Dying to Live

Elite Operatives #4

by Kim Baldwin, Xenia Alexiou

Can you outrun death?Zoe Anderson-Howe's pampered life is abruptly shattered when she's taken hostage by FARC guerrillas while on a business trip to Bogota. While her father struggles to come up with the ransom, the British socialite must endure hardships that test her both mentally and physically.Elite Operative Fetch has been living in the Colombian jungle for six months on a mission to infiltrate the FARC and orchestrate the rescue of western hostages. When Zoe is added to her assignment, Fetch's sense of duty must override the disdain she initially feels for the self-indulgent tabloid queen.The task of freeing Zoe gains new urgency when it appears she may be key in stopping a mysterious new virus that is racing across the globe, killing indiscriminately. The support Fetch counted on is needed elsewhere. Can she get Zoe out of there on her own, and will that be enough to save the millions of lives in peril?Fourth in the romantic intrigue Elite Operatives.

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, LGBT, Action, Crime, Thriller, Mystery

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 15, 2011

About the author

Kim has made her living as a writer for more than three decades, working as an Emmy-winning journalist in network news for twenty years before she began penning fiction. She resides in a national forest in Michigan, with few neighbors and a long drive to get to the nearest airport, movie theater, or ethnic restaurant. She never imagined herself a novelist, her first book, Hunter’s Pursuit, was written as a way to fight off cabin fever during a long winter and was sent off to a publisher at the encouragement of friends. The positive feedback she received from readers hooked her to continue writing more romantic lesbian adventures.
Travel is a major obsession. Kim first went to Europe at age fourteen, traveling with her parents on a five week excursion through a dozen countries. Four years later, she returned as part of a singing and dancing troupe, performing in town squares and castles and staying with local families.
The decades since have been filled with many more far-flung excursions... riding a camel at the Pyramids of Giza, crossing the U.N. green line at Cyprus, dogsledding above the Arctic Circle in Alaska, watching Paris awaken from atop Notre Dame Cathedral, motorcycling the Blue Ridge parkway, watching shuttles launch from a kayak near Cape Canaveral, skiing Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia, climbing Diamondhead in Hawaii. Her travels and journalism background provide great fodder for her novels. And her younger years in community theater have paid off in her new passion--narrating audiobooks.
Kim is a member of PAN (Published Author’s Network), Romance Writers of America, and the Rainbow Romance Writers, Chapter #217 of the RWA. She's also a 2008 Recipient of an Alice B. Readers Appreciation Award The Alice B. Medal: This award is given annually to living writers who have careers distinguished by consistently well-written stories about lesbians. The award is given once, only, in appreciation of career achievement. (from the author's website)

Reviews

[Justina Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fourth book in the ‘Elite Operatives’ series overwhelmed my senses and fears with its two main story threads. Both were devastating and difficult to get my mind around. However, they were brilliant foundations to weave the primary love story and coordinated efforts from previously spot-lighted EOO operatives in a panic-level coordinated rush to save the world. Really! I was both exhausted and exhilarated by this book and once again, it is not to be missed!

Fletch is unlike any of the previous operatives from earlier books. She is a 100% dedicated soldier working primarily alone under harsh and trying circumstances. Early in the book she suffers a devastating loss yet she diligently pursues completing her mission under incredibly trying circumstances. Her feelings for Zoe were deliciously diverse and definitely added to my enjoyment of this book.

Zoe Anderson-Howe is the classic spoiled rich girl but with some amazing hidden depths that come to light. Her rich girl exploits are all over the tabloids and that truly stresses out her father. Her badass attitude does not serve her very well when her life takes a major turn for the horrible. To say she goes through a significant life change during her trying ordeal is an understatement plus it is a gem of an evolution that made me really like Zoe a whole bunch. Her evolving feelings for Fletch created an additional sparkling plus to my enjoyment of this book.

I continue to be totally amazed at how spectacular the Elite Operative series is. I can tell now these books should be read in order although I thoroughly enjoyed book six without the benefit of having read books one through five. Since earlier primary couples play an important part in the push to save the world in book four, this is the first book that would be harder to enjoy as much without having read the previous stories. It would be wonderfully startling and possibly a super boost to women everywhere, if one or all of these books could be presented in a visual form. I feel like I might be one of the biggest fan on the planet of this series!



NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Jae Jae]

The novel is well-researched with good action scenes. A lot of different characters from previous novels in the series are mentioned, along with their cover names and the names of their partners, which made it really hard to figure out who's who.

[susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg.

The book are getting g better as the series goes on. This one had me on the edge of my seat, in tears, heart broken and angry at the end. I thought the storyline of the guerrilla camp and the virus that was set free was great. I didn't know which way I was going. Off to read book 5 Demons forever. I definitely recommend this book.

[Hud-c · Rating 4 out of 5]

DATE STARTED & FINISHED: JAN 26

Its been a week. And I just can't help but read the whole Elite Operatives series.

So this one, book 4, I'm quite surprise by the way it was written. Book 3 had me on the edge of my seat because the epilogue made my eyes bulge. I got this feeling that I JUST HAVE TO GET ON AND PICK BOOK 4. 'Cause if I didn't I'll be restless for a week. Curse these authors for creating this series. IM JUST KIDDING Kim & Xenia. I love the series and the two of you.

So Book 4 - Dying to Live takes us to a world devastated with a pandemic. Millions are dying to a new mutated strain of H1N1 virus. (That got me scared a bit, you know, thinking about the cases of SARS and bird-flu in my country) In a jungle, Fetch a.k.a Giana of Elite Operatives Organization has been on a infiltration mission inside the Colombian guerrillas army. For six months, Fetch served as the medic of the FARC; secretly finding the location of her targets - the ones she intended to rescue. But a series of event including the outbreak of a pandemic and the kidnapping of British socialite Zoe Anderson-Howe. Fetch has her mission put into setback and now must include Zoe - the woman she despise in the rescue. As usual, there's an undeniable attraction between are two girls in here. But the thing that's new in this book, is that the seriousness of the dialogues and the situation EOO and the whole world is in. Although this is Fetch book, we get a glimpse also of other EO agents and their lives and how they're coping with the problem the world is facing. That's what make this interesting. The authors put on other elements the readers would want to read. Although, I'm not much pulled by Zoe and Fetch tandem, they're still an interesting couple because their case is unusual. For other EO stories before, we see the women bantering with flirtatious comments & retorts. This isn't the case for Fetch and Zoe. As I said earlier their conversations is more personal, reflective & serious.

I think the series is growing. And I praise the authors for trying to write differently from their style in the three early books of Elite Operatives series

3.75 stars

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is (in my opinion) the best of the Elite series so far.

While the setup in each book is the same (I.e. super spy not looking for love, finds herself falling helplessly in love with someone outside of the organisation and in the middle of a major crime/terrorist conspiracy) they are so well written and paced that I become completely carried along. This is not great literature, but a highly enjoyable thriller and page turner that provides some welcome relief from reality.

This particular novel has become my favourite of the series because of the sheer brio of the plot.

Bravo to the authors, looking forward to the others in the series and the resolution of the cliffhanger ending of this book.

[Debra Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read. The best of the series so far. I hope the stories go on forever.

[Dide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome, thrilling, romantic, captivating, suspense filled etc.
I think I should be giving this 4.5 star rating.
Certainly will be reading this again in the future.

[wsuds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, although the striking similarities between the pandemic in this story and our current pandemic really caught me off guard at times.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the best of the series so far. It seems as though the recipe that our authors have been working on has finally been perfected. By book three, i started getting bored and thinking to myself how the 'operative x' meets 'beautiful girl y' and has the only 'intimate' relationship of their life was getting old. luckily, i had already purchased this book before deciding to give the series a break. Though, admittedly, i was slightly intrigued by the unmentioned stuff hinted on by the end of book 3. That back-story intrigue was the best part of book 3 for me, it gave the story of the characters some depth.

This book, picks up on that thread and expands on it perfectly. By including the characters and stories we've met in previous books in the series, we get more tangible connection to the characters. Allowing us to feel like we are a part of a family not just strangers watching another anonymous 'operative x'...
a couple other reviewers mentioned this as a negative point because they had not read the other books in the series, but hell, that's to be expected if you haven't. duh. read the other books first, dont pick up in the middle. This familiarity with the characters and the intriguing back-story and connection of each is definitely what makes this book the best of the series. It strikes a more realistic emotion chord than the others so far.

The only drawback that bugged me, was the unrealistic 'romance' of 'operative x' and 'beautiful girl y'. which made the supposed main characters not so interesting to me. I found myself much more interested and invested in what was happening with the other parts of the story around the world. And the emotional depth of all of that definitely helped make this keep 5 stars despite the 'yeah right' aspect of the 'no way in hell' jungle romance. (i'm sorry but shopping as a sport does not prepare one for traveling by foot for 4 days straight, through a jungle, uphill.)

[Vickie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was aimlessly sifting through Goodreads and this book came up somewhere, and it had a pretty high rating so I thought I'd give my eReader a dust-off and enjoy some light reading

This is the 3rd book in a series I believe, so while it is not necessary to read the first two since the majority of the book revolves around two new leads, I did miss out on pretty much a quarter of the book because I had no connection or knowledge of the periphery characters.

The strength of this book is from the plot. It is suspenseful enough and has enough going on that it keeps you interested. A lot like Contagion, except it doesn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation as much as the movie did. It's easy to follow and informed enough about the issues it follows. It actually could have been a much longer book if it fleshed out the details as much as I'd prefer; but then again that would make it less of an easy read.

While I liked how Zoe developed, I felt that Fetch was a little bit bare in terms of character. It would have been nice to see Fetch change a bit more as opposed to relenting/getting over a past trauma, which was not a situation I felt was duly described, at least in the way that showed me who Fetch was.

Anway, to say that this book was OK is pretty much my best description. Not bad. I might check out the first book so I can know the other characters, who seemed interesting.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole Elite Operatives series has been excellent, but "Dying To Live" is the best of them all. The story of life in the guerrilla camps was actually affecting and disturbing in ways you wouldn't expect from the usual offerings you find in the lesbian romance/thriller genre. I was able to feel the hopelessness of the hostages and it stayed with me for several days afterward. Very impressive I have to say. As to the heroine, Fetch is my favorite of the operatives (with Jack a close second). She hasn't lost too much of her soul, as I felt with Domino. She isn't a thrill seeker with a childish streak like Allegro. And she is just all around more grown up than Lynx. Her journey to complete her mission is arduous and you can feel it slowly grind her down, but she never loses her will to succeed. Zoe is a strong character as well once you get to know her and her relationship with Fetch moves forward believably, building to my favorite scene of consummation in the series. Very hot stuff and well earned.

If you're a fan of this genre at all, I highly recommend this book, although I also recommend the whole series and as others have said, reading them first will make this even better.

[Lindsey Stock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth book is by far the weakest of the series, but it is still a good read. I just found the two main characters slightly irksome at times, but the plot is still intriguing and action packed, and the setting is very different from the rest of the series so the girl-meets-girl-while-on-a-secret-mission formula hasn't grown old at all, at least not to me. Part of this is because the characters in each novel are all so different from each other - they have their own unique personalities and motivations. I didn't find the plot or characters in this one quite as strong or convincing as the previous books but it was still a fun read, and sets up the plot for the next book in the series which I absolutely cannot wait for.

[Artemis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so　I really like that cocky lunatic, Allegro.

This is the best book of the series yet because it involved everyone and is super intense and raw and just awesome.

I hated and loved the fact that the authors played with me. I mean, it's like they were playing a lethal kind of eeny meeny miny mo where the unfortunate one they point to is the one to land in trouble next while all the others get to be worried sick over her. It's thrilling, yes, but it really made me want to pull out an imaginary gun and figuratively shoot people who are hurting these women.

AND WHY IS THIS STORY ENDING WITH A CLIFFHANGER???

[D. Omars · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book for the series. It had the great suspense that the other books could not rival, the romance was interesting and you could see the previous characters. This story was a little more interesting that the other books because it becomes emotional. The problem was that it didn't have as much action as the other books. The fights were pretty short and seems to focus more on traveling and escaping than anything else. In the end, it was a good book and I can't wait to read the other one in the series.

[Mariah Lebron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've gotten as far as the 5th book. (I started reading them in order) But this one is my favorite in the series so far. So much was going on and just absolutely loved it. I had many personal things going on as well as action. But what I loved as well was the love/sex scene. For me that was definitely my favorite part. More graphic and detailed than previous books in the series. This was a great book and led to the next one 'Demons are Forever' which is also a great read.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this part is just as good as Part 1. And that part was the best so far. This book had a pretty interesting setting, the Colombian jungle. Fetch and Zoe were characters that worked very well. Part 4 again shows how good the series is, and how great the quality is, and remains throughout the entire series!

[Farah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, I have to say this book was the most I enjoyed out of the last four installments. It had so many emotions. The last few chapters were the hardest to read because I felt so attached to the book. I can't wait to start reading the 5th series.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2011 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one yet.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fave of the series!