Beyond the Call of Duty by Tracy Tappan (Excerpt, review and GIVEAWAY) GFT (ADULT title)

Beyond the Call of Duty

by Tracy Tappan

ADULT title

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GENRE: Military romantic suspense

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BLURB:

Eric “LZ” O’Dwyer, a senior lieutenant stationed out of San Diego, is in command of his own helicopter detachment out of the HSM-75 Wolf Pack. Deployed off the coast of South America on a counterdrug operation, Eric jumps at the chance to take down a ruthless drug lord. But to do it, he’ll have to join forces with badass DEA Agent Nicole Gamboa. Infiltrating the drug lord’s mansion is crucial to the mission, and to pull it off, Eric and Nicole have to play out an intimate scene together that leaves them both reeling.

In the aftermath, Eric wants to foster something real with Nicole, but there is a secret part of Nicole’s life that makes a relationship impossible. The mission erupts again, and Nicole and Eric end up relying on each other in ways they’d never predicted. The stakes are raised to their highest when the drug lord gains the upper hand, and living or dying hinges on a final showdown between Nicole and her past…and whether Eric can get to her in time!

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EXCERPT

Her DEA partner, Ryan, was at her side in two paces. “You’ve got the wrong idea about what just happened, Nicole.”

Nicole squared her chin and walked faster, nearing the doorway into the Air Traffic Control tower.

“Would you stop—” Ryan grabbed her arm—“and let me talk to—?”

She whirled, and with a hard downward chop of her hand, crashed his hold off her.

Ryan barked in pain.

“I have two black belts in martial arts!” she shouted into her partner’s face. “Do you ever bother to remember I’m more than a pair of tits?”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Eric jogged up to them, hauling off his flight helmet. “Are you two okay?” Behind him, the helicopter’s rotors were still turning.

Aagaard kept his eyes on her. “That wasn’t about your ability to fight. It was about distraction. The target was going to blow us to Kingdom Come. There weren’t any other options I could see for handling the situation other than what we did. You either, or you would’ve mentioned them. I knew it would work. And it did.”

“Congratulations.” Her voice came out of a dark pit in her stomach. “You’ve seen my breasts now, Ryan. Maybe you—”

“What?” The one word cracked out of Eric like a bullet from a gun.

“—finally stop being such a jerk.”

Ryan’s face flushed a strangled shade of red. “You’re out of your skull if you think that’s what this was about.”

“Right. Then why do you keep blushing?” Nicole reached for the door handle to the tower.

A hand grabbed her arm again. Eric’s.

“Everyone needs to stop touching me.”

“I’m sorry,” Eric said, dropping his hand. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“No, Eric, I’m not okay.” She turned to face him fully. “I haven’t been okay since we pretended to have sex together.”

Buy links:

BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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Kobo 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Tracy is the bestselling and award-winning author of gritty romance, her books spanning genres across paranormal (The Community series), military romantic suspense (The Wings of Gold series), and medieval historical (The Baron’s War trilogy). During nearly twenty-five years spent as a naval aviator’s wife, she lived all over the United States and in Europe, enjoying seven years overseas in the diplomatic community, first in Rome then in Madrid, until she settled back in San Diego. Tracy holds a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling (MFCC), loves to play tennis, is a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, and enjoys a good glass of wine. To learn more, please visit her website at www.tracytappan.com  

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My review:


4.5 stars



Beyond the Call of Duty by Tracy Tappan is part of the ‘Wings of Gold’ series and gives a glimpse of the lives of senior lieutenant and pilot Eric O’Dwyer and DEA agent Nicole Gamboa as they join forces to try to take down a drug lord. Their forced proximity causes them to become far more intimate than either would normally have pushed for so quickly, but multiple factors interfere with the development of any ‘normal’ relationship—including family drama, high-risk vocations, residences in different countries, and danger looming. Good thing each believes in fighting for what is important!

This tension-filled military romantic suspense story is filled with excitement, realism, and plenty of larger-than-life characters. I love women who are warriors in their own right and Nicole is definitely a capable and deadly operative, and the cocky and self-assured Eric makes a great match for her. I thought the original scenario that brought them together was a bit lame and couldn’t believe that anyone seriously thought their mission was going to succeed, but I realize that one really had to suspend disbelief in order for the rest of the story to spool out. Despite that, the action was intense, and I loved the realism provided by all of the genuine terminology scattered throughout the story, and I appreciate the glossary in the back for those of us who are curious. There are multiple threads dangled throughout the story, some of which are resolved, and others that make me curious about what is going to happen next, but not so much that this is a cliffhanger. I have not read the other stories in the series and was just fine reading this as a stand-alone story but I really enjoyed the author’s style and am anxious to read more adventures featuring these remarkable folks.

(Update:  I was informed that the footnotes that distracted me so much were a function of my reading the story in the pdf format and aren't an issue in the other e-versions...that is definitely a relief!)

A copy of this title was provided to me for review