Hello, and welcome back! I hope some of you are finding relief from the unbearable heat many of us here in the U.S. are suffering from this summer. The lemonade pitcher here is getting a workout, and I've broken out the cold soup recipes, too, as it's been far too hot to cook, let alone eat anything hot. My to-be-read stack is interesting, I've noticed. As I read this summer, it's almost constantly replenished, which is fabulous for an addicted reader.

This time out, I have the latest from Elizabeth Jennings, Darkness at Dawn
(Berkley, purchased). Dr. Lucy Merritt had enough of intrigue when, as a child, she traveled the world with her CIA agent parents and saw them killed. Now she likes her orderly life. But she's about to get sucked into the world of intrigue again. Captain Mike Shafer is ordered from a training base back to D.C. and then assigned to work with Lucy on a secret mission into Nhala, where a madman is bent on destroying not just his country's enemies, but scores of innocents as well. Lucy's cover is to return to work on restoring an ancient scroll at the request of her childhood friend, Princess Paso, and Mike is her fiance. Neither is happy about the trip, though for far different reasons. Mike believes she is a wilting flower, with no chance at succeeding in her mission. At first. Their long trip and the stress under which she is forced to work once they arrive make him rethink his assessment of the beautiful Lucy. Lucy knows he's perfectly suited to keeping her safe and that he's bound to succeed at his part of the mission. She just doesn't know if the sparks that fly between them will ever come to fruition. Mike is a seriously sexy hero, and Lucy is amazing, strong and determined, a heroine equal to the name. It has been way too long since we had a new story from Ms. Jennings, and I can only hope that the next one will come faster. I'm borrowing four of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!

Elizabeth Jennings

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