THE WOMAN LEFT BEHIND BY LINDA HOWARD - ARC REVIEW

Jina Modell works in Communications for a paramilitary organization, and she really likes it. She likes the money, she likes the coolness factor—and it was very cool, even for Washington, DC. She liked being able to kick terrorist butts without ever leaving the climate-controlled comfort of the control room.

But when Jina displays a really high aptitude for spatial awareness and action, she’s reassigned to work as an on-site drone operator in the field with one of the GO-teams, an elite paramilitary unit. The only problem is she isn’t particularly athletic, to put it mildly, and in order to be fit for the field, she has to learn how to run and swim for miles, jump out of a plane, shoot a gun...or else be out of a job.

Team leader Levi, call sign Ace, doesn’t have much confidence in Jina—who he dubbed Babe as soon as he heard her raspy, sexy voice—making it through the rigors of training. The last thing he needs is some tech geek holding them back from completing a dangerous, covert operation. In the following months, however, no one is more surprised than he when Babe, who hates to sweat, begins to thrive in her new environment, displaying a grit and courage that wins her the admiration of her hardened, battle-worn teammates. What’s even more surprising is that the usually very disciplined GO-team leader can’t stop thinking about kissing her smart, stubborn mouth…or the building chemistry and tension between them.

Meanwhile, a powerful Congresswoman is working behind the scenes to destroy the GO-teams, and a trap is set to ambush Levi’s squad in Syria. While the rest of the operatives set off on their mission, Jina remains at the base to control the surveillance drone, when the base is suddenly attacked with explosives. Thought dead by her comrades, Jina escapes to the desert where, brutally tested beyond measure, she has to figure out how to stay undetected by the enemy and make it to her crew in time before they’re exfiltrated out of the country.

But Levi never leaves a soldier behind, especially the brave woman he’s fallen for. He’s bringing back the woman they left behind, dead or alive.

Linda Howard has always been a favorite of mine.  Some of her titles are more romance, and others are more adventure, but I always enjoy them.

In this one, the adventure, the Go Team and the training for it, is the focus.  I enjoyed the idea of a woman in the training for the teams and the push and pull between getting her trained and making sure that she was physically able to handle the rigors of the training.

Jina and Ace are attracted to one another from the start, but as he is her team leader, he is not willing to allow himself to pursue that attraction.  It's an interesting issue, as there is a real reason that it is not appropriate for him to have feelings for her, and the tension of this is real...and it makes it an interesting "why they can't but want to" for a large portion of the title.

While most of the book is about them not being together, once they finally are, it feels like the entire book is focused on them, so the pay off for the waiting is definitely there and worth it.

I enjoyed this title and I recommend it.

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