Back on June 15, 2013, I
reviewed a fabulous suspense romance by Jessie Lane – a writing duo – called SECRET
MANEUVERS, the first book in the Ex Ops series. It seems a lot of folks weren’t
too thrilled with the cover, although as I said in my review, once you read it,
you’d understand the strange filter color – well, Jessie Lane decided to give
it a new cover and re-release it with its new showstopper! Feel free to stop by
my review of SECRET MANEUVERS by Jessie Lane to get my thoughts, simply click the title. This is one to
read – whichever cover graces it.
Blurb for SECRET MANEUVERS:
Some mistakes from the
past haunt us forever...
One 'dear John' letter haunts Bobby Baker's every living
moment. It’s the letter he stupidly wrote to his high school sweetheart, Belle,
right after he left to join the Army. The letter that he told her that he
wasn't so sure if they were ready for forever yet. But before he can let her
know that the letter, and his second thoughts, are nothing but a mistake, she
up and disappears from the small Georgia town they were both raised in.
unless fate steps in with a second chance.
Fifteen years later, Belle unknowingly walks back into
Bobby's life when her job as an ATF Agent forces her to work with a group of
men secretly headed by the CIA to help her track down whoever is involved in
funneling black market weapons to a drug cartel in Mexico.
Bobby will use this mission to try and soothe Belle's hurt
feelings while proving to her that their love is still meant for forever. He'll
use every dirty trick he's learned since he joined the Army to maneuver her
back into his life for the long haul. But Belle's not making it easy as she
keeps him at arm's length in the hopes that mistakes of her own never come to
light.
* * * * *
Excerpt from SECRET MANEUVERS:
Belle headed out of the
room first to disappear in the parking lot while the guys proceeded to file out
a few minutes later. Being at the back of the group I missed what made the guys
catcall and laugh until I came into full view of Belle leaned up against a black
jacked up Ford F350 decked out with a ram air hood, brush guard, monster-sized
tires and a banner on the top of the windshield that read ‘G.R.I.T.S.’.
Lucas’s slightly New
York accented voice sounded confused as he asked, “G.R.I.T.S.? Isn’t that like
a food or something?”
Logan clapped him on the
shoulder as barks of laughter echoed in the parking lot. “Naw, buddy. That
stands for ‘Girls Raised In The South’. You could say that Agent Roberts is
showing off her southern pride a bit, that’s all. It’s a damn good thing to be
proud of, too.”
Belle climbed up into
the cab of the truck. Still hanging out of the door a bit she yelled, “Come on
Sullivan brothers. We’re gonna have some fun before we head to the bar!”
Declan and Riley
Sullivan looked wary. “What kind of fun exactly?”
“Muddin’ and Jason
Aldean. Let’s go, baby!” The heavy rumble of her engine came to life as ‘She’s
Country’ blasted out of its open windows.
The Sullivan brothers
looked at each other nervously. Riley spoke in a low voice to Declan, “You
think she’s alright upstairs or should I be worried?” Declan clapped his
brother on the back before hopping up into the passenger side of the truck.
I was insanely jealous
as the truck tore out of the parking lot to head down the highway while the rest
of us piled into our respective vehicles to leave. It almost felt as if she was
trying to rub my nose in one of our best memories. When you lived in a small
southern town, out in the middle of nowhere, muddin’ with your buddies, your
girl, and pilfered beer where you could cut loose and be free was one of the
few options for entertainment. There went my buddies. There went my girl. Here
I still stood, looking like a jackass.
Jaxon watched the
retreating vehicle with a mix of amusement and trepidation. Turning to Sheriff
Jenkins he asked, “Should I be worried about any of that?” His finger pointing
in the direction of where Belle’s truck had already disappeared.
The Sheriff’s easy smile
didn’t seem to convince Jaxon. “Not at all, Commander Wall. Annabelle is
harmless. Swear.”
I snorted. “Tell that to
the guy she knocked unconscious her senior year. He was twice her size.”
Sheriff Jenkins’s
eyebrows shot to his hairline as he turned to face me in the back seat. “You
knew Annabelle in high school?”
My mouth kicked up in a
half smile. “Yeah, you could say that. We grew up in the same small town. Belle
and I were as close as you could get until I left for the Army just after
graduation.”
The Sheriff’s eyebrows
pulled down into an intense expression as something flashed over his face
before he could cover it up. He quickly turned around to start the car. “I’m
just going to turn on the radio. Hope you don’t mind.”
The radio kicked on and
a local country station came on. All conversation in the car stopped. The last
look the Sheriff had made bothered me. There was something there that made my
instincts flare up. The Sheriff knew something. What in the hell could that
possibly be?
* * * * *
About the Author:
Jessie Lane is the
writing team of Crystal Leo and Melissa Pahl. The two sisters-in-law share a
passionate love of naughty romance, cliff hanging suspense, and
out-of-this-world characters that demand your attention, or threaten to slap you
around until you do pay attention to them. Because
 |
| Crystal Leo and Melissa Pahl - aka JESSIE LANE |
really, it is ALL about the
characters. (They’re kind of megalomaniacs – but don’t tell them that we said
that.)
Crystal lives in
Kentucky with her husband, little 7 and 9 year old Rock Chicks in the making,
and her Dad who likes to play the air guitar while listening to George
Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone. Melissa just moved to Minnesota with her husband
and giant furry Rottweiler baby named Yuffi. Crystal is now trying to talk
Melissa into “polar bear” swimming in Lake Superior, but so far Melissa is
adamantly telling her no.
Their first YA novel,
THE BURNING STAR, was released in May 2012. BIG BAD BITE was their second
novel, but their first adult paranormal romance, and released in January 2013.
Their third book, SECRET MANEUVERS, just released this past June, and will be
the start of a new adult contemporary romance series (Ex Ops Series). They are
now working on their next three novels, WALK ON THE STRIPED SIDE (Big Bad Bite
Series #2), STRIPPING HER DEFENSES (Ex Ops Series #2) and THE FROZEN STAR (YA
Star Series #2).With these projects underway, they are looking forward to
showing the rest of the world their crazy stories, heroes and heroines that
often plague their minds until written, and hope you will join them on their
journey!
Happy Reading Everyone!
This is a good one!
TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY:
Signed paperbacks,
custom glow in the dark swag bag, Ex Ops dog tags, $20 gift card – lots of
goodies to win, so use the rafflecopter to enter and Good Luck!
Jessie
Lane is a best-selling author of Paranormal and Contemporary Romance, as well
as, Upper YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy.
