Risk it All by Stan Stamper
Rookie CIA agent Carissa Johnson is beautiful, intelligent, and always ready to battle. Working a deal with billionaire terrorist thugs, Carissa lets her good looks and undercover acting skills help close the deal- bringing in money for her, and helping bring al Qaeda down. But when hunky Tanner Stone arrives on the scene, Carissa is sidetracked. Tanner, a Special Forces Commander who is on assignment from the President, doesn’t know the woman he is tracking is Carissa. He believes Carissa’s undercover story and career. While the two engage in a steamy love affair, neither of them realize how dangerous their love for one another could be.
I had a difficult time getting into Risk It All by Stan Stamper. I come from a military family, so I thought I would easily be immersed in the stories and characters, and I started reading this book shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed. But I struggled with this story. If you aren’t readily familiar with military and equipment definitions, you will probably be easily confused, as the jargon is spoken throughout much of the book. And a lot of the plot lost me- Carissa was so easily able to meet and dine with some of the top terrorists simply on the grounds she is so stunningly beautiful? Is that really all it takes? There were little instances throughout the book that had me scoffing, such as Carissa being able to take a highly dangerous mission and boss around military personal all because she loves Tanner. I’ve seen the military not let their soldiers come home for weddings, and give one day off for funerals. I don’t think just because you love someone they turn their backs on their strict policies. And I would hope the President of the United States doesn’t yell at a CIA agent that she makes more money than he does, and to fire people because of it. The story was just too unbelievable for me to buy into, and it made finishing this read a challenge. I did like reading about a powerful female, one with brains and beauty and who could hold her own. There were parts of the story that were exciting with danger and the unknown of what could happen. But overall, not a book I could enjoy and become invested in.
[Rating: 2]
