Raw Power

December 11, 2017
Ashenden’s contemporary series launch introduces yet another paramilitary team that flouts the law for the sake of doing what’s right. Scarred former Marine Jack King will be the latest recruit to join the San Diego–based 11th Hour group, but only if he can prove himself during his first mission, babysitting the socialite daughter of a Massachusetts senator. Callie Hawthorne certainly doesn’t want a 24/7 shadow following her around, particularly since her freedom is already severely curtailed by her controlling father. It doesn’t take long for Jack to realize that Callie’s own family may pose a bigger danger than supposed external threats. Once Callie realizes she has an ally in Jack, she quickly abandons her icy attitude. Ashenden’s efforts to fill in Jack’s tragic backstory make him an attractive alpha hero, but scant time is spent with the rest of the rather generic 11th Hour group, and Callie is pure damsel in distress. Readers are unlikely to be excited about the team’s forthcoming adventures. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary.

January 1, 2018
In the first of Ashenden's (In Bed with the Billionaire, 2016) 11th Hour series, ex-marine Jack King is looking for work, having been ousted after being injured during a failed op. When he is recruited by 11th Hour, an unaffiliated group of ex-military involved in unsanctioned operations, he learns that his employment depends on how well he carries out his first assignment, to protect Callie, a senator's daughter reportedly receiving death threats. He's not happy about babysitting, and less so when he has to search for her all over Boston. Once she's found, sparks fly between them, but all becomes complicated when he discovers that her father has been abusing her for years. He shares his own abuse and guilt story, but, just as they open up to each other, everything goes wrong, although 11th Hour really wants him to join their ranks. Ashenden tells a powerful story of two tormented souls finding each other in this good, fast read with rough, graphic, and enjoyable sex. A winning start of a very interesting series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)