Book Review: Kit and Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2014

Special New Release Sale Price of $1.99 Through 3/22/2014!

After 3/22/2014, List Price Will Be $2.99

Ex-spec ops solider Kit Bolanger tried hard to forget Ivy Banks, the only woman he ever loved. When his work brought him back to his hometown, and he learned she was still single, he pursued her with a relentless focus. Now, in just a few weeks, they're set to lock things down permanently on their big day.

With the wedding looming, Ivy's working tirelessly to create the perfect menu and orchestrate their dream wedding. However, Kit has one last secret to reveal--and it might just be a deal breaker. Will Ivy see the truth behind Kit's actions? Or will she call the whole thing off, this time for good? 

Ages: 18 & up (story contains sex and profanity)

Length: 26K words (approximately 100 pages)

Product Details

• File Size: 237 KB
• Print Length: 94 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Elaine Levine (March 15, 2014)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00J1LBMJW

Review: I've been waiting months for this. I was so thrilled when I got the update in my inbox that it was available and at a special price for a limited time. I went right to grab it. I did take two days to read it, even though it wasn't a full length novel. Why? Because I didn't want to see it end. 

I'm rarely so attached to the characters in a book. But Ms. Levine wraps me up each time. You feel like you know each one, their struggles...

I do hate to have any of the books end. For the record, I have read the first three full novels in this series. Although they could each stand alone, I really do advise reading them in order. Then you get to really know the characters.

Anyway, it was time for Kit and Ivy to get married. The reunion with her parents made it emotional as did the fact that Kit knew Ivy really needed this - even though she didn't know it. I've always loved strong men, and sometimes you just have to let them take over.

What I didn't like (which usually never comes out of my mouth on a Red Team book) is Kit crying. I guess I'm too old school in thought to have men shedding any wetness onto their face.

Of course, I also have to take this moment and pout about Owen. Please ANYONE bu Selena lol. (Nevermind that I've fully volunteered myself for the position lol.)

In the end, this is another MUST read from Ms. Levine.

Book Review: Shattered Valor (Red Team) by Elaine Levine

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 2013

Every step leads her deeper into danger...

Eden Miller has her life arranged exactly as she wants it--until a reunion with her high school BFFs places her in the middle of a turf war with a ruthless prison gang, their terrorist allies, and the hunters tracking them. Her every move draws her deeper into the danger surrounding Ty Bladen and his team of terror fighters, but his seductive charm and engaging smile make her believe his promises of protection.

A secret is a dangerous thing... 

When the terrorists Ty Bladen is tracking infiltrate his remote ranch in Wyoming, he learns the past he buried cannot be so easily escaped. Though he's recovering from a bullet wound he received in Afghanistan and is hunted by an unseen enemy, he knows he can't leave Eden alone to face the danger swirling around her, danger he and his team have brought to her--even if he has to risk letting her near his frozen heart. But when she learns his terrible secret, will she stay or will she run?

Product Details

    File Size: 491 KB

    Print Length: 389 pages

    Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0985420529

    Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

    Publisher: Elaine Levine (November 12, 2013)

    Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

    Language: English

    ASIN: B00AKPFDFW

Review: Ok so. I must again say- cowboy hat on the cover? Ahh well. That's ok.

This time we get to focus on Ty, although all the guys are still around. We also meet Kit's former girlfriend and the daughter he's never met. As with the first book (Rocco's), I feel a connection to the characters and their devotion to each other (If only we could all find friends as dedicated.).

Ty's story is another that tells of tremendous abuse. (Remember, Rocco had PTSD?). His was from his child/teen years. Eden is more than willing to accept and try to help him release the past.

As with book 1, there's suspense and action. There's still the on going war and keeping the town and it's law enforcement safe. And Ms. Levine's made Val an absolute refreshing character in this one (wonder if she'll give me Val in an upcoming book - well, since Kelan seems to be taken?).

Another must read. I'm off to go purchase book 3 - Honor Unraveled.

Book Review: Honor Unraveled (Red Team) by Elaine Levine

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2013

Love Isn't a Battle...

Kit Bolanger, ex-spec ops soldier, has followed the trail of an international drug lord back to his childhood town, the one place he swore never to return. He and his team of terrorist hunters are the only thing standing between the town's residents and the evil threatening them. It doesn't help to know that she's here--the woman who betrayed his trust and shredded his heart.

...It's a War and He's Offering No Quarter

Deciding to put roots down, Ivy Banks has brought her daughter home to the sleepy ranching community of Wolf Creek Bend, Wyoming--the one place where she was certain she'd never run into her high school flame. But he's back, fighting a global enemy and homegrown terrorists in a hidden war that puts their lives and their hearts in jeopardy. He was bad news in high school, and he's even worse news now.

Surrendering to him is not an option...but it's the only thing he'll accept.

Ages: 18 & up (story contains sex, profanity, and violence)

Length: 88K words (approximately 375 pages)

Product Details

    File Size: 461 KB

    Print Length: 394 pages

    Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0985420545

    Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

    Publisher: Elaine Levine (July 27, 2013)

    Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

    Language: English

    ASIN: B00E79VI24

Review: Well, this is book 3 in the series (if you click the author name in the tags down below, it will take you to the first two book reviews). This is also the last one in the series until 2014 :(

In this one, we learn more about Kit (Mandy's brother - and remember; Mandy is also Rocco's girlfriend). He and Ivy have loved one another for years, but her fear of losing him again makes her not want to risk it.

As with the other books, Kit has a trouble. His, like Ty's, was during his childhood and teen years, though very different from what Ty experienced. Once again, you feel for the characters and their struggles. Their fear of stepping into something scarier than the place they already hold.

Once again, Ms. Levine has a winner in this one.

Although, I do have to say, since a girl can change her mind, (previously I'd said I'd love to steal Val) - I'm changing that. After this book, val sort of annoyed me - his charm kind of left me. I'll steal Max - or maybe even Owen instead. :)

Book Review: The Edge of Courage (Red Team) by Elaine Levine ( #military #romance #cowboy #erotic )

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2012

Step into Elaine Levine's exciting new series of alpha warriors--products of the government's secret corps of assassins called the Red Team:

Haunted by memories he cannot reach, stalked by an enemy bent on revenge . . .

Rocco Silas has come home to Wyoming after long years as a Red Team operative in Afghanistan. It isn't easy returning to civilian life, especially burdened as he is with a staggering case of PTSD or hunted as he is by an enemy determined to seek an eye-for-eye--neither of which can he battle until he confronts the truth of what happened one fateful day in the high mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush.

. . . She alone holds the key to his sanity.

Mandy Fielding's dream of opening a therapeutic riding center on her family's ranch is almost within her grasp--until she hires Rocco Silas, a dangerous ex-Spec Ops friend of her brother's. His haunted eyes and passionate touch promise a love she never dared believe possible. Can they confront the truth of his past and build a future together or will the enemy stalking him destroy them both?

Length: Approximately 367 pages

Ages: 18 & up (story contains sex, profanity, and violence)

The Edge of Courage (Red Team) is the first book in a serialized story that is expected to include nine installments. I highly recommend you read this series in order!

Product Details

    File Size: 438 KB

    Print Length: 374 pages

    Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

    Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

    Language: English

    ASIN: B007WXJ0H2

Review: I have no idea how I'm not going to make this review the size of a novella.

I picked up this book based on the cover alone. I didn't read the blurb or any of the reviews. I saw the cowboy - BAM - bought it. Don't let the cover fool you. Even though I've listed cowboy in the tags, it's not what I'd consider a true cowboy romance. This is the story of a "special teams" military man, Rocco. He was deep in for years and he has the PTSD to prove it. He was from the area and grew up on a nearby ranch. But, for me, him putting back on a cowboy hat - it just didn't seem to fit.

That being said, this was a brilliant story. Often when an author has too many things going on, at the end, a reader is left unsatisfied. That's not true with this one. Ms. Levine proves that Rocco can be loved, that he can move on, that he can face his demons with the help of Mandy and some of his great military friends.

The author pulls you in and you feel as emotional as Mandy does (or perhaps it's just me with so many friends that have been in Afghanistan). I could feel her heartbreak at not knowing what to do with him. I even wanted to hug him, the poor guy.

A must have for anyone that enjoys the military genre. Even those who do not, this might be a good first. Lots of hot sex as well.

I bought book 2 first thing this morning (after I'd stayed up almost all night to read this all in one sitting - you won't want to put it down either).