Title:  By Break of Day
Series:  The Night Stalkers #15
Author:  M. L. Buchman
Genre:  Romantic Suspense, Military Romance
Published:  February 2, 2016
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Captain Kara Moretti flies high in her MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV. It is the Night Stalkers’ eyes and ears in the sky, and being behind a remote control and one step back from the action has always worked for her… and her love life.

Right until Captain Justin Roberts walks straight through her shields and into her heart. Justin is a pilot who loves being right in the middle of the fray. Together they’ll go where life, limb, and heart are at risk in the Mongolian wilderness. But Justin learns there’s something more important than missions – Kara.

Read on for my thoughts on By Break of Day.  No true spoilers, promise.

It’s always a treat to step back into the Night Stalkers world, and By Break of Day is no exception.  On the surface, Kara and Justin are just about as opposites as you could find.  She’s Brooklyn born and bred with a family that she loves but avoids for much of the time as they keep trying to fit her into their version of what her life should be.  Justin is Texas cowboy from the brim of his hat to the tip of his boots, born of old money with a successful Quarter Horse breading ranch, among other family ranches, Justin is a slow burn just waiting to catch fire – and Kara is certainly his match, in more ways than one.

Half the fun of reading anything Mr. Buchman writes is diving head first into the military unit with all the jargon and tech stuff, the action packed scenes and the feeling of being right there in the heart of all that is happening to the characters.  The other half is from knowing that you’re going to meet up with previous members of this group, members who have married still fight side by side, some have retired to move on to other things that keep their hands in the action when needed.  This is a unique family, one that new members quickly become part of, whether they intended to or not, it isn’t really an option to not become one of them.  The people (at this point they are no longer mere characters to me) from the previous stories are the backbone, the heart, the vital organs of this group – without them, it simply wouldn’t work as well.

If you’re looking for a cutesy, lighthearted romance then with all due respect, kindly move right along you won’t find what you’re looking for here.  If you burn for intense action, realistic characters doing what they do to keep this world a bit safer – then you’ve found a great bunch of people to enjoy.  Many members of the elite Night Stalkers are simply legendary.  If you’ve enjoyed By Break of Day (which I firmly believe you would), then consider going back to the beginning.  Yes, fifteen stories in this series seems like a lot, but with a combination of full length novels, short stories and  novellas it really isn’t all that daunting.  Most of the secondary characters who are part of this unit, even to this day, started out as just team members who became… more.  I’d recommend learning about them first hand by checking out The Night Is Mine, where all of this began.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed at all.

*I received an e-ARC of By Break of Day from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available in paperback and for the Kindle