Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker


Hell or High Water (Deep Six, #1)Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.

I’m going to start my review off with a warning to Key West residents and geography buffs, if you can’t read a book without getting stuck on some of the geographical details that Ms. Walker takes liberty with, then don’t bother – you’ll be missing out on a great book, but you’ll avoid the heartburn. As geography is NOT my strong suit and I actually have no problem with an author shifting the locations of real places to suit his or her story, it was not a sticking point for me. So if you’re a reader who can go with the flow and you enjoy romantic suspense novels, then I suggest you dive right in (pun intended) and enjoy the adventure because Hell or High Water delivers the gut-wrenching action and suspense I’ve come to expect from Ms. Walker’s storytelling…and this time it’s in a much warmer climate.

While fans of Ms. Walker will likely draw parallels between the men of Deep Six and the Black Knights Inc. as in both cases we are dealing with some seriously sexy and dangerous alpha males, this band of ex-SEALs and their salvage company is not a front for a black ops group. Deep Six is an actual salvage company with their eye on finding a sunken treasure before the lease on the island that Leo’s family holds expires. And while you can take the SEAL out of the Navy, you can’t take the SEAL out of these six guys, especially when the request for help comes with a hefty payday that will fund their treasure hunt, but more importantly when it comes from Leo’s “the one that got away” – Agent Olivia Mortier. What follows is a high octane adventure as Deep Six faces off against a band of terrorists and a CIA mole in a race to retrieve the makings for one of the most dangerous chemical weapons known to the military. Of course no Walker novel would be complete without a searing romance and Leo and Olivia seem out to prove that if it’s worth having, it’s worth fighting for in the first book of the series.

As a fan of Ms. Walker’s writing, I was excited when I learned that she was writing a new series (I actually squealed out loud when I read the email). As a resident of Key West for 13 years, my excitement level rose when I learned that it was set on and around the island because seriously, what better place is there to set a novel about treasure hunting ex-SEALs? So forgive me if I seem a bit fangirly because I not only got to read a book set in my backyard, I got to read a book by one of my favorite romantic suspense authors…set in my backyard. All that aside, the author does a great job of introducing the men of Deep Six so that we get to know some better than others in this installment, giving us friends we’ll see in the next installment while leaving an air of mystery around the others to give us even more to look forward to. Not surprisingly – at least not to me – Leo and Olivia proved to be a great match. Their banter was entertaining, their resolve to get the job done was equally matched, and their chemistry was hotter than the Caribbean sun. Leo definitely knew how to make the most of cramped spaces and held nothing back when it came to making sure Olivia was taken care of – physically, emotionally, and sexually. The ending of Hell or High Water was perfect and already has me craving the next book in the series. Well done Ms. Walker, you seem to have created a new series that has the same feel as the Black Knights Inc. without leaving me feeling as though I’ve already read the book. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for the men (and women) of Deep Six.

Check out the Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker Spotlight Tour post on Wicked Reads.


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