Dani Lovato is thrown into a world of danger when she goes undercover to return a stolen crystal. Danger is all around and there are many she trusted who proved to be almost fatal. Who is she to trust in order to return this priceless crystal to its rightful owner?

Stephen Douglas has returned to life back here after being wounded in Afghanistan, only the life he came home to is not the way he left it. He soon finds himself at the bottom and is given a chance to wipe a mistake off a police record. What he does not know is that this little favor will send him on a cross-country journey with his life in danger and a beautiful woman at his side.

Stephen and Dani must decide if they can trust each other, when they both have had so much betrayal in their lives. But in order to survive, they must try to find that trust or lose their lives, not to mention their hearts. Truly, nothing can come of a relationship built on mistrust and lies, can it?

Blood Crystal by Jannifer Hoffman is true excitement. Such adventure and passion through the story leaves you on the edge of your seat, waiting for both the romance and the adventure to continue. Who is on the good side remains to be seen until the very end. This reader recommends Blood Crystal to all you adrenaline junkies out there; even if you are not one you too will enjoy this book!

On the remote island of San Delta life was not good. It is a poor country located about 70 miles in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India. The sole income came from selling vegetables and handmade trinkets. This is the way the 8 councilmen were meeting. Maybe it was time to let the big hotel chains come to San Delta with their jobs for the young people. Maybe they would stay. Suddenly, a meteorite landed among them and on its top was a crystal the size of a hen’s egg but shaped like a heart.

This was not an ordinary crystal. When squeezed, it turned red and started pulsing like a real heart. It also turned warmer with each beat. Once released, it turned back into a normal looking crystal.

Stephen Douglas was cruising down a seedy neighborhood street in Los Angeles. He was hired to pick up a cop’s daughter at a certain address. The problem was, he couldn’t find it and now was running late. It also didn’t help that he picked a bright red convertible to rent that really stood out in this neighborhood. Just as he was thinking about putting up the roof a guy jumps in the back, puts a gun to his side and tells him to drive.

Danielle Lovato, Dani, is a new agent for a government agency. She was undercover when a crocked cop killed her partner. Now, she’s on the run trying to keep alive! Dani and her partner removed a crystal belonging to the country of San Delta from an international gangster. He wasn’t happy and apparently a local cop wanted it too. Dani’s only choice is to try to make it back to DC without getting caught.

To Dani’s surprise and Stephen’s dismay, they keep getting followed. Stephen isn’t sure what exactly is going on but is willing to go along with Dani while he figures it out. He’s going to need all the skills he learned with the military to keep them alive and moving. Dani isn’t sure whom to trust and she doesn’t trust easily but she’s not stupid and she needs help, help that Stephen seems willing to give. Can they lose the bad guys, figure out who the good guys are and make it to DC before they figure out that they actually want to go to bed together to do more than sleep?

This is Ms Hoffman’s third book concerning the Douglas family. They do not need to be read in order. Each book has a wonderful story that is great by itself. The later books refer to characters in previous books and they may have a guest appearance but they do not play a major role in the books.

As usual, I loved the characters. Dani is so over her head that she’s not sure what to do. This is her first assignment and everything is falling apart. Stephen keeps taking charge and then she’d remember that she is the agent, not Stephen. Stephen takes charge automatically and without thought. This causes some friction when Dani remembers that she’s the actual agent. Still, Stephen is having the time of his life evading the bad guys and hanging out with Dani.

Though most of this book is one long chase scene, there is subtle humor throughout. Most of this humor concerns Dani or something Stephen did that involves Dani. Dani claims that she is an agent but when asked for her badge she remembers that it is in the coat that Stephen left at his ex-wife’s house. Talk about being flustered! That’s not the only thing that was left there either. Even a quick shopping trip had me smiling, as Dani and Stephen’s ideas on necessary items weren’t exactly the same.

Trust is a big issue for both characters but especially for Dani. Neither is sure they can trust the other yet they are drawn to each other. Can you love someone you don’t trust?

I loved this book. I wasn’t too sure about this strange crystal but by the end of the book I was okay with it. As usual, the characters were wonderful and the plot perfect. I just didn’t want to put this book down. As they raced across the country, I was right there with them. Fight scenes were tense as you weren’t sure of their outcome. All the elements of a great story came alive.

While there is sex in this romance, it is not real graphic nor is there a lot of it. There is just enough to make the love story believable.