An exceptional story full of scorching hot romance and pulse-pounding action!
***On Sale for $0.99 until October 2 (Then it's $3.99)***
I have never read a hotter, more intense, almost-love scene EVER. As alluded to in the synopsis, Nicole and Eric have to play out an intimate scene as the cover for their real mission. Let me just say that the tension leading up to and the emotions surrounding that scene were just...so...WOW!!!
Tracy DEFINITELY knows how to write a sexy hero! Eric was absolutely perfect, with his good-looks, bravery and vulnerability.
Nicole was very realistic in every way; an independent career-woman who was forced to hide her softer side in order to survive in a male-dominated industry.
The imagery during the action scenes was absolutely phenomenal! I could clearly hear the helicopter blades rotating and feel the wind whipping.
The amount of research Tracy put into this book is absolutely remarkable. While I am no expert, the acronyms and lingo she inserted into the story added a realistic element to it. The unfamiliar words and phrases were accompanied by a convenient hyperlink that takes the reader to a glossary. I loved this, because the definitions weren't awkwardly inserted into the story.
(This book has a "prequel" titled Eightball Two-Three. While I feel this book can be read without reading Eightball, I do recommend reading it before this book!)
All in all, this is one of those books that I stayed up waaaaay too late reading and could not put down because it's THAT good. I couldn't get enough of this book, and I can't wait to read more in this series!!!!!!!
***I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
***On Sale for $0.99 until October 2 (Then it's $3.99)***
I have never read a hotter, more intense, almost-love scene EVER. As alluded to in the synopsis, Nicole and Eric have to play out an intimate scene as the cover for their real mission. Let me just say that the tension leading up to and the emotions surrounding that scene were just...so...WOW!!!
Tracy DEFINITELY knows how to write a sexy hero! Eric was absolutely perfect, with his good-looks, bravery and vulnerability.
Nicole was very realistic in every way; an independent career-woman who was forced to hide her softer side in order to survive in a male-dominated industry.
The imagery during the action scenes was absolutely phenomenal! I could clearly hear the helicopter blades rotating and feel the wind whipping.
The amount of research Tracy put into this book is absolutely remarkable. While I am no expert, the acronyms and lingo she inserted into the story added a realistic element to it. The unfamiliar words and phrases were accompanied by a convenient hyperlink that takes the reader to a glossary. I loved this, because the definitions weren't awkwardly inserted into the story.
(This book has a "prequel" titled Eightball Two-Three. While I feel this book can be read without reading Eightball, I do recommend reading it before this book!)
All in all, this is one of those books that I stayed up waaaaay too late reading and could not put down because it's THAT good. I couldn't get enough of this book, and I can't wait to read more in this series!!!!!!!
***I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A moment later a second rope dropped down in front of Nicole, this one with metal rings woven into it at regular intervals. Setting down the radio, she swung her harness’s lanyard over her shoulder, grabbed the metal clasp on the end of it, then secured herself to one of the rope rings.
Her partner, Ryan Aagaard, charged out of the submarine.
She picked up the radio again. “I’m attached,” she told the pilots in the hovering helicopter.
She started to rise slowly, the harness pulling against her armpits and thighs.
Ryan raced up to the rope and deftly hooked up on the loop two below hers. Bastard.
They both lifted off the ground, dangling like the last two chili peppers on a vine, booted feet swaying. They ascended steadily toward the opening at the top of the cave where they’d just taken down a perp.
She glared down at Aagaard.
His face was turned up to her, his eyes flinty.
The temptation to waffle-iron the design of her boot sole onto his face was nearly impossible to suppress.
As they popped through the top of the rock into open air, she squinted skyward, catching sight of the underside of Eric’s helicopter. After the quiet of the cave, the thunder of rotors was deafening. The wind sucked her black cargo pants to her legs and whipped her ponytail into a snarl.
They flew along, floating in the blue sea of the sky. Within five minutes, they arrived at the small Catalina Island airfield they were using as a base. The helo lowered, dropping Aagaard to his feet—he unhooked—then her boots touched down. She unhooked. The helicopter edged sideways, presumably to land on the large circle painted on the concrete, but she didn’t stick around to watch.
She took off for the tower, long strides eating the pavement.
Ryan was at her side in two paces. “You’ve got the wrong idea about what just happened on that mission, Nicole.”
She squared her chin and walked faster, nearing the doorway into the tower.
“Would you stop—” he 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, tugging off his 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 perp was going to blow us to Kingdom Come. I couldn’t see any other way to handle the situation than what we did. You either, or you would’ve mentioned it. 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 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.
She shot icicles at him with her eyes and deepened her voice to a threatening rasp. “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 you waltzed into my life and pretended to have sex with me.” She planted her hands on her hips. “You wanted me to think about us. All right. I have. Plenty. And I want you out of my life, immediately and permanently. You were in my head that whole mission, making a basket case out of me. I hate myself when I’m around you. I told you that! You bring out the worst in me.”
Eric’s eyes darkened to the shade of a bruise. “I don’t agree,” he said quietly. And like a sucker punch, the realization hit her, stealing her next breath. The pain in his gaze wasn’t for himself and her callous rejection. But for her.
Her voice cracked. “Doesn’t anyone know that I have capabilities? Do I even trust that anymore?” She threw out her arms. “My head is so scrambled and backwards I just let myself get manipulated into flashing my tits at Dynamite Man. Maybe that was the only thing to do. I have no idea. But it feels horrible, and…I’m so sick of prostituting myself.” She looked at Aagaard. “I said I’d find a new partner after this mission was over, so consider me out. Hunt down Alejandro Carrera with someone else, Aagaard, because I need to be officially done with you.”
Ryan’s lips hardened.
She turned her attention back to Eric. “You’re getting the boot, too. This is it, Eric. Leave me alone.”
Into the heated, churning silence, a Cessna’s prop engine whirred by overhead, sounding like a child’s toy.
“No,” Eric said simply.
No? Luckily, her cell vibrated in her pants, because she had no idea how to respond to that. She fished her phone out of the leg pocket of her cargoes and glanced at the screen. The message was from her mother…
As she read it, she felt the blood wash out of her face. “Dios mio,” she breathed in Spanish, and bolted into the tower.
Her partner, Ryan Aagaard, charged out of the submarine.
She picked up the radio again. “I’m attached,” she told the pilots in the hovering helicopter.
She started to rise slowly, the harness pulling against her armpits and thighs.
Ryan raced up to the rope and deftly hooked up on the loop two below hers. Bastard.
They both lifted off the ground, dangling like the last two chili peppers on a vine, booted feet swaying. They ascended steadily toward the opening at the top of the cave where they’d just taken down a perp.
She glared down at Aagaard.
His face was turned up to her, his eyes flinty.
The temptation to waffle-iron the design of her boot sole onto his face was nearly impossible to suppress.
As they popped through the top of the rock into open air, she squinted skyward, catching sight of the underside of Eric’s helicopter. After the quiet of the cave, the thunder of rotors was deafening. The wind sucked her black cargo pants to her legs and whipped her ponytail into a snarl.
They flew along, floating in the blue sea of the sky. Within five minutes, they arrived at the small Catalina Island airfield they were using as a base. The helo lowered, dropping Aagaard to his feet—he unhooked—then her boots touched down. She unhooked. The helicopter edged sideways, presumably to land on the large circle painted on the concrete, but she didn’t stick around to watch.
She took off for the tower, long strides eating the pavement.
Ryan was at her side in two paces. “You’ve got the wrong idea about what just happened on that mission, Nicole.”
She squared her chin and walked faster, nearing the doorway into the tower.
“Would you stop—” he 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, tugging off his 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 perp was going to blow us to Kingdom Come. I couldn’t see any other way to handle the situation than what we did. You either, or you would’ve mentioned it. 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 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.
She shot icicles at him with her eyes and deepened her voice to a threatening rasp. “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 you waltzed into my life and pretended to have sex with me.” She planted her hands on her hips. “You wanted me to think about us. All right. I have. Plenty. And I want you out of my life, immediately and permanently. You were in my head that whole mission, making a basket case out of me. I hate myself when I’m around you. I told you that! You bring out the worst in me.”
Eric’s eyes darkened to the shade of a bruise. “I don’t agree,” he said quietly. And like a sucker punch, the realization hit her, stealing her next breath. The pain in his gaze wasn’t for himself and her callous rejection. But for her.
Her voice cracked. “Doesn’t anyone know that I have capabilities? Do I even trust that anymore?” She threw out her arms. “My head is so scrambled and backwards I just let myself get manipulated into flashing my tits at Dynamite Man. Maybe that was the only thing to do. I have no idea. But it feels horrible, and…I’m so sick of prostituting myself.” She looked at Aagaard. “I said I’d find a new partner after this mission was over, so consider me out. Hunt down Alejandro Carrera with someone else, Aagaard, because I need to be officially done with you.”
Ryan’s lips hardened.
She turned her attention back to Eric. “You’re getting the boot, too. This is it, Eric. Leave me alone.”
Into the heated, churning silence, a Cessna’s prop engine whirred by overhead, sounding like a child’s toy.
“No,” Eric said simply.
No? Luckily, her cell vibrated in her pants, because she had no idea how to respond to that. She fished her phone out of the leg pocket of her cargoes and glanced at the screen. The message was from her mother…
As she read it, she felt the blood wash out of her face. “Dios mio,” she breathed in Spanish, and bolted into the tower.
Only $0.99 until October 2, 2015
(Regular price is $3.99)
(Eightball Two-Three is a prequel to Beyond the Call of Duty )
Ensign Eric O’Dwyer is on the verge of graduating from naval flight training, with only one flight left to complete at training squadron HT-8 “Eighballers,” before he earns himself his wings of gold. The day of his final solo, Eric’s copilot, Ensign Kyle Hammond—a new student on his first hop in a helicopter—is to act as no more than a warm body…
Until everything goes horribly wrong.
Fresh from the cockpit of his near-death solo flight, Eric makes it to graduation, only to find that he is a lone man in a sea of his buddies’ celebrating relatives. He finds solace in the arms of a most unlikely woman the night before shipping out to San Diego…and learns more about himself than he ever planned.
**EIGHTBALL TWO-THREE is an introductory novella to the Wings of Gold series. It gives you an exciting glimpse of the men who will become the heroes of the first two full-length novels. This is not a complete romance story with a happily-ever-after…YET!
This book is absolutely fantastic!
I loved each and every word. From the intense, descriptive, action to the hilarious banter among the pilots to the smoking hot love scene, I thought this was an awesome intro to the Wings of Gold series. (It is just that; an introduction, leaving many unanswered questions which probably get answered in the next book, which I completely expected)
I am about to start the next book in the series, Beyond the Call of Duty, and I just know it's going to be AMAZING!!!
I loved each and every word. From the intense, descriptive, action to the hilarious banter among the pilots to the smoking hot love scene, I thought this was an awesome intro to the Wings of Gold series. (It is just that; an introduction, leaving many unanswered questions which probably get answered in the next book, which I completely expected)
I am about to start the next book in the series, Beyond the Call of Duty, and I just know it's going to be AMAZING!!!
THE RECKONING DAY is a companion short story to BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY for readers already familiar with the story world. This book is offered for FREE to people on Tracy Tappan’s Author Update list (contact the author at Tracy@TracyTappan.com for your copy).
When a secret from Nicole Gamboa’s past is unearthed, will she be made to pay the ultimate price for the sins of another…?
One night at happy hour with her DEA buddies, Nicole disappears from a San Diego restaurant. As she’s dragged into a nightmare, it looks like her dreams of a future with Eric O’Dwyer are going to be shattered forever…or will help come from a most unlikely ally…?
**Credit for the naval officer on the eBook cover goes to Ryan from Fantasy Stock.
Tracy is also the founder and creator of THE CHARACTER COUCH, a reader-focused website designed to help fans keep in touch with their favorite fictional characters. Each month a different reader-selected couple from a broad range of genres is brought into a therapy session to discuss a life challenge…and to reaffirm their love for each other!
To visit THE CHARACTER COUCH, please click here: www.CharacterCouch.com
The first 20 people who fill out this form will receive this AMAZING excerpt from
Beyond the Call of Duty!
Win an eCopy of Beyond the Call of Duty gifted via Amazon.com!
***This prize is being provided by Romance Novel Giveaways***
great review and excerpt. now on my tbr list
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