Joint Review – Deadly Descent by Kaylea Cross

Publisher: Carina Press
Publish Date: Out Now!
How we got this book: NetGalley

MinnChica: I’ve been a huge fan of Kaylea Cross since Mandi from Smexybooks reviewed one of her books and recommended it. When I heard Cross was starting a new series with Carina Press, I knew I would have to get my hands on this book. And I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

Quick plot overview: Dev is a pilot and flies medical evacuation missions. She has had a long time crush on Cam, a pararescue and friend of her ex-boyfriend. The two are stationed in Afghanistan together, and although Dev is leery of starting a relationship, things get hot and heavy between them. But when Dev’s helicopter goes down and Cam rushes in to save her, they just might lose each other before they get the chance to start something.

E:  MinnChica asked a question on twitter that was military related I had to chime in with my opinion.  Minn deciding to be pretty brave, having seen me rant about inaccuracies regarding the military, asked if I would be willing to read this and let her know what I thought about this from not just a reader standpoint but from a military reader standpoint.  So since I think it was her turn to push on me I agreed.  I will admit right up front that I was pretty skeptical remembering the titles Minn kept hiding from me during our list book buying spree at Borders going out of business sale 🙁 so sad.  So I started reading and while I rolled my eyes a few times I enjoyed it and never once was tempted to chuck the book or rather the kindle lol.

MinnChica: I am actually really excited to hear what E has to say from a military standpoint, because from a civilian standpoint, I absolutely LOVED this book. And of course, I’m not really going to know what is or is not realistic. A few of the things I love the most about Cross’ writing is that she does such an amazing and incredible job of describing everything that is going on. I honestly think I held my breath the entire scene that Dev’s helicopter was going down. It was so descriptive and gripping, it kept me on the absolute edge of my seat. Add in her strong heroine characters who are strong and feminine at the same time, they are the kind of women I would want to have as a best friend. Plus her heroes are all deliciously Alpha without being dirtbags. What’s not to love already??  😀

E: Like Minn said Ms Cross is a very descriptive writer.  I could tell that she had certainly done her research and while she took some artistic or would it be poetic license it was never enough to make me think that she didn’t take the professions her characters were in seriously.  She touched on some of the social behaviors that tend to occur such as some people getting along better with the opposite sex and having to deal with jealousy, forbidden attraction, survivor’s guilt and a desire to celebrate life.  While she did gloss over a few things, given the constraints of her setting I don’t know how she could have explained what happened and instead left it up to the reader to decide the ‘how’.  One of the things I really liked was during tense situations her characters stayed true to themselves.  Not once did they give up, quit, or decide that someone needed to rescue them.  Instead they did what they could to make a bad situation better and help with their own rescue.  Too many times an otherwise strong heroine falls to pieces when there is a crisis and the hero is around.

MinnChica: Yes, that is definitely something I really enjoy about her books, the constants in each book: the consistency of the characters, the always suspenseful plot, the (to me) constant realistic view of what it must be like while serving in the military. That balance between being a person and a soldier. Every time I put down one of her books I have that much more respect for all the people in the military. One of the other things I really liked was the relationship between Dev and her bunkmates. As women, we know that sometimes other women can be catty and just plain annoying. I liked that the relationship between Dev, Cameron, Maya and Erin was real. They weren’t instant friends, they didn’t stick around through thick and thin, but at the same time they were also there for each other, in their own ways. I can only hope that these women will be the future heroines in the upcoming books!

E: One of the things that always amazed me is how guys who are roommates can spend all that time in the same place and never talk to each other especially if they don’t like each other.  Girls on the other hand, whether they like each other or not, will still talk.  Watching their interaction reminded me of why I refused to attend an all girl’s school to begin with lol.  It seemed really realistic and unfortunately just because you are in the military doesn’t mean you get along with everyone else in the military.  There will always be those who think you should interact in a different way.  Now I don’t know that people would be willing to assist in breaking the rules but they might look the other way, or just deliver a discrete warning.

MinnChica: I will admit though that one of the things that took me by surprise was how easily Dev caved to having a relationship with an enlisted person, more than once… At the beginning of the book she went on and on about how she knew fraternization was wrong and how strict the penalties could be, and yet her first boyfriend Ty was enlisted and although she struggled with whether or not to pursue something with Cam, she didn’t seem to weigh the pros and cons all that much before making her decision. I would think that a woman in her position and her rank and her morals, deciding to risk her career would be a HUGE choice to make, and not one she would take so lightly. But besides that, everything about Cam and Dev’s relationship I loved. Loved, loved, loved. The sexual tension between them was oh so SMOKIN’ HOT!

E: Remember how I mentioned wanting to celebrate life?  Well one of the ways to celebrate life is to indulge in a relationship or just in sex.  When you know that every moment could be your or the person you care about’s last moment people don’t tend to think about career choices as much.  Add in the forbidden fruit aspect and it is a very volatile combination.  Yes, their lack of discretion was one of the things I rolled my eyes about along with the roommate giving them keys to a private area but I also think that Dev wasn’t thinking straight.  She had been through a traumatic event earlier and hadn’t quite recovered, not to imply that she didn’t love Cam or anything like that it is just other things take priority.

MinnChica: All in all, this was another romantic suspense winner for me! I have definitely added Cross to my list of must buy authors after this one! I love the setting, the characters, the romance and just about everything else in this book. I like that Cross goes into the psyche of both our hero and the heroine, as well as the villain. For the romantic suspense fans out there, this is one book you wont want to miss out on!
I give Deadly Descent an A-

E: I certainly enjoyed reading this book.  I don’t tend to read a lot of contemporary military romantic suspense but my hat is off to Ms Cross and the job she did.  Even though I was asked to look at this through my military filter I enjoyed the overall story.  None of her characters appeared to be just two dimensional including the villains which added a lot of depth and richness.   And yes, once MinnChica tells me she has released a sequel I will get it.
I give Deadly Descent a B

 

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