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New Release Review: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR (Anthology to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project)

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Way of the Warrior

EIGHT PASSIONATE LOVE STORIES ABOUT AMAZING MILITARY HEROES BY BESTSELLING AUTHORS:
Suzanne Brockmann, Julie Ann Walker, Catherine Mann, Tina Wainscott, Anne Elizabeth, M.L. Buchman, Kate SeRine, Lea Griffith

To honor and empower those who’ve served, all author and publisher proceeds go to the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project was founded in 2002 and provides a wide range of programs and services to veterans and service members who have survived physical or mental injury during their brave service to our nation. Get involved or register for programs and benefits for yourself and your family online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

“It is a proud privilege to be a soldier.” —George S. Patton Jr.
“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” —Winston Churchill

 

Review:

Okay, so I might be a teensy bit biased here.

It’s possible I saw the words “Suzanne Brockmann” and “Troubleshooters novella” and me loving this book was a forgone conclusion. Especially when a closer look revealed the words “M.L. Buchman” and “Night Stalkers”.

Yep. I was a goner.

Such a fantastic collection–most work fine as standalones, and serve as great intros the the authors’ series–and all to benefit a great cause! It’s possible I might have two copies–one in print and one in ebook. Maybe 😉

“Hot as Hell” (A Deep Six novella) by Julie Ann Walker–My first read by Ms. Walker, though I own several of her Black Knights, Inc. books. I don’t have any of her Deep Six books yet, but that is going to change–soon. “Hot as Hell” is the story of several intense (in more than one way!) hours inside the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan for the ambassador’s secretary and the SEAL who comes to her rescue. Including some darn memorable “hot as hell” moments in the embassy’s panic room…

A Navy SEAL who knows his figurative language (“But before he could respond to that ridiculous bit of alliterative nonsense–python he packed in his pants? Jesus–his cell phone came to life in his hand”) and a Star Wars reference (“Luke, I am your father”) ensure this isn’t going to be my last read in this series.

Rating: 4 stars / A-

“In Plain Sight” (An Elite Force novella) by Catherine Mann–Again, I’ve got several of Ms. Mann’s books. Again, I have yet to read any of them. Clearly I am not spending my time wisely…I’m adding this series to my TBR pronto as well.

Stacey and Gavin were childhood best friends and sweethearts, but were separated by time and circumstance. Things have changed so much for both of them in the meantime, and now Stacey’s life’s in danger. Can he save her–or will they possibly be able to save each other?

Rating: 4 stars / B+

“Torn” (A Protect and Serve novella) by Kate SeRine–a new-to-me author that is another new addition to the TBR list. A friends-to-lovers story (yay!)–Joe and Sadie have each carried a secret torch for the other for years, but neither wanted to risk their relationship by acting on it. But a brush with death has a way of clarifying things…

Rating: 4 stars / B

“War Games” (An Endgame Ops novella) by Lea Griffith–ends with a happy-for-now for the hero and heroine, but the novella itself serves as an intro to the author’s brand new series. The main problem the characters are dealing is nowhere close to any kind of resolution at the story’s conclusion. It’s an awesome set-up–it drew me right in from the first page–but we have to wait until January 2016 (!) for its continuation.

Sigh…

Rating: 4 stars / A-

“Beauty and the Marine” by Tina Wainscott is a fun twist on the Beauty and the Beast story–with a fake reality show (complete with models competing to be the best redneck chick) slash real undercover op.

Sadly, it’s missing the awesome library from the Disney version (my favorite part, obviously) but it’s still a sweet story. My favorite line? “Griff, I don’t want a guy who looks good. I want a guy who is good.”

Happy sigh.

But I will never go handfishing.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

“NSDQ” (A Night Stalkers novella) by M.L. Buchman–I am shamefully behind in this series, a shortcoming I intend to fix when the semester’s over. “NSDQ” (Night Stalkers Don’t Quit) definitely gives you a taste of the series, but since the main characters aren’t active members of the Night Stalkers team for the bulk of the story, it’s a great place to whet your appetite.

I absolutely loved that the heroine’s name is Lois Lang (nickname “Superwoman” and later and even better, “woman of steel”) and the hero is Clark–Kendall Clark, anyway. (AKA “Superboy”, of course.) Just too perfect–and a great story to boot.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

“SEALed with Passion” by Anne Elizabeth–really the only story of the whole bunch that didn’t work for me. The idea behind it is solid–it even incorporates the Wounded Warrior Project, which was a nice touch–but the execution was lacking. Stilted conversation, both internal and external, characters who acted like they were in junior high, and not a whole heck of a lot of believable chemistry between the hero and heroine made this one just a meh read.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars / D+

“Home Fire Inferno (Burn, Baby Burn!)” (A Troubleshooters novella)–I would have bought the book for this story alone. Heck, I think I would have bought two copies for this story alone…

I loved the glimpse into life between the novels that this story offered. An amazing number of the Troubleshooters characters manage to show up in this one, for a totally worthy cause–and it was so much fun to read. If you’ve read the other books in the series, you’ll love this one. If you haven’t, you won’t quite understand all the dynamics between the characters, but it will still give you a definite flavor for the series as a whole.

One of my favorite lines, courtesy of Izzy Zanella, thinking about how to deal with pregnant women–“It was essential, always, to have salt-free soda crackers at hand. And the sympathetic words,I know you feel exhausted/nauseous/awful/homicidal. I’m so sorry, baby. How can I help? were also good to keep near the tip of one’s baby-making tongue.”

True dat.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. And then I went out and bought two more…

E-book:
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Paperback:
IndieBound
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