Defender (Dark Ops, #1) by Catherine Mann

Defender (Dark Ops, #1) Reviews

• 
  Auntee

  This one is for all you fans of Cherry Adair, Gennita Low, Marliss Melton, and Suzanne Brockmann--you know, the authors who write hot romantic suspense with a military twist. Catherine Mann's alpha heroes are usually Air Force men, so that's a bit of a change from the more popular Navy SEAL heroes. I've read a few of Mann's stories, and for the most part I've enjoyed them all. They're not too complicated with an overabundance of military jargon and whatnot, the plots are usually easy to follow (not a whole lot of bad guys to keep track of), and there's a good dose of romance too. Something about the characters in this book touched me, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
  
  To keep it simple, Captain Jimmy Gage and the fellow test pilots from his squadron are on a mission (along with the CIA) to see if they can locate one of their missing members (Captain Chuck Tanaka) who has been kidnapped off the streets of Turkey. Lately a lot of military men have disappeared in the area, and the CIA figures it's the work of some terrorist group. Time is of the essence to find Chuck before he's tortured to reveal military secrets. There's a good chance he can be found though because he has an experimental tracking device beneath his skin, and it's giving off weak signals. The only question is, will they be able to pinpoint his exact location before he is found dead in the streets like some of the other military men who have gone missing? And is he being held, as the CIA fears, by a rather notorious and sadistic woman and her network of thugs?
  
  But getting in the way of Jimmy's mission (time after time) is the beautiful Chloe Nelson, a backup singer with a USO group performing in the area. Jimmy first meets up with her when he ends up pulling her scantily clad body out of shark infested waters when the boat she was riding in blows up, then ends up being her bodyguard of sorts when the higher ups think that will be a good cover for why his dark ops group is in the area. At first Chloe and Jimmy get along like oil and water--he resents her getting in the way of his mission to save his buddy, and she thinks he's a rather humorless hardass--and while there's definitely an attraction (although they share lots of pointed barbs) neither is exactly looking for a relationship. Chloe is with the USO mainly to give something back. At home she is a classical pianist and orchestra conductor, but after a childhood of being ill off and on, she's got a new lease on life with her second kidney transplant, given to her by a young military woman who lost her life. So she thinks it's the least she can do to honor the young woman by performing in the USO. Chloe's got a real joy for life, and she's courageous, funny and witty, and a little of that rubs off on the more dour and serious Jimmy as he's forced to spend more time with her. Chloe gets herself involved in one scrape after another where Jimmy always ends up saving her. Is this just a coincidence or is someone gunning for Chloe and the USO performers too?
  
  I really loved the relationship between Chloe and Jimmy. I loved how throughout the book Jimmy had different names he teasingly called her--"Ariel", "Baby Einstein", "Speed Racer", "Gypsy Rose"--all kind of cute. And they had some real passionate encounters in unusual places, which always makes it interesting. After spending so much time with him, Chloe was able to get him to open up and confess almost all of his secrets as she revealed hers. Jimmy told her about his own heartbreaking experience as a POW, and the reader gets a good idea of why Jimmy is desperate to save his friend. He also reveals a devastating event in his childhood, that Chloe can certainly relate to, and the reader can see that Jimmy is suffering from a boatload of survivor's guilt. When Chloe reveals her own medical nightmares, it's almost more than Jimmy can go through. Chloe's tired of men being scared off by her tenuous health--if there's to be a future with any man, he must be willing to accept all of her. After spending a heated night of lovemaking (under a grand piano!) Jimmy must decide if he's man enough to take on a real relationship with Chloe. Can he face the possibility of losing another person he cares about? Is he willing to give up the only woman who "gets him"?
  
  Well, besides the romance between Jimmy and Chloe, there's a little potential side romance between an interesting CIA agent and the niece of the notorious lady terrorist. Don't know if anything will come of it in a future book, but I'd certainly be interested in seeing something develop there.
  
  This book has a good amount of suspense as the CIA and Jimmy's team race against the clock to find the missing and tortured Chuck, and some rather upsetting stories relating to Jimmy becoming a POW. Wow, he went through an awful lot, and I had to hand it to him for just being able to carry on with his life. I'm sure all that he went through would have broken a less strong individual. So after reading all that, my heart ached for him, and I really wanted him to take a chance and make a go of it with his relationship with Chloe. I think each was what the other needed. I was just hoping that Jimmy would come to that same conclusion.
  
  Chloe was no slouch either. Despite her brutal medical past, she had a real joy for living, and she wasn't going to be stopped if she really wanted to do something. This led to a few tense moments between her and Jimmy, as his alphaness and overprotectiveness came out whenever he thought Chloe may be in danger. Turns out he was right most of the time, but Chloe did have a cool head on her shoulders, and even though Jimmy always had to ride to the rescue, Chloe surprised him a few times by being able to defend herself, which earned his respect.
  
  All in all, a good little romantic suspense, with just the right amount of hot romance, and harrowing suspense. It always helps if you can fall in love with the characters, and I certainly did that with Jimmy and Chloe. I believe this book was the first of a new series, the second coming out soon is
  Hotshot, which will definitely be on my radar. 4 1/2 stars
• 
  Buggy

  Opening Line:"Smoke trailing from the ass of his plane and terra firma approaching at meteoric speed, Captain Jimmy Gage figured he was about fifteen seconds away from being roadkill."
  
  I was expecting DEFENDER to be an easy and somewhat silly read, thanks to the cheesy looking dude on the cover and equally ridiculous excerpt on the back but to my surprise this was actually really good.
  
  This first instalment in the Dark-Ops series is well written with a gripping non-stop action storyline. The pace just never stops. In the first 2 chapters alone we see test pilot Jimmy `Hotwire' Gage crash land his plane in Iraq, get shot, witness his co-pilots murder then get beaten and taken hostage. 3 years later he propels out of his plane into shark infested waters to rescue USO performer Chloe Nelson whose speed boat has just blown up. From there on in it just gets better. Taking us to exotic locations such as the deserts of Iraq and the Mediterranean Sea. We witness life aboard aircraft carriers and foreign military bases as well as getting to walk the winding streets and explore the crowded markets of Turkey.
  
  Catherine Mann has done her homework in researching these situations. The military jargon, although at times overwhelming I'm assuming is correct. She's also included many neat little tidbits regarding a military pilot's life. And her descriptions of Turkey left me able to smell the markets and taste the baklava. DEFENDER has been written using several POV'S and is full of interesting secondary characters. I enjoyed their stories just as much as the love story brewing between our heroes Jimmy and Chloe.
  
  Speaking of Jimmy and Chloe; I really liked this couple. Jimmy, a member of Dark-Ops (a covert test pilot squadron) is a true alpha-male although still recovering mentally from his time as a POW. When team member Chuck Tanaka is kidnapped Chloe becomes an unwelcome intrusion in his life. When he should be out searching for Chuck he's trapped with direct orders to play bodyguard for the troublesome singer. Chloe's character is likeable enough, not quite a wallflower but with some medical issues that have kept her from living life to the fullest until now... Their chemistry together is great and the love scenes tender as the two slowly open up and help each other heal. The bad `guy' here is different than you will expect and very well done. Plus lots of other fly-boys have been introduced for additional books to the Dark-ops series.
  
  If you like action, suspense and military romance then you won't be disappointed. Just try to ignore the cheesy looking dude on the cover. Cheers.
• 
  Shawna

  4 stars – Romantic Suspense
  
  I like a good military romantic suspense, especially if it’s nice and steamy and the plot doesn’t get too bogged down with excess military lingo and overly confusing details. Catherine Mann’s style reminds me of Marliss Melton because she has an obvious respect for military men and women, knowledge of the protocol, and shoots for accuracy, yet she doesn’t go overboard with details like Amy J. Fetzer tends to. Although “Defender”, the first book in Mann’s new ‘Dark Ops’ series is nowhere near as steamy as Lora Leigh’s Tempting SEALs/Elite Ops series (pity), it still has a fairly good dose of hot romance for a military themed romantic suspense that’s only 282 pages long.
  
  The ‘Dark Ops’ series centers on a squadron of top secret test pilots, and the hero of “Defender” is Captain Jimmy Gage, call sign Hotwire. Jimmy’s earned the nickname “Hotwire” by being the team’s resident hothead who loves to blow off steam with a good ole fashioned bar fight. While on a mission in Turkey, his team rescues a group of USO performers whose boat has exploded in the Mediterranean Sea. Jimmy plucks feisty singer Chloe Nelson out of shark infested waters, and sparks immediately ignite between the temperamental flyboy and the spunky heroine. He’s assigned to protect her, much to his chagrin, but just maybe he can blow off some steam with her instead?
  
  I found Jimmy a little (okay way) too uptight and serious, but Chloe’s zest for life and sarcastic wit seemed to be exactly what he needed. After like the tenth attempt on Chloe’s life though, I started thinking maybe she needed to be a little more cautious and accepting of Jimmy’s overprotective ways. The chemistry and banter between the H/H is loads of fun, and I especially liked all the funny nicknames that Jimmy gives Chloe...super cute! I also found it amusing when Chloe described the different types of sunglasses worn by the Dark Ops test pilots as a way to sum up and distinguish their personalities, such as the dark space-age-looking wraparound sport sunglasses that Jimmy wears, which is fitting considering he tries so hard to hide his emotions from her.
  
  Overall, “Defender” is a pretty good military romance and a quick read with equal parts action, suspense, humor, and romance with a sexy flyboy and a plucky, lovable heroine. 4 stars!
• 
  Lauren

  Defender
  2 Stars
  
  On a mission in Turkey to locate a fellow teammate, Air Force Test Pilot, Jimmy Gage, is pulled away to aid in the rescue of a USO troupe whose boat has exploded in the Mediterranean Sea. Angry and frustrated, Jimmy doesn’t exactly hit it off with singer, Chloe Nelson, but she gets under his skin nonetheless, and they soon find themselves in the thick of an investigation into kidnapped service men.
  
  The book begins well with Jimmy’s ordeal in Afghanistan and the high seas rescue, but things take a turn for the worse with the introduction of several additional POVs and plotlines that make it virtually impossible to connect with any of the characters and slows the pacing significantly.
  
  Chloe is an engaging heroine with a tremendous zest for life while Jimmy is rather serious and tortured. These traits have the potential for an excellent opposites attract romance. Unfortunately, it falls flat as they have zero chemistry and their dialogue is stilted. Jimmy’s PTSD lacks emotional impact and his nicknames for Chloe come across as condescending rather than cute. While the illness and recovery theme might be suitable for dramatic women’s fiction, it is out of place in romantic suspense.
  
  The abduction storyline is interesting enough, but the villains come across as cheesy, one dimensional cartoon-like baddies. The secondary characters have their moments, such as the burgeoning romance between the CIA agent and the villain’s niece as well as the terrible suffering of the kidnapped officer. That said, neither is sufficiently compelling to continue with the series.
  
  All in all, there are better military themed romantic suspense series to read on a rainy day.
• 
  Luli

  Puedes encontrar esta reseña en español al final.
  
  Between the cover and the blurb is a real miracle I had read the book. But I enjoyed it (mind the verb) and finished it and I´m going to blame my memory (must be that I, like the fish, can forget stuff in 4 seconds flat)
  
  Right, just as I said it was enjoyable. The pity is it could have been a 5 stars (or more) but the author walks the suspension of disbelief territory more times that I cared for, throw her heroine to TSTL land a couple of times and forgot to explain all the futuristic technologies that are the pillar of her plot.
  
  The romance was good and interesting but the I love you´s came too soon to be believable and the end was beyond cheesy.
  
  And last there is the mania to write about a country you didn´t know (nor want to). The names and surnames of some characters are misspelled, some are from Portugal not Spain (the country she chose to write about), there is no a ñ in sight (but they are needed) and there is a lot of kicking in the cajones (drawers). Although maybe this guy has a chest of drawers down there and not testicles. Who knows? But sure there is a thing called dictionary.
  
  So 3 stars because it was really enjoyable but little more.
  
  ***
  
  Entre la portada y la sinopsis es un auténtico milagro que haya leído este libro. Lo de que me haya entretenido (ojo al verbo) y que me lo haya terminado debe de ser porque para estas cosas soy como los peces: memoria de 4 segundos.
  
  Pues eso, ha estado entretenido. Podría haber estado de 5 estrellas o más pero la autora pisa demasiadas veces la línea de la credulidad, empuja en un par de ocasiones a su heroína a territorio estúpido y se deja en el tintero todas las explicaciones razonables para creer y entender el giro futurista que tiene la tecnología en la que tanto se apoya la trama.
  
  El romance está bastante bien pero, como siempre, los te quiero llegan demasiado pronto y el final es empalagoso a más no poder.
  
  Y por último está la manía que tienen algunas autoras de usar un idioma que ni entienden, ni conocen, ni tienen el más mínimo interés por hacerlo bien. Los nombres y los apellidos estaban mezclados, le daba igual que fuese portugués que español (nacionalidad que eligió para su personaje). No hay ni una ñ (aunque eran necesarias). Y para colmo de males insiste en que los tíos den patadas en los cajones. Sí, sí, los cajones… de verdad… es tan ridículo que ni hace gracia. ¿Qué tal tirar de diccionario la próxima vez?
  
  Tres estrellitas porque, de verdad que ha estado entretenido, aunque poco más.
• 
  Norma

  I liked this one. Good story. Bad guys who were bad, but just this side of cheesy-bad. Nice romance too.
  
  I'll likely continue with the series. Ms. Mann does well with her military. They are heroes for sure and she's done her homework, but they are still human. Love that they're not super-human. Also, these are Air Force guys, which is a nice change from SEALs.
• 
  Sheryl C. Nash

  Yes I'm crazy but I'm reading the Dark Ops series while also reading the Elite Force series.... Again I will reiterate, why in the hell did I wait so long to read these books???!! I'm definitely on a Catherine Mann book binge!!! And might I add, loving her books!
• 
  ♡Karlyn P♡

  pretty good action suspense romance. The dialog between hero and heroine didn't always feel real, and the action was over the top at times, but I guess that is typical of this genre.
• 
  Xenos

  "Riveting action, relentless suspense, heroes to die for -- Catherine Mann delivers!" wrote one of my favorite authors, Suzanne Brockmann, about "Defender", the first book in CM's "Dark Ops" series. I must say, I agree with Ms. Brockmann 100%! What a freakin' thrill ride from the first page to the last!
  
  Air Force test pilot Jimmy Gage and his team are sent on a reconnaissance mission to locate a missing airman who's being held captive somewhere in Istanbul. While on the way to rescue their comrade, Gage and team are sidetracked by a USO boat that goes down in flames in the Mediterranean Sea. Enter Chloe Nelson, a waterlogged back-up singer who captures Jimmy's heart and ends up side-by-side with him on the dangerous mission to bring the prisoner home.
  
  Really likable characters with depth to 'em, fast-paced action with barely a second to catch your breath and a great plot makes this book practically perfect in every way. Five stars, baby!
  
• 
  Jenn

  I love Special/Dark Ops. The technical jargon used is fun to learn and understand and you get a feel of what they do and what they are about. I happened on the third book by mistake so am now working back to first and then forward. I hope this was the first book. I love the team and the camaraderie and serious throughout. This is the second time that Catherine Mann has used a female for the villain and let me tell you, women may be worse than men. A hot and sexy read with a heck of a suspense mixed in.
  
  
• 
  Tricia

  I like suspense, romance, and military. But for some reason, I just couldn't get into this book. Kept switching around and leaving me lost. Too many characters and none of them as strong as what I have been reading lately. Catherine Mann is a great writer but in my opinion, this one was not one of her better books.
• 
  Li

  Too many POVs and different plotlines meant I never really got into the story. I did like her writing style though, slightly reminiscent of Brockmann’s SEAL books.
• 
  Rosie Castle

  Just too much at once. Three different stories at the same time don't give the opportunity to connect to either of them. I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters.
• 
  Kristen

  In Catherine Mann's Defender, the first installment in the Dark Ops military romantic suspense series, this debut would have your heart pounding with every turning page. For Jimmy "Hot Wire" Gage, he's a test pilot for the army stationed in Turkey for a search-and-rescue mission for a captive soldier. But when the USO boat goes down, he rescues Chloe Nelson, the background singer for the USO tour. At first, they had gotten off to a rough start and butted heads. For Mike Nunez, he's on his own undercover mission to track down a female criminal kingpin named Marta Surec. And he believes that the key to find Chuck Tanaka in their prison is from a woman named Anya Surec. Gage designated himself as Chloe's bodyguard when they would learn more about each other and later will find themselves in love before long. For Gage and Nunez, they would have to deal with a complex and dangerous mission to look for Chuck and battle Marta's goons that kidnaps Chloe and Livia Cicero. In the end, they would join forces to deal with Surec and follow their hearts to see where it would take take them after this tour will be over.
• 
  Sonya

  The writing is perfectly serviceable, though without any distinguishing characteristics. It's like those MFA bores all are.
• 
  Anastasia

  Feeding the man in uniform kink
• 
  Jacqueline J

  Very good military romantic suspense. Black ops test pilots were a believable extrapolation. Sometimes authors make stuff/black ops groups up in order to tell their stories and some of them work better than others. This one worked well. The action was believable. Bad guys were well drawn with clear motivations. I like both the hero and the heroine. He was a tortured soul without wallowing in it. She was a gutsy girl trying to live life to the fullest. The dialog was good. The romance was believable. The love scenes were integral to the plot and not just extraneous sex like in some of these types of books. Good clear cut action without excess wordiness or wallowing around in the characters thoughts. Plenty of guys in the crew for future books and an interesting subplot that should be a book later. The subplot was well rounded without distracting from the main story/romance.
• 
  Kay-em

  First time to read this author. The plot started off great but unfortunately, for the first half of the book there just wasn't any connection between the romance and the suspense stories. It just felt that they were two separate storylines. Also, I think the secondary storyline should have had its own novel rather than be tacked into this one. The end result was that not enough time given to either stories. The second half of the book seemed to pick up on tension and suspense but by then, i had already "disconnected" from the novel and simply skimmed through. It would have been better if the tension had started much earlier.
• 
  Laura Beth

  Having trouble getting this one started.
  I got over the hump to start this one and did finish it, but unlike other reviewers this is not one of my favorites. It was ok. I am not sure exactly why the book did not work for me. I think it was the lack of time spent between the main characters Jimmy and Chole. Both characters are great and have a lot going for them, but then there is not just a lot of follow though. Too confusing on the action or maybe it was just my mood when I read the book. Not a bad read just not a 4 star read.
• 
  Cari

  Beginning Chapter 7. Slow start so far... Keeps switching back and forth. Don't feel the "connection" between Jimmy and Chloe yet. Hopefully will come. Love Catherine Mann, but not her best so far. I finally got into the book in Chapter 19.
  
  I have to say that I've read all of Catherine's Wingman Warriors series back-to-back. LOVED them all, plus her Desires, so this is an anomaly. It could just be me, not her book. :-)
• 
  Mareli

  The starting of this book is very fast! I loved it. ANd then things slow down but all in all it's a great action story. I liked the heroine a lot, because she suffered from a transplant and after this she takes everything living it fully.
  
  ABout passion, well, CM is very modest and all the sex scenes are g-rated (or they seemed to be, I just finished reading some very hot stuff!!).
  
  I'm already onto the next one!
• 
  Valerie

  I give this book a 3.5 rating. It was interesting and I liked Jimmy and Chloe. It's about this guy Jimmy (a.k.a. Hotwire) which is the air force version of the black ops on dangerous missions done in the name of USA security and protection of it's citizens and country. Lots of action and a touch of romance. If you enjoy reading a good book with lots of action and fast-paced than this book is for you.
• 
  Jess Candela

  It was pretty good, but I kept reading a few chapters at night before bed and never had any difficulty putting it down. And then I picked it up one night to discover I'd already finished it. Any book I can't remember having finished obviously isn't too memorable. I might read more by this author, but I'm not feeling super motivated.
• 
  Sammie

  I really enjoyed reading this book .
  
  
  I loved the characters ,they were all great Jimmy is totally awesome and I loved his first meeting with Chloe,it was so funny.
  
  This book has action & it brings the funny , it's just a good book & I really want to see what happens with the side characters that were in this book :).
• 
  Cindi

  Very interesting tale taken from today's headlines but with AF pilot Uber-Alphas for heros. Now I understand more the people in the middle of war for their country, and why you should never leave your bags unattended anywhere . . .
• 
  Nancy

  Great new series! Loved it!
• 
  Cheryl

  So much better than the back of the book describes it! I love Catherine Mann and this one rocks!
• 
  Colleen

  3.5 stars - good start to the series.