All Fall Down Review and Giveaway

 All Fall Down by Julie Coulter Bellon

"Ring around the rosy, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down . . . That simple rhyme turns negotiator Claire Michaels’ current hostage situation into an international incident. Claire just wants to help get everyone out safely, but as the crisis escalates she realizes she’s dealing with an al-Qaeda operative who has the means to become another bin Laden---with the potential to attack America.

Claire has her own personal reasons for wanting to stop al-Qaeda, but time is slipping away as negotiations break down. Can she overcome her scars of the past in order to get the hostage out alive and possibly stop an assault on U.S. national security? Navy SEAL Rafe Kelly is on leave to recover from a knee injury he suffered during his tour in Afghanistan and he doesn’t expect to be fighting terrorists on his home turf. But when he is taken hostage and his brother is kidnapped, Rafe teams up with a hostage negotiator in order to stay alive and get his brother back. The terrorist is always one step ahead of them, however, and the situation quickly turns from desperate to deadly. Will Rafe be able to save himself and his country without anyone he loves getting caught in the crossfire?"  (back cover summary)

 

All Fall Down is a book that sucks you in immediately in the first chapter and makes you want to keep reading. Rafe, an off duty Navy SEAL, is held hostage by his former team member, Gary. Yet Gary is just as much a hostage as Rafe is, an unknown villain is trying to manipulate them both into revealing an encryption code for a file that has information crucial to national security.  Claire, a hostage negotiation officer is sent to help them both out. When Gary loses his life both Rafe and Claire are determined to find the person responsible for this crime. Espeically since he has snagged Rafe's brother in the confusion and will only return him in exchange for the encription code.

 So, I really enjoyed reading All Fall Down and found the plot compelling, fast-paced, and full of twists and turns. I really thought Claire was a strong and very brave character, but I would have like to see her skills displayed a bit more. Her hostage negotiation skills don’t really get her anywhere good in this book. So I was left to wonder if she was good at her job or bad. I would have really enjoyed seeing her use more strategic thinking that emphasized her training and knowledge in her career. Despite that fact I really did admire her determination to get justice for Gary and help Rafe to get his brother back. In the end I found it refreshing to read an action-packed contemporary romance that tied into the Afghanistan conflict.

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Since this review is a part of the All Fall Down blog tour there is a give away!

 

Julie is generously offering 7, yes 7 awesome giveaways for the tour!! (I want to win them myself!) That means you have 7 chances at winning! (Pretty good odds, huh?!)

The prizes include:

• (2) "Book Lovers'" baskets which include a copy of All Fall Down, a hand tied lap blanket, Julie's favorite hot chocolate mix, and a copy of Janice Sperry's Christmas novella, The Candy Cane Queen
• (3) Print copies of All Fall Down
• (2) Ebook copies of All Fall Down

To enter to win these prizes, simply fill out the Rafflecopter form provided. (Each tour stop will have the same Rafflecopter form).

• Open from November 12 to December 7.
• Must be 13+ years of age to enter
• US mailing addresses only

Earn entries by doing any/all of the following:

• Leaving a blog post comment
• Liking Julie’s Facebook page
• Following Julie on Twitter
• Becoming a fan of Julie on Goodreads
• Tweeting about the giveaway (once per day)
• Subscribing to Julie’s blog

a Rafflecopter giveaway