Facing Fear

I stayed up far into the night reading this one. Nikki Taylor is held captive and tortured for over a year after being left for dead by her own government. When she is rescued by another agency she is little more than an animal and doesn't remember much of her past. They rehabilitate and retrain her but for ten years she has been searching for her true identity. Nikki is told one last job will provide the answers she seeks.Rick Harden is under suspicion when his CIA boss is arrested for treason. When Nikki shows up he knows she is using her resemblance to his late wife to investigate him. Rick's devotion and deep love for his late wife is total and he's been going through the motions since her death. Leah was his heart and soul. Nikki's trying desperately to deal with the horror of her past while hoping to find a future. The emotional struggle of these two is heartbreaking. Their struggle to come together despite all odds is heartwarming.This is the first book I've read by Ms. Low but I've now ordered the first in the series and pre-ordered the third. What a wonderful new writer!

Facing Fear is the follow up book to Into Danger by new author Gennita Low. Nikki Taylor is a woman of mystery. Her past has been erased when she was tortured on a mission over ten years ago. She was saved and retrained by another agency. Nikki remembers bits and pieces of her former life but its just not enough. She comes out of retirement for one last job with the promise to receive answers about her past.Rick Harden, Operations Chief for the CIA, is under suspicion when his boss is arrested for treason. Rick has been dwelling in the dark side of life since his wife died several years ago. He has never gotten over her death and is no longer the man he once was.Nikki's newest assignment is to investigate Rick's team. Their first face-to-face meeting is explosive, filled with passion and intrigue. As they work together to unravel the current problems, the past of each of them starts to play an important part and is threatening their lives.Facing Fear is a fast paced book of suspense and fervor. Nikki and Rick are a couple that have to overcome a lot to have a future.Gennita Low is an auto-buy for me. I am looking forward to the next book in this wonderful series.

I stand in awe of Gennita Low's talent to weave this tale and take me on such a fast pace complex journey. Facing Fear is a contemporary romantic suspense book that could be considered a sequel to her first book Into Danger, although it certainly can stand on its own. Not for the faint of heart nor is it a book for those who aren't willing to explore the psyche. This book is an incredibly edgy and darkly sensual love story. It is a fascinating dichotomy, complicated and tantalizing. The pace is generally fast but it is a labyrinth of dark delights and introspection, at times much like a lasciviously performed dance, a slow strip tease of the senses. She has the talent to slow down the pace when it is needed in order to fully explore and experience the depths and fullness of her characters without causing the story to lag.Normally when I get a new book I inhale it in a nonstop read, then I go back and reread it. Many times reading a romantic suspense book is similar to a fast food meal for me. It is satisfying, filling and I enjoy it while I am consuming it but I don't think too deeply about what I am actually eating and I don't spend a lot of time at the table. This book is like a multiple course gourmet meal served in a four star restaurant with a darkly sensual ambience. You'll savor and ponder each course and its presentation while still eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the next dish. There is a very thoughtful chess game being played out on many levels throughout the book. The hero and heroine are full and complex, introspective and not always comfortably so; both are "darkly tortured" characters. They are strong yet incomplete without the other in a fundamental way. Rick Harden is an extremely sexual alpha male. At times he will make the reader uncomfortable but at the same time he makes you want to capitulate and explore his dark appetites. Nikki Taylor is a fascinating woman whom only another woman would have the insight to balance and draw in a manner that works. This book illustrates beautifully why Gennita Low is a rising star in the Romantic Suspense genre. I can't wait for all the other characters she has created to have their own stories!

Facing Fear is the second book from a rising star Gennita Low. If you haven't read any of her books yet go and read one now. In FACING FEAR it is a darker, more intense, sexier than any book I have read recently. The hero is Rick Harden (from the first book INTO DANGER) is a beaurcat with a stick up his you know where after he had been burned badly in the past and vows that he will do everything by the books. Heroine Nikki Taylor is our heroine who is trying to face her fears of the horrors from a mission gone wrong. Rick and Nikki are two tormented people who needs each other to face their fears and get on with their future. What I love so much about this book is that there isn't any whiny hero or heroine. These two characters are extremely well matched. If you expect to see the usual I hate you/I love you characters you won't find it here. The sex will set the sheets smokin'. Nikki a GEM gal is of course worthy of the hero. Rick is very much an alpha male but he does not just redeem himself at the end of the book the way most heros do, instead he will redeem himself as the book progesses. Nikki is fragile but suprisingly strong and never acts the victim or a wimp. People who read Suzanne Brockmann will love this book, bbbuuuuttt in my humble opinion I think that Gennita Low is even better. Why do I say this considering that Suzanne Brockmann (whom I enjoy a lot too) is the queen of the men in uniforms also known as the tall,dark, and dangerous genre? Unlike a Brockmann book where I wish sometimes for more love scenes, more action, more romance, more this or that, I find that Gennita Low is able to maintain a balance on all the things I want. Nothing is sacrificed and that is incredibly hard for an author to do, and this is only her second book!! The first book INTO DANGER was more lighthearted and playful. FACING FEAR is even hotter than the first book, but it is much much darker. It deals more with the psychology of the human psyche. There is a surprising twist at the end and it will be revealed in one of the most touching scene. This book is just excellent. I can't stand waiting another year for Gennita Low's next book to be out.

I enjoyed Gennita Low's debut novel, Into Danger, a sexy, fast-paced romp in covert ops and spy games. While Facing Fear doesn't have the same sassy attitude, it more than compensates with a powerful emotional punch that lingers long after the spy games are done. The suspense is solid, with a fascinating inside look at how bureaucracy drives intelligence ops, but this story seethes with the power of its two major characters whose unflappable exteriors mask two tortured souls. I especially enjoyed the way the author incorporated an element of Asian mysticism-- it really sets this book apart. Highly recommended!