BEYOND THE LIMIT (Valkyrie Ops#1) by Cindy Dees-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 25, 2019

Sherri Tate, former Miss Congeniality, is a media officer for the Navy, but she itches to get on the field—and she can prove she has what it takes. But convincing others that she can become one of the first ever female Navy SEALs? That might be tougher than the agonizingly brutal training.

Griffin Caldwell and his teammates in his Navy SEAL platoon, the Reapers, are tasked to secretly train women candidates to become the first female SEALs. But when he meets Skylar Tate, it’s friction—and lust—at first sight. Griffin can’t believe the former pageant queen has what it takes, and Sherri can’t believe his arrogance. But when one deadly mission goes wrong, it’s up to Sherri and Griffin and their unprecedented bond to save the day.

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REVIEW: BEYOND THE LIMIT is the first instalment in Cindy Dee’s contemporary, adult VALKYRIE OPS romantic, military suspense series focusing on female SEALs. This is Lieutenant Sherri Tate, and Navy SEAL Griffin Caldwell’s story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Sherri and Griffin) BEYOND THE LIMIT follows the rigorous and arduous training as Sherri Tate, and two other women warrior’s attempt to pass the BUD/S training for the US Navy SEALs. Sherri Tate is a media officer for the Navy, and is hoping to become the first female SEAL in US history but the fight to the top is harder than expected. From the outset our heroine is targeted by the people in charge, people who struggle with women in the US Navy SEALs. Enter SEAL and Reaper Team member Griffin Caldwell, the man with whom Sherri will fall in love. What ensues is the forbidden and secret relationship and romance between Sherri and Griffin, and the potential fall-out when SEAL Team Reaper walks into an ambush, and Sherri becomes collateral damage in an international war with the US Navy.

Griffin Caldwell’s career as an active member of Team Reaper has been side lined by potential career ending injury. Assigned to the SEAL training division our hero will come face to face with former pageant queen Sherri Tate, a woman who stirs something deep within our story line heroine. Not everyone is happy to see women vying for a position with the US Navy SEALs, and Sherri, for all her determination and guts is targeted on more than one occasion.

The relationship between Sherri and Griffin is one of immediate attraction but Griffin battles between head and heart believing women in the Navy SEALs is a mistake and a disaster waiting to happen. Griffin is not the only man who believes this to be true, as our heroine will discover as she struggles her way to the top of the class. Having to hide their relationship and keep secret their love, our couple battle to remain stoic in the face of potential danger and loss of their jobs. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and intense, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including two other candidates for US Navy SEAL: Lily VanDyke and Anna Marlow; Commander Calvin Kettering, as well as several members of Griffin’s Reaper SEAL Team: Kenny, Trevor, Axe, Sam and Jojo; and a number of recruits vying for one of the few remaining BUD/S training positions.

BEYOND THE LIMIT is a detailed story of discrimination and determination; of betrayal and revenge; of love, lust and happily ever after. The author, a pilot in the US Air Force, uses her knowledge and experience to bring the story and her characters to life. The premise is engaging and intriguing; the romance is seductive and steamy; the characters are strong, determined and energetic.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy