Against All Odds (Heroes of Quantico Series, Book 1)

by Irene Hannon

Paperback, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Series

Heroes of Quantico (1)

Genres

Publication

Revell (2009), Edition: Original, 334 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Suspense. For FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Evan Cooper, dignitary protection duty should have been a piece of cake. But Monica Callahan isn't making it easy.

User reviews

LibraryThing member smilingsally

Do you know of anyone who has trouble relating to a family member? Most of us have or have had problems in this area. Monica, one of the characters in this tale, won't even take her father's phone calls! Communication and the lack of it is one of the themes in this suspense-driven novel. As Monica

says, "As important as it is for people to talk the walk, it's just as important to learn to listen with the heart as well as the ears." Sometimes people communicate by doing, rather than by talking.

Another theme is forgiveness, and the damage involved when a person refuses to forgive. Another character states, "Forgiveness is hard, honey. But it's what God calls us to. Besides, as some wise person once said, holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It hurts you a lot more than it hurts them."

I can't say much about the compelling plot because I don't want to ruin it for you. Romance, terrorism, Middle East, Afghanistan, FBI, kidnapping, hostage rescue team, diplomat, murder, relationships, women in distress, safe house, and bombs are all included in this Christian Fiction. This will keep any reader's attention.

I do not agree with the theology that has one person asking God for forgiveness for someone else. Other than that, it is an exciting book to read.

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11 more

LibraryThing member love2readnovels

Monica Callahan finds herself involved in a sensitive hostage situation because of her diplomat father. The FBI Hostage Rescue team is sent in to protect her after threats are made against her life. Thus enters Evan "Coop" Cooper and his partner Mark. Coop and Monica are drawn to each other and

wondering if there could be something more in the future when the crisis is passed.

I enjoyed the book very much. There was action, suspense and romance. I am looking forward to the second installment of the Quantico Heros!

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LibraryThing member judyg54

Great story, can't wait to read the second book in the series. This was a suspenseful book and had me holding my breath at times and couldn't turn the pages fast enough at others. It had it all; suspense, intrigue, romance, humor, and so on. The main characters are Coop and Mark, FBI's Hostage

Rescue Team, who are assigned to guard Monica Callahan, from Middle Eastern terrorists. Monica, and her diplomat Dad aren't exactly on speaking terms which makes Coop and Mark's job a little harder. It is also hard to guard someone you start to care about deeply. Well Done Irene Hannon!

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LibraryThing member inspiredbyfiction

Against All Odds is the first in the romantic suspense series, Heroes of Quantico. Monica Callahan is estranged from her diplomat dad, but when someone wants to get to him, she is targeted. The FBI Hostage Rescue Team is assigned to keep her safe. She is less than cooperative with Evan Cooper

(Coop) and his partner when they explain the situation, but after a threat reaches her home she realizes the need for the protection. The book follows the story of her, Coop, and of her dad in the Middle East.
The heart of this book lies amidst the tension and suspense, in the relationships. Communication is important to Monica, but there hadn't been much of that between her and her dad. This situation leads her to realize her part in their lack of relationship. In addition to the father-daughter relationship, there is also a friendship and attraction between Monica and Coop. Finally, there is a new faith relationship.
This book is endorsed by the popular Dee Henderson, who is one of the most followed of this genre. Against All Odds is a great book. It kept me engaged and anxious to find out what happened next. Monica's faith carries over in her life, and it touches those around her. It was suspenseful, but it had a strong theme and application. I am exited to read the next book, An Eye for an Eye.

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LibraryThing member halo776

I purchased this as a free Kindle ebook, unsure of what to expect, as this is the first book I've read by Irene Hannon. I'm so glad I grabbed it when it was free, but it is definitely a book worth paying for! It's an exciting blend of suspense with a heartwarming bit of romance as well. It is a

Christian book, but it that is not a major part of the story. It's very subtle and woven into the characters' conversations in a natural way so that it doesn't detract from the story line. At first, it's hard to get into because the narration shifts to different characters. In the final chapters, this creates an intriguing look at the terrorists' motivations and without it, the book would be lacking. Hannon certainly knows her subject, and I suspect quite a lot of research was done to give it such authenticity. This is edge-of-your-seat entertainment. I'll be reading the rest of the Heroes of Quantico, hoping they all live up to this first book.

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LibraryThing member Radella

Evan Cooper is a member of the elite HRT (hostage rescue team) run by the FBI. A diplomat, whose daughter is in danger, pulls strings to ensure that Coop and his team keep Monica safe. While they are good at what they do, the terrorists are equally skilled. Throughout it all, we see the other side

of the story from the diplomat, estranged from Monica for many years, as well as from the perspective of the terrorists.
This book wasn’t exactly what I had expected when I picked it up on my Kindle. It offered plenty of tame suspense, even when you knew the outcome would be inevitable, as it was also a romance. The strong Christian message was unanticipated based on the product description. Not to say that I didn’t appreciate a clean romantic suspense novel… but the Christian message seemed a bit forced at times, and didn’t flow naturally with the story.
The terrorists are predictably evil, without a single redeeming quality amongst the lot of them. Monica and Coop are equally flat, realizing their flaws and fixing them by the end. Not a bad book, and good to fill a few hours, but not something that made me want to read the other books in the series.

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LibraryThing member rphalliburton

Very sspenseful. Lots of intrigue. All about terrorism and the Middle East.

LibraryThing member cranberrytarts

mostly this book was boring. I did manage to finish it, but just barely. It gets a big meh from me.

LibraryThing member PleasantHome

Ok escape read of mystery and romance

LibraryThing member caslater83

This book was very intriguing. The transitions between the things happening in the States and overseas was well done. You could see the differing personalities of HRT employees, Monica, her father, and the terrorists. The characters were all brought to life and the dialogue flowed naturally. This

author did a great job with this book!

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LibraryThing member JenniferRobb

I've read other books by this author and liked them well enough to seek out some of her other books. This is one of those. The technology is a bit dated (the agents carry blackberries). The suspense is okay but the idea of a "bodyguard" falling in love with the person he is supposed to protect is

fairly overused in the romance genre. I felt the romance part was pretty predictable. The suspense part was better done in the fact that it had more twists that I didn't anticipate.

I both liked and disliked Monica. I liked her spunkiness and that she's a successful career woman. But her desire to be independent, I feel, led her to make poor choices and her harbored resentment toward her father factored into those choices. I was glad that the event led her to forgiving him but sad that it took something that drastic for her to do so.

I see at least one other reviewer disliked the religious part of this book. I didn't find it all that intrusive, which makes me wonder if that reader didn't know the book was supposed to be Christian romantic suspense. I thought the author made her points without the narrative getting overly preachy.

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LibraryThing member Okies

It held me sufficient to listen through to the end. I haven't read an "inspirational" audiobook before - didn't realise it was til after I'd pressed 'Play' and it mentions that in an intro. I persisted because I just recently downloaded a few books in this suspense romance category which I've

recently been dabbling in and this one was on a list of recommendations - surprising heh?! I'm giving it 3.5 stars because I hadn't read anything like this before, where some protagonists openly express their Christian beliefs. I actually found it quite realistic that they did given their characters. The suspense side of the story was quite well done, but the romance was underplayed and therefore almost boring, as others have said.

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