Monday, July 16, 2018

Under the Radar by Dee J. Adams (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) ADULT title GFT








by Dee J. Adams
ADULT title
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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

Two brothers. Two best friends. One robbery gone wrong.

With a court date looming, a near-fatal car accident, and a house invasion, the four surviving witnesses to an armed robbery know they are targets. In a desperate attempt to stay safe, they take matters into their own hands and go off the grid a week before the trial.

Danny St. John was stuck in a dark place of guilt and regret after a personal tragedy. On the run from violent criminals, he is forced to spend time with the one woman who makes him feel too much. Victoria Lopez needs to protect her heart, but she also misses the guy Danny used to be and thinks she might be able to bring him back. Now, evading gunmen together in Sequoia National Forest, Vic will risk everything to keep Danny safe.

Eric St. John isn’t a big fan of his sister-in-law-to-be, Zoe Turner. Sure, she’s beautiful, but also bossy and brash. When Eric and Zoe are forced to rely on each other for survival, he sees a side to Zoe he never anticipated, a side he definitely likes. But as the two grow closer, so do the men hunting them down.

Time nearly runs out as each couple must not only brave the perils of the wilderness and their growing feelings for each other, but also outwit their pursuers in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

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EXCERPT


Something moved in the bushes just outside the window in the corner of the room. Zoe’s pulse leapt as she sat up in bed.



“Did you hear that?” Vic whispered almost soundlessly.



“I thought you were sleeping.” Zoe’s voice wasn’t much louder.



“Tried. Not successful.”



They heard the tiniest scrape on the glass and both of them bolted out of bed. “Stuff the pillow under the blankets,” Zoe ordered softly. “Shoes,” she said next as she grabbed her flats. Before they could leave the room, an explosion of sound came from the front of the house and Zoe swung Vic into the closet, followed her in, and shut the door as the window in their room blasted apart. Seconds later, heavy footsteps crunched over broken glass.



Fear and nausea erupted in Zoe’s gut like a geyser. Grunts and thuds coming from the hallway marked the sounds of a fight and she held her breath, waiting for someone to pull open the door. She’d pulled Vic into a death trap by jamming them into this closet.



Bullets erupted outside the door and Zoe slapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a scream. The noise stopped and long tense seconds passed as Zoe and Vic stared at each other, the whites of Vic’s eyes clear in the dark. Before Zoe knew what happened, Vic slammed the door open and pounced on the man in front of them, putting him in a chokehold while hanging onto his back. It was the same thing Casey had done when she’d fought off her ex last year. The gun bounced on the floor and Zoe scrambled to reach it, her hands shaking and breath billowing in and out of her lungs.






Buy links:



 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:



After graduating high school in Texas, Dee J. moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. For twenty years, she acted in television and worked behind the scenes as an acting/dialogue coach for sitcoms.  Writing happened accidentally after a vivid dream and the urging of her husband to “Just write it down.” Three weeks, fourteen hours a day, and four hundred and fifty (long hand) pages later, she had her first novel.  Dee J. loves writing books filled with action, mystery and love. (Not necessarily in that order.) Her experience in show business led to her narrating many of the books in the Adrenaline Highs series for Audible.com. She is the wife of a wonderful man and mother to a fabulous daughter. She’s a dog lover all the way, with a fondness towards Boxers and Pit Bulls. She is a member of several organizations, including Romance Writers of America and SAG-AFTRA.


Author links:


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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here







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My review:




4 out of 5 stars

Under the Radar by Dee J. Adams is Book 4 of the ‘High Stakes’ series. A shopping trip to prepare for the engagement party of the couple all four are devoted to plunges brothers Eric and Danny St. John plus Zoe Turner and Victoria (Vic) Lopez into forced proximity. A flight and fight for their lives forces them to reconsider how much they truly irk each other but they may not survive long enough to explore their new attitudes.


This contemporary romantic suspense tale is exciting and action-packed. Surprisingly, I was not completely lost, even though this is ostensibly the final volume in this series, although I daresay it would be easier to understand some of the nuances if I had read the previous stories. Those who are squeamish should be forewarned that there is plenty of violence surrounding this quartet. Given the events that take place as well as the references to past occurrences, one has to assume that it is extremely dangerous becoming involved with the St. John family and collateral damage is very likely. The setting is vividly described and ALMOST makes me want to try camping, although I’m pretty attached to my creature comforts, lol.

I was a little overwhelmed by the issues plaguing three of the quartet—both professionally and personally—and I have to wonder whether the epiphanies that are elicited by the intense experiences they undergo could be longlasting, despite the epilogue. I think the challenge of showing two different relationships developing kept either from being sufficiently delved into, hence my skepticism. Despite that, I am curious about the rest of this series as well as the crossover book that connects to another group of stories and I will be looking for more of this author’s exciting tales that blend a beautiful setting with dangerous events.

A copy of this title was provided for review









23 comments:

  1. Hi Elf,
    Thanks for hosting Under the Radar today! I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I wonder if anyone else here likes camping and the great outdoors... (Nothing like roughing it under the stars to make a person really appreciate all those creature comforts in life.) I think one of my favorite things about camping is just being able to see all the stars in the sky. Anyone else?

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    1. Hi, Dee J.! Thank you so much for coming by and interacting with my visitors. Congrats on the enjoyable story. I'm much too fond of my creature comforts to camp, although I do love the idea of being able to see all of the stars (one of these days I'll have to learn how to identify the constellations!). Good luck on the tour.

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  2. We love to go camping. Thx 4 the chance!!

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    1. Hi Lori,
      There's just something about nature that recharges the battery, I think. Thanks for dropping in!

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    2. Thank you for visiting, Lori.

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  3. I enjoyed getting to know your book and thanks for the chance to win :)

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    1. Hi Rita,
      Thank you and thanks for for stopping by!

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    2. I enjoyed it, Rita. I hope you get a chance to read it! Thanks for dropping by.

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  5. If you could go anywhere on vacation, Where would you go? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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    1. Hi Joseph,
      That's a tough one because there are SO many places I have yet to see. I'd love to visit Australia. But one of my favorite vacation destinations is Hawaii. Love, love, love it there. Thanks for the question!

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    2. Great to see you, Bernie! (I love Hawaii as well!)

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  6. Awesome review, sounds like my kind of book!

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    1. Hi Victoria,
      Thanks for dropping in!

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    2. I think you'll enjoy it, Victoria. I appreciate you coming by!

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  7. Thanks again for hosting Under the Radar! The day flew by!

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  8. Thanks for hosting this great, fun tour and letting us find out about terrific books to read. Thanks also for the great giveaway.

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    1. Hi James,
      Thank YOU for dropping in!

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    2. Happy to see you, and I'm sure you know I LOVE books and am happy to share. Life has been a little challenging, so I'm not keeping up with the blog as much as I should but I always appreciate folks taking the time to read it!

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