Five years ago, trauma and loss severed the tie between Faye and Hunter. Unable to cope, Faye walked away from the love of her life. Now she needs his help to find a lost boy... the half-brother Hunter never knew he had. Thinking himself in love with his teacher, Jackson has left his foster home and has hit the road with her. But their happy little run is full of danger and death. Can Hunter help his little bro before it's too late?

I wish I could have seen the love that Faye and Hunter shared more clearly. While this was a second chance romance, it came off a bit forced. I wanted to believe in their love and find comfort in them finding their way back to each other. But this was a novella, and there didn't seem to be enough time for that. I'm hoping to see them and little Jackson in future books, to get another glimpse of their happy new beginning. I loved getting to see the Deep Ops crew again. Well, at least some of them. I'm still dying for Angus's book, but it seems I'll have to wait for a bit. Raider's story is next and I can't wait to see what makes this man tick!

TAKEN is an emotional ride with a few unexpected twists and some very unforeseen appearances from other members of Ms. Zanetti's series. Raider Tanaka, Wolfe, Dage and Talen ... fans will know these guys instantly.

Ms. Zanetti writes in a way that has her readers living among the characters and feeling what they feel. TAKEN will have you on an emotional roller coaster, mix in some laugh out loud moments, fear, danger, a good bit of sizzle and you have one amazing read!

Annetta Sweetko reviewer for Fresh Fiction

Complete review may be found at: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=68352

After the thrilling opener series opener, Hidden, I was eager to snatch up this tweeny novella that finds the Deep Ops team as the secondary characters assisting on a cross country crime spree that hits close to home for Raider Tanaka’s foster family and a second chance romance for Hunter and Faye.
Review

Taken is a standalone side story in the Deep Ops series world that falls between books one and two. It offers some back story for Raider with appearances from other members of the team, but focuses on Raider’s foster siblings Hunter and Faye.

Five years before, Faye pulled the cord on what she had with Hunter and walked away because she was messed up, he was messed up, and there was a distance growing between them that she was not able to breach- and she was scared to try. Now, she has to tell Hunter that his loser birth dad abused a much younger half-brother who left foster care to run off with his high school teacher who seems to be on a robbing and killing spree with the kid in tow.

Hunter knows Faye wasn’t totally to blame for walking away but she did and fed all his fears and mistrust. They’d both grown up in abusive homes and then had a solid foster mom. He went into the military and two of his foster brother’s with him. One didn’t come back and he blames himself. Now, as he, Raider, and Faye ride together again tracking down the little brother he didn’t know about and he’s close to Faye again, he’s willing to acknowledge the feelings that never left and wonders if he can take trying again.

Taken hits on child abuse, foster care, grief and loss, PTSD, taboo teacher-student, and more in one novella. Considering that these are deep subjects individually, I was surprised it went as well for me as it did. The author developed the story in an economy of words and gave the romance some heat and heart, the friendships and camaraderie depth to engagement, and tossed in a fun older series crossover scene for good measure.

But, I did have some niggles. There is that moment in the story when Hunter is worried sick about his brother being with a woman who is killing and robbing and the kid is scared. Hunter is focused and Faye insists that he redirect his attention to her b/c after five years, now is apparently the moment and now only that she wants to talk about them as a couple. Oh, and when he isn’t into it and says so, she doesn’t take no for an answer and pushes until she gets her way. I’m glad she wants to fight for them to be together, but I wasn’t down with the timing. It came across as exceptionally selfish.

In fact, any time she doesn’t like his answers, she gets busy with the fist to the gut or kicks at him. Big no-no. She’s abusive and I can’t give that a pass. She was abused, Hunter was abused, so why in the Sam Hill does she think this is ever okay?

So, the niggles left me mixed about the romance, but there was plenty of other stuff to enjoy. I loved seeing Raider and others from the Dark Ops team including that drunk, shoe-stealing dog make an appearance. I can’t wait to get the next story which is Raider’s and a certain tech gal genius. Those who enjoy kick-butt, spicy romantic suspense should give this series a go.

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

I love this new series by Rebecca Zanetti. Romantic-Suspense and not paranormal. The whole misfit outfit are just wonderful. This novella is not about a primary team member, but is the story of the foster siblings of Deep Ops Agent, Raider Tanaka, Faye and Hunter. The second chance romance is really sweet and the suspense is great too.

Hunter Holt might be the most stubborn ex-soldier ever born, but when he’s called on to help find a lost foster kid, he jumps into action. Even if it means working with the woman who broke his heart five years ago—the woman who still haunts his dreams . . .

Faye Smith has had a hard childhood with an abusive father. She ended up in foster care with Miss Angelina and foster brothers, Raider, Hunter and Mark. She and Hunter became more than foster siblings, but their relationship ended badly five years ago. Each of them has done a lot of growing and healing in that time.

Five years ago Hunter Holt knew that he didn't want to let Faye go, but he had issues he needed to deal with on his own. Now he needs her help to track down a half-sibling he never knew he had. The kid is in real trouble and Hunter is determined to rescue him and he needs to make things right with the only woman he will ever love.

This was a good addition to the series. It is a second chance romance that is fast paced, action packed, with a bit of sexiness to keep me happy. We met new characters (Faye and Hunter) and got to see some of the Deep Ops gang as well.

Faye is determined, sweet, and compassionate. I liked that she laid it all out there for Hunter. Hunter is protective, loyal, alpha, and a bit guarded. The romance was a bit rushed, but that’s to be expected since this is a novella.

All in all, I liked the story and can’t wait to read the next installment in the series! Thank you NetGalley for this copy. This is my honest review.

Another wonderful story! Hunter was a great character and so was Faye. Great chemistry and some steam. Lots of action as they try to get to Hunter's brother Jackson. It was fun to have Roscoe and some of the others make an appearance and help out. Great plot with an HEA and I couldn't put it down. Loved it!!

Oh boy! In Hidden, we met Raider. In this next Deep Ops novel we meet his foster brother, Hunter and foster sister, Faye. This story is about them.
Right off the bat, the tension between Hunter and Faye is palpable. But the chemistry is off the charts.
Bringing in Raider to help them track down a runaway teen boy, Hunter and Faye have no choice but to work together...despite their rocky past.
5 stars!!

Hunter would not be happy to see her and he’d be downright hostile to the news she was bringing. Dread and anticipation boiled inside of Faye at the prospect of seeing him again. Her first and only love. He’d been everything. It had been five years. She turned the corner and seen the corner. Than he came out from the rear of the cabin, his gate easy, his gaze alert, no doubt his bizarre instincts warned him of her approach. Hunter looked better than ever as he said Faye, and she said Hunter. She drew on years of practice to keep her voice level and calm. His blue eyes revealed no emotion. Hunter asked her what she was doing there. Faye said Miss Angelina sent her and than said she was fine. But something was hurting Faye’s chest. Faye adds she wants our help. That means…. Hunter sighed than said “we help”. Hunter maybe the deadliest and crankiest on the planet but when Miss Angelina called you went no matter who you were or what you became. Hunter asked why send her? Faye said she’d been able to reach so far. Hunter said MissAngelina called him last week and than Faye asked but not today or yesterday? Everything inside Faye wanted to hand off the case to Hunter and head back to figure out what to do with her life. But Miss A had been insistent Faye work to the end and there was some logic considering she had been a shrink- another mistake. Faye called Hunter a moran and he said he believed that was the last thing she yelled at him. Faye said actually she believed it was “ i love you and I’m sorry.” Than she went into his cabin. The words hit Hunter and he couldn’t move. Those had been the last words. And she’d been sad not angry, accepting and not willing to fight any longer What was Faye doing here, the one place she’d never touched and now she was here. He’d have to burn the place down once this situation was over after he had a few choice words with Miss A. She’d probably whack him with her wooden spoon like she had when like she had when he’d been a hurt angry teen. It didn’t matter he’d been the one to teach Faye how to hit without injuring her wrist or fingers. The memories still hurt. Damn she still looked good even with her eyes showed tired lines, showing stress. The stress concerned Hunter. Had she not healed in the last five years like he ahd? Sometimes when nightmares woke him he wasn't’ sure he had. Faye opened the pack in the center f the table and drew out several highly colored manila folders. Faye flipped a purple folder open and said meet sixteen year old Jackson, one of Miss Angelena’s newest kids. She only had him one day and he ran away.Faye would have had a chance. Faye had a mean temper and Hunter had taught her how to fight, but Faye had always had a fragility that scared him. He’d seen her wounded and broken as a kid, her arm busted up, too many bruises across her pretty face to count. That image would never completely fade. Than Hunter asked what was jackson’s story and Faye said he took off with a thirty five year old teacher thinking she's the one. She knocked over two restaurants as well as a gas station and so far none of the videos shown him as a accomplish If the kid is with her on the crime spree he would still be charged. Faye added the teacher's name was Louise Stokey and she left behind a husband but no kids. They think the affair started last year when she had been jackson’s math teacher. Then she said the boy’s was Jackson Holt and he was the spitting image of Hunter at that age. He took the intake form and read it. Than Hunter said so the SOB is still alive as of six months ago. Yes Faye said. She had wanted to wait until she told Hunter before calling Raider. Hunter said Raider’s been on a new assignment and it seems like his head is on straight. She couldn’t explain but the three of them needed to do this together. Faye added Miss Angelina wants him on this. Hunter called Raider. Faye thought it was good to hear Raider’s voice. They talked about once a week. Raider asked why they called and Hunter explained he had an unknown half brother that ended up with Miss Angelena’s and he had run away . Hunter added he knew Raider was busy with the new gig but raider said if they needed him he’d be there. They were all there for each other- no matter what. Raider told Faye not to worry he was a handler in the new unit. But Raider was a horrible liar and was still working the case. Than Faye said Miss Angelina asked he work on this case with them. So raider said he would be working the case with them and asked them to send everything they had so he can prepare on the way and he would be at the cabin Friday. Than a beautiful woman-Dana- said she thought they were meeting down at the fishing hole. Than it hit him Faye was jealous and said Dana was a journalist doing a piece on the guides of the Cumberland River. How could he better explain Dana. Hunter added dana was his boss’s daughter and a very good friend coming off a bad breakup with her boyfriend and has sworn off men. He said that she was a keeper and he stays away from keepers than Faye asked why was that and Hunter said he was the kind of guy who only loves once and you walked away. The next day in Hunter’s truck she remembered losing her virginity there and wondered why he had kept this truck so long. Faye asked Hunter if he got help with his PTSD and he said yes and she said she wished she could have helped him and Hunter said he wished he could have helped her.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a great eventful read. I loved the plot and pace and read this in one setting as I didn’t want to and wouldn’t put this down. My attention was drawn right from the beginning to the end. I loved Hunter and faye and how they interacted together I loved how protective Hunter was of Faye even if they weren’t together. I loved Miss Angelina and what she did for troubled and angry, and abused teens. Jackson definitely added to this book. I felt like I was there with Hunter and Faye. I loved the danger, and intrigue of this book. I loved how close Hunter, Faye and Raider with as siblings. And how they would always be there for each other. I also really liked Wolfe and Roscoe. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend it.

A fun exciting read by an author I really enjoy. I did read the first book in this series,but this novella is a standalone.Hunter and Faye grew up together, and although hadn’t seen each other for 5 years, their foster mother wanted them to find a runaway...who happened to be Hunter’s brother. As i said, this was quick read done all in one sitting. Fast, quick and enjoyable.

Taken is technically the second book in Rebecca Zanetti’s Deep Ops Series. This is a second chance, romantic suspense novella.

Hunter and Faye have loved each other since they were kids, but trauma and loss tore them apart. Five years have passed since they were together when Faye comes to Hunter with knowledge of a half brother he never knew he had. Together, the couple must work to overcome their issues and bring him home safely before tragedy strikes again. I love Hunter and Faye, both individually and together. They have great chemistry and a deep understanding of one another that adds to the depth of the storyline.

All the books in this series contain a happily ever after and can be read as a standalone, however, reading it in order will give you a better appreciation for the characters and the series itself. Zanetti does a fantastic job creating this world of suspense and intrigue, and each of her stories provides readers with glimpses of the characters introduced in the previous stories within the series.

I can’t wait to read her next story!!! I’m looking forward to reading more about the others (Raider, Angus, Wolfe and Brigid) of the Deeps Ops World. I especially love Wolfe’s pet kitten and Roscoe the drunken team mascot who add an interesting quirk to this intense world.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced readers copy. ❤️the easter eggs in this novella. Great for fans of Zanetti’s other series.

Okay

A quick read that was a good pace with great characters and amusing moments but felt very abrupt in its conclusion.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

Taken is a fantastic addition to the Deep Ops series. It is sweet, fast paced and has a good setting with a strong plot and in-depth characters.

A second chance romance where it brings them together and that these two actually deserve that second chance without a shadow of a doubt.

I recommend this book so read it!

Taken is a intriguing story that will keep you turning the pages until the end. The tension is broken with the quirky dog and cat's roles in story. Family is everything.

Taken by Rebecca Zanaetti
Deep Ops 1.5

When Faye Smith shows up at Hunter Holt’s home they are given a second chance at love. They have been asked by their one-time foster mother, Angelina, to locate a young boy that just happens to be Hunter’s half brother – a brother he was unaware of. Raider Tanaka, another of Angelina’s boys and their “brother” is also asked to assist as he has access to the FBI and thus will be helpful on the chase.

This story has a wicked rather messed up teacher, Louise, who has twisted Jackson around her little finger. The two are traveling across country and Louise is wanted for not only her illegal relationship with Jackson but also for robbery and murder.

The questions are:
* Will Hunter and Faye find a way to be together this time
* Will Hunter, Faye and Tanaka find Jackson and save him

What I liked:
* Getting to see some of the Deep Ops team
* Kit K.A.T – the kitten
* Roscoe – the Deep Oops teams mascot – a German Shepherd that eats and drinks bizarre things
* Wolfe – a member of the Deep Ops team that Raider also belongs to
* Meeting Angus Force
* Getting a hint of what the next book in the series might be about
* The relationship between Hunter and Faye
* Seeing a couple of characters from another series written by this author
* Well...the list could go on and on since I pretty much liked everything I was meant to like ;)

What I didn’t like:
* Louise – I am meant to dislike her and it was easy to do so
* The country sheriff – what a pompous little man he was

Did I like this book? Definitely
Will I read more in this series? Without a doubt

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington – Lyrical Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Taken is a fabulous second chance, romantic suspense. Great characters and a thrilling storyline kept me engaged. I look forward to Fallen coming in September.

A short story that gives some context for Raider Tanaka’s background before his book (with Brigid up next). Wolfe is along for the ride with a brief appearance by Angus and his drunk dog (still can’t figure out if that’s too silly or it might grow in me). I also liked a side character - Dana, a journalist and friend of Hunter’s who Wolfe liked. I hope we see or hear about Faye, Hunter and maybe Dana in the future.

Whew! Zanetti's Deep Ops series was a blast when I read book 1 and I've been eager for book 2 ever since. Taken straddles the in-between and serves as a great introduction to Raider's character. While the Deep Ops team is involved, this is not a Deep Ops operation.

This is a painful second chance romance mixed with heart pounding frustration and moments of absolute hilarity. I loved seeing some of the team members - Wolfe, I'm looking at you! - along with the absolutely hilarious four footed team members. But the story centers on Hunter and Faye, Raiders brother and sister. Yes, that does sound suspect, but they are all foster siblings.

The plot is a chase (and race) against time to rescue/save Hunter's blood brother (they share a father) from a kidnapper. Of course, said kidnapper is his teacher and it's a case of lurve. Ripped from the headlines as it is, it takes an even darker turn because of the teacher's backstory. Heartbreaking but still, not ok to go killing random people because of it.

I loved the deep emotion and was happy to get a glimpse of Raider before his own book. I was less enthused over a cross-over event. I've loved that Zanetti keeps all her worlds separate but she added a tiny cross-over here that also served as a deus ex machina. While I know other fans will be thrilled to death over it, I really didn't like it and I'm hoping it doesn't happen again in Raider's book.

Aside from that, it was a quick read that packed a punch and totally sets up Fallen .

Zanetti is one of those authors I easily fall into. No matter what she writes I fall in love with the story. She's my comfort author. Whenever I run into a string of not-so-good-books, I pick up a Zanetti novel and all is right again in the world.

The first thing you have to know about Zanetti is that her sex scenes are hot and off the charts. Probably because she makes her characters fit so well together. As much as I admire the action and romance in Zanetti's novel I must confess it's the Easter Eggs in the novels that have me hooked. "Taken" packed a good punch with a big surprise! THANK YOU Rebecca Zanetti! I don't know how you managed to weave in this Easter Egg, but I want you to know this girl was hollering with joy at 2am. The neighbor's dog joined in the fun too.

Oh, and one finally message to Rebecca Zanetti....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I need a book about Wolfe!! Because..."You're pretty. You dating anybody?" has got to be my favorite quote!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, so I could give an honest review.

Taken was an awesome second chance romance. Hunter Holt and Faye Smith had a powerful connection. I was totally rooting for them from the start. Their love story was very sweet and felt real. This read was a novella, but it didn't feel rushed or thin. The action was spot on, the romance well developed, and the plot was intriguing. I loved every minute of this book. Faye and Hunter made a cute couple. Jackson stole my heart. Raider has me waiting impatiently for his story which is coming in September. Can't wait for Fallen! I loved getting more of Wolfe again. He was my favorite from book 1 and I can't wait for him to get his own love story. I also have to say there was a Dark Protector cameo that had me losing my fangirl mind. Overall a great read and I'm really enjoying this series!

3.5 STARS

Confession: I am not a fan of novellas and will usually skip them unless it's a favored author/series. Obviously, my adoration for Zanetti far outweighs my indifference to short books. Overall, this is a solid addition to the series. The storyline is fast paced and action packed. I enjoyed seeing all the characters from Deep Ops again. Everything occurs at lightening speed, but I wish there had more time to fully develop Hunter and Faye's storyline. The chemistry seems a little too forced, and the off the pages backstory deters from my usual 4 STARS rating of Zanetti's work.

If you're a fan of the series, give this a read. It has an interesting plot line, and is pertinent to the overall flow of the series. I can't wait for the next, full length installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zebra for my advanced review copy!