Tag Archives: Julie Weaver

RAVAGED HEARTS (Team Zulu 5) by Julie Weaver -review

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RAVAGED HEARTS (Team Zulu 5) by Julie Weaver -review

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ABOUT THE BOOK:Release Date October 19, 2024

Vaughn

Protecting Hope is no longer a job; it’s an obsession. And God help the fool who tries to harm what’s mine.

Somehow, this incredible woman doesn’t see me as a monster, brutalized and broken. She makes me want to overcome the debilitating fear of touch that’s gripped me since my captivity. With Hope’s help, maybe I can.

Now, I’m consumed by a new terror: losing the woman I love.

As long as her father’s cartel continues to ravage Mexico, the risk of him finding Hope and dragging her back to his brutal world is a constant threat.

But to eliminate the most powerful man in Mexico, we may both need to face the horrors that plague our nightmares.

Hope

I never dreamed I’d find a man who could look beyond my facial scars and family name to see the real me. Not a victim, not a narco princess. Just a woman with hopes and dreams like any other.

Now that I have Vaughn, I’m never letting him go.

His team of mercenaries think they can take down my father’s cartel like they have all the others. But Carlos Espinoza is no ordinary target, and killing the man who’s made my life a misery will be far more dangerous than anything they’ve tackled before.

When cartel violence escalates and threatens the people I love, one thing is clear: to win this fight, I can’t hide from my father any longer.

But if the battle claims the life of the man who holds my heart, it’ll destroy me.

•••••••

REVIEW: RAVAGED HEARTS is the fifth instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU erotic, romantic suspense series, and part two of Hope and Vaughn’s story. RAVAGED HEARTS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up after the events of book four SCARRED SOULS

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Vaughn and Hope) RAVAGED HEARTS continues to follow the building relationship between Hope ‘Elena Espinoza’ Lopez, and former US Navy SEAL Vaughn Decker, and the hunt for the head of the Pacific Coast Cartel headed by Hope’s estranged father Carlos Espinoza, a violent and sadistic man. As Team Zulu, Vaughn and Hope put a plan into action, our heroine goes off script, threatening the life of the man whom she loves. What ensues is the ongoing relationship between Hope and Vaughn, and the fall-out as the Cartel has plans for our story line couple.

The world building follows the continuing relationship between our story line couple, as well as the hunt for Carlos Espinoza but all is not well with the Mexican Cartel, and Hope is about to discover all is not as it appears to be.

The relationship between Hope and Vaughn struggles in the face of secrets and lies. Both Vaughn and Hope have experience horrific abuse at the hands of former captors, and in this, Vaughn battles between head and heart with his attraction to our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate.

There is a large ensemble cast of familiar and colorful secondary and supporting characters including several members of Team Zulu; Hope’s father Carlos Espinoza, and his second in command Jorge Ortega.

RAVAGE HEARTS is a story of betrayal, secrets and lies; power and control, murder and madness, acceptance, forgiveness and love. The premise is dramatic and dark; the romance is provocative; the characters are energetic and dynamic but our heroine is TSTL (Too stupid to live) having placed herself and Team Zulu in the direct line of fire with her actions and need to go it alone.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Hit
The Payback
The Heist
Scarred Souls

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Julie Weaver is a RWAus Emerald Award winner and author of spicy, action-packed romantic suspense novels.
Her Team Zulu series features morally gray, ex-elite military heroes and the feisty, kick-ass heroines who challenge them.
Get your free Team Zulu Christmas novella here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hvreeguzny

Find me here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/juliewe…
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie.weave…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieWeaverA…
Website: https://www.julieweaverbooks.com/

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Scarred Souls (TEAM Zulu 4) by Julie Weaver-review tour

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Scarred Souls (TEAM Zulu 4) by Julie Weaver-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 22, 2024

Vaughn

The macabre tattoos concealing my scars deliver a clear warning. They scream that I’m vicious, unhinged, and to stay the hell away. My venomous tongue only reinforces that message.

Which means I’m the worst guy on my black ops team to babysit a cartel princess.
Once she spills the location of her father’s hideout, my team will take him down, and she’ll be free. Adiós. Good riddance.

Except her amber eyes, sassy mouth, and sinful curves draw me in like a siren’s song. And when guarding her becomes an unhealthy obsession, it’s clear the defiant little minx is working her way under my ruined skin.

But I can’t risk letting her get close. If she touches me, I could break her.

Hope

I have a new identity, a new home, and a new peaceful life in a seaside village. All of it will come crashing down if the cartel discovers I’m still alive.

Then he sweeps into my world like a bad omen. Huge. Menacing. The Grim Reaper in the flesh. I tell myself the shiver his piercing dark eyes sends through my body is from fear, but my erratic heartbeat calls me a liar.

The worst part? He knows who I am, he knows what I’m hiding, and he’s not leaving my side until I submit to every one of his demands. In an ironic twist of fate, Grim might be the only thing standing between me and the dangerous men I’ve escaped.

He says he’s broken, that one touch of his scarred flesh will unleash a crazed beast. But I don’t believe my lethal protector would ever hurt me.

And I’ll do whatever it takes to tear down his walls and prove it.

••••••

REVIEW:SCARRED SOULS is the fourth instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU erotic, romantic suspense series, and the first book in Vaughn and Hope’s duet. This is former US Navy/Special Ops members Vaughn Decker, and Hope Lopez’ story line. SCARRED SOULS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Hope and Vaughn) SCARRED SOULS follows Vaughn Decker on his latest assignment in Mexico, hunting down the head of a Mexican Cartel, a man involved in human trafficking, drugs and weapons but Vaughn never expected to come face to face with a woman who has seen her own fair share of abuse and torture, a woman whose own secrets run dangerous and deep. Enter Hope Lopez, bartender and dog rehabber, and the woman with whom Vaughn will fall in love. As Vaughn struggles with his attraction to the woman whose own life is spiraling out of control, Hope’s only chance is to trust our hero, or run for her life.

The world building focuses on several pathways including the brutal history that destroyed Vaughn’s faith in humanity, and Hope’s belief in family and love. As the search for the heads of the Mexican Cartel continues, the need to stop the distribution of weapons and drugs, and the abduction of women and children is foremost on their mind. More or less on his own, Vaughn quickly discovers not all is as it appears to be, and he too must learn to trust a woman whose keeping secret a threat to them all.

The relationship between Vaughn and Hope begins acrimoniously. Hope is not whom she claims to be, and in this, Vaughn struggles with the reality of what is . In hiding from her past, Hope believes she is a target, and Vaughn may be the man to destroy her heart. The $ex scenes are provocative and intense.

The secondary and supporting characters are limited although there are numerous tertiary side characters throughout. We are introduced to Hope’s best friend and physician Daphne, as well as the return of Brandon and Sage (The Payback #2).

SCARRED SOULS is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, friendships and acceptance, tragedy and survival. The premise is haunting and captivating; the romance is spicy; the characters are desperate and determined.

 

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Hit
The Payback
The Heist

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Julie Weaver is a RWAus Emerald Award winner and author of spicy, action-packed romantic suspense novels.
Her Team Zulu series features morally gray, ex-elite military heroes and the feisty, kick-ass heroines who challenge them.
Get your free Team Zulu Christmas novella here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hvreeguzny

Find me here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/juliewe…
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie.weave…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieWeaverA…
Website: https://www.julieweaverbooks.com/

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The Heist (Team Zulu 3) by Julie Weaver-review

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The Heist (Team Zulu 3) by Julie Weaver-review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 28, 2023

♥ A morally grey ex-navy SEAL,
♥ A heroine on the run and in need of protection, and
♥ Touch her and you die vibes.

Freya

I’ll do anything to escape the controlling monster who’s tormented me for years, even if it means putting my life at the mercy of a criminal. When Kane Daniels breaks into my gilded cage, he doesn’t realize his loot will include more than gold and diamonds—it’ll include me.

Bearded, built, and covered in tats, Kane looks like a sexy Viking warrior wrapped in biker gear, embodying every filthy fantasy I never knew I had. It’s been a long time since I could choose anything for myself, and I’m choosing him.

But the devil I fled has dangerous men hunting me, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. I’m tougher than I look and have faced unimaginable suffering many times in my life, but losing Kane could be the first thing to break me.

Kane

After getting out of Team Zulu, my life is exactly the way I want it. No commitments. No responsibilities. No killing. And then a brazen blond forces her way into my world, turning it upside down.

Freya Palmer is exactly the kind of trouble I should avoid, but when I learn of the nightmare she’s endured, my protective instincts kick in, and the black ops skills I never wanted to use again suddenly seem mighty useful. Because the man who hurt her badly wants her back, and I’m going to be the one to stop him.

Our arrangement is temporary. She’s living with me until she’s safe, but what if my heart wants something more permanent? How can I ask Freya to stay with me when all she dreams of is being free?

••••••

REVIEW:THE HEIST is the third instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the members of an under cover Black Ops Unit known as Team Zulu. This is thirty-two year old, former US Navy SEAL Kane Daniels, and twenty-five year old Freya Palmer’s story line. THE HEIST can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.Any important information from the previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Freya and Kane) THE HEIST follows in the wake of a contract to secure Kane’s brother Wyatt enough money to retire but Wyatt needs Kane’s help, help to drive the targeted and getaway car, a car that is about have a desperate and unwanted passenger. Freya Palmer has been a prisoner of French National, billionaire arms dealer Andre Matisse for close to seven years, never having anticipated the cruelty and abuse at the hands of the man who offered her family financial security but Andre’s manipulations placed Freya at a disadvantage, meant to destroy Freya’s freedom by threatening the safety of the people she loves. The break-in and robbery at Andre’s mansion gave Freya a chance at an escape but she never expected to come face to face with her future in the guise of former US Navy SEAL Kane Daniels. Keeping Freya Palmer safe means not only hiding from Andre Matisse but both the Mexican and Colombian Cartels but Team Zulu underestimated Andre’s reach, when Freya is recaptured and imprisoned by the man she is hoping to take down. What ensues is the building but forbidden relationship between Freya and Kane, and the potential fall-out as Team Zulu warn Kane away from Freya, as Freya becomes collateral damage in a war that was never hers to begin.

Wyatt Daniels is desperate to complete one final job, a heist meant to net the team a small fortune but his brother Kane has struggled since an assignment that went horribly wrong, preferring to live his life alone, on a boat that has seen better days. Knowing he owes his brother one final favor, Kane never anticipated a volunteer hostage, a woman desperate to escape the cruelty of the man Team Zulu was sent to rob. Kane doesn’t do relationships, and Freya has plans to return to her family, so an affair based on proximity means one or the other is about to break their heart.

The relationship between Freya and Kane begins when Freya begs Kane to help her escape. Freya has been used and abused by her captor but making her escape could place her family in the direct line of fire. Kane never expected a volunteer hostage but his need to protect outweighs the direct orders of the people in charge. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and erotic but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word, although only used once, more for shock value than anything else.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters. Kane’s brother Wyatt and his wife Maggie who have issues with our story line hero-Kane has struggled since the last assignment, and prefers to remain in solitude, away from family and friends; Elias Shepherd (The Hit #1), Brandon and Sage (The Payback 2), and well as brothers Vaughn and Owen, and Freya’s sister Lena. The requisite evil has many faces.

THE HEIST is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, family and relationships, acceptance, forgiveness and love. The fast paced premise is intriguing and compelling; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are desperate, determined and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Hit
The Payback

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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THE PAYBACK (Team Zulu 2) by Julie Weaver -a review

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THE PAYBACK (Team Zulu 2) by Julie Weaver-a review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 26, 2022

Sage

Three years ago, the Mafia murdered my first love and shattered my chance of happiness. I won’t stop searching for the gunman until justice is served, even if every step toward the killer is a step into the gaping jaws of Philly’s notorious underworld.

If only the new guy in my building, AKA Mr. Tall, Dark, and Annoyingly Alpha, would leave me and my secrets alone. My body might want him, but my head knows better. I’ve lost too much to risk giving my heart away again, especially to someone as deliciously tempting as Brandon Lewis.

When the Mob catches on to my revenge plans and delivers a deadly ultimatum, my persistent new neighbor discovers we share a common enemy. Brandon might be an incredibly skilled hacker, but why isn’t he scared of taking on the most dangerous men in the city? And how does a computer geek get the body of a warrior, bullet scars and all?

Teaming up with the fierce, overprotective man next door becomes a proposition too appealing to resist. Except the more I get to know Brandon, the more I realize he’s the last person I could let pay for my foolish mistakes. If it happened again, neither of us would survive.

••••••

REVIEW: THE PAYBACK is the second full length instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU romantic suspense series focusing on the former members of an under cover Black Ops Unit known as Team Zulu. This is security specialist/IT hacker Brandon Lewis, and Sage Allen’s story line. THE PAYBACK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Some of the events of THE PAYBACK cross over with, and run parallel to some of the events in book one THE HIT.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Brandon and Sage) THE PAYBACK focuses on the take down of the Wolf Street Mafia. Three years earlier Sage Allen’s boyfriend was gunned down a drive by shooting, a shooting Sage attributed to the Wolf Street Mafia. In the hopes of taking down the people responsible Sage changed her major in college, and spends her free time stalking the Wolf Street Mafia. Meanwhile security specialist Brandon Lewis is on the hunt for the people responsible for the death of his sister, a hunt that crosses over with our story line heroine. When Brandon reluctantly agrees to work sided by side with Sage Allen, neither one had any idea how that their partnership would result in a future relationship both personal and professional. What ensues is the building relationship between Brandon and Sage, as our couple work together to take down the Wolf Street Mafia.

Brandon Lewis is desperate to stop the human trafficking ring organized and run the the Wolf Street Mafia but when his new neighbor Sage Allen is swept up in the chaos of the ongoing investigation, Brandon fears for her safety, and pulls our heroine into the take down of the people involved. Sage is a strong, independent and worthy ‘opponent’ for our story line hero, a woman who has prepared herself for all eventualities except falling in love.

The relationship between Brandon and Sage begins as neighbors but Brandon never expected to find the Wolf Street Mafia sitting at Sage’s front door. Sage’s stalking by the Mafia has been discovered, and our heroine is about to pay the price for sticking her proverbial nose where it doesn’t belong. Sage isn’t prepared for her attraction to Brandon Lewis but Brandon becomes a means to an end as Sage continues to hunt for the people who killed the man she once loved. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

We are reintroduced to fellow member of Team Zulu Hitman Elias ‘Shep’ Shepherd, as well as FBI Special Agent Maya Williams, the new head of the Wolf Street Mafia Dante Moretti, and his right hand man Maxim Orlov.

THE PAYBACK is a story of power and control, revenge and payback, friendships, relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is captivating and intriguing; the romance is seductive; the characters are determined, charismatic and dynamic.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one THE HIT

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Hit (Team Zulu 1) by Julie Weaver-a review

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The Hit (Team Zulu 1) by Julie Weaver-a review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 3, 2021

He’s her one chance for survival.
She’s his last hope for salvation.

Former member of Team Zulu, a clandestine black operations unit, Elias “Shep” Shepherd believes the only use he has nowadays is taking out human scum on home soil. After years of harrowing military deployments, the one place he finds peace is at his remote Appalachian Mountain cabin, far from civilians and the world he doesn’t fit in anymore.

When Shep accepts a Mafia contract, he doesn’t expect his mark to be a woman, or the sexiest thing in grease-stained overalls he’s ever laid eyes on. She stirs something inside Shep’s battle-hardened heart. Despite the risks, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means breaking his no visitors rule at the cabin.

Muscle car mechanic Cameron McKenzie only needs one look at the towering wall of muscle who’s abducted her to know he’s a killing machine. Too bad for him, she’s not going down without a fight. Hidden away in his isolated mountain home, Cameron is reluctant to admit Shep might not be the heartless beast she thought he was. And as their mutual trust builds, so too does an intense attraction for her unlikely savior.

If the Mafia discovers Cameron is still alive, Shep will need every one of his elite skills to keep them both safe. Although he’s no longer sure which is more dangerous—The Mob’s demand for merciless retribution, or the woman who makes him wish he was worthy of her love.

•••••••

REVIEW:THE HIT is the first full-length instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU romantic suspense series focusing on the former members of an undrcover Black Ops Unit known as Team Zulu. This is thirty-six year old, former US Special Forces soldier Elias ‘Shep’ Shepherd, and twenty-seven year old, auto mechanic Cameron McKenzie’s story line.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be trigger for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Shep and Cam) THE HIT follows in the wake of a contract kill against our story line heroine. Cameron McKenzie’s brother stole from the mob, and Cameron is about to pay for her brother’s sins. Hitman Elias ‘Shep’ Shepherd, doesn’t kill woman and children, having lived through fifteen years of service in the Middle East. His latest target is Cameron McKenzie, the woman with whom Shep would fall in love. On the run together, trying to stay one step ahead of the Mafia, Shep and Cam find themselves playing house but someone ratted out our couple, and Cam finds herself facing the possibility of losing everyone she loves. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Shep and Cam, and the potential fall-out as their time together comes to a close.

Cameron McKenzie is a feisty, sassy, no nonsense heroine who tries everything to free herself from her sexy captor. Cam has always known her brother was trouble but his latest act of defiance finds our heroine with a target on her back but when hitman for hire Elias ‘Shep’ Shepherd takes Cameron hostage, she has no idea that time spent together meant losing her heart to a killing machine. Hoping to get the woman with whom he is falling in love to safety, Shep calls in a favor, a favor that is about to expose our couple to their possible demise.

The relationship between Cameron and Shep is an enemies to lovers; a contracted hit against our story line heroine, one in which our assassin grows a conscience in the face of killing a woman who has done nothing wrong. On the run in the Appalachian mountains, Cameron and Shep’s relationship ups to the next level, but Shep knows their time together will eventually come to a close. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Cameron’s embattled brother Justin, and her boss Tom; Team Zulu members -former US Navy Seal Kane Daniels, and Brandon aka Ben. The requisite evil has many faces including Mafia boss Franky Russo. Brandon and Sage’s story line is next.

THE HIT is a story of betrayal and revenge, family and friendships, acceptance and love. The fast paced, action packed premise is edgy and intense; the romance is provocative and intimate; the characters are energetic, and impassioned.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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