Protecting Her Royal Baby - Beth Cornelison (HRS #1805 - June 2014)

Series: Mansfield Brothers (Book 2)

A woman in labor. A man on a mission.

All Brianna Coleman remembers of the near-fatal accident is the hero who saved her. Not her name or the father of the baby she delivers hours later. Until news of a coup in a foreign nation triggers a memory. Her baby's father is the missing member of a royal family...and her son the next target.

After saving them, Hunter Mansfield won't abandon them. But can he defend them against international assassins who pursue the newborn? He'll do anything--pay the ultimate price if necessary--for one chance to protect the woman he loves and her little prince.

Very good book. The action and suspense started immediately and kept me hooked throughout the book. Hunter is out for a run when he is nearly run down by a speeding car. When the driver wrecks, he discovers a pregnant woman who is in labor. She is terrified, insisting that she's  in danger, but can't remember anything from before the accident. Hunter can't abandon her, and after pretending to be her husband so he can stay with her, takes Brianna and baby Ben under his wing. 

I loved Hunter's determination to keep them safe. As bits of her memory start to come back, the sense of danger grows even stronger. Attempts are made on her life that would have been successful if he wasn't with them. I loved seeing the way that Hunter is drawn to Brianna from the beginning. He has a lot of love to give, which is shown by his interactions with his family. Being the youngest, he also has some issues stemming from that. Hunter's feelings for Brianna move quickly from protective to love, but he doesn't feel like he stands a chance against a real prince. But no matter what his own feelings are, he wants what is best for them.

Brianna is terrified when she regains consciousness and can't remember anything except the sense that she is in big danger. Hunter's presence gives her a feeling of safety and she begs him to stay with her. She is so grateful for his care of them, especially when there are attempts made on her life. As her memory starts to return, she is also confused. If she was in love with her baby's father, how could she be having these feelings for Hunter? What she feels for him is so different and so much stronger. Brianna worries about doing the right thing for her son, but also wants a chance at true happiness for herself. When the ending came, she had a choice to make. I loved seeing the way she worked it all out.

I really enjoyed the suspense aspect of the book. From the start we learn little bits at a time as Brianna regains her memory. Her worries for Chris's safety, once she remembers him are strong. The video message from him seems to indicate he's alright, but Hunter is suspicious of it. Those suspicions are validated later when something he said casts doubt on the rest of the message. Brianna's fear and confusion are easy to sense as she works to recover her memories. The ending confrontation had an interesting twist and lots of intensity as they attempt to save themselves. 

The Return of Connor Mansfield - Beth Cornelison (HRS #1784 - Jan 2014)

Series: Mansfield Brothers (Book 1)

One of the Mansfield brothers was dead to everyone else...except her

Having mourned the "death" of her fiance, Darby Kent isn't prepared for the moment they come face-to-face. For years, the man she loved and lost has lived in hiding. Until now. Connor is the only person who can save their ailing daughter, a living testament to the passion they once shared. But time is running out. And while Darby prays for their daughter's survival, she must confront old desires...and powerful new enemies who've patiently awaited Connor's return.

Plenty of action right from the beginning.  It starts with an introduction to the backstory and the violent death of Darby's fiance Connor.  Four years later, an insurance company is checking up on Darby's medical claims for her daughter who has leukemia.  By pure luck, the employee assigned to check is "Sam" who just happens to be Connor in his new WitSec identity.  Stunned to discover he has a daughter, and just how sick she is, he insists on getting tested as a donor.  From there it's not long before everyone knows he's alive - including the ones who want him dead.  

Connor really wanted to get in and out without anyone, especially Darby, knowing he was alive, but he hadn't counted on  the test also pointing out his relationship to Savannah.  Now that the cat's out of the bag, he really wants a chance to stay around for a little while and get to know her before he has to disappear again.  And he has to disappear or the whole family will be in danger.  He also wants the time with Darby, to try to make her understand why he let her believe he was dead.  He has never stopped loving her but he couldn't ask her to give everything up to follow him.  Connor is one stubborn man and there was nothing the marshals could do to keep him from being there for his family.  I loved seeing him get that stubborn attitude going and watch as everything fell before him.  The only thing he couldn't do was get Darby to accept the reasons he left in the first place.  I loved seeing them grow closer as the days went on, even knowing that they were going to be torn apart again.

Darby was devastated when Connor died.  The only thing that kept her going was the daughter they made together.  She is terrified that they won't find a compatible donor and she'll be left with nothing.  Discovering that Connor is alive both thrills her and infuriates her.  She is so angry with him that he left without telling her, without even asking her to go along, that she can barely stand to look at him.  She has some abandonment issues because her father walked out on the family without giving any reason and she sees Connor's actions as the same thing.  She's grateful that he can be a donor, but she doesn't want to get involved with him again and have both she and Savannah hurt when he leaves again.  She can't justify keeping him away from Savannah and watching him with her starts to melt some of the anger away.  More time with him only shows her that she never stopped loving him.  The only question is, will there be any way for them to be together as a family?  I loved the way that Darby used a quote that one of the marshals told her about love "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to see and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." (Rumi) to get them to try to find a way.

The suspense part of the story was very well done.  I was captured by the story from the beginning and was rooting for a way for Connor, Darby and Savannah to be together.  I found the dissension between two of the bad guys very interesting, especially with the effect it had on the end of the story.  With every page I wondered what was going to happen next.  I had a great time watching the agents' frustration dealing with both Connor and Darby, though they certainly got to inflict their own later in the book.  There were so many moving parts to trying to keep them safe that it only added to the suspense of seeing if it all worked.  I had a question at the beginning of the book about why the third brother was going to have his own story, but that was answered later.