Tag Archives: Anna Blakely

#WOTR22 #military #bravoteam #Review #Audio #RomanticSuspense #Drama #MilitaryFiction #Contemporary #ContemporaryRomance – Rescuing Gracelynn, Special Forces Operation Alpha, Bravo Team Book 1 by Anna Blakely, Narration by Virginia Rose

Rescuing Gracelynn (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Bravo Series Book 1) by [Anna Blakely, Operation Alpha]

Bravo Team’s technical analyst and confirmed bachelor, Nathan Carter, is happy being single and has no intention of falling under the spell of a woman. Ever. Then, he meets Gracelynn. Before he knows it, the sweet, tenacious woman has Nate questioning his long-standing doubts about love, soul mates, and happily ever after.

Gracie McDaniels is happy with her new life and loves her new job. Working closely with the hunky guys on R.I.S.C.’s Bravo Team, including her future brother-in-law’s best friend, doesn’t seem as if it’ll be an issue…until she meets him.

Nate’s smart, funny, and handsome…everything she’s ever wanted in a partner. But just as they start to grow close, an innocent friendship from Gracie’s past comes back to haunt her. When her life is threatened, Gracie instinctively turns too Nate for protection and soon he and the other members of Bravo step up to keep Gracie safe.

With help from Ghost and his friends, the Delta Force and Bravo teams find themselves racing against the clock to save the only woman Nate has ever loved…before it’s too late.

Goodreads

I purchased this audio book.

The narration provided by Virginia Rose was great.  She did a wonderful job varying the voices and giving emotion to the characters.  A bad audio voice can ruin a book so fast, but she did a fantastic job!!  I was totally engaged and hooked by how she told the story.

Here we go with my long-winded story…lol…if you read my reviews you are used to this.  I met Anna at a book signing but she was also lined up to attend my signing.  I like to read something from each author, and this was the perfect time to grab her plus get her opinion.  Now I like military but my bestie LOVES military so I knew buying her a book would be a great gift idea.  After talking to Anna and hearing her say Audio…my dog ears perked up at that comment….this was the series I picked for me.  LOL

This is the spin off series from the alpha series but I didn’t feel lost or like I missed anything at all.  The characters are all introduced, and I would have thought this was just a regular series had Anna not told me it was series two.  So anyone who likes to stay in “True order” you are ok to start here.

Nate and his fellow RISC team at hanging out having a beer and razzing each other like single dudes do.  When Gracelynn steps out on the patio his whole body is on high alert.  He must meet her.  He ends up scoring a secret date with her on the guise of planning a bachelor/bachelorette party together.  The chemistry between the two is off the charts but his military buddy and her sister are like NOPE.  You are a dirty dawg!!  Stay the EFF AWAY from Gracie!!  Of course, he listens…bahahha nope.  Gracie, of course listens BAHAHAHA nope. The couple begin a slow dance and the steam is off the charts.  When things change and Gracie has to go undercover with Nate as her “Handler” everything gets blurred REAL quick for the two.

The story of why and who is after Gracie was a good one.  I enjoyed all the god guy/bad guy stuff and how the team was working together to stop the terrorist.  I will say I giggled at the villains voice in the audio because it totally is the perfect villain voice!!

Now I will say there were a couple times I did eye roll at the “women are helpless” but then just let it go because hey its not my book.  But yeah, once or twice I was like REALLY Girl???  All in all, I loved the book and can’t wait to download book two audio.

Author of the exciting R.I.S.C. Series, Anna Blakely brings you stories of love, action, and edge of your seat suspense. As an avid reader herself, Anna writes what she loves…strong, Alpha heroes and the intelligent, independent heroines they love.

Anna’s dream is to create stories her readers will enjoy, and characters they’ll fall in love with as much as she has. She believes in true love and Happily Ever After, which is what she will bring to you.

Anna lives in rural Missouri with her husband and children, as well as several rescued animals. When she’s not writing, Anna enjoys reading, watching action and horror movies (the scarier the better), and spending time with her amazing family.

#WOTR22 #AttendingAuthor #Spotlight – Anna Blakely

Anna Blakely

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Hey, all! I’m Anna Blakely, and I write romantic suspense. I live in rural Missouri with my hubby of 21 years, our three kids (19, 16, and 14), and a whole slew of animals…including a Donkey named Fred. I’m an avid reader, and I write what I love…strong, sexy, alpha heroes who’ll do whatever it takes to protect the women they love, and heroines who aren’t afraid to try to save themselves. My stories are filled with love, adventure, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, but I always give my couples a happily ever after!

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

For me, the first in the series is definitely the hardest. That’s the readers’ first introduction to the new group of characters, and the success of the series tends to rest on that first book being well recieved. So yeah, that’s a lot of pressure for sure!

When writing a series how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?

To keep things fresh, I try to give each of my heroes and heroines their own unique story, including their backstories. Because I write romantic suspense, there are certain aspects of my stories that remain the same. There will always be a bad guy (sometimes more than one), they’ll always find a reason to go after the heroine–giving the hero a reason to protect them–and there will always be a climactic rescue scene. But for the meat of the story, I let my characters lead me and I just go with the flow. Typically, I have a general idea of where the story is going, but sometimes even I’m surprised by how it all plays out.

Writing can be an emotionally draining and stressful pursuit. Any tips for aspiring writers?

If you get bogged down or frustrated by a particular chapter or scene, take a break. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, sometimes stepping away from the keyboard is the best thing to do. For me, I will often step outside with my dog and walk around the yard for a bit. That almost always clears my head and allows the new words to start flowing again.

On a typical day, how much time do you spend writing?

I typically work anywhere from 8-10 hours a day. Sometimes more if I’m on deadline.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them so special.

Wow, that’s a hard question to answer! My characters are like my kids…they’re all special to me in their own way. But if I had to pick just one, I’d say Adrian Walker was the most fun to write. He’s a total smarts who started out as an antagonist in Rescuing Gracelynn (Bravo Team Book 1), and I had full intentions of killing him off at the end of the story. But at the last minute, I decided to let him get away. Then, I was going to have him be a reoccurring bad guy throughout the series…but by the end of Book 3, I decided to redeem him. That was a lot of fun!

If any of your books were to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it? What book and who?

I’d love to see Taking a Risk (parts one and two) made into a movie. I’d have Alex O’Laughlin as Jake McQueen (he was my muse for that character). For Olivia, I’d say either Natalie Portman or Lacey Chabert.

What is your definition of success?

My definition of success is being happy with the work you’ve produced.

What are your social links?


• Join Anna’s Reader Group: www.facebook.com/groups/blakelysbunch/
• BookBub: https//www.bookbub.com/authors/anna-blakely
• Author Page: facebook.com/annablakely.author.7
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/annablakely
• Twitter: @ablakelyauthor
• TikTok: https://bit.ly/AnnaBlakelyAuthor_TikTok
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18650841.Anna_Blakely

What are your buy links?

• Amazon: amazon.com/author/annablakely
https://books.apple.com/us/author/id1444752029
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Anna%20blakely
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Anna+blakely
www.annablakely.com