New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann spins romance, action, science-fiction and more into her new book, “Born to Darkness.”

Set in a distant future, America has hit a second Great Depression, work is scarce, the divide between the rich and the poor is even greater and the war on drugs has taken a very bizarre turn.

That’s where the Obermeyer Institute comes in. A supposed fringe scientific research facility house a group of super-powered people, known as “Greater-Thans” whose mental powers give them gifts like telepathy, telekinesis, super strength and healing abilities.

While the Obermeyer group wants to find these young people, usually teen girls, and help them develop their powers, a drug cartel known as the Organization wants to find them and milk them of their powers, using them for a powerful and expensive drug known as Destiny. Those that take the drug generally go insane quickly there after, and a small group of Obermeyer workers have been spending their time trying to clean up their mess.

Dr. Michelle “Mac” Mackenzie is one of those people. With her mental powers of seduction and empathy, she’s a force to be reckoned with. As is her partner, the repressed Stephen Diaz, who is holding in feelings for another member of the organization. And leading them all is the ultra-powerful and sad Joseph Bach, whose powers are intense, as is his pain after the death of a loved one.

Enter dishonorably discharged Navy SEAL member Shane Laughlin, a potential candidate for the Obermeyer Institute. Mac picked him up at bar one night when she was lonely, never expecting to see him again.

But Shane won’t let her get away that easy, especially now that they may be working together. If only he can get her to take a chance with her heart. And Shane’s arrival brings an interesting new theory to Dr. Elliot Zerkowski, a worker at the facility. It is possible that potentials, such as Shane and himself, might just have an interesting side effect to Greater-Thans that they have an emotional connection to – they are able to boost their powers. That could change everything for Mac, Diaz and even Bach, who is developing a closer relationship with the sister of a missing and powerful potential that the group is trying to rescue from the cartel. As powerful as the Greater-Thans are, can they trust themselves to be vulnerable with the ones they love?

A bit like “X-Men” with a romance and a futuristic bent, this is an action-packed story with three love stories to follow. The main romance, Shane and Mac, was the one I liked the least and actually enjoyed the secondary ones of Stephen and Elliot and Joseph and Anna better, although one of those doesn’t exactly end with a happily-ever-after (hope for a sequel, maybe?)

I think fans of Brockmann’s work will enjoy the new spin on this one, and though it is a bit more romance heavy, there’s some good stuff in there for sci-fi readers, too.