No Regrets: Shannon K. Butcher

Cryptologist Noelle Blanche isn’t willing to work for the military in a covert operation. Being one of the world’s top code designers/breakers, she’s happy working at a college and pretty obstinate about leaving the blood and war to others in her field. However, when a band of masked gunmen break into her house to kidnap her it’s pretty clear the bloodshed won’t be contained to the military. A group of terrorists wants her alive for her unique talents in order to find a cache of nuclear weapons. Alive for a while, at least.

Former Delta Force soldier David Wolfe walked away from the battlefield as a man broken by what he’d seen and lost…his wife murdered by the same terrorists dead set on Noelle. Dragged back into his former life, David is charged with protecting Noelle at all costs. But when it becomes apparent he’s falling for her his mission turns very personal, and he desperately hopes this won’t be history reliving itself.

Yes it’s filled with clichéd characters, but it’s one very well written cliché and the different twist in adding cryptology is imaginative. Even though David has a guilt complex the size of Texas over the death of his wife you’d think he’d be a whiner, but it only enhances the bad ass Delta Force guy with a sense of fallibility. Noelle is so brilliant it made my brain hurt, but she’s more than a little dumb when it comes to love. It’s a nice mix when the two get together. And when they do, it lights up the sky with excellent love scenes.

The pace is crisp and even though the ending is predictable, it’s still a great ride.
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Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Warner Forever (February 1, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0446618659
ISBN-13: 978-0446618656
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