[Kame's Review]: "Hell or High Water"

Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (July 7, 2015)
Series: Deep Six, 1
Genre: Romantic Suspense 

In a world on the brink...

Six men. One sunken Spanish galleon. Millions in gold and silver coins lying on the ocean floor. And a past that refuses to let the guys of Deep Six Salvage forget the Navy SEAL motto: the only easy day was yesterday...

There's more than one kind of treasure...

The nation's security has always been CIA agent Olivia Mortier's top priority. But a mission-gone-wrong has begun to make her wonder if there's more to life than risking hers.

And more than one secret at the bottom of the sea...

Only two things could make Leo Anderson abandon his hunt for the legendary lost ship, La Santa Christina, and return to the world of weapons and warfare he swore to leave behind: a capsule of enriched uranium, lost on the ocean floor, and a plea for assistance from the one woman he can't seem to forget...

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More Info:

Author's Site
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Reviews of Walker's Previous Books:

Hell on Wheels (#1) -- Kame
In Rides Trouble (#2) -- Kame
Rev It Up (#3) -- Kame
Born Wild (#5) -- Kame
Hell for Leather (#6) -- Kame
Full Throttle (#7) -- Kame


Kame's Review:

Leo and his SEAL team have retired; gone civilian. Now they are in the Keys trying to start Leo’s father’s salvage business again. Sun, the water and treasure are all these men have in mind for their future until Oliva shows up with a duffle full of cash and salvage job this SEAL team’s honor won’t let them refuse.

Leo is settling into his life down at the Keys. He is fulfilling his promise and living his life, and at the same time realizing he has strong feelings for a woman who is not part of his life. I don’t think you can take the SEAL out of a man and I really enjoyed his leadership in this book.  Olivia is broken in many ways, but she feels she isn’t capable of having the life she has craved since she was a little girl. You sense a sizzle of attraction when Leo and Olivia meet again.

This is the first book in a new series. We first met Leo and the SEALs in Full Throttle. In that book they played a supporting role, but very little was given to their backstory or their characters. It is obvious something or someone has prompted this career change for these men. Rather than a prologue or a prequel novella that spells it all out; this part of the story was told through occasional flashbacks. This did nothing for my impatience for just wanting to know and honestly I wonder if it is one of the reasons it took me longer than normal to really get into this Julie Ann Walker title.

There is a feeling that Leo and Olivia have a passionate connection and you definitely get the feeling they each have deep feelings for each other; but I also got the feeling like I missed something.  The feeling there was something I should have read before I read this book so I could really understand their connection – I sort of felt lost the entire book – the feeling you get when you come into a movie part the way through and you know you have lost some plot points. If there is a novella or part of a book somewhere that details their past more than the scattered flashbacks in this book I can’t find it. Sadly I felt their lust for each other, but I just didn’t feel a love between them.

I did not find this book so suspenseful that I held my breath. In my mind most of this book taking place on the water did not leave many possible scenarios. It also afforded a short list of secondary characters which I find enjoyable as there are fewer people to keep straight in my mind.

I am not sure where this series will go. The guys seem set on slowing down and taking civilian life seriously, which doesn’t really lend itself to covert operations and lots of suspense. I am also wondering how Olivia will fit into this new normal. Bran and Maddy were a highlight in this book, their immediate connection and witty dialog screams for them to have their own book; I am crossing my fingers they get their own and soon! Due to the ending and arrival of a new character I doubt they are the hero and heroine of book 2 in the series. In all a good new series and I will be looking for Book 2.

4 STARS! 

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Kame received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for her honest opinion.

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Thanks for the review, Kame! :) 

Have you read Julie Ann Walker before? Do you have a favorite book of hers?

Enjoy!


Until Next Time,




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