Title: Sun Storm
Author: Marlow Kelly
Year of publication: 2017. The author kindly gave me a copy to read and review
The heroine: Scientist Dr Marie Wilson
The hero: Ex-special forces soldier David Quinn
The blurb: Dr. Marie Wilson is a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough. She has come to Montana on the eve of a blizzard to prove her small, portable solar panel can generate electricity even in the harshest environment. But when four men invade her remote cabin with plans to kill her, she knows she’s in trouble.
Ex-Special Forces soldier, David Quinn, has had enough of danger and death. All he wants is to be left alone on his Montana acreage to pursue his dream of being a beekeeper. But when his old mentor convinces him to help retrieve a stolen solar panel, he thinks it will be a simple job. But the moment he sets eyes on Marie, he knows their assignment is all kinds of wrong.
Together, they escape. Chased by a businessman with unlimited resources, a gunman and a corrupt police force, they are thrust into the frozen Montana landscape. Can a cynical soldier and a naive scientist learn about love and trust in order to survive?
Standalone or series: Book one in The Gathering Storm series, but can be read as a standalone.
The review: I devoured this book in 24 hours so it’s safe to say I really enjoyed it! Dr Marie Wilson has spent seven years of her life working on a breakthrough scientific experiment: a portable solar panel that is based on plant technology. If the prototype she’s made works, it could change the world. She’s in a remote cabin in Montana, testing the prototype to make sure it works in extreme cold.
She finally has some interest after spending years being shunned as a pariah in the scientific community, thanks to her ex who stole her previous idea and patented it as his own. Her millionaire father won’t give her a cent, so she’s reached out to everyone she can think of and finally has another scientist interested. However, what Marie doesn’t know is that there is a group of people known as The Syndicate who stand to lose a lot if her technology is validated, and so they arrange for her prototype – and her – to disappear.
David Quinn is ex-Special Forces and he’s part of a motley crew trying to track down a thief who stole something from his mentor, but when he arrives at the destination he finds a terrified woman who swears the invention is her own. After the goons he’s with make threats to harm her, he realises something is very wrong and helps her escape. When David overhears something he shouldn’t, he realises Marie was not the only target. They then spend several long days playing hide and seek with the people trying to kill them both.
What was refreshing about this book is that unlike most romantic suspense books, both the protagonists and the reader know the who and why from the very beginning. It’s all about the chase, and the sizzling attraction between David and Marie that won’t be denied. He thinks he wants to live his days along on his property, and she thinks she can’t ever trust a man again, but it turns out they’re both wrong… they just have to live long enough to realise it.
It was clear the author had done her research about the scientific sub-plot and there was some amusing banter that lightened the book in places. If you enjoy romantic suspense, then you’ll enjoy this book.
the romance shelf 