High Risk

Two former lovers struggling with emotional and physical wounds find sexual healing in this series launch featuring an elite search-and-rescue team. Becki James is still trying to find her missing memories relating to the death of her partner when she accepts a job training with the Lifeline team. Soon she rekindles a lustful relationship with Marcus Landers, who lost an arm during a mission several years before. Sparks fly as they push each other in training and in bed, overcoming their respective traumas and handling various emergencies. Arend’s characters are complex, charismatic, and realistic, while the frequent and increasingly daring sex scenes threaten to scorch the pages. Arend (Silver Mine) uses her own love of the outdoors to give the climbing scenes verisimilitude. The psychological recovery plot is a little thin, but readers will be too busy cheering for the protagonists to really notice. Agent: Kimberly Whalen, Trident Media Group. (Mar.)