Really enjoyed this book. Erin Dutton always creates characters that are true to life and likeable. I did however find the romance rather slow to get going and the middle section of the book dragged a bit with not very much happening.

I usually love Erin Dutton book, but to be honest this is not up there as one of her best. It's a simple read and a little bit unadventurous.One minute Kim totally dislikes Lauren, the then without any real justification they have a mutual like and attraction to each other. The book isn't a bad read, but just needs a bit more depth to the story. Saying all that, would I recommend this book, then the answer is yes....if you're looking that simple 'time out relaxation'

This was a pretty mediocre book. If I am being honest I was very uncomfortable with the friend dating the ex thing. It just seems weird that they would both be okay in that relationship. The plot wasn’t great, the story felt a bit stale and like I have read similar books in the past. There wasn’t anything about this that made me feel like it was a great book. The love story was cliched, the two leads read very similarly so I kept having to reread passages to know who was speaking. Overall not the best book I have read in a while.

I always enjoy Erin Dutton’s books. Landing Zone is no exception. I found the whole police training storyline to be very interesting, and also the cross-functional veterans who move to the civilian side to assist with police work. I really liked the chemistry between Lauren and Kim and appreciated the realistic way that each of them didn’t want to be attracted to the other, rather than the typical love at first sight. The secondary characters were good as well. A great way to spend a weekend.

I wanted to like this book more as I do rate Ms Dutton as an author but I felt it just lacked something... It is a romance so the HEA is a given and we get the necessary stumbles along the way as Lauren struggles with being "out" and Kim struggles with developing feelings for her dead best friend's ex.. It has all the ingredients but somehow didn't quite gel for me.

The writing is well paced and the characters are likeable (especially Lauren's helicopter colleagues) and the developing relationship seems credible. I wanted more about Lauren's emotional baggage and why she was the way she was. And I felt at times that Kim was a bit superficial and for someone in such a senior role in the Police, maybe a little lightweight but I read and enjoyed the book.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Wowza. Dutton is always a mixed bag for me. A couple of her books I really liked, most are okay, but none have managed to pretty much enrage me as quickly as this one.

The beginning is pretty much a very lengthy info dump on what the author has learned about this topic. So much about helicopters! I really don’t need an author to prove to me how well researched a book is. The less I as a reader am aware of the research while I’m reading it, the better, I think. But I wasn’t ready to give up yet. Then the author described one of the MC‘s looks as ‚exotic’ due to her mixed-race heritage. I was pretty much out at that point. But I snuck a peek at the following pages only to find a long info dump on the complicated history of the two MCs. And then I was out.

I really expect better writing from such an experienced writer, especially when I know she can.

I love Erin Dutton, and this book in very enjoable. Lauren Henley has worked hard to recover from her injuries in Afghanistan where she was based as a helicopter pilot before retiring from Army and has taken a job with the police department in their air division. Just next door to the hangars is the police department’s new recruits training centre where Kim Montgomery is one of the training officers. Kim recognises Lauren immediately as her late best friend’s cheating ex-girlfriend. Nothing surprises either of them more than the attraction they start feeling for each other.

I enjoyed this.  I found the back story believable and it lent itself to the conflict feeling real.  I wish the chemistry between the two mains had been a little more evident.  It was ok, but not what I have experienced in other works by this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book because I HAD to not because I WANTED to so it fucking killed Me to get to 80% and I have no idea how to review this book fairly, I didn’t take as much notice as I should have done because I was bored shitless, I wasn’t overly keen on any of the characters, the romance or anything really, it was just.....🤔 flat and uninteresting to me, I didn’t finish this either so I’ll rate it 2.5 stars to be fair to the author because I normally do like her books...

Often in romances, it’s the slow burn or the lead up to the two characters getting together that takes up the bulk of the book. It’s also usually the main sizzle of the story.  I didn’t think that was the case with Landing Zone.  To me, the story really took off once Kim and Lauren actually started dating because there was so much complexity to their dynamic, even more so than the usual relationship drama.  Both of their pasts in the military, facing up to life’s mistakes, forgiving yourself for those errors and moving forward played big roles in this book and were handled very well.  And of course, the elephant in the room which was the connection between Kim, Lauren, and Courtney hung over everything. I hope to read more about Kim and Lauren because they still seemed to have more to tell. As far as chemistry and hotness factor for the couple, that’s a yes.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I was engrossed in this book from the very first page.  The author done some solid researching and I loved the storyline.  I immediately felt a connection with Lauren but it took a few chapters for me to fall in love with Kim (Monty) but in the end I felt they were a good couple.  I also liked the secondary characters especially Buck, Brian & Brianna.

This is only my second book from this author I have read but it certainly won’t be the last.

Nice story and an enjoyable read.  I really liked the characters and how the author portrayed them and their issues  There was a lot of discussion between the main characters which was a nice build up for their relationship.  If you're looking for a nice easy read, I recommend.  I will be recommending this book for my students book group.

Another all nighter. A slow burn romance that deals with PTSD, wronged feelings and some action into police work done from the skies. 

I enjoyed reading how police personnel are trained and how police helicopter pilots / personnel work and respond in different situations. The book deals with past relationships and history between the two romantic leads, unfortunately, it was hard / tough to understand why Lauren wouldnt have been in any significant relationship since then. Afterall, it wasnt as if her spouse had died or there had been a divorce. 

Luckily, the book avoids the common pitfalls of quick get togethers and instant forgiveness.

'NetGalley ARC provided by The Publisher in exchange for an unbiased review'

**'Criticism can never instruct or benefit you/writer..Develop a tough skin.Not everyone likes every book and they wont like yours...'

No Landing Zone its Not!
'LANDING ZONE' is a multifaceted disappointment. Take for instance the blurb which is very misleading because not only does this storyline veer far from it -- i only consider it as readable but with no sense of direction,purpose or any structure and where Lauren needed to also deal with the aftermath of her injuries from the war,and her past memories that she's been running from her entire life. I personally felt there were a few instances where both women (Lauren & Kim) were a bit too irrational at times,undecided about both their future and relationship. Then again,the circumstances surrounding how this story began or even how they knew each other may only justify both ending up seemingly together without that much unreasonable chemistry or being in love. They had to also rediscover the strained relationship between them which was the cause of one being a closeted lesbian -- this relationship was tested as each had to learn how to let down the walls around both their hearts and start trusting each other. Overall,this was a weird story,that was laced with some cheesy dialogue and even the writing was lackluster.

I liked this one. I’ve read most of Dutton’s books and they can be hit and miss for me, but there was a lot to like here. Both main characters were interesting and got equal weight in the story. The setting was also interesting, as were both characters jobs, although I did think the book got a little bogged down in the details about the recruits. 

I liked that they cleared the air pretty early about their past baggage and moved on, but felt that there was also a fair bit of going over the same ground (Lauren’s reluctance to be fully out, and for a character who was dead Courtney seemed the third most featured character, it felt like she hung over everything). 

Still the characters spent a lot of time together, they talked to each other, and when the angst hit, it felt organic rather than shoehorned in. They also had chemistry and I thought the way their relationship built was actually pretty sweet, and that they achieved a believable HEA. This is probably my favourite of Dutton’s in awhile.

While parts of the story feel a little convoluted, Kim and Lauren have a bit of history and their own demons they need to overcome before things could possibly work for them.  

While I knew I was reading a romance that typically has an HEA, its a tough road for these two and the issues are big.

3.5 Stars. When I see a new book out by Dutton I know I’m going to read it. She is not one of my favorite authors, but she is pretty consistent in writing books that I like. And I did like this book, but I didn’t love it like I was hoping to.

After an injury that ends her Army career early, Lauren gets a new job flying helicopters for the police department. The helicopter base shares space with the police recruit training grounds. The police instructor in charge of training the recruits is Kim. Lauren immediately can’t keep her eyes off of the beautiful instructor Kim. But what Lauren doesn’t realize is her ex-girlfriend used to be Kim’s best friend. And all Kim can see when she looks at Lauren is a horrible cheater. Can these two women with so much baggage between them ever be anything more?

I can’t help but love stories about women in uniform; military, police, whatever I’ll take it. I also liked that Dutton gave these two a ton of baggage in the way of a potential relationship. There was also a tiny bit of excitement in their jobs that kept the story moving. Overall, I enjoyed the whole storyline.

I thought the romance was decent. They did have some chemistry however there wasn’t a ton of it. But it was enough that I did believe in them as a potential couple. The sex scenes were pretty average. When it came to the conflict I actually thought it was pretty believable. I was happy that the angst did not seem to be forced.

I guess my main issue was I felt like the story on a whole did not have a lot of depth. The characters dealt with some tough issues like PTSD, but everything felt a bit too on the surface for me. When a character is hurting, I want to feel bad for them. Everything was just a tad too far away to really affect me. So while I enjoyed the story and the characters, I wished I had a deeper connection to everything.

I think if you are a fan of Dutton or women in uniform, you will like this story. It is an enjoyable book, it just isn’t great. I will be reading whatever Dutton writes next.

This book has ups and downs and the development is a bit inconsistent. 

The two protagonists have a common past, not very positive. Lauren was Kim's best friend's girlfriend, Courtney, and the relationship between Lauren and Courtney did not end very well. That's why now Kim does not trust Lauren and her attitude toward her is a little distant. But Lauren does not have a totally cordial attitude towards Kim either, so the first part of the book has a series of somewhat tense situations between them. But then the thing softens and their relationship also goes to another level, since the two feel attraction towards each other and finally accept it. 

But in between there are some issues as is distrust, fear of having an open relationship, reminiscence of the years in the army and don't ask don't tell policy), overcoming PTSD, issues that come and go throughout the book. When a situation seems overcome, later it reappears and it is as if, wtf, again with this? And this happens several times and the truth is that it spoils the story and makes it lose its meaning. And the two protagonists are quite obnoxious in some situations. And I have not found that much chemistry between them. 

So the book is fine, nothing extraordinary, although I think it's not a waste of time to read it.

<i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>

This book dealt with some big issues in an amazing way.  It is an enemies to lovers book but at it's core it is about forgiveness and healing.  The chemistry between the two characters was well developed even as it evolved. This is a good book for a beach read or better yet a book club read.

Lauren Henley has worked hard to recover from her injuries in Afghanistan where she was based as a helicopter pilot before retiring from Army and has taken a job with the police department in their air division. Just next door to the hangars is the police department’s new recruits training centre where Kim Montgomery is one of the training officers. Kim recognises Lauren immediately as her late best friend’s cheating ex-girlfriend. Nothing surprises either of them more than the attraction they start feeling for each other. 

I’ve only read one other book by Dutton and I wasn’t thrilled by it. It’s quite difficult to know whether the way the author writes just doesn’t work for you, or if it was just that particular book, until you try another one. I’m pleased to say I enjoyed “Landing Zone” much more than I enjoyed “Fully Involved”. I liked both characters and appreciated the way they interacted with each other and their dialogue. I got a much better sense of Lauren than I did of Kim but I didn’t mind the one-sidedness because Lauren had a lot more to resolve than Kim did.

This was an all-round good read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.