HELL OR HIGH WATER (Deep Six #1) by Julie Ann Walker-Review & Book Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 7, 2015
In a world on the brink…
Six men. One sunken Spanish galleon. Millions in gold and silver coins lying on the ocean floor. And a past that refuses to let the guys of Deep Six Salvage forget the Navy SEAL motto: the only easy day was yesterday…
There’s more than one kind of treasure…
The nation’s security has always been CIA agent Olivia Mortier’s top priority. But a mission-gone-wrong has begun to make her wonder if there’s more to life than risking hers.
And more than one secret at the bottom of the sea…
Only two things could make Leo Anderson abandon his hunt for the legendary lost ship, La Santa Christina, and return to the world of weapons and warfare he swore to leave behind: a capsule of enriched uranium, lost on the ocean floor, and a plea for assistance from the one woman he can’t seem to forget.
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REVIEW: HELL OR HIGH WATER is the first full length installment in Julie Ann Walker’s adult, contemporary Deep Six military, action/suspense romance series focusing on a group of former Navy SEALs who currently own and operate a civilian marine salvage business. This is Lieutenant Leo ‘The Lion’ Anderson, and CIA operative Olivia Mortier’s storyline. The DEEP SIX series is a spinoff from Julie Ann’s BLACK KNIGHTS INC series. There is an introductory novella HOT AS HELL that can be found in the May 2015 anthology-WAY OF THE WARRIOR.
Told from several third person perspectives using present day and flashbacks, HELL OR HIGH WATER follows three intersecting paths. Along with his former team of fellow SEALs, Leo Anderson has retired from the Marines and has taken over his father’s marine salvage business on Wayfarer Island. Their latest quest finds our heroes searching the ocean depths for the lost ship La Santa Christina, where it is purported to have sunk to the ocean floor, close to five hundred years earlier, with a vast treasure of silver and gold. But a visit from CIA agent Olivia Mortier places the former SEALs back in the action when a powerful chemical weapon, ‘given’ to the enemy, is reported to have been lost at sea and the team is asked to help in the rescue and recovery. What ensues is the search for the missing weapon; a private yacht falling victim to terrorists; and betrayal from within the CIA aka The Company.
HELL OR HIGH WATER is a story of second chances for our leading couple. While on Middle East deployment eighteen months earlier, Olivia and Leo began a relationship that ended too soon when a double cross found Leo’s men in a fight for their lives. Olivia has shouldered the blame for the entire mission that went horribly wrong, and in this she has yet to come to terms with her role in the death of someone close. Working together to retrieve the missing weapon finds our leading couple rekindling their relationship and taking it to the next level. But guilt and grief continue to follow Olivia throughout the story, as we are witness to the events leading up to the present day. The $ex scenes are inventive and provocative. Our couple get caught with their ‘pants down’ on more than one occasion. 😉
We are introduced to Leo’s team of former Navy SEALs (Bran, Wolf, Doc, Romeo and Mason), as well as a cameo appearance by Michael ‘Mad Dog ‘ Wainwright- first introduced in Julie Ann’s BLACK KNIGHTS INC series: Michael and Harper’s story can be found in the novella HOT AS HELL (Way of the Warrior-May 2015). Leo’s Uncle John, a cross between a ‘crusty sea dog and slack –ass hippie’ –as per the storyline description-finds respite with the heroes under the auspices of helping Leo search for the missing treasure. Not sure if Uncle John has a story to tell, but he is a fount of information when needed. There is plenty of friendly teasing and ego bashing, along with the camaraderie found with a friendship forged through mutual understanding and loss. We watch as another potential romance builds between one of Leo’s team members and a woman they helped rescue from the unruly band of terrorists who had all but destroyed Leo’s salvage business. The requisite evil comes from two different but conspiring sources that could have been ripped from today’s newspaper headlines.
HELL OR HIGH WATER is an action packed and intriguing storyline that focuses on the secret mission to retrieve chemical weapons, and the ensuing struggle to stay one step ahead of a mangy group of terrorists that will eventually reveal a mole within the CIA. There are moments of friendship and betrayal, romance and love, adventure and a little bit of suspense. Julie Ann Walker’s use of ‘punny’ comments leads to a few groans and rolling of the eyes; I am not sure if some of the humor using military jargon was appropriate.
The DEEP SIX series follows a similar outline and genre-type to that of Julie Ann’s BLACK KNIGHTS INC series- former military or special ops agents who, upon retirement, set up their own business running secret missions behind the scenes.
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.
Reviewed by Sandy
A Message From Julie Ann Walker
Hi everyone! My name is Julie Ann Walker and I’m tickled pink to be here today talking about my BRAND SPANKING NEW romantic suspense series, Deep Six! It revolves around six newly retired Navy SEALs who just can’t seem to shake their past and the Navy SEAL motto that “the only easy day was yesterday.” Set in the Florida Keys, the series is filled with sun, sand, danger, intrigue, adventure, and plenty of half-dressed alpha hotties. LOL! Sound like a good time? I guarantee it is! And I guarantee you’re going to fall in love with these six men.
Take Leo “The Lion” Anderson. With his sun-streaked, sandy blond hair and perpetual tan — not to mention those hazel eyes and beard stubble — he’s sure to win your heart. And that’s before you get to his no-bullshit, take-command-of-any-situation attitude and the fact that he’s trying to fulfill his father’s dying wish.
Then there’s Brando “Bran” Pallidino. A native New Jerseyan, Bran grew up on the mean streets of Newark. He’s rough. He’s tough. And his Italian-American heritage means he comes complete with soulful brown eyes, a face that belongs on billboards, and a love for good food and good wine. (That last part means his beer-loving teammates give him a lot of grief. *wink*)
You won’t be able to resist Mason “Monet” McCarthy. As a boy from Beantown, Mason learned to use the F-bomb in really colorful ways. He’s big. He’s burly. He’s not the kind of guy you’d like to meet in a dark alley. Yet his thick black hair and crystal blue eyes soften what would otherwise be an entirely intimidating appearance.
Who doesn’t love a country boy? Dalton “Doc” Simmons was born and raised in Montana. He’s a lean, mean, fighting machine, with a face that’s all angles as if it’s been carved down to its barest essentials by a hot, stinging prairie wind. Doc has a tragic past. And he’s fighting to come to terms with it.
Next up is Ray “Wolf” Roanhorse. Wolf’s Cherokee heritage makes him strikingly handsome, with a blade of a nose, high cheekbones, flashing black eyes, and a lush, beautifully-shaped mouth. Born into poverty on a reservation in Oklahoma, Wolf has more than himself to worry about. He has his whole family depending on him. But if anyone can shoulder that burden, it’s Wolf.
And last but certainly not least, we have Spiro “Romeo” Delgado. Romeo likes to play up that whole Latin-lover thing. And with his swarthy skin, precisely trimmed goatee, and honed physique, he does a pretty good job of it. But that’s just what’s on the surface. Underneath it all, Romeo is desperately trying to make up for the mistakes of his past.
See? What did I tell you? You love them already, don’t you? Read on for a bonus scene from HELL OR HIGH WATER where you get to meet all of the Deep Six heroes!
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