Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Series: Deadly Ops #2
on August 5, 2014
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple





At a benefit dinner, community activist Maria Cervantes overhears two men plotting a terrorist attack that could rock Miami to its core. But before she can alert authorities, she’s almost killed in a massive explosion—and wakes up in a hospital with no memory of what happened. As the sole survivor of the attack, she is now a person of interest to the NSA—and especially to Agent Cade O’Reilly. Because Maria is the one woman Cade has never been able to forget.
Years ago, they were closer than either was willing to admit—until Cade disappeared when Maria needed him most. Now he’s sticking by her, whether she likes it or not. Because the memories locked inside her mind could hold vital clues to the next attack. Because terrorists want her dead—and because he never wants to let her go again.
ICYMI is a post from my early days of blogging at Yummy Men & KickAss Chicks. You can see the original review here.
Yummy Man – Cade O’Reilly
Kick Ass Chick – Maria Cervantes
Bound to Danger by Katie Reus is the second book in the Deadly Ops series about a special group from the NSA. The agents are all ex-military with no family or ties as they are often undercover or change their names upon joining the team. I read the first book Targeted in preparation for this and enjoyed it.
Cade O’Reilly is the alpha male with the difficult background who went into the military to do something with his life. He does well there and makes a good friend, Riel Cervantes. He becomes friendly with Riel’s sister, Maria, but they communicate through emails and letters. When his whole team is killed, Cade feels guilty to be the only survivor and cuts off contact with the family in spite of his feelings for Maria.
Eight years later, Maria is the only survivor of a terrorist bombing and he volunteers to question her in this difficult situation. This is romantic suspense with the team trying to find the terrorists and Cade ends up protecting Maria. The plot is interesting and fun. It gives Cade and Maria time together and to re-kindle their relationship, in person this time. Maria is wary since Cade cut off contact with no explanation in the past. Cade is sure Maria will not forgive him for his part in her brother’s death. But they want each other anyway.
Maria is from a wealthy family and has chosen a career in social work / counseling of youth. She is caring and relatable. She does pretty well with not doing anything making her too stupid to live. She has a wide circle of friends and is admired by many males. I admired her cool head in sketchy situations.
Cade is an honorable guy. He treats Maria very well and takes care of her on all levels. He thinks he isn’t good enough for her which is sad, though. He is respected by his team and important to the missions. I don’t see why he thinks he is not enough for any woman. He is totally yummy, and the man is also kick ass.
Cade and Maria are the primary characters in this book and we learn very little of any others. There are lots of details for the plot and action. The sexy times are hot without being too detailed and the tense situation, violence and action don’t lend themselves easily to humor. This is a fairly focused story without much depth on other characters or very much about their world.
I don’t think it is necessary to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one. There are characters that show up again briefly but the stories are quite complete on their own.
Overall, I enjoyed Bound to Danger. I will probably read more books as they become available because I am enjoying this series so far.
- Thrifty Thursday: Australia edition #FionaTarr #KerryGreenwood #AnnaWillett #ThriftyThursday #KindleUnlimited - April 17, 2025
- 🎧 The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence @marklawrenceauthor.bsky.social#JessicaWhittaker @penguinaudio.bsky.social @acebookspub.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooks @mark__lawrence @AceRocBooks @PRHAudio - April 15, 2025
- Sunday Post – 13 April 2025 @caffeinatedreviewer.com @readingreality.bsky.social @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - April 13, 2025
This series sounds good, but sorry, guns and shirtless dudes don’t go well together, IMO. Do I sound old? Lol.
Well that’s why it is fiction. I have more trouble suspending disbelief in various books these days than I used to have so maybe I’m old too
Sounds like a fun romantic suspense/action story. I’ll have to check out the series.
It’s from more than a few years back so it’s likely complete now. Yes, there are 5 books and sadly I never got past this one in reading. Another thing to get on the TBR.
I’ve enjoyed some of her other books and this sounds like an exciting series.
I own many of her security series books but haven’t managed to read more than a couple. Sigh. And I really enjoy them.