Nothing to Fear is a thriller with sometimes graphic violence that my patrons tend to steer clear of in a romance novel. The heroine has Aspbergers Syndrome so you think this will be a more interesting book. But the promise doesn’t pan out. While some of her reactions are consistent with high functioning autistic woman others do not. She does not feel as authentic as say the heroine in Helen Hoang’s recent novel. I would not recommend this book to my patrons.

Book 2 in a great series. Suspense, romance, mystery, intrigue. This book is with Gideon (super spy) and Willow ( super analyst) with ADS. Right in the beginning, bam - something happens. And we are off. This is pretty much non stop action, some romance. Some hot sex. We learn a little more about the traitor,we see the political aspects in, just like in any job, and we have our HEA. Hints about about possible hook ups and I am excited to see them. I was so floored when the inside mole was known. Well done. Thank you for the arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Nothing to Fear was a very good romantic suspense, especially if you like your romantic suspense packed with action. This one is very much tied to the first book in the series since Gideon and Willow's hitting the road from the bad guys hinges on the events of the first book.

For my own personal tastes, I found this to be too focused on the action and not enough on the romance. This is a really tough balance (I think Elle Kennedy does this really well in her Killer Instincts series), and the balance I was looking for wasn't really struck in Nothing to Fear. Gideon and Willow were interesting characters, but I ultimately thought the romance was lacking because they were constantly in danger and I struggled to really buy their relationship, which was my reaction to the romance in the first book. At this point, I'm chalking this up to personal taste and would recommend this one to readers who are looking for high suspense.

This was such a good book, I feel exhausted after reading it. The drama never stops as it picks up from where book one finishes. This time the focus is on Gideon and Willow as they try and prove Willows innocence. I don’t want to give anything away as it will spoil the suspense the author creates, all I will say is that if you love fast paced thrillers with a dose of romance then this boom is for you

Hands down my favorite new series and author this year has been the Final Hour series by Juno Rushdan. I enjoyed Book 1 a lot, and that trend continued with Book 2 (with one caveat I’ll explain later).

Gideon Stone works with Maddox from Book 1 at the Gray Box, an off-the-books agency of the US Government. In Book 1 we learned that there is a traitor in the organization, and in Book 2 that traitor is ramping up their efforts. The pressure is on to find the traitor as soon as possible, so the inner circle starts investigating suspects. One potential suspect is Willow Harper, the team’s cryptologist. Gideon volunteers to investigate her, mostly because he’s always admired her from afar. He immediately realizes she couldn’t be the traitor, but when it’s clear she’s being set up to take the fall Gideon goes rogue to save her. He has to keep Willow alive and find the real traitor to clear her name.

This book is just as action packed as the first one, and I had a great time reading it. Unlike Maddox, the heroine from Book 1, Willow is not a shoot-em-up operative. Instead, she is a genius with technology. She does need Gideon for physical defense and some strategy--he’s the one who knows how this world works and has the skills to keep them alive. She isn’t weak or stupid, however. She contributes to the chase using her own skills, and she keeps up with Gideon.

The relationship between Gideon and Willow is lovely too. Both truly see and appreciate the other for their own strengths. Gideon sees Willow’s talent and spine of steel and values it, even though she isn’t able to kick ass in the same way he does. One of the problems Gideon had in past relationships was that he couldn’t be honest about his job or what it entails. Because Willow already knows the details, though, he is able to be free with her in a way he has never been before. Even better, Willow isn’t scared away by what he does, though it takes Gideon too long to realize that. He spends way too much time assuming he’s not good enough for her, and he does a lot of flip flopping as he gives in to his need to be with her but then pushes her away. He hurt her every time he did that, even though he thinks he’s helping her. I wanted more consistency from him and for him to acknowledge that Willow knows who he is but loves him anyway.

Now on to a spoiler that I feel is important to mention: Willow is autistic, a fact that is explicitly stated near the beginning of the book. While there is some discussion of her autism, particularly early in the book, it is not a defining characteristic of Willow’s, nor is it a major plot point. There are a few instances where it impacts the story, but for the most part Willow is able to keep up with the action as well as any other civilian suddenly dropped into an action movie would. There’s no fetishizing I could see, either. There is one deeply uncomfortable scene with an ignorant police officer near the beginning of the book. To me it read as a condemnation of the kind of idiotic views people hold about autism, but I don’t know how it would read as someone more familiar with ASD. In general, I am unqualified to pass judgment on how this book handles Willow’s autism, so I can’t say whether this portrayal is appropriate or not. If anyone with more experience in this area reads the book and has a different take, please do comment here!

Aside from the above concerns, I really liked this book. It’s got so much of my catnip--traitor in our midst, a couple on the run, secret government agency, and smart characters who bring out the best in each other. I am hooked on this series!

Grade: 4 out of 5

Gideon is an operative for Gray Box, a super secret agency. There is a mole embedded in Gray Box and evidence point to Willow. Gideon has a protective streak when it comes to Willow and they go on the run to save her life and clear her name.

This is the second book I have read by this author and she has become a must read for me. This book is full of heart stopping action, betrayal and a romance. I can’t wait for her next book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Gideon is an operative for the Gray Box. There is a mole among them and all the evidence is pointing to Willow. Willow is a cryptologist and takes care of her sick father. Gideon knows she’s innocent but proving it will be dangerous. They go on the run to find out who set her up but they have to dodge the mercenaries hired to kill her. If they don’t find the mole, Willow could go to jail. Gideon was married once and doesn’t plan on doing it again. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for Willow but can she convince him he is what she wants?
This is the second book in this series. It was just a little confusing at first but once I got into it, a couldn’t put it down. Plenty of action and suspense. With a little steamy sex thrown in.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

I received an ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the second book in Juno Rushdan's Final Hour series. It picks up shortly after the previous book, Every Last Breath. This story centers around a different couple so it is not completely necessary to read the first book (though I highly recommend it!).

Nothing to Fear is the story of Gideon and Willow (who we meet in the first book). Long story short: she's framed, he is a badass, they both have some issues to overcome, multiple fights with bad guys, they save each other, and they get an HEA. There's lots of action scenes which I appreciate.

I enjoyed Gideon and Willow's dynamic (though his personality was a little a cliche for the genre). <spoiler>Willow has ASD, which is not the first time I've read about a character with it. However, this was the first one I've read that kept her symptoms going throughout the story. She didn't automatically "change or fix herself" to not have symptoms once she got the guy. </spoiler>

Ready for the next one!