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New Fiction Book Talks About Femal Super Strength

By Kathy Altman, USA TODAY

Review: ‘Born to Darkness’ by Suzanne Brockmann

Genre: Romantic suspense

In Suzanne Brockmann’s Born to Darkness, the future isn’t so very different from the present. Gas prices are astronomical, jobs are hard to come by, and one of the most lucrative industries is the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs. The best-selling illicit drug of the future? Destiny, an extremely addictive substance that offers so much more than an incredible high. Not only are users guaranteed to live forever, but they’ll get to enjoy their immortality while looking and feeling like they’re 20 years old. As long as they keep using, that is. Ending the drug means ending your life — a diabolical but effective marketing plan, don’t you think? And considering that Destiny costs $5,000 a hit, even the very wealthy will eventually be unable to swing the price. Though chances are, before a user has to worry about selling everything he owns, he’ll either overdose or succumb to Destiny’s most prevalent and dangerous side effect: “jokering,” or turning violently insane. Death follows soon after.

But it’s not just the death part that makes this side effect so treacherous — it’s the “super powers” a user gains from reaching his (or her) joker point. Whether it’s the ability to fly or the knack for mind control or the power to redirect bullets, jokers are a lethal bunch.

Which is where the Obermeyer Institute (OI) comes in. After years of training, a specialized OI commando team is able to duplicate the psychic benefits of Destiny — naturally. And unlike addicts, OI operatives can control their enhanced powers. Their mission? To recover jokers and rush them into detox before they die — though the OI medical team has yet to save a joker’s life. But OI is determined to discover the mystery of how Destiny enhances neural integration before The Organization (the much-worse-than-bad guys) learns how to lower manufacturing costs, thus making the drug available to a greater percentage of the population. But there’s a more urgent reason OI is determined to understand Destiny and halt its production: The horrific manufacturing process involves milking hormones from the blood of prepubescent girls.

Brockmann’s futuristic world is a grim place indeed.

Fortunately, the commandos are a kick-butt team, with skills including telepathy, telekinesis, empathy and the ability to deliver direct-contact electrical shocks. Cool, huh?! Born to Darkness features hardheaded, hostility-ridden team member Michelle “Mac” Mackenzie, something of a loose cannon with daunting abilities — she’s an empath, she can heal herself, and she can project enough sexual appeal to charm anyone into doing her bidding.

Which is how blacklisted Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin ends up in her bed. After an especially grueling joker recovery, Mac seeks refuge in whiskey. At a local bar Shane hits on her, and she impatiently rebuffs him — until he touches her. She’s never felt anything like the energy the stroke of his finger sparks, and she realizes he’s the solution for the injuries she sustained fighting the joker. You see, Mac’s self-healing ability? It’s strongest during sex. And sex with the ex-SEAL is not only healing, it’s … mind-blowing (and fuse-blowing, too, as a matter of fact). Then Mac discovers that Shane has been hired on by OI, which makes him off-limits.

But Shane has no intention of letting her ditch him. Mac insists he only thinks he loves her, thanks to her power to charm (whereas she knows she loves him). As much as she wants to avoid him, though, she has no choice but to work with him. Because his nearness boosts her powers, and she needs all the help she can get: The Organization has kidnapped another girl, and it’s up to the team to get her back.

Born to Darkness kicks off Brockmann’s Fighting Destiny series and is the author’s first book written with a psychic slant. Considering this is Suzanne Brockmann we’re talking about, would you be surprised if I deemed her paranormal debut a categorical success? Me, neither.

Not only does the author throw us pell-mell into an intense and brutal future, she shows us immediately that the only hope for justice lies with an elite and charismatic team of psychics who have nearly as many weaknesses as they do strengths. Recently exposed secrets, newly developed powers and shifting team dynamics make for enthralling reading, and high-octane action kicks the book right into can’t-put-it-down territory.

But romance is the heart of this book (pun intended). The focal love story belongs to Mac and Shane, and their relationship delivers plenty of tension and sizzle as we watch Mac struggle against her tendency to manipulate while Shane fights his need for the prickly operative, in order to prove he can — but of course, he can’t. A second couple offers a sweet friends-to-lovers storyline, and a third faces too many obstacles to become an official pair — their relationship remains unresolved, but it does beg for an HEA. And I have a feeling that in a future book, Brockmann will oblige. (That feeling may be no more than delusion, but there’s always hope, right?)

Born to Darkness doesn’t offer a lot of world-building, but neither is the book in-your-face futuristic, which is refreshing, because it allows the author more time to concentrate on the characters and plot. I would have liked to have seen more page time for Mac and Shane, as I felt their bond was a tad rushed. Then again, given the bleakness of the era, the desperate urgency to connect with another human is understandable. One other small niggle is Brockmann’s name for the corporate bad guys — “The Organization” seems a bit pedestrian.

Brockmann’s latest is darkly thrilling, and as romantically diverse as it is gratifying. Seductive, suspenseful, surprising — can you tell the Fighting Destiny series already has me under its spell? Thank you, Suzanne Brockmann, for providing me yet again with so many hours of reading pleasure!

Kathy Altman is a soon-to-be-published author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Washington Romance Writers (WRW) and is also active in the online Harlequin community. Her website is KathyAltman.com.

Stay tuned to HEA for a video interview with Suzanne Brockmann. I promise!

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Suzanne Brockmann – Born to Darkness
Br,lli.n/e A..io | English | 2012 | ISBN: 1441850813 | MP3 96 kbps | 807 MB
Suspense

“Dishonorably discharged, former Navy SEAL Shane Laughlin is down to his last ten bucks when he finally finds work as a test subject at the Obermeyer Institute, a little-known and believed-to-be-fringe scientific research facility. When he enters the OI compound, he is plunged into a strange world where seemingly mild-mannered scientists – including women half his size – can kick his highly skilled ass.

Shane soon discovers that there are certain individuals who possess the unique ability to access untapped regions of the brain with extraordinary results – including telekinesis, super strength, and reversal of the aging process. Known as “Greater-Thans,” this rare breed is recruited by OI, where they are rigorously trained using ancient techniques to cultivate their powers and wield them responsibly.

But in the depths of America’s second Great Depression, where the divide between the haves and the have-nots has grown even wider, those who are rich – and reckless – enough have a quick, seductive alternative: Destiny, a highly addictive designer drug that can make anyone a Greater-Than, with the power of eternal youth. The sinister cartel known as The Organization has begun mass-producing Destiny, and the demand is epidemic. But few realize the drug’s true danger, and fewer still know the dirty secret of Destiny’s crucial ingredient.

Michelle “Mac” Mackenzie knows the ugly truth. And as one of the Obermeyer Institute’s crack team of operatives, she’s determined to end the scourge of Destiny. But her kick-ass attitude gets knocked for a loop when she finds that one of the new test subjects is none other than Shane, the same smoldering stranger who just rocked her world in a one-night stand. Although Shane isn’t a Greater-Than like Mac, as an ex-SEAL, he’s got talents of his own.

But Mac’s got powerful reasons to keep her distance from him – and reasons that are just as strong to want him close. She’s used to risking her life, but now, in the midst of the ultimate war on drugs, she must face sacrificing her heart.”
Narrated by Melanie Ewbank, Patrick Lawlor
Total Duration: 18:40:17
Read more at http://ebookee.org/Suzanne-Brockmann-Born-to-Darkness-Audiobook-_1796358.html#SpmKU2MZ7wSTqGfA.99http://depositfiles.com/files/dg7h43hy5

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