Publisher: William Morrow
Date of publication: March 2018
Jina Modell works in Communications for a paramilitary organization, and she really likes it. She likes the money, she likes the coolness factor—and it was very cool, even for Washington, DC. She liked being able to kick terrorist butts without ever leaving the climate-controlled comfort of the control room.
But when Jina displays a really high aptitude for spatial awareness and action, she’s reassigned to work as an on-site drone operator in the field with one of the GO-teams, an elite paramilitary unit. The only problem is she isn’t particularly athletic, to put it mildly, and in order to be fit for the field, she has to learn how to run and swim for miles, jump out of a plane, shoot a gun...or else be out of a job.
Team leader Levi, call sign Ace, doesn’t have much confidence in Jina—who he dubbed Babe as soon as he heard her raspy, sexy voice—making it through the rigors of training. The last thing he needs is some tech geek holding them back from completing a dangerous, covert operation. In the following months, however, no one is more surprised than he when Babe, who hates to sweat, begins to thrive in her new environment, displaying a grit and courage that wins her the admiration of her hardened, battle-worn teammates. What’s even more surprising is that the usually very disciplined GO-team leader can’t stop thinking about kissing her smart, stubborn mouth…or the building chemistry and tension between them.
I have been at a loss to figure out what to say about this latest from one of my favorite authors. I really loved the first book, Troublemaker, but this one, The Woman Left Behind, just didn't measure up. While I did enjoy the overall story, I just didn't love it. It is a sequel to Troublemaker, but you could read this without reading the first one The story involves Jina, a communications employee in a paramilitary company. She is selected to become part of a "Go Team" . She is assigned to Levi's (Ace) team and they must train her to get up to team standard.
I think I would have liked this book more had the first 3/4 of the book not been all about her training. Because that got kind of boring after a while. I mean, I did like reading about her becoming part of the team and what she had to do to get there, but it went on too long. The bigger disappointing part was the "left behind" aspect that doesn't take place until the last 1/4 of the book. It was kind of anti-climactic to be honest. Jina spends way too much time toward the end being upset that she got left behind. But honestly, she really didn't have any reason to feel that way. Given the circumstances, her reaction and resentment was way over blown.
The romance aspect was really non-existent. Levi and Jina have feelings for each other throughout the book, but spend most of the time trying to avoid each other because Levi is Jina's team leader. I did like their HEA because they had known each other for over a yerar at that point, but it could have almost been left out of the book and it would have been fine.
There is a side story with a congress woman who has it out for the whole GO-Team project, but I'm still unclear on her motives. This may go back to something from the first book, but I honestly don't remember. So, while the book was entertaining, I'm not sure I would urge everyone to go out and get it. She has written better romantic suspense.
It sounds like this one didn't really focus on what it promised to deliver.
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