The Night is Mine

The Night is Mine is the 1^st book in a new series by author M.L. Buchman. From Goodreads’ website.~

First in a thrilling military romantic suspense series based on the real-life elite helicopter pilots who transport Navy SEALs and Delta Force teams in and out of combat and covert missions. (SOAR are the heroes of Black Hawk Down.) 

Buchman’s heroine flies the most dangerous military ops and tries to find the one man who can be a hero in her own life. Ace-pilot Captain Emily Beale goes undercover as bodyguard to the First Lady, with her rugged commander, Major Mark Henderson, who is determined to cover her back. Can she learn to keep her desire at bay before her covert mission implodes?

NAME: Emily Beale 
RANK: Captain
MISSION: Fly undercover to prevent the assassination of the First Lady, posing as her executive pilot.

NAME: Mark Henderson, code name Viper
RANK: Major
MISSION: Undercover role of wealthy, ex-mercenary boyfriend to Emily

Their jobs are high risk, high reward:

Protect the lives of the powerful and the elite at all cost. Neither expected that one kiss could distract them from their mission. But as the passion mounts between them, their lives and their hearts will both be risked...and the reward this time may well be worth it.

The Night is Mine is the first book I’ve read by M.L. Buchman and I was lucky enough to get an early copy from NetGalley. I’m a big fan of military romances and I really loved both the main characters from this book. Emily is totally kick-ass as a helicopter pilot. She is even described over and over in the book as the best there is. Mark Henderson is her commanding officer, yet they are attracted to one another. Of course, it would be against the rules for them to act on their attraction and both stick to the rules until Emily is reassigned to a top secret mission. Mark gives into his feelings and kisses Emily before she ships out. Emily isn’t one to take crap from anyone in the military, including her CO, and she gets really pissed at Mark and what his kiss could do to both their careers.

Emily’s secret mission is soon revealed to be the personal chef and helicopter pilot to the First Lady. Not really a job anyone could turn down, but Emily really can’t turn down the Commander-in-Chief since they have been friends pretty much her entire life (Peter also was her very first crush). Someone has been making attempts on the First Lady’s life and the President needs Emily to not only protect his wife, but try and figure out who is behind the attacks. The First Lady is a total tool. She is probably one of the least likable characters I’ve ever read. She is cheating on her husband, is rude to her staff, and is a royal bitch. Not that any of that matters once Emily accepts her newest assignment.

When Emily is injured in a helicopter crash, Mark comes running and ends up going undercover as her boyfriend to help her figure out what is going on. Emily and Mark work in perfect sync as investigators, just as the fly in perfect sync. There is wonderful sexual tension between them from the beginning, and when they finally give into their feelings, they are hot and beautiful together.

I read a good number of mysteries, so I figured out pretty early in who was involved with the attempts on the First Lady’s life. Didn’t take anything away from the story for me to know early on. The romance between Emily and Mark was so beautiful, I needed to keep reading to see how or if they could find a way to make things work.

I enjoyed The Night is Mine and look forward to more books in this series in the future. M.L. Buchman writes characters that evoke strong feeling from the readers. The actual release date for The Night is Mine is set for February 1, 2012.