Shoot to Kill

One of Our Own #1

by T.S. Ankney

Danger and desire create a deadly mix…

Navy SEAL Gideon Turner will do anything to solve the murder of his friend… even get half-naked for a romance-novel cover shoot. It doesn’t hurt that the photographer is equally gorgeous and intriguing. But John Dexter is a distraction he can’t afford. Could John know more than he’s letting on about the killing of Gideon’s friend? He’ll have to get close to John to find out. Much closer…

Ever since Gideon showed up, John’s quiet life has been turned upside down. First, his billionaire backer disappeared after an explosion rocked their office building. Then some decidedly sinister characters started following him. And the smoking-hot SEAL is driving him wild—not that he’s complaining.

Both Gideon and John meant to keep their relationship strictly professional. But as they become further entangled in a web of danger, neither can help falling hard. They’ll need to work together to make it out of this alive…but what happens once Gideon has ensured John’s safety?

Genres: Contemporary, M M Romance, Mystery, Romance, LGBT, Military Fiction, Gay

200 pages, ebook

First published April 11, 2023

About the author

T.S. Ankney read her first romance novel at age twelve, when she snuck a book with a risqué cover out of a relative’s cabinet and read it at night under the covers with a flashlight to avoid getting caught relishing the “good parts." She is a tiny blue dot in a big red state in the Midwest US and she loves a sad song, a happily ever after, and believes representation matters. When not writing, you can find T.S. streaming documentaries, reading new books by her favorite authors, or indulging in reality TV competition shows like Project Runway or Great British Baking Show.

Reviews

[zen_s · Rating 1 out of 5]

the plot was okay however it ended in kind of a cliffhanger as the "case" wasn't solved. though the plot was ok, the execution was horrible and horrible.

firstly, there were a lot of speech punctuation issues. dialogue that should have the opening or closing inverted commas, weren't there. on the other hand, narrative sentences have inverted commas popping out of nowhere. it's so bloody confusing to read.

then, the author couldn't differentiate "they are"/"they're" and "their". context where the two former pronouns should be used, the latter was used.

lastly, some of the sentences totally make no sense at all. when i read it, it seems like there are either additional words, missing words or spelling errors. for example in chapter 15, one of the hero was thanking the side character for getting his cat back for him. and the side character replied with "i have pet myself, so... " like what!!??? where is the damn "a" in this sentence?? it should either be "i have a pet myself" or "i own a pet myself". the missing word totally make the character looks like he was trying to jerk off or something. i couldn't stop laughing because it's so ridiculous.

honestly, the book have a big editing issue. it either wasn't edited or the editor was sleep editing the book. i'm not sure about reading the second book as it might have the same issues with this book.

[DLB2572 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing New Series

This is a great start to this new series. The mystery for this really sucked me in. I'm so interested in what's going to happen next. Then you add in John & Gideon's developing relationship, this one was definitely worth reading.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a new series! The author does a great job developing the story and pulled me in with the mystery as well as the developing romance between John and Gideon. It's well written with descriptive scenes, moves fluidly and is a terrific read. Loved it!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Catarina Águas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, I liked it. The whole mystery thing has me very intrigued to know what the hell is going on. Gideon is just trying to understand what happened to his friend with the help of his team and he meets John. They like each other right away, you can see that. John was very brave, he could have left Gideon after everything but he choose to stay by his side, I respect that

[Lori Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing

Story starts off a little all over the place before making sense. A bit of romantic suspense. However it does not take long for the confusion to grow. The story has too many holes in the plot and storyline. It has no definitive ending. Add in the bad Grammer and editing and you have a poor read.

I would pass on this story unless you really want to work for it to make sense.

1.5/5 stars

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oof. The editing. Or lack there of. Put me off the rest of the series.

[Averin · Rating 1 out of 5]

But what about the cat? This book had no editor, or spell check, or a believable plot. And aren't Navy Seals always undercover and not wandering about telling people with no security clearances or background checks, "Hi, I'm a Navy Seal"?

And plot continuity errors, like leaving the cat at a hotel. Ugh.

[Aethena Drake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sooo... I liked the idea of the book. The first couple of chapters held some promise. The reality... This was a first draft of a book. The story needed serious content editing and proofreading. I did finish the book because I was curious. The plot has some potential.

I had hopes this was just an early edition that was mistakenly posted. No such luck. I was very frustrated with the following:

1. Active duty Navy Seals don't pose for book covers. Just no.

2. During his internal dialogue, John describes himself as demi. He barely knows Gideon, but he is jumping in bed with him. Um what? I am demi. I pay extra attention to characters who make that declaration. I didn't find John's behavior reflective of his internal dialogue.

3. An explosion occurs inside a building. The damage is significant enough to restrict movement between floors. People are back in the building the next day. This is just bad plotting. I am writing this as an engineer. This would not happen unless everyone involved had less intellect than a sack of potatoes. Someone pulling a fire alarm would be sufficient enough to get people out of the building. The explosion was poorly described and pointless.

4. Interesting idea for the conflict, but the execution was unfulfilling.

5. The story just kept developing more puzzles without really resolving anything.

6. Words were missing from sentences. Sometimes I didn't even understand what was being said.
Spell check doesn't find misused words. A grammar check would have been very useful. >

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I eventually found myself skimming to get to the end. The book did not have any real resolution. The story has some interesting ideas, and I will probably look at future books written by this author. However, this book needs a rewrite.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. The characters of Gideon and John were interesting and well developed, the plot kept me reading to find out what happened next, but it felt more to me like a cliff hanger ending than a HFN as described.

John is a cover photographer for a publishing house, Gideon is a navy SEAL sort of undercover as a cover model, trying to look into a clue that links to the death of a member of Gideon’s SEAL team. Somehow, John ends up mixed up in something going on in the publishing house, but there is little info in this book one as to how or why, and how it relates to the death of the SEAL.

John and Gideon find themselves physically attracted to each other from their initial interaction, and it quickly grows from there. The developing relationship between Gideon and John is the romantic focus of this book while a mystery develops as Gideon, John, and the rest of the SEAL team try to figure out what is going on at the publishing house, how or if John is involved, and what it could possibly have to do with the death of a SEAL on the other side of the world. Any meaningful answers will need to wait for the next book at least. If you don’t mind having to wait for the next book for more insight into what is going on it can be a good introduction to the mysterious part.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michael Kenner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The characters were likeable and despite the premise sounding like a pair of stock characters (navy seal meets photographer) they developed into surprisingly unique individuals. Had a little bit of action-adventure thrown in as the characters get through some dangerous situations. Still found room for steamy scenes as well. Overall it wasn't what I was expecting, it had a lot more story and depth to it than I thought I'd get.

My only real disappointment is that the story comes to a fairly abrupt end and the sequels appear to be about other characters in the same setting. It took a while for the book to hook me, but by the end I was invested just as the story seems to suddenly stop.

Does need a little bit of additional line editing. There are a few mistakes where the wrong word was used or a sentence fragment seems to have been left in from a previous edit. How much this bothers you depends on your tolerance for it.

[C.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely exciting! A mission, gone sideways. A death. Suspicions all around. Gideon, accidentally ended up undercover as a romance novel cover model to try to discover about the murder of fellow SEAL team member, Ryker. John, is the photographer for the Mendez publishing house, who has secrets of his own being from a political family. Gideon and John, feel an attraction to each other when they first meet. John is intrigued because he is demi and not usually immediately attracted. Gideon's team is looking for Liam, Ryker's former partner who seems ot have disappeared. During the shoot, there is an explosion in the building and Cesar Mandez's office is obviously searched. Two mysteryies and a rollercoaster adventrue. Do they find Ryker's killer? Is the explosion and the murder related? Good characters, excitingly paced. Well done! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sara Sigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon went to the publishing house to found out about his friend’s death but was mistaken for a romance novel model so John was taking his pictures also had taken Ryker and his husband’s pictures but didn’t know who they were. John didn’t want to get involved with Gideon as he was a seal and could be sent overseas. John felt someone watching him then his apartment was trashed but before they could get to a safe place John was taken for a file he unknowingly downloaded thinking it was a book that he had to make a cover for. Gideon and team finally realized what John’s boss and the mercs wanted and got the code on file figured. Found John and took a chance on themselves. Good book!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Janessa Paun · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. I really wanted to like this book where a Navy Seal, Gideon meets and falls in love with a photographer while pretending to be a model while he is on a mission to find out the truth behind the murder of one of his team members. But, unfortunately the typos in this book were quite distracting while I was reading this book as was the way that the plot seemed to be really rushed. It seemed as if at different points the plot was either focused on the mission to find Gideon’s teammate or the romance between John and Gideon while ignoring the other main plot line. But I did really like Kai and the whole of Gideon’s Seal team. I just wish that there had been a more satisfying ending to the book.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gideon and John's Story . . .

Navy SEAL Gideon Turner is pretending to be a romance novel model so he can get more deeply involved with a suspicious publishing house and investigate the murder of a teammate. John Dexter is a photographer for the publishing company. Gideon is willing to get involved with the photographer if it will get him answers about the murder. But as the two of them get closer to what is really going on, the danger rises and threats are made against John. They will have to be able trust each other to deal with the perpetrators who would gladly take them both out of the equation. Will they find Ryker’s murderer before their luck runs out?

[Naomi (aplace_inthesun) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve rated this so highly given the potential of the story which was largely a romantic suspense with good intentions but very poor execution and it appears, absolutely no editing.

There’s another review I found which outlines the atrocious grammar, punctuation and spelling issues in the book. A set of fresh eyes would have done wonders for this.

It’s also part of a series but this instalment seems to finish oddly - it seemed like a possible HEA where the characters were mid discussion and then the book ended but it was so weird it made me wonder what on earth was left out of the chapter.

[Feebeejane · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s a good story if…

You can get past the edits in places, some words are missing etc. it’s not that bad but needs a thorough cleanup b the author.
The story has a good line to it, I found some of the details a little light on so more research may be needed.
It is a light angst book, with a cute feel. For me it was a slow read, I don’t know why but wasn’t a can’t put it down book. In saying that it had some really good parts.
It ended on a HFN, in a way I suppose to keep you interested for the next book.and wait till the next part for the the rest of the story for this couple. Which I find personally annoying. Kind of like a book broken into bits.

[Elle Schroder · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book needs serious editing. There are numerous missing words, numerous typos, and a number of instances of poor continuity. It also ends on a cliffhanger regarding the investigation/mystery and a vague kind of HFN for the two main characters. It's more like a 'Yeah, we're both interested in seeing where this goes' rather than any heartfelt declarations or any semblance of commitment. Overall, the book is of poor quality and almost reads like it was created by AI. If I wasn't reading it for a reading challenge, I would have DFN'd it somewhere pretty early on. Not worth your time. There are better books to read.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot full of action. The mystery part doesn't have a solution yet, that will progress in future parts of this series. I can't guess what the continuing mystery will be about, which makes it very interesting. I didn't feel much of a relationship between the characters outside of their physical attraction, they still know very little about each other. I hope that this will be shown in the next books, although those will focus on other couples.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via Booksprout and am happy to leave a voluntary review.

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but needs a proof reader!

Love the genre. ! Loe the two main characters. Like the action. Why then only three stars? Lack of proof reading! So many stupid errors that stopped the flow of reading. Errors such as extra words in a sentence or words omitted. Errors that having a proof reader would have easily caught. Remember you cannot proof what you have written. I will read the next book as I want to know the solution to the mystery. Hopefully the author would have decided to have a proof reader for the next one.

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think this author knows much about investigation, modeling, photography, explosions, engineering, grammar, demisexuals, or the Navy SEALs.

In the opening sequence the MC, who is trying to infiltrate a publishing company but has been mistaken for a cover model, proceeds to tell the first hot guy he sees his real name and occupation as well as the names, specialities, and descriptions of everyone in his seal team. It is the weirdest investigative trick I’ve ever seen. The book only gets dumber from there.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed an Editor

I often enjoy a military trope romance, but this is a bit of a mishmash. Gideon and the rest of his SEAL team members are investigating the suspicious death of another SEAL. He meets John, a photographer who shoots romance covers, who gets catapulted into the investigation via an abduction. So, it doesn't end with any resolution to the investigation, which I dislike. The biggest problem though, was really bad editing that made the book difficult to read. I mean, someone should have caught "I didn't think you would find you." :face palm:

[Debbie Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Investigating a publishing house and being being mistaken for a model leads to several good things. Gideon meets John and while their relationship develops during dangerous times, it is solid. John being kidnapped leads to the clue Gideon needed after Gideon and his team rescues John. The investigation will continue in the next book.

[Amani Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anytime I find a romantic suspense read I overanalyze every character and wait for any doublecrossing antics because the plot twists will catch me every time. This book had me at the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to see what’s next while I’m questioning every character and their motives.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Meep · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giving up at 27% writing is clunky and story making no sense.

Gideon -he's a SEAL you know- does not read like a SEAL, don't get a capable vibe from him -did I mention he's a SEAL?- all the water he's chugging he might want to get a diabetes test done.

As far as I got I don't care for any character, majorly confused over what the plot is so not invested. There needs to be something to read for.

[ReadsTooMuch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can overlook some grammar/punctuation errors, even though they rip me right out of the story. However, I didn’t make it 10% into this book; the extra words, missing words, and punctuation errors got the best of me. I tried to push through after the first few bad sentences, because I’m craving a good mm suspense romance. Sadly, I threw in the towel.

Crossing fingers this book eventually gets edited and updated on kindle.

[casvec · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing story that kept me on the edge as I got lost in the pages. Gideon and John's romance heat up the pages and the danger and suspense kept me wanting to know more.

Perfect start to the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cassie Landreth · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read, but…

I enjoyed the book for the most part but I have to agree with other reviews that some major editing is needed. I thought maybe this was this author’s first book but it is not. So, not sure why such bad editing. If you can get past that then this book is worth a read.

[Robbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part one of five.

The ending was abrupt, probably better to have all 5 ready to go. It was ok, but not that much really happened. It was just getting into its stride, and, “the end”. My wife knows a snapped fan belt won’t make an engine stall, you’d get a warning or two first. Ruthless mercenaries that don’t kill an adversary when they have the chance? Not sure about this.

[BusyM3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to this series One of our Own. This is a new author for me, and I am looking forward to reading more from them and this series. The story flows well, the characters are likeable and fit well together. An enjoyable read.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, needs work

Okay, so absolutely loved the characters and storyline. However, the spelling and grammatical errors interrupts the flow of reading and makes it hard to fully dive into the book. There were a lot of them.
Would read again after those were corrected.