set aside time to read the first two books in this series in order to be ready to grab the next one as soon as it becomes available.

Many thanks to Mira and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

MIRA and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Fifth Doctrine. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Bianca St. Ives is trying to live a normal life in Savannah, running her security business and preparing for a stellar Christmas party for her employees, but her past entanglements threaten this tranquility. Forced to impersonate a traitor who stole American secrets intended for the North Koreans, Bianca must complete the mission successfully to get the CIA off of her tail. When the mission does not go according to plan, can Bianca use her intellect and her strength to get back to her normal life?

Having read the two previous books, I expected certain elements such as fast paced action and a strong female main character. The author did not disappoint with regards to either of these aspects, as the book reads like a spy thriller movie. The part that I did not like, neither in The Fifth Doctrine or the previous novels, is the romantic aspect. A person such as Bianca, especially in dangerous situations, would not allow romantic entanglements or thoughts of such to split her focus. Bianca's strength and determination, along with mad skills and killer instincts, is enough to carry the book without adding any romance into the mix. As far as Bianca's background goes, the author did not really advance that part of the plot enough in this novel. The ending clearly points to another book in the works, but I am growing tired of waiting for all of the pieces of the past to be put together. I would recommend that readers new to the series start with the first novel, although The Fifth Doctrine could be read as a standalone.

The Fifth Doctrine is a good thriller and part of a series. This was the first I have read in the series and I will be reading the other books. I enjoyed the characters and the plot.

A always eagerly await a Karen Robards novel! The Fifth Doctrine was so worth the wait. I’m loving the series and the heroine is someone I hope to read about many more times in the future. Spies, suspense, romance all wrapped up in a fantastic series. Great twists and turns you don’t see coming. Thanks to the author and her publisher along with Net Galley for letting me read an advanced copy of The Fifth Doctrine.

Thankyou to netGalley, Harlequin, MIRA and the author, Karen Robards, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Fifth Doctrine in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I reall y enjoyed reading this book. The storyline was well thought out and written with well drawn and cohesive characters. It certainly delivered what was promised.
Worth a read.

With lots of adventure and danger, Bianca St. Ives kicks ass across the globe with the authorities right on her tail. Great conclusion to the Guardian series.

The Fifth Doctrine by Karen Robards is the third book in The Guardian series. I haven’t read the previous novels in the series but was able to easily follow the story to-date, though a little additional backstory may have enhanced the reading.

Bianca St. Ives, owner of Guardian Consulting, a private security company, is being hunted by the CIA. She’s managed to elude them but they have her in their sights again. In order to gain the freedom to live life on her own terms, she must impersonate a woman who has stolen sensitive government information. Colin Rogan is a former MI6 agent turned mercenary. He’s faced off against Bianca before, but this time he’s been sent to recruit her. He has to convince her that he’s not out to kill or betray her. Bianca and Colin are now a reluctant team seeking to save the world and themselves.

The Fifth Doctrine is a thriller from start to finish. The action is fast-paced. The characterization and use of background scenery are top notch. I like that the romance took a backseat and wasn’t the driving force. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to fans of thrillers, especially the espionage thriller.

My thanks to Harlequin-Mira and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

In terms of genre, I would classify this as a spy thriller with strong romantic elements, rather than a romantic thriller, if that makes sense :). Depending what you're looking for, that could be a good or bad thing, but I enjoyed the balance this struck between 2 genres. This was my first Karen Robards, and I enjoyed this enough that I would want to read more in her backlist. Also, though this is the third in a series, I was able to pick up what was going on easily enough, so I would say you could read this as a standalone. All in all, an enjoyable spy thriller that is very stabby

The Fifth Doctrine is the third book in Karen Robards' Bianca St. Ives series, and it's the strongest one so far, giving lots of time to Bianca and Colin's romance. While you have to suspend disbelief to get through the clunkier bits of plot, Ms. Robards still shines as a master at creating believable and breathtaking romance.

Got a love-hate relationship with this series

I would like to thank Karen Robards, Harlequin/Mira, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SPOILERS

I read Moscow Deception (MD) and Fifth Doctrine (FD) back to back, so this is kinda-sorta a review for both. I’ve decided to have a love-hate relationship with this series. On one hand, I freaking love it, because it’s clever, fast-paced action with vivid description and likable characters. But on the other hand, I hate being teased. I wish these books would deliver what they promise, namely a deep dive into Bianca’s character and her relationships.

To be fair, Robards does a fantastic job giving Bianca some internal conflict, and FD stroked my romantic feathers (oh, boy, did it!). But I still wasn’t satisfied when I finished reading it. While I realize cliff-hangers and unresolved plot lines might be good for business—who cares if the readers are dissatisfied as long as they buy the next installment, right?—it’s really annoying when books cut corners. Lines like: “Next time she had a couple of hours to spare she’d schedule an official freak out.” (MD, 82) and “Okay, pencil in a nervous breakdown for later.” (FD, 33) are so lazy—especially when you don’t pay them off! You might as well write: I’m going to put character development on the back burner while I go to town in North Korea.

I want to get into the supersoldier conspiracy. I want Bianca to stand up to that smug asswipe Mason and tell him to cram it up his crapper because he won’t be using her anymore (I wanted him to die, not gonna lie)—instead, she says that to Colin, who just wants to help her! Gah, that’s so frustrating. I want to get to know Hay and Doc and Evie, see Evie win against her rotten soon-to-be-ex.

Obviously I prefer character-driven novels, but to be clear, I don’t mind fast-paced action thrillers. I can appreciate them for what they are. What pisses me off is when they pretend to be character-driven when they are not. I enjoyed the subplot about Quincy, Sage, and the Bloods, as well as the one about Bianca’s co-workers and business, particularly Evie’s personal drama. But I cannot figure out how these subplots are at all relevant to the overall thriller plot. If you were to remove the Mission: Save Francisca and Mission: Save Evie scenes from MD, the rest of the plot wouldn’t be affected. Case in point, Robards didn’t even bother including any such scenes in FD, which resulted in more leg room for the action, better pace, and fewer disappointments.

MD gets 3 stars because of those irrelevant subplots, but FD gets 4 stars because it didn’t perpetuate those irrelevant subplots and finally got into the romance—wasn’t truly satisfying, but it was a lot more than we got in the first two.

Now, I’m assuming there’ll be another book. This surprises me, because I swear I read somewhere that it was supposed to be a trilogy. I don’t remember where I read it and I’m not going to hunt it down because it was years ago and it’s beside the point—there’s clearly going to be more books in this series. Or at least one. So BOLO because—damn them—I gotta know what happens next.

Karen Robards continues Bianca St. Ives' story. We find her living a life in Savannah, Georgia with her own firm. When she enters her office, she finds Colin Rogan there offering her a lifeline. If she helps him out, then he would help her stay away from being a target of a CIA kill squad. Left with no other choice, she teams up with Colin on a mission. They must figure out each other's agenda and sexual tension as they try to outmaneuver agents from various agencies targeting them.
Karen Robards keeps us on our toes as Bianca and Colin are pulled together to perform this latest mission while trying to avoid the tension between them. I enjoyed reading this latest installment in this series and look forward to the next chapter in Bianca's life and see how Colin may fit into it.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin-Mira for this privilege.

The Fifth Doctorine is part of a series about Bianca and Colin. It is a stand alone book. I didn’t read the previous books in series. I recommend reading all of the series to fully appreciate Bianca and Colin’s story. If you like an action packed book, this is the book for you.

I devoured this book!!! I found the story more credible than the first book in the series. It moved along at such a good pace. The characters seemed more real to me and they jumped out of the pages.
I could seriously see the story unfolding like a movie reel. Savannah became so alive on the pages.
The last 2 chapters were so satisfying! It was so so good!! I can't wait for more.

I was glad to see Bianca St. Ives and Colin Rogan back for another adventure. In this book, This time, if Bianca agrees a mission involving North Korea, she can walk away without recombination. What follows is a dangerous assignment that can end her, or set her free.

Colin and Bianca are great together in this addition to the series. There is plenty of intrigue and danger in this intriguing storyline. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.