On the Loose (Steele Street, Book 7)

This book was a great extension of her Crazy series. If you like romance mixed with action it's a must read!

After loving every one of the Steele Street books, the last one, Crazy Sweet, was a disappointment. The main story lacked the intrigue and the wonderful characters I had come to expect from this series. That being said, the secondary story and characters of Special Defense Forces operative, C.Smith Rydell, and heiress, Honey York, saved that story from being a complete bust... And in this story C. Smith and Honey bring this series back on track, making it wonderful once again. It was only 4 months ago when C. Smith disregarded the mission he was on to rescue an out of place Honey in the streets of San Luis. After helping her on her mission they shared one night of passion and then the next day he had her on a plane back to the States. They never saw each other again. Fast forward to the present day and SDF Operative C. Smith has been called off an important assignment to play bodyguard to Honey. She has to go back to El Salvador on yet another mission, this one more dangerous then the first. Honey and C. Smith kept me flipping the pages into the wee hours of the night. The mission they are on is complex; it involves drug runners, weapons, money and a few nuns. When you throw their chemistry into the mix, the book gets harder and harder to put down with every page. An introduction to two very dynamic new characters promises an equally thrilling next book. This is supposed to be a spin off of the Steele Street series, but it seems to be the same type of book with a lot of the same players. No complaints here. This book was as good as I hoped it would be, containing no shortage of action, adventure, danger or romance. It left me in eager anticipation of Cutting Loose due out next winter. Enjoy!

I have enjoyed all of Tara Janzen's books. The central characters are likeable and I like the humorous tone to the dialog. The books are fast paced and quick reads.The best part for me is that Ms. Janzen has written 7 books in just over 2 years and they have all been under $7.00. I have not had to wait for a year or 2 after the hardcover copy has come out before I can read the next story . [Like what happens with most of the popular authors.]I read several books a month and price is important to me. So if you like mercenary/government agent meets and saves girl type stories you can't really go wrong.

The CIA assigns Special Defense Forces Agent C. Smith Rydell to deal with a bad situation in South America. A CIA plane carrying secrets crashed; Smith is to do whatever it takes to retrieve the data. He also, to his chagrin, is to escort "spoiled" socialite Honey York to the same locale where she is to give money to guerrilla leader Diego Garcia in order to free kidnapped nuns the thug snatched; including her sister Julia. Garcia also holds the valuable plane. Smith and Honey meet their escort to the guerilla camp drug smuggler Alejandro Campos as the SDF agent revises his opinion of his partner from pampered to spunky. Meanwhile also in South America is once believed dead lethal femme fatale Irena Polchenko. She stalks the couple as she plans to kill the only person who thwarted one of her schemes and left her for dead. Returning to the "Crazy" dangerous world of the Special Defense Forces, Tara Janzen weaves a complex exciting romantic suspense thriller. Smith is a strong person who finds he suddenly has female problems as he falls in love for the first time in his life; however Honey initially does not live up to her name as she knows he does not want her tagging along on this dangerous mission; he has no time for babysitting. They make a perfect combo as they battle each other while trying to stay alive during a perilous rescue mission. Harriet Klausner

If you loved Tara Janzen's Crazy... series, you've probably been waiting as eagerly as I have for the launch of her spin-off series with the release of On The Loose on October 30th. It was well worth the wait! Not only is On The Loose as fun and sexy a read as I've come to expect from Janzen, she's reunited two characters I fell in love with in Crazy Sweet who deserved their own story. From the moment Special Defense Forces operative C. Rydell Smith first laid eyes on Honey York smuggling cash through the embattled streets of San Luis, he knew she was trouble. With her polka-dot dress, platform heels, and candy-apple-red toenail polish, she'd tested his ability then to stay cool under fire. But now, four months after putting her on a plane back to safety, his latest mission is to baby-sit the delectable socialite as she saunters back into El Salvador ostensibly on a tour of coffee plantations. Honey has twenty-four hours to find a guerilla leader's camp in the El Savadoran jungle, deliver a pile of monogrammed Louis Vuitton suitcases that don't belong to her, as well as a truckload of equipment, ordnance and a locked briefcase. It doesn't take long for the bullets...and passion to fly! Janzen specializes in writing compelling, to-die-for heroes and sexy heroines worthy of them. Rydell and Honey are no exception. Their romance sizzles off this page-turning action story. You won't be able to put down your copy of On The Loose until you've read every last exhilarating page. Reviewed by Karen Docter