Tag Archives: Military

Sleight of Hand by Julie Rowe – a Review

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Sleight of Hand by Julie Rowe – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iTunes / Google Play

 

Description:
CDC nurse Joy Oshiro is stressed to the breaking point. College students are dying and no one knows why. And her new partner Dr. Gunner Anderson is frustratingly annoying—and sexy, but mainly just plain annoying—and proving difficult to avoid. He spent three years with Doctors Without Borders, and disillusioned is just the tip of his issues.

They’ll need to learn to trust each other if they have a chance at figuring out who is behind the attacks. She makes him laugh, makes him forget—for a little while. But each new clue keeps them one step behind the terrorists, with buildings and evidence being destroyed just as they near.

Now they’re in a race against time to not only find a cure, but also to avoid becoming the next targets themselves.

Each book in the Outbreak Task Force series is STANDALONE:
* Viable Threat
* Smoke & Mirrors
* Sleight of Hand

 

Review:

Sleight of Hand begins with  Dr. Gunner Anderson being told that they’re pairing him with another investigator……….again.  Gunner has issues working with people whom he thinks don’t give it their all. In walks nurse Joy Oshiro.  Even though he’s stunned to see her, secretly he’s a little happy.  Even though he knows who she is and has thought of her often, he still doesn’t know if she’ll be a good partner or not.  Having suffered a devastating loss working with Doctors Without Borders has left him almost empty…….almost.

Joy doesn’t know how to feel about becoming Gunner’s new partner.  She’s heard all of the ramblings and complaints about working with him but loves her job.  He may be sexy as hell, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to work together.  Having been in the military has left Joy with demons of her own, but she’s willing to give it a go.

When a call comes in with mass casualties, they make the scene and are stunned by what they see.  However, it’s when the calls keep coming that they see this is an orchestrated effort to wreak as much havoc as possible.  The two of them are exhausted and still a little weary of the other, but soon figure out they’ll have to trust each other if they’re going to survive. 

Sleight of Hand is the third book in the Outbreak Task Force series, but can be read as a standalone.  I read the first book in the series a while back, but not the second, and didn’t feel that I was missing anything in the continuation of the story.  Joy and Gunner were both well written.  Gunner’s backstory more than explains his demeanor and will break your heart.  Joy’s backstory, though not as heart wrenching as Gunner’s, makes them the perfect, albeit a little dysfunctional, couple.  The two of them together makes for a fun and suspenseful read.  The secondary characters are well written as well, and I look forward to finding out a bit more about their boss, because I know she has a story to tell.  If you’re a fan of suspense and action, with a little romance thrown in, you won’t go wrong with this one.  Well done, Julie Rowe!

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Publisher

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Securing Caite (SEAL of Protection: Legacy #1) by Susan Stoker-Review Tour

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SECURING CAITE (SEAL of Protection: Legacy #1) by Susan Stoker-Review Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / IBOOKS

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 15, 2019

Caite McCallan is a Department of Defense admin working in Bahrain when a glitchy elevator, of all things, leads to an unexpected invitation to dinner by a gorgeous Navy SEAL. When he later stands her up, Caite’s understandably upset…until she overhears a plot that confirms Rocco didn’t blow her off. Instead, he and two fellow SEALs are in danger—and Caite is forced to put her career and her life on the line to save them.

Blake “Rocco” Wise never expected his routine mission to go sideways, but he was even more surprised to find himself and his teammates rescued by the adorably shy woman he met in a stalled elevator. Caite’s selfless act saved his life, but when attempts on her own make it clear someone wants her gone, it’s Rocco’s turn to protect the brave, sweet, sexy woman. The longer he knows her, the more he wants her…but keeping Caite close could bring her nearer to the enemy than ever before.

••••••••••

REVIEW:  SECURING CAITE is the first instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult SEAL of Protection: Legacy military, romance series-a spin off from the author’s original SEAL of Protection series. This is thirty-five year old, US Navy SEAL Blake ‘Rocco’ Wise, and twenty nine year old, administrative assistant Caite McCallan’s story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Caite and Rocco) SECURING CAITE follows the building relationship between thirty-five year old, US Navy SEAL Blake ‘Rocco’ Wise, and twenty nine year old, administrative assistant Caite McCallan. While working for the US Navy in Bahrain, Caite would find herself trapped in a malfunctioning elevator with three US Navy SEALs Blake ‘Rocco’ Wise, Decker ‘Gumby’ Kincade, and Beckett ‘Ace’ . With their attraction to one another undeniable, Rocco will invite Caite out for dinner but in the ensuing timeline, Rocco and his men disappear without a trace leaving a saddened Caite to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. Overhearing a plot to kill three imprisoned US SEALs Caite sets about to rescue the man with whom she will fall in love but things go from bad to worse when Caite is fired for leaving the base, and sent back home with no money and no job. What ensues is the building relationship, once back on US soil, between Caite and Rocco, and the potential fall-out as Caite is targeted for information she knows.

Rocco and Caite had no idea that someone was after our story line heroine until too many incidents point to a potential plot. Hoping to uncover the truth about the how and why, Rocco calls in a group of Navy SEALs in an attempt to take down the person responsible, an attempt that may be too little, too late.

The relationship between Caite and Rocco is one of immediate attraction, a palpable sexual attraction that does not go unnoticed by Gumby and Ace. Rocco’s slow seduction of our story line hero is matched by Caite’s need for passion and love. The $ex scenes are passionate but limited.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and fascinating secondary and supporting characters from several of the author’s earlier story lines. The requisite evil is someone familiar and close.

SECURING CAITE is a cleverly written and realistic story line. The character driven premise is moving; the characters are flirty and fun; the slow building romance is intimate and tender. SECURING CAITE is an energetic and animated look at Navy SEALs and the women they love.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all-American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

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Out Of Time (The Lost Platoon #3) by Monica McCarty-Review & Giveaway

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OUT OF TIME (The Lost Platoon #3) by Monica McCarty-Review & Giveaway

OUT OF TIME
The Lost Platoon #3
by Monica McCarty
Release Date: December 31, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, military, suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 31, 2018

A team of Navy SEALs goes on a mission and disappears without a trace–they are the Lost Platoon.

With his men scattered to all corners of the globe after a disastrous secret op in Russia, Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor is trying to find out who was responsible for leaking the information that killed half his platoon. Were it not for Natalie Andersson, the woman he had been secretly dating in the Pentagon who had warned him of the danger, he knows they would all be dead. Scott is devastated when he hears that the woman he loved and hoped to marry has been killed for helping him–until he learns that Natalie was the spy who betrayed them. But when his search to clear his name brings him face-to-face with a very-much-alive Natalie, Scott realizes that justice and vengeance might not be as clear-cut as he thought.

Natalie Andersson, or, as she was born, Natalya Petrova, has put the memories of her early childhood in Russia behind her. She never dreamed that she would be at the center of an elaborate “sleeper” espionage program. Even when she learns the truth, she refuses to spy for the country of her birth, until the Russians threaten the lives of the only family she has ever known. But Natalie is the worst spy in the history of spying, falling for her target. When her attempt at misdirection leads to irreversible consequences, she is forced to run for her life, with her lover hot on her tail.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: OUT OF TIME is the third instalment in Monica McCarty’s contemporary, adult THE LOST PLATOON romantic, military suspense series focusing on SEAL Team Nine whose members are MIA or dead following an unsanctioned and undercover mission to Russia than went horribly wrong. This is thirty-three year old Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor, and former executive assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, twenty-nine year old Natalie ‘Natalya Petrova’ Andersson’s story line. OUT OF TIME can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an on-going theme and premise throughout including the rekindling relationship and romance between former husband and wife duo Colt Wesson, Team Nine’s former chief, and CIA agent Katherine ‘Kate’ Wesson.

NOTE: If you have not read the previous instalments there may be some spoilers in my review.

Told from several third person points of view including Natalie and Scott, and Colt and Kate, OUT OF TIME follows in the aftermath of SEAL Team Nine’s disastrous mission to Russia in which eight men didn’t make it out alive, and the survivors have found themselves in hiding around the world. Thirty-three year old Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor struggles to get past the betrayal of his former love, a woman now deemed a Russian spy for her supposed role in the attack against Scott’s former Team but also a woman presumed dead in an accident meant to cover a trail of betrayal and spies. Determined to uncover the truth, Scott goes in search of a someone with connections to the past but discovers the woman he once loved is alive, with more secrets that are about to change the course of their lives. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship and romance between Natalie and Scott, and the potential fall-out as a suspected mole has sent their sights on the remaining members of Team Nine.

The relationship between Scott and Natalie is one of second chances. Scott wants nothing more than to take down and crush the woman he once loved but once the truth is uncovered and revealed Scott must come to terms with what was, and what is about to be. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

Meanwhile, former husband and wife duo Colt Wesson, Team Nine’s one-time chief, and CIA agent Katherine ‘Kate’ Wesson find themselves working together in an effort to bring home one of their own. Colt’s past treatment of his former wife is reprehensible and heart breaking in light of the revelation of secrets and truth, and as such Colt works tirelessly to win back the woman who’s heart he destroyed.

The world building continues to focus on the search for the truth. Secrets and lies are exposed; betrayal and treason come at a cost.

OUT OF TIME is a suspenseful and revealing story that follows several paths towards truth and retribution. The premise is heart breaking, engaging and real; the characters are animated and colorful as they struggle to make sense of it all; the romance is seductive. OUT OF TIME is a compelling and energetic read but I struggled with the quick resolution, and the lack of information regarding the guilty party’s demise.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Going Dark
Off The Grid
Out Of Time

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Click HERE to learn about Monica McCarty

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Defending Chloe (Mountain Mercenaries #2) by Susan Stoker-a review

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DEFENDING CHLOE (Mountain Mercenaries #2) by Susan Stoker-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / Chapters Indigo /
About the book: Release Date December 4, 2018

Gorgeous women don’t just stumble onto Ronan Cross’s remote property. But this one—vulnerable, victimized, and needing the kind of help only Ronan can offer—tells a story that makes his blood boil almost as hot as his need to protect her.

Since her father’s death, Chloe Harris has become a prisoner. Her own brother, a flesh peddler and low-level player in the Denver Mafia, is forcing her to sell her body for an endgame Chloe never saw coming: control over a vast fortune. Her only way out is to run—straight into the arms of the one hard-bodied man she can trust.

Defending Chloe could rain punishment down on the Mountain Mercenaries. Her brother has Mob connections and the local police in his pocket. But Ronan still has an edge—the unshakable loyalty of his deadly teammates. As well as an unquenchable thirst for retribution…and Chloe.

•••••••

REVIEW: DEFENDING CHLOE is the second instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult MOUNTAIN MERCENARIES romantic, military, suspense series focusing on a group of six former soldiers and Navy SEALS who call themselves Mountain Mercenaries, headed by the mysterious ‘Rex’. This is former British SAS soldier Ronan Cross, and thirty-four year old, accountant Chloe Harris’ story line. DEFENDING CHLOE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: The Mountain Mercenaries is a spin off from the author’s Ace Security series but you do not have to have read the previous series to understand or follow the current timeline. The Mountain Mercenaries were first introduced in CLAIMING FELICITY (Ace Security 4).

Told from dual third person perspectives (Chloe and Ronan) DEFENDING CHLOE follows former British SAS soldier Ronan Cross as he sets into motion a plan to rescue Chloe Harris, a woman he believes is being forced against her will, to work in a strip club owned by her pathological brother. A daring rescue results in further injuries to our story line heroine, as the rescue goes off course when Chloe is unaware of what’s going down. Believing she has traded one prison for another, protective custody with Ronan Cross screams all kinds of wrong especially with the growing sexual attraction between our leading couple. What ensues is the building relationship between Chloe and Ronan; the search for the truth behind Chloe’s years of servitude to her brother, and the connections to the local mob.

Chloe Harris’ life spiralled out of control shortly after the death of her beloved father when her younger brother gained control of the family business. Never having questioned her father about the how or why, Chloe finds herself working for the mob when her brother forces our heroine to do the job. Weeks earlier a bruised and battered Chloe Harris found herself at a stranger’s door, and in the ensuing time Ronan was unable to forget about the woman who stirred something within his heart, something he believed could be his future.

The relationship between Chloe and Ronan begins acrimoniously. Ronan’s attraction to Chloe is immediate but her ‘rescue’ from her brother’s strip club goes all kinds of wrong, and Chloe struggles to trust the man with whom she will fall in love. The $ex scenes are limited, passionate and seductive.

The colorful secondary and supporting characters include Meat, Arrow and Ball; Grayson and Allye (Defending Allye #1), as well as the mysterious ‘Rex’, the head of the Denver Cosa Nostra Joseph Carlino, and his business partner Peter Smaldone. The requisite evil has many faces including Chloe’s brother Leon Harris, and Leon’s girlfriend Abbie.

The world building continues to follow the Mountain Mercenaries who rescue vulnerable women and children from their abusers and oppressors.

DEFENDING CHLOE is a heart breaking, edgy, emotional and passionate story line. The premise is intriguing and engaging; the characters are dynamic and charismatic; the romance is seductive.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one-DEFENDING ALLYE

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all-American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

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Her Alpha Viking by Sheryl Nantus – a Review

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Her Alpha Viking by Sheryl Nantus – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM

 

Description:
Some loves are bigger than this world…

Former soldier Erik Harrison is a dead man walking. The sole survivor of an ambush, the guilt of losing his friends is crushing. He questions his own sanity, remembering the vision he saw as he was dying –– a battle angel come to collect his friends’ souls.

Valkyrie Brenna Lund doesn’t know why she failed in her duty to reap Erik’s soul on the battlefield. He deserves his place with the other mighty warriors in Valhalla, and if she wants to return home, she has to kill him.

There are consequences for betraying the gods. But the closer Brenna and Erik become, the more they both want to risk everything for a future together. If only an immortal hunter weren’t sent to kill them both.

 

Review:

Her Alpha Viking by Sheryl Nantus opens with soldier Erik Harrison on the battlefield of war. Stuck right in the middle of an ambush, his entire unit in the throes of chaos and suffering. Erik is dying and he knows that there is little chance that he will make it out of here alive. As he lays dying a woman appears before him. She is more like a celestial being, but to him she looks like a warrior princess. She is seemingly collecting the souls of his brothers in arms. Touching each of his comrades with the tip of her spear and sending their souls to Valhalla! When she steps to him, she doesn’t touch him with her spear, as she has the others, instead she kisses him, steps back and ascends to heaven.

One year later, Erik is still fighting the ghosts of war. He spends his time as a cage fighter. Moving from city to city running from the memories of the war. That is until the the beautiful Valkyrie Brenna Lund returns to finish what she didn’t do during the ambush.  Return Erik’s soul to Valhalla. 

But when Brenna realizes that she can’t do it – even though she has lost her status as a Valkyrie because she allowed Erik to live. Her and Erik become the hunted by her sister Valkyrie Kara. Kara is there to complete the job that Brenna has failed to do. On the run and trying to stay alive, Erik and Brenna slowly begin to fall in love with each other. 

This was a beautiful love story where the heroine is torn between her life as a Valkyrie and now her life as a mere mortal;  and the man that she has given up everything for. 

I enjoyed both of the main characters.

Erik is a guilt ridden veteran trying to come to terms with the loss of his unit and reconcile what he saw, when the Valkyrie came and returned his comrades to Valhalla!  

Brenna has come back to earth with the mission of killing Erik and fulfilling the promise of returning his soul to the great halls of Valhalla. But once here, she realizes yet again that she just can’t do it.

Faced with the fact that she has not completed her mission nor would she be able to do it. She is not sure of the consequences she will now face as a mortal. And will she ever be able to return to her life as a Valkyrie? Does she even want to?

This story has an incredible mix of Norse mythology and romance.  I love the stories of Odin and mother Freyja mixed in with the modern romance! The characters are warm and relatable.   A wonderful read that I would recommend to any Norse mythology fan. 

Reviewed by Erin

Copy provided by Publisher

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Off the Grid (The Lost Platoon #2) by Monica McCarty-Review & Giveaway

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OFF THE GRID ( The Lost Platoon #2) by Monica McCarty-Review & Giveaway

OFF THE GRID
The Lost Platoon #2
by Monica McCarty
Release Date: July 3, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, military suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 3, 2018

A team of Navy SEALs go on a mission and disappear without a trace–they are The Lost Platoon.

Investigative reporter Brittany Blake may have stumbled upon the story of a lifetime in her search for her missing brother. When he seemingly disappears overnight, she refuses to accept the Navy’s less-than-satisfying explanation. She begins her own investigation, which leads her to top-secret SEAL teams, covert ops, and a possible cover up…

John Donovan is having trouble biding his time, waiting for his Commanding Officer to figure out who set up their platoon. John’s best friend and BUD/S partner, Brandon Blake, was one of the many lives tragically lost in the attack against his team. When Brandon’s sister, Brittany, tracks John down, looking for answers, he realizes that she may be their best bet–or bait–for finding out who is targeting SEAL Team Nine.

•••••••••

REVIEW: OFF THE GRID is the second instalment in Monica McCarty’s contemporary, adult THE LOST PLATOON romantic, military suspense series focusing on SEAL Team Nine whose members are MIA or dead following an unsanctioned and undercover mission to Russia. This is twenty-seven year old investigative reporter Brittany Blake, and twenty-nine year old Navy SEAL John Donovan’s story line. OFF THE GRID can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary although I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing theme and premise throughout. There is also a developing story focusing on former husband and wife duo Colt Wesson, Team Nine’s former chief, and CIA agent Katherine ‘Kate’ Wesson.

Told from several third person perspectives including Brittany and John, and Colt and Kate, OFF THE GRID continues to follow in the aftermath of a mission that went horribly wrong, an unsanctioned mission to Russia and incident that could have easily sparked as US-Russian war. With only six survivors from their original fourteen, the remaining SEALs must remain ‘off the grid’ in order to survive. The US government claims no responsibility or knowledge therefore it is up to one of their own to search for the truth.

Former Navy SEAL John Donovan knows loss including the loss of his best friend, and fellow Team Nine SEAL Brandon Blake but coming face to face with Brandon’s sister Brittany, an investigative journalist hoping to prove a government cover-up in the death of her old brother and his team of Navy SEALs, finds John on the defensive as he must keep Brittany from her self-appointed task in order to protect the woman with whom he will fall in love, and the men with whom he has served. What ensues is the building relationship between John and Brittany-a second chance of sorts for our story line heroine, and the potential fall-out as Brittany is targeted by more than one source, in her journey to uncover the truth.

Brittany is hoping to write a tell-all expose on the military operation that took her brother’s life. A clandestine rendezvous nets our heroine some important information, information that is about to get our heroine killed. As John continues to warn Brittany away from her current path, her TSTL attitude places herself and John in the direct line of fire forcing John to work overtime in order to protect the woman with whom he will fall in love. John’s LC Lieutenant Commander Scott Taylor, fears the team has been set up to take the fall for an act of betrayal and revenge.

Meanwhile Team Nine’s former chief Colt Wesson is tasked with working alongside the woman he once loved. Burned by betrayal, Colt struggles to trust CIA agent Kate Wesson, a trust that was destroyed years before. As Kate and Colt begin to uncover a trail of Russian spies and US operatives in a government cover-up that could very well go to the very top.

OFF THE GRID is a story of danger, suspense, action, and the prideful determination of a journalist trying to prove she is more than just the sum of her past. Brittany’s inability to see beyond her own journalistic drive threatens the lives of the surviving Team Nine SEALs, as well as her own-in this I struggled to accept her desire for the truth. The premise is intriguing, frustrating and revealing; the romance is fated and provocative; the characters are numerous, colorful, animated and intense.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one -GOING DARK

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Click HERE to learn about Monica McCarty

Follow: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

The Reading Cafe and Monica’s publisher are graciously offering a paper copy of OFF THE GRID to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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Built to Last (Black Knights Inc #12) by Julie Ann Walker-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway Tour

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BUILT TO LAST (Black Knights Inc #12) by Julie Ann Walker-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / iTunes

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 3, 3018

Masterful, mysterious, and completely ruthless, Jamin “Angel” Agassi joined the Black Knights Inc. after a mission-gone-wrong forced him to undergo extensive plastic surgery and change his name. He’s going to bring down the world’s worst crime syndicate, and hopefully keep Sonya Butler, a love from his past, from discovering who he really is…

When a dark-eyed stranger gets caught up in Sonya’s latest mission, she starts to question all her hard-won instincts. Something about Angel tells her he’s more than he seems, and sometimes, when she least expects it, he reminds her of a man she used to know. As the bullets fly, she realizes that in love and war nothing is ever what it seems

••••••••

REVIEW:  BUILT TO LAST is the twelfth and final instalment in Julie Ann Walker’s contemporary, adult BLACK KNIGHTS INC romantic suspense /military, action series focusing on an elite group of ex Navy SEALS, FBI, CIA and military heroes headquartered and fronted by a custom motorcycle shop in Chicago known as Black Knights Inc. This is assassin Jamin ‘Angel’ Agassi, and thirty-two year old Interpol agent Sonya Butler’s story line. BUILT TO LAST can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in orders, especially the last few instalments, as there is an ongoing premise focusing on a terrorist known as ‘The Spider’.

Told from several third person points of view including Angel and Sonya BUILT TO LAST follows the rekindling romance between Interpol agent Sonya Butler and assassin Jamin ‘Angel’ Agassi, a man who is familiar to our heroine yet not. Ten years earlier, Sonya Butler saw her lover murdered trying to take down a bomber, and in the ensuing time has continued to grieve and never moved on. Fast forward to present day wherein Sonya will come face to face with a man, although unrecognizable, reminds our heroine of the love she has lost. Enter Jamin ‘Angel’ Agassi, Sonya’s former lover, and the man that will once again, destroy her heart. What ensues is the (re)building relationship between Angel and Sonya, as our couple unknowingly work together to stop the man they have come to know as ‘The Spider’.

Angel is an assassin, known as the Prince of Shadows, an assassin feared by all. Ten years under cover with an assumed identity finds Angel struggling to keep his secret from the woman he loves. Two weeks in her presence, and Angel battles both his attraction to, and the questionable circumstances under which, our heroine now finds herself working for the terrorist known as The Spider. Not only does Angel have secrets to hide but Sonya’s secrets are soon to be revealed.

Throughout the last few instalments there has been a building relationship between Colby ‘Ace’ Ventura and Rusty Parker. Their ongoing attraction to one another is stifled by Rusty’s inability to come out of the proverbial closet, a closet hindered by his family’s deep –rooted religious beliefs. A life and death situation opens his heart such that Rusty must come clean to the people he loves.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and familiar secondary and supporting characters including most of the previous story line couples-some by cameo, updates or offhand mention. The author ‘introduces’ six new warriors who have been assigned to the BKI team-here’s hoping for a new spin-off.

BUILT TO LAST is a story of betrayal and vengeance; family and forgiveness; love and a happily ever after. The premise is intriguing, action packed and entertaining; the romance is passionate and fated; the characters are dynamic and charismatic. Julie Ann Walker’s BLACK KNIGHTS INC is an edgy, sassy and intelligent series with lovable heroes, and brilliant heroines.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Hell on Wheels
In Rides Trouble
Rev It Up
Thrill Ride
Born Wild
Hell For Leather
Full Throttle
Too Hard To Handle
Wild Ride
Fuel For Fire
Hot Pursuit
Built to Last

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

NOTE: Excerpt intended for mature readers 18+ due to language and sexual content

 

What was he doing? What the hell was he doing?
Oh, right. With everything he had, he was kissing the woman he’d fallen in love with a decade earlier and, God help him, loved still. His mind and body had traveled down I-Want-Your-Sex Road so fast that he’d missed his exit to This-Is-a-Really-Bad-Idea Town.
A really bad idea, he warned himself and followed that up with It isn’t fair to her.
Of course, when she slipped her tongue between his teeth, tentatively exploring, it took everything he had not to fall to his knees. Her mouth tasted of love and loss, of a wonderful and terrible past and a murky, tormented future.
It’s not fair, he silently reminded himself again. She doesn’t know who I am.
And yet she wanted him.
It was there in her eyes when she looked at him. A familiar longing. A confused, punch-drunk hunger that defied logic and reason because it was instinctual, a product of their lizard brains recognizing in each other the perfect physical mate. All the plastic surgery in the world couldn’t mask that.
“Mmm,” he hummed when she sucked on his tongue. Just a little. Just a nibble. He angled her head so he could align their mouths more closely.
In all the years that had passed, he had tried to convince himself their connection, their passion, had been a product of their youthful hearts. Two undisciplined lovers hungry to experience the thrill of the fall. But now? Oh, now, with her in his arms, with her mouth eager and greedy on his, he realized it had been so much more.
He didn’t believe in fated love or one-and-only’s, but neither could he discount the truth staring him in the face. Or, rather, the truth gripping his shoulders and trying to inhale him.
No woman had ever come close to touching his heart the way Sonya had. And certainly no woman had ever brought him the kind of pleasure she did.
And believe me, he thought as he nipped her plump bottom lip, knowing it would make her gasp, I let plenty of them try.
Since he’d left her, he hadn’t exactly lived the life of a monk. Looking back, he realized he’d been searching for Sonya inside other women, looking for that same connection, that same spark. But no matter how hard he’d tried, no matter how many birds he’d bounced atop countless beds, he’d always come up empty-handed.
Now, he realized that was because Sonya was it. The one. The standard by which he’d judged women and beauty and bravery and grace. He’d compared every smile to her smile, every laugh to her laugh. To him, she was everything a woman should be, her name branded upon his heart.
Fool that he was, he took great delight in knowing she felt the same, knowing she’d only ever loved one man. Him.
Or, at least she loved me as I was back then, he thought, stepping in to her until she was flush along his front, loving the feminine heat rolling off her body and the way she didn’t hesitate to rub herself against him.
That was the problem, wasn’t it? Not that she rubbed herself against him; that was heaven on earth. But that she loved him as he was back then. Because—and this was God’s honest truth—that man was dead in all the ways that counted. When Mark had become Majid who had, in turn, become Angel, he’d given up his home, his name, his face…and the woman he loved.
He’d done it in the name of Israel and freedom and the lives of innocent people everywhere including hers. But he’d done it nonetheless. He’d left her.
Left her to miss him. Left her to mourn him. Left her to fend for herself in a treacherous and merciless world. And look what had happened. She’d fallen into the grasp of a man like Grafton.
How can she ever forgive me?
Anguish grabbed hold of his heart and shoved it into his throat at the same time she grabbed the back of his head and went up on tiptoe to press herself more firmly against him.
When guilt had threatened to swamp him over the years, he had always been able to justify things to himself and chase the insidious emotion away. Now, knowing what had become of her, knowing if he had stayed, she wouldn’t be in this awful position, remorse wormed its way inside his gut and set up shop.
He’d wronged her for the right reasons. He’d made a decision that broke their hearts and quite possibly saved their lives. He’d wrecked their little world to make the larger one safer for everyone.
Yet…was it possible there might have been another way? Could he have answered the call of his country and his ramsad and held on to the woman he loved? Ten years ago, he would have insisted that how things had happened was the only way any of it could have happened. Today? Well, today a seed of doubt had been planted.
It was all so complicated. So confusing.
There were only two things he knew for sure. First, he was determined to figure out why she allowed herself to work for Grafton, to discover precisely what the bastard had on her to keep her under his thumb if it wasn’t her love and loyalty to the jewel thief. Second, along with bringing Grafton/Spider down, he was determined to save Sonya. She didn’t deserve this fate she’d found for herself. He believed that with everything inside him.
His thoughts dissolved then because her starved and impatient kisses turned abandoned. She’d lost herself to passion, hungrily devouring his lips and tongue and running her hands over his shoulders, up into his short hair. His mind drifted back to a time when his thick, dark locks had been long enough for her to curl her fingers around. His cock responded to her wicked seduction by straining against the fly of his jeans, seeking the heat and the soft give of her belly.
She moaned with pleasure.
He moaned for more of her.


 

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Julie Ann Walker is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of award-winning romantic suspense. She has won the Book Buyers Best Award, been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award. Her latest release was named a Top Ten Romance of 2014 by Booklist. Her books have been described as “alpha, edgy, and downright hot.” Most days you can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission.

Be sure to sign up for Julie’s occasional newsletter at: http://julieannwalker.com

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Total Control (11th Hour #2) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

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TOTAL CONTROL (11th Hour #2) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 26, 2018

Once they were soldiers. Now they answer only to honor . . .

The 11th Hour is made up of men and women who are no longer deemed fit to serve their country, but still need to fight a war. They work in shadows, keep their secrets—and follow their hearts . . .

Helicopter pilot Kellan Blake has always hated being told what to do, so being discharged from the army for insubordination doesn’t come as much of a surprise. What does surprise him is that when he joins up with the elite, underground 11th Hour squad instead, they send him straight home. The nest of vipers that calls itself his family is the next target for the team’s tech unit, so he’ll either have to brave their traps and deceptions himself—or watch his sweet, shy friend Sabrina walk into them alone . . .

Sabrina’s no femme fatale, but since there’s no one else with the tech skills to get the info they need, she’ll put on a party dress and take one for the team. But whoever decided she should pretend to be Kellan’s new fiancée hit a little too close to home. How can she concentrate on a dangerous mission when she’s worried about giving away what she really feels for her loyal, passionate, smoking hot partner? At least she isn’t likely to blow their cover. Until she’s in the line of fire, and neither Kellan’s demons nor his heart are hers to tame .

••••••••••••

REVIEW: TOTAL CONTROL is the second instalment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult 11th HOUR romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for 11th Hour Security. This is former Night Stalker Helicopter pilot and former Navy SEAL Kellan Blake, and IT specialist Sabrina Leighton’s story line. TOTAL CONTROL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Kellan and Sabrina) TOTAL CONTROL follows the friends to lovers relationship between 11th Hour Security team members former Night Stalker Helicopter pilot and former Navy SEAL Kellan Blake, and IT specialist Sabrina Leighton. Sabrina and Kellan were childhood best friends. The daughter of the Blake estate gardener, Sabrina was raised alongside Kellan when her mother’s death and her father’s subsequent abandonment left a ten year old Sabrina with no one else to care. Fast forward to present day wherein, Sabrina and Kellan must work side by side when an 11th Hour Security assignment pits father against son as Kellan must uncover the truth behind the accusations against the father he loves. What ensues is the building physical romance between Kellan and Sabrina; the take down of the man Kellan calls dad; and the fall-out of the relationship and friendship between our leading couple as Sabrina struggles with memories from the past.

Sabrina Leighton has loved Kellan since she was ten-years old but as the daughter of the hired help, Sabrina was constantly reminded that she would never be acceptable for the man that she loved. With secrets of her own, Sabrina knew that to get involved with Kellan potentially meant a broken heart-a heart she had already lost to the man who only saw Sabrina as a friend, and nothing more. Low self esteem and numerous insecurities were always at the forefront of our heroine’s mind. Kellan Blake refused to believe that the man that he loved, his father, was involved in the things of which the 11th Hour Team had accused. With secrets of his own Kellan and Sabrina return to their childhood home, only to come face to face with the dysfunction within.

The relationship between Sabrina and Kellan is a friends to lovers romance that is doomed to fail as secrets and ghosts from the past continue to loom over our leading couple. From unrequited love to the hero’s overprotective alpha personality, the relationship also struggles with preconceived notions and a familial history that continues to eat at our heroine’s heart. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are reintroduced to the 11th Hour Team including leader Jacob Night, ex-Black Ops, owner of a billion-dollar security company; Faith Beasley, Isaiah Graham, and Callie Hawthorne and Jack King (Raw Power #1). Faith and Jacob’s story is next in Hard Night.

There are some issues of repetitiveness and redundancy including 79 mentions of varying eye shades of blue, and 16 comments about the green or green-gold color of the heroine’s eyes. I also had a difficult time accepting the ‘issues’ that eventually tore our couple apart-Sabrina’s explanations and actions just didn’t fly in the face of everything that had happened. Kellan’s quick emotional turn around once he discovers that Sabrina has wanted a relationship for close to twenty years is questionable; and the results of the team investigation that culminated in nothing more than a slap on the hand were unfulfilling and underwhelming.

TOTAL CONTROL is an interesting and entertaining story line but I struggled with a number of issues. The premise is engaging; the romance is spicy; the characters are dynamic and energetic.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one RAW POWER

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy 

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