Team Reaper has a new mission…Train the first female SEALsNavy SEAL Griffin Caldwell is not happy with his team’s top-secret mission, training the first female SEALs. Griffin’s determined to prove that that his trainee Sherri Tate—a former beauty queen no less—doesn’t have what it takes to join the world’s most elite warrior’s club. Until he sees what she’s capable of, and even this hard-nosed … she’s capable of, and even this hard-nosed SEAL has to admit she’s tough as nails. What he won’t admit to is the attraction sizzling between them.
Navy media officer Sherri Tate is more than just a pretty face. When she’s given the opportunity to achieve her dream of becoming a SEAL, she won’t let anything stand in her way, not even her arrogant trainer, who is too sexy for words.
When a dangerous mission lands Sherri and Griffin in the cross hairs of the world’s most feared terrorist, it’s going to take everything they have to come out with their lives—and hearts—intact.
Praise for Cindy Dees:
“A pulse-pounding adventure that will keep readers enthralled.”—RT Book Reviews for Hot Intent
“A well-crafted plot with plenty of action, love and danger…make this a must-read romance.”—RT Book Reviews for Undercover with a SEAL
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He’s not happy with his team’s top-secret mission, training the first female SEALs and Griffin Caldwell is determined to prove that his former beauty queen trainee doesn’t have what it takes to join the world’s most elite warrior’s club. Navy media officer Sherri Tate has been given the opportunity to achieve her dream of becoming a SEAL and she won’t let anything stand in her way, not even her sexy, arrogant trainer.
The first book in the Valkyrie Ops series is a surprisingly powerful read. The characters are strong, bold and take no enemies in their quest to achieve their goals, exactly what you expect from a SEAL right… But the chemistry between these two is off the charts magnetic and has sparks flying in every direction. The relationship off course has a couple of major snags that just may prove to be impossible to overcome, the trainee and trainer relationship and the fact that Griffin doesn’t think females belong in the SEALs, so this keeps lots of emotional turbulence flowing from the pages even as the passion is building to volcanic proportions.
But this fast paced plot is more than a just a romance, this story is about something that the majority of the world feels is impossible… a female becoming a SEAL. The author builds the suspense of the achievement throughout the story and the story pulls readers in ensuring that readers become completely engaged in the lives of these characters as the author has portrayed it in an informative with lots of details to make it realistic and yet not so many to make it boring or overdone. The story also has several twist that adds danger and excitement to the story so, there is no way for a readers to lose interest in this powerfully explosive and emotionally gripping read.
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads, so here is my review.
Griffin Caldwell is part of the Navy SEALS and his team is his family. When all the members get a message from their commander, they can’t believe it is during their brother’s wedding. They are all, except the groom, taken to a close airfield and flown off in the darkness of night.
Sherri Tate is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, working in DC as the media officer for the Navy but she wants more than to be the pretty face. So she decided she wants to make something of herself that she can be proud of and that being the first Navy SEAL would do just that.
As Sherri and two other women are trying to get ready to join the group to be Navy SEALS, Griffin and his team will train the three women to see who can make it. As time goes by Sherri and Griffin grow closer together.
Will Griffin see that Sherri is determined to be a SEAL and help her in the end? Can Sherri show them all that she can be the first female Navy SEAL? What will happen when something goes wrong during one of the training evolutions?
I love good romantic suspense with a killer heroine and alpha hero that makes this story great. This is a first for me from this author and I can’t wait to read more in this series. If you are looking for a new series with a kick, then this one is for you.
**Wicked Reads Review Team**
She is a lieutenant in the Navy and she is applying to be the first woman Seal ever but not everyone is happy about it and she will face intrigue and drama from inside the navy as well as out side influences. Sherri Tate may be a former beauty queen but even Navy SEAL Griffin Caldwell part of the team who is meant to train ans was secretly hoping she would fail has to admit she has got what it takes. When danger strikes he will begin to realise that she has become much more than just someone he is training and they begin an illicit affair. Will she succeed you will have to read to see
I was given a copy of this book but this is a true and honest review
This is the first book that I have read by this author but, it definitely won’t be the last. It was a fast-paced, suspenseful read. Griffin and Sherri are great characters and so are all of the supporting characters.. The story is full of intrigue, suspense and danger. I can’t wait to read the next book.
This is Book 1 in the Valkyrie Ops series. I really enjoyed reading this book. The Seals aren’t happy when they have to train the first female Seals. Griffin is determined to prove that Sherri, because she’s a female and an ex-beauty pageant queen, can’t hack it. This book has about everything you can ask for, Alpha males who don’t think the little female can handle the job, the female who proves she can kick a**, feared terrorists and a lot of good times. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book that I received from Netgalley.
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.
This book elicited a rainbow of emotions from me. From fantastic scenes, to annoying characters, to stereotypical actions, to humorous moments, to hold your breath gripping scenes, to eye-rolling sighs, to pursed lips irritation at certain outcomes to finally an unhappy, disappointed feeling for the HFN ending. From the start I loved Sherri’s character. Her wit, attitude, outlook on everything…she was well-grounded and had a lot of sass and moxie and she had no problem speaking her mind. Griffin had to grow on me, but he did by the end. He was brash, overbearing, sexist, close-minded, and his moods gave me whiplash. But towards the end, he redeemed himself and became a more likable character with better traits. One of the downfalls for me in the story was that from the very beginning we have to suffer through endless chapters of Sherri and Griffin fantasizing and having internal conversations about how hot the other is, constantly. It was just a little over the top for me and a lot of it was in inappropriate places. I understand that this was a romantic suspense and you need to toss in a bit of ‘what ifs’ and ‘how I wish’, and ’ooh, he/she’s hot’, etc. but when you are on a firing range holding a gun in your hand and are supposed to be focusing on a critical point of an evaluation, wondering about sex or whatever at that particular time just seems ill-placed. The best part of the story for me was actually when Sherri moved on to training that did not involve Griffin directly at her side and she was able to shine and show everyone what she could do and that she could hold her own. Best part of the book!!! Also, once she and Griffin got things sorted out they seemed to mesh better and the story had a better rhythmic flow. However, right when I was thinking things were starting to look up, the ending took a nosedive that was a disappointment. There was a great build up toward the end, and then it just fell flat. There were a lot of situations left unresolved and some unanswered questions. It was a HFN (happy for now) ending but with the buildup, I was hoping for more.
*I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, and am providing my honest review.
I was blown away with how much I enjoyed this story — so much so, once I started I kept going till I was done late last night!
It’s always been an intriguing consideration for me, working through the feelings, beliefs, reality, and politics of women in special forces/front lines of combat. I appreciated how the author dealt with everything, and how we got multiple views and opinions – and we see how the characters worked through their opinions – specifically watching Griffin sort through things and Sherri proving herself (and I’ll be honest – I was in awe of how she dealt with everything tossed at her).
I enjoyed watching the heat build between Sherri and Griffin – from insta-attraction to head-over-heals – it felt real and raw and honest, even with the struggle to express it or understand exactly how to balance the desires with responsibilities. I also loved seeing the respect that grew, not only between Sherri and Griffin, but between the Reaper Team, the other women trainees, and the SEAL community (instructors, fellow team mates, etc.) Something about the SEAL family keeps me coming back for more. I also loved the glimpse into the raw and realities of being a special operator – just what it takes to make it, what you’re willing to sacrifice, and the dichotomy between your head and heart, the adrenaline highs and the heart-shattering lows.
Beyond the Limit is the kind of story that will capture your attention and drag you along in a thought-provoking journey, delivering not only a well-earned happily-ever-after, but a greater appreciation for the realities of the special few warriors who live out “the only easy day was yesterday”.
If you watched GI Jane and liked the movie you will love this. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are several women trying out for seals, besides the expected issue with “politics” and Seals who say no place for women this was really well done. A tad to much hot sex for me, (yes I know its personal preference) it seemed a bit much while they were supposed to be training and learning. I actually had a tear at one point (no spoiler) and it left me with the question of the future. I want to hear more about Tate and Griffin, how they juggle and all that transpires. Since his is book 1, am guessing the rest of the series will be with the other members. Hoping that these two pop up ! Thank you Cindy Dees, Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and thank you Net Galley! All thoughts and opinions are my own and were unsolicited.
Great characters, snarky attitude by the female trainees and a great sense of camaraderie between them – no bitchyness!
These girls are taking on the men and I loved the way they managed to get the men to realise that they are just as capable, brave, courageous and sneaky as they are. Griffin may not think much of the Valkyrie plan at the beginning but he sees the grit and gumption of the trainees and by the end, he is as committed to them as they are to the SEALS.
Sherri is used to not being taken seriously because of her looks but rather than resent them she uses them to her advantage. She dazzles them with the pageant smile whilst outmanoeuvring them! The other girls are all accomplished athletes and I’m glad that was emphasised. Griff and Sherri may think they can keep their relationship light and uncomplicated but love has away of catching you unaware.
Glad Grundy got his!
Female SEALs…YIKES! Beyond The Limit by Cindy Dees leads us through the advance training for three women and their SEAL trainers. Ms. Dees has given readers a well-written book with a phenomenal cast of characters. Griffin doesn’t want to train women to become SEALs. Sherri was excited to get out of DC and stop being the pretty girl mouthpiece for the military and do some real military service. Griffin and Sherri’s story is loaded with drama, humor, action, smokin’ hot sex and suspense. I loved every page of this book, couldn’t put it down. Beyond The Limit is book 1 of the Valkyrie Ops Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Utterly fantastic book – i didn’t want to put it down! Sherri is one of 3 females hoping to be the first female SEAL. Griff and his Reaper teammates are tasked with training them to pass the BUD/s – including pushing them past their emotional, physical and psychological limits. Griff and his fellow team mates are struggling with the idea of females in the teams while simultaneously impressed with how well they are holding up. Not to mention the chemistry between Sherri and Griff is off the charts. Realistic and believable story + wonderful characters + funny moments + military family + steamy sex =one incredible story! Can’t wait to read the second installment.
Cindy Dees is a fairly new to me author, and since I love novels about Navy SEALs, I was eager to read this first novel in her new Valkyrie Ops series, Beyond the Limit, in which women attempt to become the first female Navy SEALs, and while I very much enjoyed the concept and getting a look at what BUD/S SEAL training is really like from a female perspective, and while there was a lot I liked about this book, there were some things I found exceedingly redundant, earning a 4-star rating from this reader.
Sherri in a Lieutenant in the Navy, a former Miss America contestant, and she, as well as two other women in both the Army and Marines are recruited to try to take down the last bastion of elite males only military, the Navy SEALs, but, do Sherri and the others really have a shot at getting their tridents or is this just a publicity stunt to mollify women who historically have had to fight their way into being taken seriously as full-fledged, combat compatriots, equal in strength, endurance and capability to all-male branches in the military. It’s been a hard sell, and it’s been obvious from news reports about the harassment of the women who want to see combat, fly jets, and in this novel it’s about Special Forces.
Sherri seriously wants to become a SEAL, and she wants to prove her worth. She’s already fit–a marathon runner who has cross-trained for the Olympic heptathalon, but in order for her to be really ready, in secret she and the two other women, Lily and Anna, are flown to an obsolete military training facility and a 6-man team of SEALs will pre-train these women to get them ready to pass real BUD/S training, giving the women a chance to learn the skills they’ll need in order to pass those grueling tests of their physical, mental, and emotional endurance and fortitude, culminating in Hell Week, which is the final week of all the torture the military has used to break those who just don’t have it. If you’ve ever wanted to see the nuts and bolts of what it takes to become a SEAL, you will be as fascinated by this novel as I was.
Of course, the Navy SEAL team assigned to get these women ready for BUD/S aren’t happy about it. They doubt that any woman could survive BUD/S, but because they’ve been ordered to train them, they’ll follow orders, but not before trying to break these women, and boy, are they ever going to be surprised. Griffin, the SEAL team leader is assigned to Sherri, and the two are attracted to one another from the start. In Griffin’s case, all he can see is a stunningly beautiful woman, who the men nickname Barbi, and the attraction between these two characters is mutual, especially when Sherri gets a look at hunky, muscular, gorgeous “Griff,” The women are told that only one of them will be allowed to move on to BUD/S, and Sherri believes that her beauty pageant experience with the media and as a spokeswoman who’s dedicated to helping raise awareness about domestic violence, that one woman will be her, and she doesn’t just want to be the poster-child for this publicity stunt, she really wants to be a SEAL and sent into combat, and she knows it’s going to take a lot of grit to make these SEALs take her, Lily and Anna seriously.
Here’s my one gripe with this novel. We know that Sherri is drop-dead stunning, and Griff is the most handsome, hunky man that Sherri’s seen, but I lost count of how many times we had to hear about how beautiful she was, how muscular and gorgeous Griff was, and there wasn’t a single scene in this novel where Griff didn’t wax poetic about her eyes, her face, her boobs, legs and bottom, and how he lusted after her. By the third or fourth time Ms. Dees again told us about it, I rolled my eyes so many times I actually thought I might lose my balance and fall out of bed. I just wanted to say, “Alright already, they’re knockouts, stop telling me so!” If that was going to be the only thing these two characters talked about, dreamed about, and fantasized about, I doubted that I’d get through this novel without tearing my hair out, since it made both of them seem like the most shallow characters ever, and I wished that some of these passages had been deleted by the editors.
What saved this novel was the growing, yet grudging respect the SEALs soon developed for these 3 women, who took what was thrown at them and proved themselves time and again. We even get to see how they and the team members who were ordered to remain behind when half their team was sent out to capture their number one wanted Taliban terrorist, and the other half stateside react to seeing their three ambushed, captured and killed in real time as the op went horribly wrong.
In addition, there’s a subplot of hazing by one of the recruits who’s singled out Sherri, who manages to take whatever he dishes out for just so long–and expect a lot of suspense in the latter half of this novel, as Sherri, who is close to completing Hell Week and then suddenly goes missing. It’s a race to the finish, and the HEA ending that was truly riveting.
All in all, this novel worked for me, with the exception of the redundancies I mentioned earlier. If you are fascinated by what it takes to become an elite Navy SEAL, (and while some of it is still clothed in secrecy) I think you’ll be equally fascinated by the training details that are mentioned and described. I’m looking forward ti reading the next installment of Valkyrie Ops.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
I enjoyed reading this book. I have never read any of Cindy Dees work so I was not sure what to expect. I found the concept interesting but the story line a little monotonous. The action scenes were so good and intense it felt like I was right there with the team. I would have liked more action scenes and less training scenes, but overall I thought it was a good book.
Beyond the Limit is the first book in the Valkyrie Ops series, and I found it to be an entertaining and engaging read.
The Navy is after positive press and former pageant queen and media officer Sherri is the perfect figure head. Sherri is not only beautiful, but resilient, driven and determined to succeed.
Griffin’s SEAL team Reaper is chosen to secretly train and prepare three female recruits for undertaking SEAL training.
Sherri and Griffin’s attraction is immediate, but their relationship is not only forbidden, but he doubts her ability to mentally and physically endure the rigorous demands required to become a SEAL. The connection they share is passionate, intense and steamy!
I really enjoyed the secondary characters and hope that we see more of them in future additions to the Valkyrie Ops series.
Overall an entertaining and suspenseful story and I look forward to reading more of Cindy Dees work in the future.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid Reader –
4.5 stars
M/F Military Romance
Whew, I really enjoyed the pace of this book. Sherri is a take-no-prisoners military woman who goes after what she wants. She has had to overcome her looks and show the men around her that she’s more than just a pretty face. But when the opportunity knocks for her to try her skills at becoming a SEAL, she jumps at the chance.
Griffin is a tough, rugged SEAL and he is somewhat set in his ways. When he’s called to a top secret assignment, he thinks they’ll be shipped out to hunt someone dangerous down, not recalled to help train a few women to become SEALs. There are no women in the SEALs and Griffin believes that’s the right call. But as he gets to know the women, he’s impressed and awed by their grit and determination.
When a terrorist from his past comes calling, Griffin and his team will have to decide whether or not women can truly help them or if they will turn the women away.
I really enjoyed this story and loved the romance. It built and was steamy without being forced or fake. I am loving the military setting and can’t wait to read the next book.
Triggers: Death, Kidnapping, Terrorism
Mary –
Griffin Caldwell is part of the Navy SEALs and his team is his family. When all the members get a message from their commander, they can’t believe it is during their brother’s wedding. They are all, except the groom, taken to a close airfield and flown off in the darkness of night.
Sherri Tate is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, working in DC as the media officer for the Navy but she wants more than to be the pretty face. So she decided she wants to make something of herself that she can be proud of and that being the first female Navy SEAL would do just that.
As Sherri and two other women are trying to get ready to join the group to be Navy SEALs, Griffin and his team will train the three women to see who can make it. As time goes by, Sherri and Griffin grow closer together.
Will Griffin see that Sherri is determined to be a SEAL and help her in the end? Can Sherri show them all that she can be the first female Navy SEAL? What will happen when something goes wrong during one of the training evolutions?
I love good romantic suspense with a killer heroine and alpha hero that makes this story great. This is a first for me from this author and I can’t wait to read more in this series. If you are looking for a new series with a kick, then this one is for you.
Ruthie –
I really, really enjoyed this fast-paced, cleverly plotted story. The concept of preparing women to be SEALs, and the reality behind the seemingly good faith measure is really poignantly written. I enjoyed the story from the very first page, and even though I was confident that there would be a satisfying ending, there were some moments of doubt, which caught me unawares.
Giving us an insight into SEAL training, and the brutality to be honest of the methods used – wow, respect. How the three women coped with the intensity and drew on the teams just came over so well. And obviously Skylar – usually called Tate – was an incredible athlete, yet her description of dealing with the pain of stretching herself beyond her limits was crazy. That single-minded commitment is not something that many are blessed with, so reading about it was fascinating. Huge respect to Dees for getting it over with her writing.
Along with all that hard, physical work, were the ups and downs of working so intensely on one’s mind. There were some lovely funny moments, and moments of darkness and fear – but all brought to life vividly. Having Grif’s input, and his attraction in spite of his annoyance at babysitting these women, did give some idea of why women in the service could cause issues – but he also acknowledged that their strengths were aspects that he had seen lacking when out in the field. I loved that level of detail, it made the book so much richer for me – and was never done in a preachy way, rather fell out of incidents and conversations very naturally.
His constant attraction to Tate and its effect on his body was very funny, and he was swift to say that it was not the outside package, even if that was gorgeous, but her very being. Tate too had a strong desire for him due to his looks, but as they started to work together, a deep level of respect and friendship developed – the fact the chemistry was off the walls was almost a side benefit to their relationship (a great one, but not the only thing holding them together).
I am really excited about the next book in the series already, and will enjoy thinking about Tate and Grif and how they dealt with what they faced, and how it changed them both for the better. Thank you, Cindy Rees, for a special book.
Mary Jo –
A female SEAL? Are they crazy? Nope and it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.
Grif and his team of Reapers have been assigned to train the first three candidates for BUD/S school. They are not happy about it, thinking this training is going to be more about babysitting than actual training. This was supposed to be their leave and downtime before being assigned another mission.
Sherri Tate is one of the three candidates for SEAL school along with Lilly and Anna. They are excellent soldiers and exemplary athletes.
Grif is assigned to be Sherri’s swim buddy. They are never apart during training. Grif does his best to encourage her to quit, to ring the bell, all the while he can’t but help noticing that she’s all woman. Knowing that any type of relationship between them will not only affect her shot at becoming a SEAL, it would also damage both of their careers. That doesn’t stop them from indulging in a little hanky panky when they can get away with it.
When Sherri volunteers to be the first female to attend BUD/S training, she knows that she will become the poster child for the Navy if she passes. She will be paraded around at various events rather than being out in the field with her fellow SEALs.
A series of events befall her during training and when it comes to a head during Hell Week, Sherri must dig down deep to come up with the strength to survive.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters herein. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Beyond the Limit (Valkyrie Ops #1) by Cindy Dees to read and review.
I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy through Netgallery of Beyond The Limit .
I found this story outstanding . I love a story with tough military men . This story doesn’t just have tough military men it goes beyond that it has tough military women especially Sherri Tate . The military has decided it would be good publicity to have a woman Navy Seal . Griffins team being one of the best gets chosen to prepare 3 women how to pass Buds training and one will be going to seal training
While two will be operaters . Sherri is to work with Griffin . I was cheering Sherri on . Sherri is one tough cookie . This story keeps your attention completely . It’s intense , suspenseful , intriguing , action packed , definitely steamy . It kept me turning the pages with anticipation . The story is amazing . You feel like you’re right there in the story . The characters are spectacular . I’m looking forward to the next story in this series . I highly recommend taking the time to read this 5 star read .