Deadly Descent (Bagram Special Ops) by Kaylea Cross

As his family left the graveside Devon stood there, rigid in the cold, staring at her ex-boyfriend’s coffin.

 I’m so sorry, Ty. So very sorry…

Deadly Descent is the first book in the Romantic Suspense series, Bagram Special Ops by Kaylea Cross, and it’s also my first experience with this author’s writing. I was excited to read this story because the central characters are not who we typically see in this genre – SEALs, Rangers, Black Ops Agents, etc.; rather these men and women are working on the medical side of things. I found it to be a very fascinating story from this standpoint alone and was thrilled that Ms. Cross gave us such a deep look into their lives and missions. I had absolutely no idea what they faced at any given time, and I while I hold the greatest respect for all military men and women, I now have a deeper respect for those whose job it is to save the lives of the SEALs, Rangers, Black Ops Agents, etc., and who put their own lives on the line to do so. Without their know-how and their bravery, who knows how many more men and women would be lost.

I absolutely loved our hero and heroine, Cameron Munroe and Devon “Spike” Crawford who are brave, honorable people. Cam is an Air Force Pararescueman whose job it is to go into dangerous situations and provide medical aid to those wounded in the line of duty, or those innocents caught in the crossfire. What he does out there can make the difference between life and death. Dev is a Black Hawk pilot who also goes into dangerous situations to evacuate those wounded and transport them back to the base hospital for further medical care. As with Cam, how well Dev does her job can mean the difference between saving a life or losing one.

Minor plot spoilers that are given in the prologue -

As this story opens, Devon is called out on an emergency mission to evacuate some wounded soldiers, however flight conditions are at their worse and she has to make the gut wrenching decision to return to base without the men. But what choice did she really have? She wasn't the only person on that Black Hawk; she had her crew to think of, too. She’s upset, angry and second guessing herself for abandoning the flight, and that only gets worse when she learns that one of those men died before he could be extracted. And for her, worse yet - that man was her boyfriend, Ty.

Ty and Cameron had been best friends, so the loss was especially devastating for him and only complicated by the fact that from the first time he’d met her, Cam had known that Dev was the one for him. And he also knew that Dev felt the same way because their mutual attraction was undeniable. Of course they never acted on their feelings - they were too honorable for that, but Cam had waited long enough and decided it was time to broach the very sensitive subject.  Unfortunately, Dev was not ready.  End Spoilers  
  As this story opens, Devon is called out on an emergency mission to evacuate some wounded soldiers, however flight conditions are at their worse and she has to make the gut wrenching decision to return to base without the men. But what choice did she really have? She wasn't the only person on that Black Hawk; she had her crew to think of, too. She’s upset, angry and second guessing herself for abandoning the flight, and that only gets worse when she learns that one of those men died before he could be extracted. And for her, worse yet - that man was her boyfriend, Ty.

Ty and Cameron had been best friends, so the loss was especially devastating for him and only complicated by the fact that from the first time he’d met her, Cam had known that Dev was the one for him. And he also knew that Dev felt the same way because their mutual attraction was undeniable. Of course they never acted on their feelings - they were too honorable for that, but Cam had waited long enough and decided it was time to broach the very sensitive subject. Unfortunately, Dev was not ready. End Spoilers

A good bit of the early pages were devoted to the necessary character and world development, but I never found it dull or tedious. In fact, as I said before, I loved learning about another branch of the military and seeing how it operates on and off the battlefield. And while it is emotional at times, the story that unfolds is not dark and depressing. There’s much, much more to Deadly Descent than what I’ve told you so far, but I don’t want to give anymore away other than to say the last half of the book had me on the edge of my seat, heart pounding. We get a close up look at what it’s like to come under fire, to have the enemy close on your heels and not know if you’re going to make it out alive. And did I mention I stayed up until 4:00AM to finish this??

The bottom line – If you want a story full of detail, action, passion, sexual tension, heat and romance, this is a great one to go with. I am beyond thrilled to have found another author who knows how to write Romantic Suspense and make it just that – both romantic and truly suspenseful. The characters are amazing people who I couldn’t help but cheer for and their story was heartwarming and intense. I will most definitely be reading more by Kaylea Cross. In fact, just today I purchased her entire Suspense Series and can’t wait to dig in!

5 of 5 stars!!

This ebook was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of Carina Press. This had no influence on my rating or my review.