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Branson Family #1
Covert Intents
Agent Seth Harrington has been sent undercover to discover who is behind the sale of research secrets to enemies of the United States. The problem? He’s undercover as a college campus janitor, not exactly a glamorous role.
But it’s perfect. He’s able to monitor the situation easily since everyone ignores him. Everyone except Rachel Branson. She’s not a suspect, particularly since she’s the cousin of Omega Sector’s most renown siblings. But Seth can’t get the shy romantic literature professor out of his head.
When the criminals decide to put Rachel in the center of the danger, Seth knows he’ll do anything to solve the case. And risk everything to ensure the safety of the woman who has found her way into his heart.
But it’s perfect. He’s able to monitor the situation easily since everyone ignores him. Everyone except Rachel Branson. She’s not a suspect, particularly since she’s the cousin of Omega Sector’s most renown siblings. But Seth can’t get the shy romantic literature professor out of his head.
When the criminals decide to put Rachel in the center of the danger, Seth knows he’ll do anything to solve the case. And risk everything to ensure the safety of the woman who has found her way into his heart.
154 pages, ebook
First published September 13, 2015
19 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Janie Crouch
230 books2,010 followersUSA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Janie Crouch writes what she loves to read: passionate romantic suspense.
After a lifetime on the East Coast—and a six-year stint in Germany due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military—Janie has settled into her dream home in Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. She loves engaging in all sorts of adventures (triathlons! 200-mile relay races! mountain treks!), traveling, and surviving life with four kids.
Heroes exist. Let a Janie Crouch book prove it to you.
Check out Janie's updates and more on her website at http://www.janiecrouch.com
After a lifetime on the East Coast—and a six-year stint in Germany due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military—Janie has settled into her dream home in Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. She loves engaging in all sorts of adventures (triathlons! 200-mile relay races! mountain treks!), traveling, and surviving life with four kids.
Heroes exist. Let a Janie Crouch book prove it to you.
Check out Janie's updates and more on her website at http://www.janiecrouch.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 12, 2018
oh i really loved this one despite not having read a lot about the Branson yet (or at all^^;;) really it may be a novella but it's well written, the pace is perfect and you follow Seth and Rachel with a lot a pleasure
there are twists, villiains who could be not as bad as it looks, lot of twist and high level tension all put togeter make a excellent romance suspense
there are twists, villiains who could be not as bad as it looks, lot of twist and high level tension all put togeter make a excellent romance suspense
October 9, 2015
Undercover assignment, dangerous situations, close combat, and one tempting book-girl caught in between the chaos.
Seth, whom the readers were introduced in Primal Instinct, has moved to DC, and is working for Omega Sector on an undercover assignment with the Branson siblings.
Everything has been going well, if not a bit boring, for the past two months, but now the action is picking up, things are starting to happen, the only bad thing about it - Rachel Branson, the girl Seth can't take his eyes off, is in the middle of it all.
I love the connection between Seth and Rachel, it is so electrified every time they come to close to each other, you can practically see the sparks. Rachel is a book-girl, planning a script how to ask Seth out, and that is just too adorable. When they finally do get together, there are some seriously swoon worthy moments between them, like a scorching scene in front of a fridge...
The danger is lurking around every corner in the story. At first coming in small doses, but constantly increasing, until soon it is a matter of a life and death.
There's a lot of story packed into the novella, and the plot is complete and satisfying. The way all the previous books by the author are braided together in this story is brilliant (even though the story is a stand alone novella). The characters are developed, and have deeper, even surprising, layers into them, and they are likable and easy to relate to. I enjoyed every moment of the story, and was so happy to see Seth finally getting his HEA!
You really don't want to miss this book!
~ Five Spoons!
Seth, whom the readers were introduced in Primal Instinct, has moved to DC, and is working for Omega Sector on an undercover assignment with the Branson siblings.
Everything has been going well, if not a bit boring, for the past two months, but now the action is picking up, things are starting to happen, the only bad thing about it - Rachel Branson, the girl Seth can't take his eyes off, is in the middle of it all.
I love the connection between Seth and Rachel, it is so electrified every time they come to close to each other, you can practically see the sparks. Rachel is a book-girl, planning a script how to ask Seth out, and that is just too adorable. When they finally do get together, there are some seriously swoon worthy moments between them, like a scorching scene in front of a fridge...
The danger is lurking around every corner in the story. At first coming in small doses, but constantly increasing, until soon it is a matter of a life and death.
There's a lot of story packed into the novella, and the plot is complete and satisfying. The way all the previous books by the author are braided together in this story is brilliant (even though the story is a stand alone novella). The characters are developed, and have deeper, even surprising, layers into them, and they are likable and easy to relate to. I enjoyed every moment of the story, and was so happy to see Seth finally getting his HEA!
You really don't want to miss this book!
~ Five Spoons!
February 23, 2020
Now... this really really irritates me... I'm not sure which was written first... I will go back and check. But this is exactly the same story as 'Shadow' in the Linear Tactical series... just shorter with name/uni's/specialisms changed. Even the 'Dr Almost'. Am beyond annoyed. Really am.
August 3, 2022
2
not to be a bitch but i do hate the author for putting my Seth in the omega sector series and having the audacity to make it a novella.
not to be a bitch but i do hate the author for putting my Seth in the omega sector series and having the audacity to make it a novella.
October 15, 2015
Maybe 3.5 stars.
It's very difficult for me to rate a novella the same way I rate full-length books by an author. In this case, I think Janie Crouch has managed to tell an interesting story with engaging characters in a fairly satisfying way.
This novella appears to me to read as a bridge between her first (and highly rated) Omega Sector series and something yet to come that might be an expansion of one group of agents who are related to the original agents. I would look forward very much to reading more of this story arc with characters who are always as appealing as the plots in which they find themselves.
Here, Seth Harrington, who was introduced in the first book, is undercover as a custodian in a computer engineering building on a D. C. area university campus. He has narrowed down suspects who may be planning to sell a microchip to enemies of the state. Completely apart from this, Seth's attention has been drawn to Rachel Branson, a Ph. D. student and literature instructor whose office has been temporarily relocated to the computer department office space.
How Rachel finds herself embroiled in a life and death struggle and how Seth and other Omega Sector operatives are racing against time to find the villains and to save Rachel forms most of the story line. Of course, with the Genre being Romantic Suspense, there is an attraction between the undercover agent and the graduate student.
Knowing the space limitations of a novella, I still felt that the ending of the suspense was too rushed; who actually retrieved the microchip (for example) was lost in the scuffle to me. The postcript last chapter was very satisfying, however, as it confirmed to me that there are real possibilities for a continued story line.
There were some glitches in formatting, minor annoyances such as spaces between words and punctuation, or missing spaces, and there were a couple of instances of wrong cases as objects of prepositions, but these were not so numerous that they hindered a satisfying reading, imho :)
If you are familiar with Janie Crouch's Omega Sector series, you will definitely want to pick up this latest title. If you like Harlequin length Romantic Suspense (where most of the romance is behind closed doors), I recommend you try the entire series.
It's very difficult for me to rate a novella the same way I rate full-length books by an author. In this case, I think Janie Crouch has managed to tell an interesting story with engaging characters in a fairly satisfying way.
This novella appears to me to read as a bridge between her first (and highly rated) Omega Sector series and something yet to come that might be an expansion of one group of agents who are related to the original agents. I would look forward very much to reading more of this story arc with characters who are always as appealing as the plots in which they find themselves.
Here, Seth Harrington, who was introduced in the first book, is undercover as a custodian in a computer engineering building on a D. C. area university campus. He has narrowed down suspects who may be planning to sell a microchip to enemies of the state. Completely apart from this, Seth's attention has been drawn to Rachel Branson, a Ph. D. student and literature instructor whose office has been temporarily relocated to the computer department office space.
How Rachel finds herself embroiled in a life and death struggle and how Seth and other Omega Sector operatives are racing against time to find the villains and to save Rachel forms most of the story line. Of course, with the Genre being Romantic Suspense, there is an attraction between the undercover agent and the graduate student.
Knowing the space limitations of a novella, I still felt that the ending of the suspense was too rushed; who actually retrieved the microchip (for example) was lost in the scuffle to me. The postcript last chapter was very satisfying, however, as it confirmed to me that there are real possibilities for a continued story line.
There were some glitches in formatting, minor annoyances such as spaces between words and punctuation, or missing spaces, and there were a couple of instances of wrong cases as objects of prepositions, but these were not so numerous that they hindered a satisfying reading, imho :)
If you are familiar with Janie Crouch's Omega Sector series, you will definitely want to pick up this latest title. If you like Harlequin length Romantic Suspense (where most of the romance is behind closed doors), I recommend you try the entire series.
December 2, 2015
Seth is back, baby!!! I fell in love with Seth while reading Primal Instinct as he was the partner of Conner, the hero. (Oh my gosh, read that book. It's a constant on my go to reread list.)
Seth's been promoted to the Omega Sector & is undercover to stop the theft of important US information. There's a couple catches with this assignment though. First, one of the employees is a Branson, as in THE Bransons, the four siblings who work or (in Dylan's case) did work for Omega. Rachel's their cousin & she has no idea what they actually do. *Psst...she's smart though & has observed a few things that don't mesh with their "job titles."* Second, Seth & Rachel are attracted to each other, yet neither act on it. Seth because he's undercover, her cousins would kill him (they have the skills), & due to his job, he could never be completely honest with her. Rachel, on the other hand, is the epitome of shy. She's more at ease with books than people (all bookworms understand this) & doesn't feel she's in the same league as Seth.
Somehow Rachel gets up the nerve to ask Seth to join her & some other employees for drinks. Seth yearns to say yes, but *see reasons above* can't. Rachel is hurt & feels rejected. (I wanted to reach into the book & hug her.)
Thankfully, Seth changes his mind & makes it clear to others that he's interested in Rachel & though she doesn't understand why, she's floating on air. (We've all had that feeling, right?)
Of course, Seth & Rachel grow closer, yet he's still keeping secrets from her. Those secrets come back & bite with a vengeance. Rachel is caught in the middle of his investigation a
& finds out he's been essentially lying to her this whole time. Yeah, that's got to hurt.
Will Seth save Rachel? Will he stop the information from being stolen? Will Rachel forgive him? Will her cousins kill him? ;-) Read now and find out. *whispers* Want to know a secret? I just know I'm hearing a resounding yes. I'll read anything Janie writes. She's solidified herself a spot on my list of favorite authors & each book just reinforces that for me. I eagerly await each book.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
Seth's been promoted to the Omega Sector & is undercover to stop the theft of important US information. There's a couple catches with this assignment though. First, one of the employees is a Branson, as in THE Bransons, the four siblings who work or (in Dylan's case) did work for Omega. Rachel's their cousin & she has no idea what they actually do. *Psst...she's smart though & has observed a few things that don't mesh with their "job titles."* Second, Seth & Rachel are attracted to each other, yet neither act on it. Seth because he's undercover, her cousins would kill him (they have the skills), & due to his job, he could never be completely honest with her. Rachel, on the other hand, is the epitome of shy. She's more at ease with books than people (all bookworms understand this) & doesn't feel she's in the same league as Seth.
Somehow Rachel gets up the nerve to ask Seth to join her & some other employees for drinks. Seth yearns to say yes, but *see reasons above* can't. Rachel is hurt & feels rejected. (I wanted to reach into the book & hug her.)
Thankfully, Seth changes his mind & makes it clear to others that he's interested in Rachel & though she doesn't understand why, she's floating on air. (We've all had that feeling, right?)
Of course, Seth & Rachel grow closer, yet he's still keeping secrets from her. Those secrets come back & bite with a vengeance. Rachel is caught in the middle of his investigation a
& finds out he's been essentially lying to her this whole time. Yeah, that's got to hurt.
Will Seth save Rachel? Will he stop the information from being stolen? Will Rachel forgive him? Will her cousins kill him? ;-) Read now and find out. *whispers* Want to know a secret? I just know I'm hearing a resounding yes. I'll read anything Janie writes. She's solidified herself a spot on my list of favorite authors & each book just reinforces that for me. I eagerly await each book.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
June 5, 2016
Seth got promoted and is working as an agent for Omega Sector. He's working undercover as a custodian in the Computer Engineering building at the university, trying to find who is trying to sell a microchip to enemies of the Unitied States. He's working with the Bransons so when he sees their cousin, Rachel, who is a Ph.D. student, he tries to keep his distance. That was easier said than done, especially when she asks him out.
The characters are well developed and likable. Rachel is very shy but smart and calm. Seth is attracted to her and has a hard time keeping his eyes off her mainly because he's undercover and also because of who her cousins are. Rachel is drawn to Seth but doesn't think he could ever be interested in her. When she asked him out and he didn't answer right away she was embarrassed and ran off.
I loved the suspense of not knowing who was trying to sell the microchip. Looking for the microchip and the seller got progressively more dangerous as the story went on making this an exciting read. I liked that the sex scenes weren't overly detailed but just enough to show love.
The characters are well developed and likable. Rachel is very shy but smart and calm. Seth is attracted to her and has a hard time keeping his eyes off her mainly because he's undercover and also because of who her cousins are. Rachel is drawn to Seth but doesn't think he could ever be interested in her. When she asked him out and he didn't answer right away she was embarrassed and ran off.
I loved the suspense of not knowing who was trying to sell the microchip. Looking for the microchip and the seller got progressively more dangerous as the story went on making this an exciting read. I liked that the sex scenes weren't overly detailed but just enough to show love.
October 7, 2015
I'd been hoping for Janie Crouch to continue her Primal Instinct series but it seems this book is the signal that it has been shelved altogether, when Seth Harrington from the first book got disappointingly shoved into the Omega books and made part of the Branson family instead.
Covert Intents is a short read but I think its length does it a disservice, because it was over just as it was getting better. I felt everything was rushed through, from the plot to the description and dialogue, and the result of this condensed read was the lack of connection and investment on my part to the characters as well as the developing plot.
Covert Intents is a short read but I think its length does it a disservice, because it was over just as it was getting better. I felt everything was rushed through, from the plot to the description and dialogue, and the result of this condensed read was the lack of connection and investment on my part to the characters as well as the developing plot.
October 14, 2015
I don't usually read Novellas because they are so short. I picked this one up because I remembered Janie's name and I am so glad I did. This book was a quick read but I loved it. I really like the way Janie matches up her couples. They may not be what you would expect to see matched up but they work out beautifully. I loved the addition of Rachel's character. She was definitely like a real person in the story. I feel like she could be someone I pass in the grocery store. She was more curvy than the normal leading ladies in books. Janie shakes it up and I love it. I am a big fan!
November 8, 2015
Couldn't put it down
I absolutely loved this story. It grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The storyline was not too slow or too fast. It made you think and wonder who and why! I loved the twists and the interaction between Seth and Rachel. Janie Crouch has become one of my favorite authors and can't wait to read more of her books.
I absolutely loved this story. It grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The storyline was not too slow or too fast. It made you think and wonder who and why! I loved the twists and the interaction between Seth and Rachel. Janie Crouch has become one of my favorite authors and can't wait to read more of her books.
April 14, 2016
It is a little difficult to accurately rate a novella, this being the first I have read from this author. However, it "tickled my palette" to want to read more by her. I enjoyed the short read. It was a slight change of pace for me. I enjoyed the characters and actions.
June 6, 2016
Suspense and romance packed into a novella. A cute prequel to the Branson family branch of the Omega Sector.
April 16, 2017
An OK suspense, given that it's a novella. Could be better if it were longer and therefore had room for better development. Plus, we do have to put aside the "hottie falling for a geeky insecure girl" to make it work.
And I did miss some graphic sex scenes. The closest thing we get is Seth saying "I want you right here against this refrigerator. And we'll get to that. But right now, I plan to take you up to my bed where we can do this right". A guy that good with dirty talk is worth a thorough description of his skills in action. 3 stars.
And I did miss some graphic sex scenes. The closest thing we get is Seth saying "I want you right here against this refrigerator. And we'll get to that. But right now, I plan to take you up to my bed where we can do this right". A guy that good with dirty talk is worth a thorough description of his skills in action. 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews