Wine Club Review - Over the Line: An Alpha Ops Novel by Emmy Curtis

Book: Over the Line

by Emmy Curtis

Wine: jam jar Shiraz

Lexi: Today we have picked out a sweet shiraz to go along with this sweet love story. Sweet, but not in the gooey, pink tufts of icing kind. Sweet in the way our two main characters find themselves thrown into a situation that forces them to face their attraction, they laugh, they learn about one another, and (solve a bit of a mystery) in the end, these war hardened soldiers find happiness. Care to toast this book with me?

Crystal: Sweet and spicy, the perfect pairing for Over the Line! *clink* Over the Line is a different kind of sweet. The take-a-bullet-for-the-woman-you-love kind of sweet. And who doesn't love that? Two soldiers that find a war on their own turf, family drama out the ears, an attraction that can't be denied, and some sizzling private time in a pool house straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. 

Lexi: Other than the excellent story telling, I enjoyed the fact that Curtis wrote Beth and James’s story to take place over a long weekend. Brilliant! No drawn out scenarios, no lets go chasing all over the place and wasting time, just a not-so-normal weekend with the family. I think this helped keep the pacing, and the pages turning. How fast were your pages turning?

Crystal: I seriously could not put this book down! The pacing of the story was great. And while yes, Beth and James may have only had a weekend together, they had enough of a history and friendship with a well-written back-story that the story didn't smack insta-lust at you and the move from friendship to something more had a nice, gradual feel. 

Lexi: There were some parts that you purposely had to slow down the page turning. The first one, and I can’t put my finger on why I like it so much, was when Beth was trying on clothes in Nordstroms. Maybe it was the first turning point for the couple. A lot of new emotions were bubbling. And there was kissing, you have to love a first kiss. Name one scene that you had to force yourself to drag out, yeah yeah...only one.

Crystal: I did love that dressing room scene. I think because that was the point where Beth and James started to really acknowledge their attraction towards one another and realize that maybe this wasn't something they could keep fighting. But if I had to pick just one (you are so evil) I'd have to go with the scene in James car...where Beth teases him so hard it just about blows his mind. Actually, you can read part of that scene in one of our Sexy Snippets posts. You're welcome. 

Lexi: Crystal, you have read the other Alpha Ops books so you had a previous introduction to Beth and James. I hadn’t read them, but I have to say I never felt lost or that I was missing out on anything. Kudos to Curtis for writing a book two that works as a stand alone! Though, now that I have had a taste I will have to go backwards and see what I was missing. Do you feel knowing some backstory going in made the story sweeter for you?

Crystal: The author did a wonderful job filling in the back-story from the novella (Book one, Dangerous Territory) for new and old readers alike. That book centered on another couple but we're introduced to Beth and James in the beginning and even with the world literally exploding around them you can feel that chemistry between the two. Having previously read that, I do feel like I had already formed a connection with the characters so it was easy for me to jump right into the story. That being said though, I don't think new readers will have any problems connecting with James and Beth, or their story, if reading Over the Line first.

Lexi: Ah, irresistible soldiers. I forgot to add that to the ‘things that made this book work’ list. Cheers to Over the Line! If you enjoy a fast paced contemporary military romance you will not be disappointed with this one. We suggest finding a bottle of wine, curl up and enjoying!

Crystal: Emmy Curtis is definitely an author to watch out for! Romantic suspense, military romance, and contemporary romance lovers alike, don't pass this one up. And if you want just a little taste of her work before diving in head first, Dangerous Territory is just 99Cents and more then worth those few pennies! 

Title: Over the Line
Series: Alpha Ops #2
Author: Emmy Curtis
Format: Paperback 272 pages
Published: October 7th by Forever Yours
ISBN13: 9781455530946
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 
Source: NetGalley

The last time James Walker saw Beth Garcia, he was carrying her off the battlefield. A year later, he runs into her as she’s completing her last physical therapy appointment before she can be deployed again. She’s still sexy as hell, but just as prickly and hard-headed as she was when they first met.

An arranged rock climbing weekend together quickly turns into a nightmare family wedding after a panicked phone call from his sister about mysterious and ominous emails she’s been receiving.

Beth, thinking she’s going rock climbing for the weekend, is surprised when she realizes the biggest rock she’ll be facing is the one James needs her to wear. And while trying to protect James’s sister, she’ll also have to lie to James’s father, the Director of the CIA, about who she is, jeopardizing her carefully planned career. And while she does owe James her life, he’s in for a wild ride if he thinks he can get away with this deception unscathed…