Way of the Warrior

Always a treat to have an anthology with tons of my favorite authors with the bonus of them being all new stories.

Hot as Hell by Julie Ann Walker – This is the prequel to Ms Walker’s new series Deep Six. A group of Navy Seals who after their latest mission will retire and most will be going to Florida to run a marine salvage business. This novella gives a glimpse of three of those Navy Seals while still in action sent in to rescue a woman and the US Ambassador to Pakistan. Harper Searcy and Michael “Mad Dog” Wainwright has a one night fling except Michael didn’t want it to be just a one night thing but Harper hasn’t been returning any of his calls since – until she calls him from the Embassy’s safe room after the Taliban blast their way in. It’s a short story but still has all the things you expect from this author – action, alpha men and the tough women who fall for them.

In Plain Sight by Catherine Mann – Stacie Currie lived through 4 years of abuse from her husband before divorcing him but neither that nor the restraining order has stopped him from terrorizing her. While on the line with 911 she realizes she is talking to the man she should have married all those years ago instead of pushing him away with her selfish demands. Gavin Novak has been medically discharged from the Air Force after a helicopter crash that almost ended his life. Now reduced to being a 911 operator due to his disabilities from the crash he cant believe when the scared woman on the other end of the phone is his childhood friend and ex lover Stacie. When the two finally meet face to face after 10 years they both realize that their feelings for each other are as strong now as they were back then. Gavin calls in some old friends from his PJ days to help with finally putting Stacie’s ex in jail where he belongs.

Torn by Kate SeRine – Torn kicks off a new romantic suspense series featuring the Dawson brothers Tom, Gabe, Joe, and Kyle. This story was about Joe who was injured by an IED during his tour with the National Guard. After 18 months of rehab he is finally getting back on his feet enough to start back to work with the Sheriff’s department where his father is the Sheriff and two of his brother’s are deputies. Joe and Sadie have been friends since they were little. They both knew they loved the other but never had the guts to ever cross the friend line. Joe’s brush with death is the catalyst that finally pushes them to confess their feelings for each other but turns out Sadie has a stalker and he’s decided he doesn’t like that Joe’s back in Sadie’s life. This was a new author to me and I enjoyed this one enough that I am looking forward to the 3 other brothers stories.

War Games by Lea Griffth – Didn’t want this one to end. Lea Griffith writes such intense stories and this short introduction to a new series about a black ops team barely whetted my appetite. Opening scene having CIA operative Vivi Bentwood breaking wrongly convicted prisoner Rook Granger out of Fort Leavenworth started the ball rolling on what’s sure to be another sure fire hit series for the author.

Beauty and the Marine by Tina Wainscott – Griff Tate see himself as a beast after being burned over 25% of his body while in combat. After a long recovery period he is content living on the 200 acre resort his family owns and away from the public. When his friend that runs a private security agency ask him if they could use the Resort to set up sting to catch a stalker he agrees not know that the victim would be so beautiful and make him long for things he doesn’t think he could ever had again. Kristy Marsden may have a beautiful face that makes her money as a model but she has scars of her own from the stalker. When she meets Griff she doesn’t see scars on his face she sees the wounded warrior on in the inside and that stirs up feelings she long thought the stalker had killed.

NSDQ by M.L. Buchman – All of these story so far in this anthology have been great but this one caused a little leakage to the eyes.. US Army Caption Lois Lang flew Black Hawks on CSR missions. She worked hard to get to be the pilot of her own crew. While on a CSR mission in Afghanistan they get hit with a RPG and she manages to save everyone at the cost of her leg. She had to have a below the knee amputation. Now stationed at Fort Lewis she struggles with knowing her career is over and flying is only thing she’s ever wanted to do. Fort Lewis is where training is done for the Little Bird, Black Hawk and Chinook. Kendall Clark (get it Lois and Clark ) is a civilian Black Hawk engineer and training instructor. Turns out he’s had a thing for Lois for a while but never acted on it until now. This sweet man manages to give Lois back her life in more ways than one..

Sealed With Passion by Anne Elizabeth- After a FUBAR mission Jonah Melo commander insisted the entire team take time off. He decides he is going to check up on how his buddy’s house was coming along that is being built by the Wounded Warrior Housing Project. What he wasn’t expecting to see was Alisha Winters who is also a good friend of his buddy and wife who was the maid of honor in their wedding and who Jonah slept with that night. Now 5 years later and she cant stand the sight of him. But after some time alone together these two realize that since that night no one else has compared and once they clear up the misunderstanding of why Jonah left years ago these two decide time is too short to waste…

Home Fire Inferno (Burn, baby, burn) by Suzanne Brockmann – How many Seals does it take to deliver a baby?? When Jenn Gillman and Eden Zanella break down on the side of the road and 8 month pregnant Jenn’s water breaks we soon find out how many Seals it takes to get to them. Lots of familiar faces lend a hand in getting to Jenn and Eden. Been a while since I’ve read a Troubleshooter book but I certainly remembered all the guys and their spouses I missed the humor that Suzanne always has in her books.