A mystery and a race against time to uncover the truth will keep you guessing until the end. A wonderful story from Carla Neggers and I’m definitely a fan!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a page turner

This is my first book in the Sharpe & Donovan series. I would encourage anyone who jumps in at this point to take heed of the author's note. Go to her website to gain some foundation information about the series; otherwise it will difficult to read as a stand-alone mystery. I loved the settings of Maine and Ireland. It has some interesting characters, four intelligence officers, a priest, an art thief, etc. Once I sorted the characters' relationships to each other, I settled in to a good story. I'll go back to the first book and catch up to the series. Thank you to Net Galley, and MIRA books for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rival’s Break
Carla Neggers

Neggers brings fans another intense FBI thriller starring her fabulous married duo of Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan plus a fabulous cast of costars, a few specific to this story but most are series regulars. The plot is interesting and steady paced, the backdrops both on the wild coast of Maine and in Ireland are breathtaking and while she’s keeping readers up to date on her series character’s goings on Carla will dangle her clues for her audience and keep readers guessing whodunit until she decides to reveal. It’s not necessary to read this series in order as the mystery is unique to this novel and Carla does a good job filling in backstory musts but for readers who like the whole picture reading in order is the way to go.
Narration:
Susan Boyce does a good job with the narration, her voice is bell clear and she skillfully plays both male and female parts and although her British and Irish accents weren’t perfect they weren’t shabby either.

Emma Sharpe and her husband Colin Donovan were hoping for a short break at home in Maine from their demanding FBI jobs plus Emma is still mourning the death of her father and Colin needs a much needed respite from his latest undercover assignment. Unfortunately their break is short lived when a yacht full of people get sick from apparent food poisoning and one of the passengers is not the art expert he’s pretending to be but a British Intelligence officer. Then a valuble painting goes missing and something is definitely fishy and too coincidental when two friends from across pond one MI5 agent and one former art thief show up saying they came to town for a visit. Not Likely!

Really enjoyed this story ninth in a series first for me.The characters Come alive the story kept me turning the pages.Looking forward to reading more by this author,#netgalley#harlequinbooks

This was the 9th book in a series, but the first I read. I think it would definitely help to read the book sequentially, because I found myself lost at times with back stories and characters.

It was entertaining, but I think I would have liked it even more with some background.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Rival's Break is the perfect book for anyone who has read the other books of the series, but as a new reader, I found it lacking. The middle of the book seemed to slow way down and without the character backstories, I wasn't as invested to continue. Though I finished the book, I would have liked more events to take place. The ending was good, and kept me guessing, but there wasn't very much drama.

Arrgghhhh I should have read the earlier books in the series - I hate going out of order.

That being said, it can be read as a stand alone and was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for a copy of the book

While these characters are in other books and reading them helps, this can be read as a stand alone. It's one of my favorite book sin there series, actually, as some of the others have fallen flat for me. It's got a little romance, little suspense, and a bit of drama rolled together nicely.

Didn't relize that this was the 9th book in the series when I requested it but went ahead to read it anyways. It took a little bit to make sense of the characters but one I did, I found myself mostly enjoying the story. I probally would have enyoyed this more if I knew the backstory though.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I decided to put down the novel because I did not connect with the writing style.

I had a hard time figuring out who was who and exactly what crime or crimes had been committed. There have clearly been other books written with these characters but with a lack of background, they, and the story did not stand alone. I didn’t finish the book, because it was so challenging to slog through the past and present relationships of these characters. It’s a shame this overpowered the story for me, because beneath the previous relationships among these characters, I THINK there might have been an intriguing tale.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

I try to read widely, even genres that I haven't previously enjoyed. This novel may be perfect for someone who loves romance (I don't) and enjoys long series (#9 I found out as I plunged in).

Read as a stand-alone, the story doesn't work. There's too much backstory and too many names to keep straight. That' wasn't the deal-breaker for me though. The deal-breaker was the constant reference to physical attributes in place of character development. Perhaps by book #9 one doesn't need character development, but if that's the case, do you really need to know all those romance-physical-tropes either?

So, not the book for me. I didn't finish it.

That said, I'm sure someone who loves series and romances would be all over this one as it's got the ingredients for that readership.

Thank you Netgalley, Harlequin-Mira and Carla Neggers.
This is my first read from this author and loved it.
Great characters, fast paced, well written.
Cannot wait to read another book from this author
4 stars ⭐️

A good read with characters I enjoyed and a story that kept me guessing! I hadn't read anything from this author previously and this made me curious to read more.

Emma and Colin are finally able to get some time together. They think they are going to have a nice quiet getaway. Then a body is found and turns out to be someone they know with ties to the government. Then a famous painting from a friend of theirs that was at the estate also goes missing. This story is full of suspense and will keep you guessing. I felt so bad for this couple and felt like they got booked on vacation from hell. Everyone they knew was getting harmed or robbed and I was like what’s next for this couple. They call in the special HIT they know can help them. This book had me trying to guess what would happen next and I was never right. I love how this author just keeps me on the edge of my seat the whole time I’m reading this book and I’m always excited to find out what happens next. Not very many books do that for me anymore. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for some good suspense and mystery.

Unfortunately did not finish. I couldn't get into the story and my lack of familiarity with the characters and their backstories revealed in earliest books made it difficult. The writing was well done but the characters didn't connect with me

Another great installment in the Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan series. Often a series will become tiresome and repeat the same basic story over and over. Not so with Carla Neggers. She always draws me in. Her characters feel like familiar friends now. I also enjoy how the art is involved. Well done.

have not read the previous books, so found the number of characters a bit overwhelming (my fault, not the author's), and the author did include a lot of back story to understand the characters, but this book really could have used a "Cast of Characters" or "Family Tree" type of page at the beginning. Nonetheless, I found the characters fascinating and the story compelling.

The story bounces back between Maine and Ireland. The author includes luscious scenery descriptions of both places. Newly weds Emma Sharp and Colin Donovan both work for the FBI. Emma is a art crimes analyst and Colin is an arms trafficking undercover agent and has just returned from an undercover mission. They'd hoped to enjoy some time together alone in their home and at the wedding of Colin's brother Andy, but during the reception when youngest brother Kevin, a state marine patrol officer, gets called to a yacht party about a possible food poisoning, Colin decides to tag along and comes face to face with a MI5 acquaintance, who had once saved his life. Another MI5 agent and her boyfriend a MI5 asset also show up in this small town. Something is a foot, but no one is sharing information readily. Lots of twists and turns in this action packed, page turner, with quite a surprise at the end.

I read an ARC from NetGalley.com . this is my voluntary and unbiased review.

Rival's Break is the 9th book in this romance series by Carla Neggers. I was expecting a bit more suspense in this romantic suspense series. It didn't quite meet my meter in that direction. However, it was a great story. The book fell more into the women's fiction than anything else. Usually, those genres have a slower pace when it comes to events in the book. The beginning was slow for me. Once the real danger and action began, it sped up some. But it should have been like that from the beginning. I felt weighed down by too many details at first. Just a tiny bit more than I would like. 

As with all of books written by this writer, I found action, romance, and danger. I love those three combinations in any book. She did not disappoint in those areas. The characters felt real. I liked the group.  Each one added to the overall story. Overall, I would recommend Rival's Break to other readers.