REVIEW: Blowback by Emmy Curtis

Blowback by Emmy Curtis: When Molly Solent is tasked by State Department officer Brandon Peterson to deliver a note to Dr. Doubrov, the Russian antiquities minister and KGB agent, things go terribly wrong when Dr. Doubrov is assassinated during the exchange.

David Church, who had met Molly a year ago and was hoping to run into her at the party, was there guarding a scientist. When he notices Molly is too close to where the gunfire that was going on, he gets her out of harms way. The Russians believed Molly was involved in Dr. Doubrov’s murder, and are out to get her, so David does what he thinks is right–he tries to protect her.

Books allow us to escape reality, but they have to have some level of believability to them for us as readers to truly connect with them. This one failed in that area. I found it really hard to believe that a low level State Department agent would get a civilian involved with delivering a message to a KGB agent. Even a low level person should know better than that. I also found it hard to believe that with all the people that were after them, and while trying to figure out who was setting Molly up, that they had time for all that sex. And there was a lot of sex. Normally I wouldn’t have an issue with that, but it was just unbelievable that they had time to fit all of it in. At times it felt like that was the main focus of the story instead of the actual storyline.

Molly comes across as somewhat naïve. She’s excited to be tasked with delivering the message to Dr. Doubrov but doesn’t really question why someone from the State Department would ask her to deliver it. She also refuses to tell David who gave her the order to deliver the message or what the message said even when he insisted he needed to know so he could figure out what they were dealing with. Eventually she hands it over to him, but she should have done so from the beginning.

Out of all the characters I liked David the best. Even though he felt he was too messed up to love Molly the way he wanted to, that didn’t stop him from trying. He did his best to protect her while not even knowing the full extent of the situation.

The person who turned out to be the mastermind behind the whole thing wasn’t who I expected, which was a twist I enjoyed. Still, we’re left with the unanswered question of what the key Dr. Doubrov handed Molly was for. I’m not sure if that’s something that’s going to be covered in future installments of the series, but it seemed a little pointless to throw that tidbit in there and then not do anything with it.

Blowback by Emmy Curtis was an okay read for me. It is steamy and filled with quite a bit of action (both in and out of the bedroom). I just found it a bit too unbelievable for my liking.
 

Book Info:

Publication: November 10, 2015 | Forever Yours | Alpha Ops #4

One year ago, David Church kissed a beautiful, brilliant woman on an airfield in Iraq—and hasn’t stopped thinking about her ever since. Now, the military veteran gets a chance to rekindle that fire when he sees his lost love again—looking sexier than ever—at an international conference in Athens. David yearns to take her in his arms, to hold her close and never let go. But when the bullets begin to fly, it’s not just his heart on the line. It’s his life.

When Molly Solent agreed to deliver intelligence for the U.S. government, she didn’t realize she’d be caught in the crossfire of a surprise ambush—and underneath the hard-muscled body of David Church. Shielding her from harm and swearing to protect her, the elite bodyguard reignites a searing passion that Molly can’t resist. But with unforeseen danger around every corner—and unquenchable desire in every embrace—falling in love could be the greatest risk of all…