Another great read that was impossible to put down. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites – great characters and a great balance of romance, intrigue and suspense are wrapped up in some fantastic dialogue and a wonderful world that sets the stage for a fantastic read.

One thing you know is always guaranteed when you pick up a Misty Evan’s book is that there will be not only wonderfully developed main characters, but the secondary characters and even the bad guys are always well thought out and developed. And being a series, it is nice to have the chance to see many recurring characters that give each story additional depth.

Jax and Ruby are quite the pair. When they end up in bed and then have the mission they are working on together go all sorts of wrong, they may part ways, but neither can get the other out of their head. Now that Jax has left the SEALs and joined SFI he finds himself assigned to a case that leads him right back to Ruby…and he is going to help her whether she wants him to or not!

One of the things I loved most about this story was that it didn’t take long for both Jax and Ruby to admit that they wanted one another, even if they didn’t share that info right away with each other. There may have been some obstacles in the way and, especially for Ruby, there may have been some things that needed resolution first, but I liked the fact that they both knew what they wanted, which kept the angst level low and allowed the intrigue and suspense of their current predicament take the lead – which in my opinion is what made this such a great read. There were also some great lighter moments in the book which had me laughing out loud, and I especially loved when Jax and Ruby got caught in a compromising position in that B&B…too funny!

I can’t say enough about the secondary characters in this book. Beatrice is one of my all-time favorite heroines and it’s always fun to see her interact with the current hero. And of course her being 9+ months pregnant just added even more to the story. The other members of the SFI team always play some role that adds additional depth and also a bit of humor to each story as well, and I love catching up with them to see what they have been up to.

Fatal Courage is the third installment of the Shadow Force International series and can be read as a stand-alone, but I would recommend starting this series from the beginning to meet the other members of the team since they have all been great reads. Misty Evans always delivers an extremely well written book filled with just the right mix of romance, intrigue, suspense, and action that should appeal to just about anyone!

I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. ( )

Favorite of the series so far! So many twists and turns and layers of truth and lies--not to mention an off-the-charts romance--I just didn't want to put this one down.

I absolutely loved Jax and Ruby. They have a past (including a history of taking time out of their regularly-scheduled saving of the world to do [ahem] *other* things, which they continue here--it was hot, though neither terribly responsible nor believable...but did I mention it was hot? ;)) and at the beginning of the book are very much at odds. She's still on probation because of their last encounter, and he's been sent to find her former partner at the CIA and bring him in--they're not exactly enemies, but there's not exactly a lot of love floating around between them.

But oh, there is a heck of a lot of lust...

As Jax and Ruby get further drawn into the plot, trust begins to develop and lust turns into something more. Ruby is introduced to a lot of the rest of the SFI crew (OMG, I love the dynamics in this group! Absolutely fabulous; even if you haven't read the previous stories, you'd be hard pressed not to love the way they all interact with each other), especially Beatrice (heroine of Deadly Force ), who's a few days past when she was due to give birth to her and Cal's first child and just as scary as ever. Seriously. I love these people.

The last 20% of the book has to be some of the most on-the-edge-of-my-seat reading I've ever experienced--honestly, I don't think even a tornado could have made me put my ereader down once I passed the 80% mark. I mean, I was pretty sure Ruby and Jax were going to make it through, but why tempt fate by letting them out of my sight, right?

Colton's story's next, and we're left up in the air (ha! okay, so maybe *we're* not up in the air, but someone is, LOL) about Beatrice and Cal's baby. There's a link in the afterward for readers to vote on the gender--run! Though now I'm more anxious than ever for the next book in the series to come out... (Fatal Love--not until January. Sigh!)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A-

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )