Special
Ops Seduction
Berkley Publisher
ASIN: B086SD261X
January 12, 2021
AMAZON
|
Alaskan
Force Series
by Megan Crane
Review
& Interview by Elise Cooper
The "Alaskan Force Series" by Megan Crane
is riveting, suspenseful, and combined with romance.
What makes this series a stand out is the relationship
and banter between the characters, with the mixture
of honorably discharged special ops heroes, their
dangerous missions, and the rugged Alaskan wilderness.
They insert themselves into difficult and dangerous
situations by protecting the vulnerable and rescuing
those who need it. Below is a synopsis of each of
the books with the most recent first.
In Delta Force Defender, Isaac Gentry,
an ex-Marine, who grew up in Alaska, heads the Alaska
Force team. He has a love-hate relationship with
the snarky owner of the only restaurant in town,
Caradine Scott, who has a past life that has been
kept secret. Past demons seem to have come back
to haunt her after her café was blown up.
After realizing that she cannot battle the criminal
elements on her own, she asks Isaac and company
to help get her life back.
In Sergeant's Christmas Siege, Templeton
Cross, ex-Delta Ranger, is assigned to help in the
investigation by Alaskan State Trooper Kate Holiday.
They butt heads as Cross is willing to bend the
rules of law, something Holiday, 'a by the rule's
person,' is unwilling to do. Yet, as the pressure
mounts and Christmas draws closer, it's a given
that they must work together to make sure someone
is not going to get hurt. As time passes, both realize
they have so much in common, including facing up
to their dysfunctional families.
In Sniper's Pride, Griffin Cisneros, ex-Marine
sniper, is assigned to rescue Atlanta socialite
Mariah McKenna. She realizes her cheating vindictive
husband would rather have a dead wife than a divorce.
Afraid that he will succeed in killing her next
time, Mariah goes to Grizzly Harbor to hire the
Alaska Force special operatives to help her survive.
In Seal's Honor, Blue Hendricks, ex-Navy
SEAL, is asked by his former childhood neighbor,
Everly Campbell, to help her. She witnessed her
roommate's murder, and she's afraid she's next.
Somewhat reluctantly, Blue agrees to help her, and
they head back to Chicago to find the culprits.
An
Interview with Megan Crane
Elise:
How did you get the idea for the series?
Megan Crane: I was watching this reality show about
Special Forces guys who ran this contest to see
if someone could make it through the basic training
they had to go through. It then came to me to write
about a band of brothers’ story. BTW: It originally
was not set in Alaska.
Elise:
In
all the books Alaska seems to play a role?
MC: It is so majestic, the Last Frontier, and far
away. I am so glad we changed the setting because
I think it makes the series better. A friend was
the source for me, since she used to live there.
I also used the Internet for facts and to get a
sense of being there. I put in this quote in book
1, “It looks like a postcard…The village
was a jumble of color, bright against the habitually
gray Alaskan skies. It all gleamed in the bit of
midday sunshine that lit up the protected cove.”
Elise:
How would you compare and contrast each heroine?
Megan: The first two heroines are women
in peril who seek out Alaskan force to help them.
Kate, the third heroine, was not at all impressed
with them and thought of them as vigilantes. Caradine,
the heroine of the last book, is a character that
has been in all the novels. She tries to keep everyone
at arm’s length. I think all the heroines
are smart, tough, athletic, somewhat stubborn. Caradine
is definitely more grumpy, edgy, and prickly. She
and Kate are feisty, and willing to do their own
thing. Neither are really warm and fuzzy.
Elise:
How would you compare and contrast each hero?
Megan:
None
of them would like to be called heroes. They consider
those who were lost in battle as the true heroes.
They wish they could save the world and would risk
their lives. I think each of them are strong, intelligent,
and intense. Isaac is in control and is a natural
leader, Captain- Americanie. In the first book there
was this quote, which shows their thinking, “Never
apologize for things you are not sorry for.”
I think this is a running theme because the book
2 quote is similar, “Life isn’t about
making the right choice. It’s about what you
do after the bad ones blow up in your face.”
Elise:
Something you incorporate in all the books is that
each woman learned to help themselves?
Megan:
I have had stuff in my past. I started taking Israeli
Martial Arts, which I put in all my books. Some
abused women feel they must be vigilant and are
afraid what might happen to them or what did happen
to them. Having actual skills is very calming. I
now have a civilian instructor certification. Alaska
Force helped to save the women, but with defense
classes they learned to save themselves as well.
Elise:
Is there a similarity between all the relationships?
Megan:
In
the first two books the heroines think of their
protectors as superheroes. The women get under their
skin with their banter and teasing. The guys try
to put distance between them, but realize their
true feelings.
Elise::
What about the last two books?
Megan:
It is the opposite of the first two. Templeton makes
Kate feel that way, and Isaac makes Caradine feel
that way. The women are the ones who leave, who
want to be in control of the relationship, and realize
that the guys touched their heart. Each thinks they
are in control of their own emotions and environment,
but are not. With book 4, Caradine and Isaac had
a tug of war going on. They fell in love instantly,
which she fought for a long time.
Elise:
There is a dog in the last book, Horatio?
Megan:
He
is a border collie. Very smart. I do not have one,
but would want one. He is Isaac’s companion
that shows a soft-side of him, but also Caradine.
At the end of the book he takes her side. Horatio
is not based on my dog, who is a pit-bull and lab
mix that is very silly and loving.
Elise:
In the last book all the characters have page time?
Megan:
I
liked the two scenes, one where they “harass”
Caradine and the other, the wedding between Blue
and Emily. In this book, the former heroines hugged
her and had her face that her armor was broken.
The Caradine quote, “Please don’t tell
me this is some horrible girlfriend thing.”
Then there was this quote, “Approximately
seventeen ice ages later, when Caradine had died
inside so many times she’d come back, haunted
herself, and died again while still being hugged
against her will.”
Elise:
Next book?
Megan:
It
is called Special Ops Seduction and will be out
in January. The story is based around two Alaska
Force members, Jonas Crow and Bethan Wilcox. Both
have a past with each other. In this book they must
pretend to be a couple. This might be the last one.
Whereas the other books had the character leads
traveling to a place in the Continental US, either
Chicago, Atlanta, or Maine. But this one has them
traveling from California to Portugal to Canada.