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Honor Guard Series #2
The Challenge
The Challenge between Ellie Ryan and Vince Corelli had been tough. It was both mentally and physically exhausting, not to mention overloaded with sexual tension. In the end, Ellie exited victorious as the test pilot of the brand new XH8 helicopter, Vince was offered a high paying private sector job, and they finally allow themselves one night of passion before going their separate ways.
Months later, Ellie’s crew has been murdered and the prototype helicopter she was piloting hijacked. All evidence leads to her involvement in a deadly terrorist game. Her only hope of survival is to open herself up and accept help, if it arrives in time.
Vince, a Resolutions operative, is sent to retrieve the XH8 from Colombia and deal with the woman the U.S. military believes to be behind the plot to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, but will he be able to overcome his trust issues in time to prove Ellie’s innocence?
Months later, Ellie’s crew has been murdered and the prototype helicopter she was piloting hijacked. All evidence leads to her involvement in a deadly terrorist game. Her only hope of survival is to open herself up and accept help, if it arrives in time.
Vince, a Resolutions operative, is sent to retrieve the XH8 from Colombia and deal with the woman the U.S. military believes to be behind the plot to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, but will he be able to overcome his trust issues in time to prove Ellie’s innocence?
- GenresRomance
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 21, 2016
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Teri Riggs
35 books290 followers Teri Riggs was destined to be a writer. As a small girl she didn’t read bedtime stories, she made up her own. Who needed Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs when there were so many great tales bouncing around in her head? When she grew up and became a mother to three little girls, she continued the tradition of making up bedtime stories. On the occasions she chose to tell conventional fairytales, Teri usually gave them a bit of tweaking here and there or added a new ending. Her girls loved it.
After her daughters had the nerve to actually grow up and leave home, Teri discovered she had a passion for writing and jumped right in. It came as no surprise she chose to write mysteries and happily-ever-after’s since that’s the genres she loves to read.
Teri lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, one of her daughters and two dogs that seem to think they rule the world. And some days Teri thinks maybe they do.
Teri still frequently tells herself stories as she falls asleep. The only difference now is she wakes up the next morning and turns her bedtime stories into books.
After her daughters had the nerve to actually grow up and leave home, Teri discovered she had a passion for writing and jumped right in. It came as no surprise she chose to write mysteries and happily-ever-after’s since that’s the genres she loves to read.
Teri lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, one of her daughters and two dogs that seem to think they rule the world. And some days Teri thinks maybe they do.
Teri still frequently tells herself stories as she falls asleep. The only difference now is she wakes up the next morning and turns her bedtime stories into books.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 30, 2016
4.5/5.0
A couple TSTL heroine moments but truly top notch romantic suspense!
*steamy*
A couple TSTL heroine moments but truly top notch romantic suspense!
*steamy*
July 7, 2016
The Challenge
by Terri Riggs made for an interesting read. But I have mixed views about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 50-60% or so of the book, but after that not so much.
The Challenge tells the story of Ellie Ryan and Vince Corelli, two pilots in the military. They worked together and competed with each other to win the position of the test pilot for the military's latest prototype, XH8 helicopter. After months of gruelling training, exhaustion and some sexual tension, Ellie emerges as the winner.
After months of sexual tension, Ellie and Vince decide to give in to their passion and share a hot night together. Fast forward six months, Ellie and her crew is on their first mission with the XH8 prototype. She soon lands in trouble when her crew is murdered and the suspicion falls on her. She is also forced to help the terrorists to save her family. With all the evidence pointed against her and with no one on her side, Ellie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence.
After Ellie and the XH8 go missing, Resolutions Inc. is assigned the job to the prototype and Ellie back. Vince is heading the extraction team to Colombia. He is a man with serious trust issues, but the question is, if he will be able to overcome in time to help Ellie and prove her innocence.
The Challenge is quite true to the romantic suspense genre. The suspense in the book is definitely gripping and keeps you on your toes. The best part is that the suspense is unpredictable, though there were a few loose ends.
The chemistry between the lead characters is palpable and hot as hell. You only need to see them together and you know they are burning up the pages. Though the one shortcoming in the romance section, that I found, is the lack of growth in the relationship.
Ellie and Vince shared one night, after which he left without as much as a goodbye. There has been no interaction between them since that night. They only meet again when Ellie is kidnapped and Vince goes to rescue her. I saw no growth in their relationship. They went from zero to sixty. Vince is ambiguous about Ellie. On one hand he is sure that she can’t be a traitor, but a few smartly said words from the wrong person is enough to make him doubt her. He never even gives her the chance to explain.
Ellie on her part tries to tell Vince the truth, tries to explain her reasons for helping the terrorists, and is rightly upset when without any explanations, Vince believes her to be a traitor. Ellie too subsequently decides to give zero explanation seeing Vince’s lack of trust in her, and I don’t fault her for that. But not even half- an hour later, she is fantasising about the guy and ends up sleeping with him. In enemy territory, where people are literally hunting them. For two very smart people, this seems like a not so smart decision.
Vince on his part grovels and begs for forgiveness upon learning the truth. And suddenly from believing she is a traitor, he goes on to claim his absolute trust in Ellie and his unshakeable love to her. Both Ellie and Vince go from zero to sixty in a matter of minutes and they end up giving me a whiplash.
There are a few loose holes in the story too, as I previously mentioned. In the course of the novel, we learn that Ellie has been framed, but we never find out why or how long it was going on for. We get no explanations as to how she was framed, which leaves the end of the book somewhat anticlimactic. Also, I would have loved to know how the families of Ellie’s dead crew were doing, especially considering Ellie had a good relationship with them.
Both Ellie and Vince were strong, kick-ass characters, but some of their actions had me questioning their priorities. For the most part, the book is enjoyable. I love Ellie’s chemistry and banter with her team. So much so, that I was expecting a book for each of them. It was fun and engaging. I even love how much Ellie loves her sister Emma and the lengths she goes to protect her and make her happy. Vince and his team too share a great rapport and Cade ended up being one of my favourites due to his antics.
Overall the book was really good, but it could use a little more work.
The Challenge tells the story of Ellie Ryan and Vince Corelli, two pilots in the military. They worked together and competed with each other to win the position of the test pilot for the military's latest prototype, XH8 helicopter. After months of gruelling training, exhaustion and some sexual tension, Ellie emerges as the winner.
After months of sexual tension, Ellie and Vince decide to give in to their passion and share a hot night together. Fast forward six months, Ellie and her crew is on their first mission with the XH8 prototype. She soon lands in trouble when her crew is murdered and the suspicion falls on her. She is also forced to help the terrorists to save her family. With all the evidence pointed against her and with no one on her side, Ellie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence.
After Ellie and the XH8 go missing, Resolutions Inc. is assigned the job to the prototype and Ellie back. Vince is heading the extraction team to Colombia. He is a man with serious trust issues, but the question is, if he will be able to overcome in time to help Ellie and prove her innocence.
The Challenge is quite true to the romantic suspense genre. The suspense in the book is definitely gripping and keeps you on your toes. The best part is that the suspense is unpredictable, though there were a few loose ends.
The chemistry between the lead characters is palpable and hot as hell. You only need to see them together and you know they are burning up the pages. Though the one shortcoming in the romance section, that I found, is the lack of growth in the relationship.
Ellie and Vince shared one night, after which he left without as much as a goodbye. There has been no interaction between them since that night. They only meet again when Ellie is kidnapped and Vince goes to rescue her. I saw no growth in their relationship. They went from zero to sixty. Vince is ambiguous about Ellie. On one hand he is sure that she can’t be a traitor, but a few smartly said words from the wrong person is enough to make him doubt her. He never even gives her the chance to explain.
Ellie on her part tries to tell Vince the truth, tries to explain her reasons for helping the terrorists, and is rightly upset when without any explanations, Vince believes her to be a traitor. Ellie too subsequently decides to give zero explanation seeing Vince’s lack of trust in her, and I don’t fault her for that. But not even half- an hour later, she is fantasising about the guy and ends up sleeping with him. In enemy territory, where people are literally hunting them. For two very smart people, this seems like a not so smart decision.
Vince on his part grovels and begs for forgiveness upon learning the truth. And suddenly from believing she is a traitor, he goes on to claim his absolute trust in Ellie and his unshakeable love to her. Both Ellie and Vince go from zero to sixty in a matter of minutes and they end up giving me a whiplash.
There are a few loose holes in the story too, as I previously mentioned. In the course of the novel, we learn that Ellie has been framed, but we never find out why or how long it was going on for. We get no explanations as to how she was framed, which leaves the end of the book somewhat anticlimactic. Also, I would have loved to know how the families of Ellie’s dead crew were doing, especially considering Ellie had a good relationship with them.
Both Ellie and Vince were strong, kick-ass characters, but some of their actions had me questioning their priorities. For the most part, the book is enjoyable. I love Ellie’s chemistry and banter with her team. So much so, that I was expecting a book for each of them. It was fun and engaging. I even love how much Ellie loves her sister Emma and the lengths she goes to protect her and make her happy. Vince and his team too share a great rapport and Cade ended up being one of my favourites due to his antics.
Overall the book was really good, but it could use a little more work.
July 18, 2016
A raw and edgy story, filled with danger, violence, strong emotions, camaraderie, and new chances in love, the forever kind.
The banter and ribbing between the fly crew is ruthless, yet harmless, there's a considerable amount of bad language in the story, and even though it would be expected within a military crew, the amount of it stood out.
Because of the constant joking around, when the action starts, and things starts to go wrong, I found it at first hard grasp the seriousness of the situation, and the reality of what was going on. Setting the scene takes a while, but when the action starts, it's high with adrenaline and fast paced.
From there the danger is constant, the fear palpable. The violence is brutal, deadly, and not all the key players necessarily survive.
Vince and Ellie know each other, after working together on the Challenge. The one night they had together, sealed their faith, and their feelings towards each other. Facing each other again in the frail situation, when trust is essential, but missing, the lust and the deep need for each other take them both by surprise. The scenes get hot and steamy and in the middle of the fight for survival, their feelings intensified. After the mistakes of their last encounter, Vince quickly admits his feelings, determined to prove to Ellie, that the trust, devotion, and adoration are real and lasting.
Intense, enthusiastic, passionate story where they take no prisoners, no mercy is available to those who has crossed the line, where love is a rare find and fragile trust is taken to the challenge itself.
~ Four Spoons
The banter and ribbing between the fly crew is ruthless, yet harmless, there's a considerable amount of bad language in the story, and even though it would be expected within a military crew, the amount of it stood out.
Because of the constant joking around, when the action starts, and things starts to go wrong, I found it at first hard grasp the seriousness of the situation, and the reality of what was going on. Setting the scene takes a while, but when the action starts, it's high with adrenaline and fast paced.
From there the danger is constant, the fear palpable. The violence is brutal, deadly, and not all the key players necessarily survive.
Vince and Ellie know each other, after working together on the Challenge. The one night they had together, sealed their faith, and their feelings towards each other. Facing each other again in the frail situation, when trust is essential, but missing, the lust and the deep need for each other take them both by surprise. The scenes get hot and steamy and in the middle of the fight for survival, their feelings intensified. After the mistakes of their last encounter, Vince quickly admits his feelings, determined to prove to Ellie, that the trust, devotion, and adoration are real and lasting.
Intense, enthusiastic, passionate story where they take no prisoners, no mercy is available to those who has crossed the line, where love is a rare find and fragile trust is taken to the challenge itself.
~ Four Spoons
July 8, 2016
If you are looking for a kick-ass military action/adventure story that does NOT have a wilting wallflower as the female lead, then look no further. Although this book is the second in the Honor Guard series, it can be read as a standalone as I have done. However, I will warn you that you will want to read book 1, Resolution, simply because it was that enjoyable!
The attraction between our male and female leads sparks of the page, although considering both of them has such deep-seated issues, they were both quick to quote the 'L' word. Maybe that's just me, maybe the situation was raw enough to demand that.
Either way, the story proceeds at a steady pace, building up to the climax, with plenty of action (both good and bad) along the way. With betrayal and loss to contend with, Ellie does shed some tears - she is human after all. She doesn't fold though, instead, she does what she needs to, to try and get to a situation that she can control better and takes chances to change it.
Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to distract the eye, this was a thrilling book that I would definitely recommend. Just remember the warning about wanting book 1 ;)
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
The attraction between our male and female leads sparks of the page, although considering both of them has such deep-seated issues, they were both quick to quote the 'L' word. Maybe that's just me, maybe the situation was raw enough to demand that.
Either way, the story proceeds at a steady pace, building up to the climax, with plenty of action (both good and bad) along the way. With betrayal and loss to contend with, Ellie does shed some tears - she is human after all. She doesn't fold though, instead, she does what she needs to, to try and get to a situation that she can control better and takes chances to change it.
Very well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to distract the eye, this was a thrilling book that I would definitely recommend. Just remember the warning about wanting book 1 ;)
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 31, 2016
If you like the sexy Alpha mails and the women who tame them you will love The Challenge. This is a non-stop heart pounding adventure story with the best love story as an added spice to keep you reading. Ellie Ryan beat Vince Corelli out for the spot as the pilot or the new experimental stealth helicopter after a six month challenge. Vince left the Navy after the challenge to join Resolutions a high tech security group, but not before a night of sizzling sex.
After the helicopter is seized by terrorist who want Ellie to train their pilots, Vince and crew are dispatched to save her.
If you love the sexy, high test military romantic thrillers from Maya Banks, Catherine Mann or Lindsey McKenny this is a book for you. I have already bought "Resolutions" the the first book in the series and can not wait for the author writes the book about the girl who brings Cade down.
I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review and I am thrilled to have a new author to follow.
After the helicopter is seized by terrorist who want Ellie to train their pilots, Vince and crew are dispatched to save her.
If you love the sexy, high test military romantic thrillers from Maya Banks, Catherine Mann or Lindsey McKenny this is a book for you. I have already bought "Resolutions" the the first book in the series and can not wait for the author writes the book about the girl who brings Cade down.
I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review and I am thrilled to have a new author to follow.
February 22, 2016
This is the first book I have read by this author and I bought the first book in this series and I want the next one when it comes out. Elle Ryan and Vince Corelli go head to head to see who will win out and be the pilot for the XH8 helicopter when Elle wins ,Vince decides to become a Resolution operative. When the helicopter goes missing and Elle’s crew is murdered she is thought to be terrorist. Vince and his crew are sent to retrieve the Helicopter and if they have to kill Elle . What has really happened? Can Vince save Elle? I was gifted a copy for an honest review barwatts@telus.net
February 1, 2016
Women in the military take the good with the bad. The bad is learning to not be squeamish about a whole lot of things. Having spent my share of time around men in some tough situations I can state they don't monitor their words. This was a fast paced story that kept me turning pages. The female character is one kick butt woman. To get where she was in the service she had to be. Excellent book, very realistic and well written. Good job.
March 11, 2016
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Great story line and strong characters. You will love reading this. I couldn't put it down once I started. This will keep you in suspense to what will come next.
April 10, 2016
I loved this book fast paced it keep me turning the pages to find out more great story well written would definitely recommend Teri Riggs
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews