Review: Countermeasure – Chris Almeida & Cecilia Aubrey

In the first novel of the COUNTERMEASURE SERIES, Trevor Bauer is haunted by the mystery surrounding his parents’ disappearance. His dreams for his own life have been put on hold. While searching for clues about them, he crosses paths with Cassandra James, a tough ex-CIA agent who derails every one of his best laid plans to avoid a relationship until he can find the closure he desperately seeks.

Suspicious and determined never to fall into the love trap, security specialist Cassandra James takes on a chase to recover files stolen right out from under her nose. In an effort to prove to her father–also her boss–that she is a capable woman, she follows the digital trail–a trail that leads her directly into the arms of Trevor Bauer, an NSA analyst who appears to have more secrets than she has scars…

When he accepts her request for help in recovering the files she’s hunting, they embark on an adventure that takes them across the ocean and into a world of intrigue and violence. As things between them begin to heat up, Trevor realizes that, if he is ever to win Cassandra’s heart and the future he craves, he has no choice but to reveal all his secrets.

Series:  Countermeasure #1
Release Date:  January 20, 2012
Publisher:  Elre Publishing
Source:  Provided by Publicist
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Do you love leading men who speak with an Irish lilt?  How about that same man knowing when he’s found the perfect mate and willing to do what he needs to to help her solve a case and win her heart?  If you said yes to either of those, this is definitely a book for you.

Cassandra James is an ex-CIA agent who left the field after being shot and finding herself questioning her team members…something you don’t want to do when you have to trust they have your back.  Now she finds herself working at her father’s private security firm and struggling to prove herself to her father and ultimately herself.  When she’s finally given her own case to handle, it involves the security of trial results for a drug company.  Unfortunately, it’s during Cassandra’s team watch that the data is stolen.  But that stolen data leads Cassandra to the NSA and the desk of Trevor Bauer.

Trevor heads a team at the NSA, but plans on returning to his native Ireland to continue the investigation into the mysterious disappearance and assumed death of this parents.  While monitoring chatter for possible terrorist activity, he discovers Cassandra’s case and the use of a code name that was linked to his parents’ company.  While the discovery leads to a dead end, it brings him under the interrogation of Cassandra.  That one encounter is enough to prove to Trevor that she is “the one” and he needs to somehow get himself involved in her case.

I loved Trevor.  He was witty, charming and knew how to handle the very skiddish Cassandra.   When most men would try pushing their will on the woman they want, he knew exactly when he could push his agenda and when to back off.  But he never gave up, because he was determined to prove to Cassandra they belonged together.

Cassandra was a little gun shy when it came to Trevor.  She came off as a bitch most of the time, but only because she was never really sure of her own feelings and hid behind her stoic facade.  Once Trevor was able to find the cracks in that facade, she still wasn’t sure what she should do because she was never really shown how to act when in a healthy relationship.   Trevor’s patience and her realization that she didn’t want to lose Trevor helped her find the answers she needed.

A page turner romantic suspense with an awesome hero and heroine.