Survival Mode

by Taylor S. Newport

Some missions are too personal to fail.

Medically discharged from the Australian SAS, Tyler Reid struggles to adjust to life as a civilian. When an old friend offers him a high-risk mission to rescue a woman and her son from a ruthless crime boss, Tyler can’t refuse. The assignment is deadly, the enemy relentless, and Tyler's new teammates are strangers. Can he trust them?

As he fights off the enemy, the stakes rise with every move, testing his limits and pushing him to his breaking point. In a world where survival depends on split second choices, failure is not an option.

Genres: Thriller

203 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 26, 2026

About the author

Taylor S Newport is a 2024 ACFW Genesis Contest Finalist and the author of high-octane Christian fiction. Known for blending heart-pounding action with deeply complex, unforgettable characters, she crafts fast-paced adventures that keep readers hooked from the first page to the last. Off the page, Taylor’s happy place is anywhere with mountain views, surrounded by her family and a good dog.

Connect with Taylor, explore her books, and catch her latest releases on Instagram, Facebook, and her website.

Reviews

[Brittany Searfoss]

Tyler’s backstory involving how he began working with the Khatri family was just as interesting and suspenseful as the rest of the series. It was easy for me to sympathize with Tyler and root for him to save Koen’s family from an evil mobster. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series to anyone who enjoys inspirational suspense that focuses on God’s love and grace.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book for the author. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

[Dana]

Prequel to Dauntless Defenders. Such an amazing book. Getting to see Tyler in a different light is interesting. I love this whole series.

Absolutely wonderful work by Taylor S. Newport. If you haven’t read her books yet you’re missing out. Such talent for a young lady as herself. I believe she has a great writing career ahead of her for many years to come.

[Vickie]

Part of the anthology called Beach Read Thrillers, this novella is a gripping story of a woman held captive by the mob in Croatia and their brutal leader Viktor. Elara had fled her native Australia to try to find love and acceptance. She thought she found it with Viktor, even producing a son for them to raise together. Unfortunately, once Viktor starts grooming Rian to be a cruel, vicious taskmaster like him, Elara wants to escape so she calls on her father Koen, a man who was a secret agent before his retirement and who has all kinds of people he can call on to assist Elara. Koen enlists the aid of Von and her team in Croatia and sends them one of his best operatives, a skilled daredevil named Tyler Reid. This novella is so fast paced that the pages sped by as fast as Elara was being pursued by the Rukas, Viktor’s mercenaries. The action is realistic and somewhat scary as their attempts to escape are constantly blocked and danger lurks everywhere. The characters were likable and believable and the plot was engrossing and well written, with an open ending that left me wanting to know more about Tyler and his future. I highly recommend this high-octane suspense thriller that is a prequel to the Dauntless Defenders Series and sets the stage perfectly for the characters and their new missions.
I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Tina Lowery]

Survival Mode is fast-paced, inspiring prelude to the Dauntless Defenders series. Author Taylor Newport has drawn me into a world danger, loss, faith and truth!! I loved how Newport drew me in to a firm understanding of how, and why, Tyler (and his team) operated. This is an amazing addition to the Dauntless Defenders Series that I couldn't put it down. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. Even as this book drew me into a dangerous way of life, it gave me a total new understanding of the characters and the hope to learn more.

[Jesus Beach Girl Reads]

Survival Mode is a welcome prequel to give background on Tyler. Just seeing how he ended up with the team and just understanding him and his complexity was great. Survival Mode is another great story in the Dauntless Defenders series.

[Words And Lore]

Love this series

Tyler Reid is such a great character. The whole series has thrilling action and great characters but Tyler really stands out.

[Amber]

Newport is an author I read regularly and I enjoy her stories. This one did not disappoint! It was great to read Tyler’s backstory and how he came to work with Von. It’s an action packed story that will have you wanting to find out what comes next!

[Riah Grace]

Survival Mode!!
Wow I wasn't expecting this book to feel so much like an action movie!
I actually got stressed at one point while reading it because I had no idea what was going to happen. I genuinely am so excited for the rest of the series XD
I loved how we got a little peak into the how Tyler came to be on the team that he's with in the main books. I actually started reading Line of Fire on Kindle Unlimited (but didn't get far) before getting physical copies of all the existing books. Then I read this one and I think it'll make reading Line of Fire a little bit easier because I'll know the characters more and recognize names and such.
I want more of the Tyler/Koen, father/son relationship that we got snippets of and I hope there's more in the sequels.
Tyler deserves family even when he doesn't want it!! He's a tortured soul who doesn't seem to think he's worthy of love and doesn't want anyone to get close to him for fear they might get hurt :(
Survival Mode had so many great things like:
- awesome action
- a little bit of that father/son duo I mentioned before
- weapons and fighting
- faith
- high-stakes
- villains who are good at being bad (that's an oxymoron lol!)
The only thing that took away from reading is that there were a few acronyms I didn't understand. In the beginning of the book there's a glossary for them so some more should definitely have been added to that list.
Aside from that it was a great read :D

[Renee Helton]

I received a copy of this ARC. My opinions are entirely my own.
Great Story and Wonderful Characters.
Full of action and plot twists. Definitely Recommend.

[Michaela (Reading in the Heartland)]

Having read two books by this author, this story is a bit of a 0.5 for that series where we go back in time and see him get connected up with his “team.” After losing his team in the military and being discharged with a TBI, Tyler feels a bit adrift. When his friend receives a call from his long lost daughter, who is in trouble, he reaches out to Tyler to help find her. As Tyler joins this team in Croatia temporarily, he has to deal with his own uncertainties about his abilities and push back from the members on the team. As things continue to go wrong and bad turns to worse we worry about finding the young lady and her 10 year old son. This is a thriller with a lot of action and gun fights. There is no romance for these characters and any on page intimacy for any characters is level 1.

I received an eARC of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.