Freefall

Freefall (High Risk #1)

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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72  ·  rating details  ·  815 ratings  ·  60 reviews
Seeking refuge, determined to pull her life back together, Sabrina Swann returns to the sleepy Southern island of her childhood summers. The last person she expects to encounter there is Zach Tremayne, the boy who stole her heart when she was a girl. There’s a haunted look in his eyes that makes her wonder what kind of man he’s become.

Zach can’t forget the horror he saw i...more
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Published February 5th 2008 by Random House Audio (first published 2008)
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Isis FG
Well, I can't say this book was bad. It wasn't necessarily that, but it also didn't really engage me and it's not my type of romantic suspense. There was something lacking in it - which I finally figured out what that was about 2/3rds through the book. So it ended up being a so-so read for me. Which makes two out of three books by Ross that I've read and not cared for all that much.

Freefall is the first of Ross's High Risk novels which feature a group of Navy SEALs who are trying to put their li...more
K.
JoAnn Ross wastes no time starting the story off with a "bang," literally. "Freefall" revolves around a Navy SEAL hero whose been discharged due to a skirmish with an officer after a failed mission in Afghanistan. Zach Tremayne suffers from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and returns to his boyhood home on Swann Island (off the coast of the Carolinas) to recuperate and join his father's construction business. The heroine, Sabrina Swann, is an executive events manager/coordinator (not a "w...more
ElaineY
I expected something different from this SEAL romance - an action romance in the vein of Lora Leigh's Tempting SEALs or, at least, Brockmann's TroubleShooters or Team Sixteen. It turned out to be a small-town-romance-with-ubiquitous-killer-on-the-loose and did not engage me at all though there were some parts that showed promise.

Though Freefall can't stand up to some of the romantic suspense out there and which I would not classify as a SEAL romance, I love my SEAL heroes and plan to read the ne...more
UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish
I really wanted to like this book, was hoping to like this book, but I have to say that it was difficult to get through.

It had a lot of potential, but the dialogue between characters felt contrived, forced. I found myself skipping large sections while thinking "blah blah blah, moving right along..."

I have fallen in love with the suspense/thriller/romance genre and have been devouring anything and everything within this genre that I can get my hands on: Feehan's Ghostwalkers, Leigh's TemptingSEAL...more
Leontine
I read JoANN Ross’ Freefall like I savor chocolate. At first I allowed myself to sample the flavor of the story and the writing style but quickly became in need for more and started to gorge myself. It had been a while since I read in the suspense genre so when I read the blurb of the cover at JoANN Ross’ website it instantly perked my interest. I love the energy of the Southern states of America, the drawl of the voices, the pace of small towns, the scents, the plantations, and the Southern bel...more
Jane Stewart
2.5 stars. Ok, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless a reader is craving more romantic suspense novels.

It was ordinary and predictable. Nothing surprised or delighted me. I didn’t feel enough emotion or anticipation for the couple. At times I wished it would be over. But, it was still an ok read.

This is high intensity suspense with a perverted serial killer (“sicko”) who keeps women in a cage, tortures them sometimes for weeks, and then kills them. Caution for sensitive readers: repulsive and stoma...more
Maggie Bermann
After reading the Stewart Sisters Trilogy (which was okay) I went into this series thinking would be much the same, but the blurb looked good...

I just have to say,. Im LOVIN' this series!! I thought when i saw the name Cait, was she the police woman from the Stewart series, and now onto second book find out she is...but more of that when i review the 2nd book.

I enjoyed how Ross sets the scene of 2 people who probs saw much more of the horrors of the world than anyone would wish, one escaping a t...more
Miss Kim
Jan 01, 2009 Miss Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of romantic suspense
3.5 stars

The book was slow at times, but it did have good suspense. It has a lot of frequent flashbacks, and that gets old to me. I do recommend to any fans of romantic suspense. I'd like to read Crossfire, the next in the series, because the herione of that one shows up here and she interested me.
Lychee
Jul 24, 2009 Lychee marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Probably won't be able to finish this book. Already there have been two vicious rape-murders (serial killer on the loose) described in enough detail that it's disturbing my sleep and no descriptions of life-affirming mutual love to balance the violence.

The one thing that tempts me to proceed further is that the author is doing the best/most effective job of locating the book geographically that I've ever enjoyed. I'm getting a real sense of what it might be like to live in this area of Carolina...more
Michelle
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Kristen
If you love red hot and sexy romantic suspense novels that feature hot Navy SEALs, you'll enjoy the High Risk series by Jo Ann Ross. We're introduced to former Navy Seal Zachariah Tremayne and Sabrina Swann. They're both landed on Swann Island, a fictional island over in South Carolina, when nothing's where they seems. Family secrets come back to haunt them, when there's a serial killer on the island, and someone who came gunning after Zachariah, too. And what brought them back to the island hau...more
Katie(babs)
Sabrina Swann returned home to Swann Island three weeks ago after the hotel she was managing in Florence, Italy was bombed. She suffers from nightmares and post traumatic stress but feels the safest she has since residing at Swannsea, the Swann family home. Sabrina has also come back to mourn the death of her sixty-five year-old grandmother, Lucie, whom she loved dearly. Sabrina will take the time to recover and try to figure out what to do with her life. But it doesn’t help matters when she jum...more
Gina
Hmm... Not too sure what I should think or say about this one.

The beginning of the book was almost boring. I mean sure, the descriptions of action scenes had you feeling like you were there, but in between it all, descriptions of the past were almost tedious, making you wonder if the author would get past them. Some of them almost didn't seem like they should have been part of the story, only used as fillers. It was getting almost to a point where I wanted to skip past them by skimming, in searc...more
Kathrynn
Have mixed feelings about this book. Overall, enjoyed it. The suspense was good as was the romance. There were times that I was laughing at the one-liners, too. But, the transition(s) between scenes or chapters was so abrupt that I felt jerked out of the story. Often, the scenes didn't pick up where they abruptly ended and it took me awhile to get back into the story. Not a good thing.

In real life conversations we sometimes "go off the beaten path" then get back to the topic. I've never seen tha...more
Theri Grevelis
Awesome read, absolutely enjoyed everything (well maybe not the nasty serial killer)about this book. It was fast paced, witty, heart wrenching, hot, hot, hot, suspenseful and highly entertaining, oh and did I say HOT. I read some reviews and they varied from great to not so great, I decided to make up my own mind and I am so glad I did. JoAnn Ross is a very talented and detailed writer. I can't wait to read every one of her books. Starting with books 2, 3, and 4 of the RISK series.
Jacqueline
Oddly enough, just before I read this book I read a true story called Robert's Ridge. It's about a failed SEAL mission in Afghanistan. The mission described in the front of this novel is taken almost directly from that action. Turns out the rest of the books in this series also all start with the Robert's Ridge situation.

I liked this book okay. It wasn't as good as the second one for me though. It wandered a bit and the SEAL didn't do much spec ops stuff.
Christelle
The ending was the one thing that bumped the book from two to three stars, that's how much I enjoyed it. The beginning of the book, however, felt disconnected, jumping from one story to the next. And I didn't feel there was enough background to the characters to explain why they connected so quickly. The serial killer story didn't really draw me in until about two-thirds of the way in. Like I said, I enjoyed the ending, it really surprised me and I was glad for that.
Tina
It started off slow for me. There was a lot of violent deaths in here and that isn't my thing. I feel thaere is enough drama and death in the world without having to read about it but it did have a couple good mysteries going on around the romance. Set in the South and a beautiful plantation and the love story was explosive and worth reading. Good book if you can get past the murders.
Bridgette
I thought it was a good story that had a lot of suspense and a serious twist at the end that I didn't expect so I enjoyed it. The only thing that I didn't like as much was when the writer would write about Zach's flashbacks in Afganistan and war related stuff that I wasn't as interested in or able to fully absorb.
Debbie
My first JoAnn Ross book! I have to say it was a thrilling ride to the finish, and kept me intrigued all the way to the end. I can usually predict the endings of most of the romantic suspense/mystery novels, but not this one! Great twists, wonderful characters, and definitely great suspense! A Definite MUST read!
Debby
I liked the overall story. Even liked the ending mostly. But found myself skipping over a lot of back history...and descriptive stuff.... I think I was hoping it was similar to other authors stories about SEALS... Was good...but could have been better.
Kathy
Really liked this book. I would give it 4 1/2 stars. I thought I had it figured out but was WAY wrong. This is the first time I have read anything by this author. Am looking forward to reading more of her work.
Janet
Pretty enjoyable -- I confess to not carrying much for being in head of villain (a total surprise to me, so that's good) and his victims -- but the romance was very enjoyable. I'll look forward to seeing more of the former SEAL and his former hotelier love in the books to come.
Nadny
Like it! I thought it was it's a nice change of pace from the Anne Stuart book I just read. Don't get me wrong...I love Anne Stuart! This was just a good change of pace, where the hero was so loving.
Sue
I read about 100 pages and just gave up!! About the time I was getting the drift of the story off we went to some more character and it was just not holding my interest!! Boring
Virginia
perhaps I am a wuss, but this was too violent for me. mean and graphic are what I wrote in my book journal. I love a lot of JoAnn Ross's books but not this one.
Horace Mann Family Reading Challenge
Each book in this series focuses on a different person but they are all connected by an incident that happened while they were serving in Afghanistan. P.M.
Maria
Loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series. Very well written and hot. Very well done romance and mystery.
Sharon
I like Joann Ross. Her books have good twists and a bit of sex. Freefall is no exception. Sabrina moves back to Swann Island after a terrorist bombs the hotel she manages in Florence. Zach Tremayne moves back to Swann Island after his SEAL operation goes horribly wrong. Of course these 2 will fall for each other but it's the other stuff that happens around them that makes the book interesting. I was surprised by whom the Swann Island Slasher turned out to be. And a little disappointed in the way...more
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Freefall (High Risk, #1)
Freefall (High Risk Series #1)
Freefall (High Risk, #1)
Freefall (High Risk, #1)
Freefall (High Risk, #1)

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New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross has written around a hundred novels for a bunch of publishers. Two of her titles have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine and her books have also been published by the Doubleday, Rhapsody, Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs.

A member of the Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll of best-selling authors, she's won several awards, including...more
More about JoAnn Ross...
The Homecoming (Shelter Bay, #1) One Summer (Shelter Bay, #2) Shattered (High Risk, #3) Crossfire (High Risk #2) Breakpoint (High Risk, #4)

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