Suburban Task Force: A Jade Lydell Novel

by Addison Towne

Suburban Task Force is a humor filled, high octane, action-comedy. It follows Jade Lydell, who at thirty one finds herself living the surreal life of a married suburbanite. Her simple, and now materialistic days are busy with shopping, drinking and playing with couples that live the same high-end lifestyle. It takes a home invasion scare and a co-workers brutal mugging to wake Jade from her suburban slumber. The adventure begins when she and her two best friends forgo an uplifting spa retreat for an intense tactical, gun and self defense weekend, all without their husbands’ knowledge. Upon their return, feeling rejuvenated and proud, the women try to re-adapt to their suburban lifestyles. Not so easy when you have to attend a VIP party on Catalina Island with the who’s who of Hollywood and Politics. Without warning, the island is taken hostage by a rogue terrorist group. With the men and women separated, and all outside communication cut off, Jade and her friends feel their only hope is to use their combined talents and outlandish movie knowledge to outsmart their captors. Comedy and daring action ensue as the three women, with one weekend of self defense training, try to lead an all out attack against those holding their loved ones hostage.

Genres: Chick Lit, Mystery, Fiction, Adventure, Humor, Contemporary, Action

154 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2012

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suburban housewives become female Rambos!

After an attempted house invasion, suburban housewife Jade Lydell gets her two best friends, Chloe and Suzie, to sign up with her for a weekend of self-defense and survival classes. Little do they know that the tactics they learned will be put to good use!

When the ladies and their husbands attend a VIP affair on Catalina Island, a rogue terrorist group takes the party guests hostage. When the men and women are separated and all outside communication is cut off, the Suburban Task Force is born, and it's up to Jade, Chloe and Suzie to use their newly found survival and self-defense tactics to save the hostages from their captors!

Suburban Task Force is a fun action-comedy that is filled with humor and adventure that will keep you entertained. Author Addison Townes weaves a comical tale told in the first person narrative by the main character, Jade Lydell. The reader is taken along for the ride as Jade unfolds the three suburban housewives wacky adventures in a story that is so far-fetched, you can't help but sit back and just enjoy it as if you were watching an action-adventure movie. Sometimes a story comes along that is just meant to be fun and provide an escape, and Suburban Task Force is that story. The story is action-packed with enough feats, foibles, humorous plot twists, and laugh-out-loud moments that will easily keep you turning the pages.

Suburban Task Force is an entertaining story that blends a mixture of chick lit with action-comedy told from a humorous and sassy women's perspective.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...

[MommySnarksALot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so glad that I didn't spend any money on this book. the plot was ok and I actually chuckled a few times, but mostly I couldn't wait to be done reading. the book's biggest problem was the obvious lack of an editor. the author continually referred to the main characters as "chics" when she clearly meant "chicks" and used "your" instead of "you're" so many times I thought my eyes would bleed. again, while the story was ok, the poor writing will definitely keep me from reading anything else by this author.

[Anne Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get through this book. I would have thought it was written by a 13 year old girl....or Valley Girl. I tried to give it a chance but it didn't get any better for me. I found the writing style annoying and the story line so far fetched that it wasn't even entertaining. The characters annoyed me more than engaged me and that is why I didn't keep reading to find out what happens to them all. Ultimately I was very glad this was a freebie.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad this was a loaner 'cause if I'd paid money for this, I'd be mad. It read like a high schooler wrote it, with entirely too many ! throughout. The characters alternated between being shallow & childish to producing outlandish plots straight from movies to overcome North Korean terrorists. All the emotions felt very superficial and the characters seemed cliched.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes it was an unbelievable story line, but entertaining. Quick read.

[Belynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book - want to read more in the series

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining. Loved it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, funny, adventure story where real women become unlikely heroes. A great by the fire or beach read.

[Emilie Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down one of the best, silliest, girl power books that I have ever read.

[Taylor Ashbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the characters and the adventure. Unfortunately, it is in need of some serious proofreading. So many errors were frustrating and distracting - and sometimes quite confusing. Really want to encourage the writer and/or publisher to invest in a good proofreader and corrections for an update. The story is a blast. It is a shame that it ends up coming off as unprofessional.

[Janette Malcolm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

The book was slow. I was halfway through and about to put it down when it finally became interesting. Also there was to much internal dialog happening. For me it is a 2 star book at best and that's only because the end was more fast pace.

[Dawn Kartanowicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy premise, but man, a lot of laugh out loud lines!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprising

I truly enjoyed this read. The plot was pleasantly surprising. I appreciated the female comraderie and the action was fun too.

[Melissa Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read!!

[Stacy Sabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review- Suburban Task Force by Addison Towne

Jade and her friends, Chloe and Suzie, have settled in the suburbs. Jade never thought her life would come to that. However she finds herself designing jeans with Chloe, driving an SUV and shopping for designer labels.
When someone she knows is assaulted and mugged, she needs to do something more. She and her friends sign up for tactical and weapon defense classes one weekend in Arizona. They spend four days learning how to defend themselves and shoot. They feel empowered and strong. Never would they think they would do such a thing but in doing so they feel alive and full of purpose.
Then when the girls and their husbands go to Catalina Island for a party held by a neighbor, they are placed in a dangerous situation. Remembering what they learned in the heat of the situation helps them in ways they never expected.
This was a funny story. I loved the characters. I would find myself laughing out loud at some of the thoughts or conversations going on in the story. These girls would crack me up. I could really relate and imagine them as real people.
The tactical training was interesting. I like how the author made you fully aware of what they learned and how they felt. Some of the details the author included really made the scenes come alive.
I also liked how the author did the same in Catalina. Jade would express her mixed emotions, confusion, fear, and relief in such a way that it was believable. Of course the plot was a bit unrealistic but they were given lots of luck. They also had a lot of movies to pull information from thanks to Jade.
It was a unique story filled with humor, suspense, fear and strength. I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addison Towne is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Suburban Task Force. This book really took me out of my real life and deposited me right in with the characters. The MC is Jade Lydell, a thirty-year old suburban wife living in an identical house as her friends and enjoying game nights with other couples. A home invasion scare makes Jade want to feel better protected, so she signs up herself and two girlfriends for gun safety and all around self-defense courses. The ladies leave the weekend feeling pretty good should they ever enter a situation where they can put their knowledge to good use...but has no idea how soon – and how extreme – that situation will be.

While at a VIP party on Catalina Island filled with celebrities and politicians, the women find themselves in a surreal situation – taken hostage by a rogue terrorist group. The men and women get separated, all outside communication is cut off, and there are already homicide victims. Jade and friends band together to try to do the unthinkable – make it out alive and help free the hostages. I was holding my breath multiple times while reading all the hostage chapters. Even though if I really think about it the plot can seem a bit unbelievable, I was still highly entertained throughout. The ending was particularly my favorite, and I was speeding through the chapters to see how the situation would end. I think action-packed is a great way to describe this book, and I enjoyed it and look forward to more from Addison Towne!

[Laura Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and funny, Suburban Task Force was a clever take on the women's literature genre with plenty of action for fans of suspense. The story's greatest strength definitely came from the premise, which was unusual and fun.

I also enjoyed the dialogue. The women -- and the men in their lives -- were down right funny once they got each other going.

The story moved quickly and was an entertaining, light read. I laughed out loud plenty and would suggest this for anyone looking for a little comedy mixed with intrigue.

What made the story especially entertaining was watching this group of women bounce between their real lives in suburbia and their covert ops-like task force. Jade and her friends made for an interesting group of characters. At times, they were not always the most likeable, which is usually a problem for me. However, their shenanigans and most of their actions made up for it.

Ultimately, I found myself rooting for them, which is what matters in the end.

The style of writing -- namely the point of view and voice -- changes at times, so be prepared to switch your frame of thinking. That's not a bad thing, mind you: different can be good.

Towne definitely has a unique story on her hands, here.The mix of suspense, humor and often silly women had me flipping the pages to the end. I'd be glad to see what messes these women can get into in the future.

Review originally posted at www.change-the-word.blogspot.com.

[Michelle Kitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so different from anything I've ever read before that I find it impossible to compare it to anything else. I was startled at first when I found it was written in the first person, present tense point of view. Once I got past my initial surprise, I was laughing out loud within the first few pages.

Most of the story is told by Jade, a California, suburban, house wife. She ends up convincing her friends, Chloe and Suzie, to skip a spa weekend to go train for self defense. They get to put their new skills to work when they're taken hostage by terrorists. The story does take a little serious turn here but there is still comic relief as the women try to cope with the situation.

There is an odd point in the story where several passages are in the third person point of view of another character. Although this does help to explain events, it felt awkward. The sections aren't long though so it doesn't take away from the overall feel of the book.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this. I couldn't wait to get back to it to find out what the ladies would do next. I earned quite a few glances from my husband when I couldn't help laughing out loud. It was a great escape and I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys some butt-kicking ladies taking control.

[Mark Polino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving Suburban Task Force 3.5 stars. Since I can't do that in Goodreads I have to decide, 3 or 4. I'm going with 4 on the strength of the story. Its fun and light. If poured Clueless, Sex and the City and Die Hard into a story you would end up with this suburban housewife butt kicking tale.

But, the book desperately needs and editor. There is a pile of grammatical errors, primarily wrong words (there vs their), and odd punctuation choices including a ridiculous number of dashes. There are parts of the story that could use some tightening too. With that, this is would be a great book.

[Sharon Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, liked the plot line and liked the characters although I had to suspend belief pretty thoroughly.

Fairly predictable storyline and once I got past the 'suburban housewife' introduction, the pace picked up and carried well. My only criticism was that it couldn't quite seem to make up it's mind whether it wanted to be a tough-chick/ kick ass hardline book or wind along lighter entertainment lines and the characters tended to wander a bit between those two extremes as well.

Overall, entertaining read for a hot summer afternoon.

[Linda S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the plot was entertaining and a bit different from the other books I read. The heroines are quite funny and charming, but more important really become fearless over the course of the story. However, there were many things in the book that could have benefited from a good editor. (Chick is commonly spelled chic; you're is written as your; and some sentence fragments appeared from place to place. If that doesn't drive you crazy, then I suggest reading the book. It certainly was worth the $0.00 I paid for it from the kindle store.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for free via a recommendation from Pixel of Ink. I had started reading it some time ago and only just finished it.

This is a fun, nonsensical, fluffy story that strangely enough has a good bit of gore and violence to it as well. The POV character, Jade, is sarcastic with a wide range of movie knowledge that she uses to a bewildering benefit in an incredibly ridiculous scenario.

In fact, ridiculous sums up a good portion of this book. If that's what you're in the mood for, this book delivers quite satisfactorily.

[Tabitha Ormiston-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, and would make an excellent movie too, in fact it cries out to be made into a movie.

For some reason the proofreader seems to have given up on the job one chapter before the end. The last chapter was full of inappropriately placed apostrophes. I've said it before and I'll say it again - learn to touch type, writers. Don't dictate. There's a reason these people can't get a better job than dictaphone typist.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book all the way to the last line. Once you get past the rambling thoughts of the first person (she is a woman of course, and we do do a lot of thinking and rambling), its a great book. Far-fetched, of course. But keeps you curious and anxious all the way through. Loved it.

The kindle version definitely had a lot of mis-typed words (your vs you're, etc) and quotations when it's not needed, and sometimes no ending quotations at all. But on d you get past that its good.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having recently finished a course in self-protection, Jade and her friends Suzie and Chloe have a chance to put their lessons to good use. The three of them along with their husbands are taken captive along with the other attendees at an event they were invited to. They soon find themselves up against two Korean soldiers on their way to escape.

I liked this up until the Rambo-style action.

[Rebecca Gernon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self published book that does not succeed in being a real crime drama or a spoof. Many parts of the plot were not believable. Far to much stuff that does not matter. Needed to read 25% of the book before the point of the story was revealed. Why did I keep reading....just to see how long I would have to read before something happened. Good if stick in an airport.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
This book is in need of a good edit. Part of the issue may have been my Kindle Fire, but there were some dialogue problems that were distracting and lowered the overall score. If it was edited, this would easily be a 4-4.5 star book.
The characters were great and dealt with a heavy topic in a light-hearted way.

[Chanouel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous story line. You will need to seriously suspend belief to get through this book. Written in the first person, the narrator feels like one of those people you meet for the first time who talk too much and are way too friendly in an awkward way.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. I only made it about 1/5 of the way through & had to quit. The writing is horrendous, the spelling worse & I cannot identify with any of the shallow, self-obsessed characters. Glad I got this for free, because if I had paid for it, I would ask for a refund.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridiculous storyline, lots of cursing, but an entertaining book