Review & Giveaway: The Night is Mine by M.L. Buchman

I couldn’t put it down.  I stayed up all night reading, and I didn’t mind being tired the next day, it was that awesome.

At the beginning, I couldn’t believe the author’s lifelike detail about military operations.  A few pages later, and I wondered if the author was not a she.  Yes, dear readers, M.L. Buchman is a male romance writer.  And a very good one, at that.  His love of gadgets and succinct phrasing (as well as impeccable male POV) gave him away, but these were all strengths in the writing.

The Night is Mine (released 2/1/2012) is an intelligent military romance read.  I recommend it to fans of Linda Howard, Suzanne Brockmann, Pamela Clare and Marliss Melton.  I adore military thrillers, so all the jargon, gadgets and tough attitudes were fun for me.

Plot essentials: Tough-as-nails helicopter pilot Emily Beale is pulled from her spec ops regiment to serve as personal chef and undercover bodyguard for the First Lady, who is in the crosshairs of an unknown assassin.  Her CO (commanding officer), larger-than-life Mark Henderson, poses as her boyfriend to help uncover a nefarious plot threatening the White House.

Heroic, clever, patriotic – it’s A-Team meets Tom Clancy.  Suspension of disbelief is required; it’s fiction, meant to be fun.  The hero and heroine are so fantastically skillful they’re virtually superhuman: They fly risky missions and come out on top, they’re conspiracy sleuths, they survive explosions, crashes, poison, assassination attempts, and they’re both gorgeous, of course.  All this shining excellence made it an adventurous read for me; nods to Buchman for simultaneously making the characters endearingly vulnerable.

The love story felt genuine and meaningful.  The combat was fresh and entertaining.  The plot had exciting twists.  Buchman’s writing style is clean and enjoyable; his talent and experience really shines.  If you like soldiers and action mixed with romance, The Night is Mine delivers, all the way.  4.5 out of 5 stars.  I’ll be snatching the next in the series on the release date.

Only problem now?  My voracious appetite for good books and indecisive nature.  For a chance to win a copy of M.L. Buchman’s The Night is Mine (paperback or e-book – your choice), leave a comment recommending another great read.  One randomly selected winner will be announced next Friday, April 20.