ARC copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a good romantic suspense book. It was a fast read.

Beyond the Limit is the first installment of a new series by Ms. Dees, Valkyrie Ops. I fell in love with this story it was exhilarating to read and I didn’t want to put it down. The characters were well writing and I was able to connect with them all. Sherrie Tate and Griffin Caldwell were perfect together but they had some obstacles to overcome. Sherrie was of course as the synopsis said “Miss Congeniality, but she was more than that she was a force to be reckon with. They had no idea that someone like her would be able to stand as much as she did to prove that she could be a SEAL just like any other man. Then there is Griffen a man of steel that drove Sherrie into the ground because according to him and other jerk heads woman couldn’t be a SEAL. The SEALs training the women were going to be surprised on how well they did but Griffen was going to see how spectacular Sherri was. Sherri was going to make it through everything as a SEAL should but she was going to break at a certain point and that’s when she will doubt herself. She knew that the higher ups didn’t actually plan to use them as a true SEAL but she wanted to prove them wrong. As more time passed Griffen was going to be in awe with her and little by little he was going to start to wonder if she could truly be a SEAL whether she would die for her brother. As their training continues tragedy happens and she knows what she needs to do she will sacrifice herself and will be the poster woman SEAL the higher ups are looking for. She has no idea what she signed herself up for. Griffen’s worst nightmare happens during Hell Week and all hell breaks loose.

All I can say is this story is so worth missing a couple of hours of sleep. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

A new series begins with an amazing premise and I think it will be one for the record books; I have been a fan of Cindy Dees for many years and I was looking forward to this series for a long time when I finally learned of its release and go the chance to read and review. The series begins with three young women that are being given the chance of a lifetime, the chance to train with and possibly become SEALs themselves. It is an unprecedented chance and all three women are willing to give their all in the training and the fight to become the very best. Sherri has been fighting to be the best her entire life, and excels and pretty much everything she has tried, so when she begins her training she isn’t surprised she is doing well, but she is amazingly surprised by the attraction and passionate draw she has to the lead SEAL that is heading up her trainers. Griffin is pissed he and his team have been pulled into the circus of training some powder-puff girls into fake-SEALs, but the sexy Ms. Tate is eye-candy enough for him to keep most of his anger passive-aggressive. But as Griffin learns more and more about Sherri and watches her work her ass off to prove herself his attraction to her become undeniable. When they give in to the draw between them, the passion is more than just sexual attraction and soon their emotional connection is almost too much to handle for either of them, and that connection is put to the test when Sherri’s life is on the line and Griffin has to come to her rescue. Sherri was the quintessential overachiever, but I enjoyed getting to know her because her reasons for pushing were interesting and knowing her made me love her more. While I wanted to hate her simply for how sexy and accomplished she was, she was genuinely an amazing and good person with a strong will and determination to make the world a better place. Griffin is a hero in every sense of the word and I liked learning more about him too. While he was a butthead in the beginning, he was undoubtedly one of those Alpha men who just didn’t think a woman belonged in the boys club, but once he began to see the light I realized how much I liked him. He was sexy of course, and I was right there with Sherri salivating over him every second, but he was also smart, sweet, and brave, making him a wonderful complement to Sherri and a guy that any woman would want. The heat and pull between Sherri and Griffin was a flashfire and when they let it burn it was amazing, but the sweetness and support they offered one another were truly the best part of their relationship. I am dying for the next book in this series, which I hear is coming in 2020, but I am not sure just what it might entail though I certainly hope we get to hear the rest of Sheri’s story on her trail to be a SEAL.

Beyond the Limit is a great book if you love the genre. There's a lot of action, some suspense and a hot romance thrown in there too. The attraction came on fast and steady, their was action, there was steam and I just loved the whole package. Truly recommend.

Review This book was interesting but I’m having a hard time coming up with my review. There was a lot of action and the couple was hot and heavy. But I was a bit disappointed with it because I have a problem believing that a woman in such a position would possibly ruin it all by letting her hormones rule her. So that just kept taking me out of the story. But the action and the relationship we’re both really good.
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley and am voluntarily leaving my honest review. I also purchased a copy for my own personal library

Cindy Dees is a fairly new to me author, and since I love novels about Navy SEALs, I was eager to read this first novel in her new Valkyrie Ops series, Beyond the Limit, in which women attempt to become the first female Navy SEALs, and while I very much enjoyed the concept and getting a look at what BUD/S SEAL training is really like from a female perspective, and while there was a lot I liked about this book, there were some things I found exceedingly redundant, earning a 4-star rating from this reader.

Sherri in a Lieutenant in the Navy, a former Miss America contestant, and she, as well as two other women in both the Army and Marines are recruited to try to take down the last bastion of elite males only military, the Navy SEALs, but, do Sherri and the others really have a shot at getting their tridents or is this just a publicity stunt to mollify women who historically have had to fight their way into being taken seriously as full-fledged, combat compatriots, equal in strength, endurance and capability to all-male branches in the military. It's been a hard sell, and it's been obvious from news reports about the harassment of the women who want to see combat, fly jets, and in this novel it's about Special Forces.

Sherri seriously wants to become a SEAL, and she wants to prove her worth. She's already fit--a marathon runner who has cross-trained for the Olympic heptathalon, but in order for her to be really ready, in secret she and the two other women, Lily and Anna, are flown to an obsolete military training facility and a 6-man team of SEALs will pre-train these women to get them ready to pass real BUD/S training, giving the women a chance to learn the skills they'll need in order to pass those grueling tests of their physical, mental, and emotional endurance and fortitude, culminating in Hell Week, which is the final week of all the torture the military has used to break those who just don't have it. If you've ever wanted to see the nuts and bolts of what it takes to become a SEAL, you will be as fascinated by this novel as I was.

Of course, the Navy SEAL team assigned to get these women ready for BUD/S aren't happy about it. They doubt that any woman could survive BUD/S, but because they've been ordered to train them, they'll follow orders, but not before trying to break these women, and boy, are they ever going to be surprised. Griffin, the SEAL team leader is assigned to Sherri, and the two are attracted to one another from the start. In Griffin's case, all he can see is a stunningly beautiful woman, who the men nickname Barbi, and the attraction between these two characters is mutual, especially when Sherri gets a look at hunky, muscular, gorgeous "Griff," The women are told that only one of them will be allowed to move on to BUD/S, and Sherri believes that her beauty pageant experience with the media and as a spokeswoman who's dedicated to helping raise awareness about domestic violence, that one woman will be her, and she doesn't just want to be the poster-child for this publicity stunt, she really wants to be a SEAL and sent into combat, and she knows it's going to take a lot of grit to make these SEALs take her, Lily and Anna seriously.

Here's my one gripe with this novel. We know that Sherri is drop-dead stunning, and Griff is the most handsome, hunky man that Sherri's seen, but I lost count of how many times we had to hear about how beautiful she was, how muscular and gorgeous Griff was, and there wasn't a single scene in this novel where Griff didn't wax poetic about her eyes, her face, her boobs, legs and bottom, and how he lusted after her. By the third or fourth time Ms. Dees again told us about it, I rolled my eyes so many times I actually thought I might lose my balance and fall out of bed. I just wanted to say, "Alright already, they're knockouts, stop telling me so!" If that was going to be the only thing these two characters talked about, dreamed about, and fantasized about, I doubted that I'd get through this novel without tearing my hair out, since it made both of them seem like the most shallow characters ever, and I wished that some of these passages had been deleted by the editors.

What saved this novel was the growing, yet grudging respect the SEALs soon developed for these 3 women, who took what was thrown at them and proved themselves time and again. We even get to see how they and the team members who were ordered to remain behind when half their team was sent out to capture their number one wanted Taliban terrorist, and the other half stateside react to seeing their three ambushed, captured and killed in real time as the op went horribly wrong.

In addition, there's a subplot of hazing by one of the recruits who's singled out Sherri, who manages to take whatever he dishes out for just so long--and expect a lot of suspense in the latter half of this novel, as Sherri, who is close to completing Hell Week and then suddenly goes missing. It's a race to the finish, and the HEA ending that was truly riveting.

All in all, this novel worked for me, with the exception of the redundancies I mentioned earlier. If you are fascinated by what it takes to become an elite Navy SEAL, (and while some of it is still clothed in secrecy) I think you'll be equally fascinated by the training details that are mentioned and described. I'm looking forward ti reading the next installment of Valkyrie Ops.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Griff and Sherri's story was both sensual and intriguing. Griff is assigned the task of training Sherri to be a Navy seal despite his own bias and misgivings. They can't fight their mutual attraction for each other and eventually give in. They are sizzling hot together. I admired Sherri's determination to make it as a Seal but was annoyed by the constant reminder that men like Griff did not want women on their base. It became such a political statement across the novel that it was hard for me to really see Sherri in that role since her looks were used as a distraction from her actual skills.
Nonetheless, it was entertaining.

This is the first book I read of Cindy Dees I listened on a live interview with Regan Black and that is when I had decided to take a chance. I knew that she wrote for Hariquin Romance so it was worth the try. Beyond the limits was about Navy Seal men and you Mix Navy Seal woman your about to get someone where to to connect with someone else. So you get this woman who really wants to be a Navy Seal who is stubborn and determined to do it that it really gets hot and she gets her accomplishments done.
I could follow the time line not get lost in her story! It was a book once I picked up I couldn't put it down..

I devoured every word of this book and stayed up way too late reading it. The SEALs involved in the story were an amazing group of guys. I'm looking forward to the next book because I have do many questions. What about the others? And Haddad, that jackwagon?

This was such a FANTASTIC read for me!. It has been a while since I've read a book that delivered such attention to detail. While technically a romance there were elements of intrigue and action that as a female veteran I could identify with. Electrifying, satisfying and unputdownable. I need more books by Cindy Rees!

Sherri is chosen as one of three women who will attempt to become Navy seals. Upon entering a training program, she and a SEAL are instantly attracted and become lovers.

I found the book interesting, but unbelievable. The reader will need to be willing to acknowledge that this, or else it will cut back on the pleasure in reading it.

Sherri is too perfect. There’s nothing she can’t do. Her body, her intellect, her personality, her skills, everything, EVERYTHING is perfect. Seriously she has no flaws. Everyone except the traitor are won over by her.

Sherri doesn’t seem changed by her experiences. We never really feel her fear, frustration, or ambition. To be fair, we do feel her determination. We don’t know what motivates her, and there’s no depth and no real growth. She’s essentially the same from the beginning to the end. Linda Howard wrote a similar story before this one (The Woman Left Behind), and I think it’s more realistic.

That is a constructive criticism, because I did enjoy the book. I look forward to the next one, but hope that there is more grit, more realism, more depth than this starter for the series.

This was the GI Jane story I didn't know I needed. I knew that I was going to like it, but not how much (which is always a good kind of surprise) and I think that it is a great addition to the women in military trope.

We follow two main protagonists. First being Skylar who gets selected together with two other women to become the first ever female Navy SEALs and their grueling training in the hands of the Reaper SEAL platoon and their leader Griffin. To prepare both the military and the rest of the world for female SEALs they train in secret to ascertain that the women that that's been selected have what it takes before they take on the real SEAL training that have a very high failure rate in general.

Skylar knows all about being a media officer for the Navy, but she wants to go out on real missions in the field. She knows that she has what it takes, but the question is if she can convince others, especially the arrogant and obnoxious platoon leader that is determined to fail her.

As the Reaper platoon leader, Griffin can't foresee anything but trouble if women joined the SEAL teams and it's not only about gender aptitudes. Now this pageant beauty queen think she's got what it takes?

Then one mission goes haywire and drags them both into it's maw. Will they overcome their differences in time and trust each other enough to survive the coming troubles?

I loved the chemistry between everyone, not only between the main characters. There's also a charming bonding between the three women and a cheeky camaraderie between the Reapers. I loved that everything between characters (feelings, concessions and actions) plus responses to situations felt believable within the premises of the story.

This was a great start on a series and I hope we get to know the other women and Reapers in the coming installments.

I enjoyed reading this book. I have never read any of Cindy Dees work so I was not sure what to expect. I found the concept interesting but the story line a little monotonous. The action scenes were so good and intense it felt like I was right there with the team. I would have liked more action scenes and less training scenes, but overall I thought it was a good book.

Beyond the Limit is the first book in the Valkyrie Ops series, and I found it to be an entertaining and engaging read.

The Navy is after positive press and former pageant queen and media officer Sherri is the perfect figure head. Sherri is not only beautiful, but resilient, driven and determined to succeed.

Griffin’s SEAL team Reaper is chosen to secretly train and prepare three female recruits for undertaking SEAL training.

Sherri and Griffin’s attraction is immediate, but their relationship is not only forbidden, but he doubts her ability to mentally and physically endure the rigorous demands required to become a SEAL. The connection they share is passionate, intense and steamy!

I really enjoyed the secondary characters and hope that we see more of them in future additions to the Valkyrie Ops series.

Overall an entertaining and suspenseful story and I look forward to reading more of Cindy Dees work in the future.

Navy SEAL Griffin Caldwell is not happy with his team's top-secret mission, training the first female SEALs. Griffin's determined to prove that that his trainee Sherri Tate—a former beauty queen no less—doesn't have what it takes to join the world's most elite warrior's club. Until he sees what she's capable of, and even this hard-nosed SEAL has to admit she's tough as nails. What he won't admit to is the attraction sizzling between them.
Navy media officer Sherri Tate is more than just a pretty face. When she's given the opportunity to achieve her dream of becoming a SEAL, she won't let anything stand in her way, not even her arrogant trainer, who is too sexy for words.
When a dangerous mission lands Sherri and Griffin in the cross hairs of the world's most feared terrorist, it's going to take everything they have to come out with their lives—and hearts—intact.

Praise for the author. This book was so interesting to read and the dynamics between the main characters made this book a fast read. This book was full of suspense and intensity. I have not read a book like this in a while and the book in which a female becomes a SEAL was awesome. Thank you NetGalley.

First volume in a series talking about three female soldiers willing to incorporate the famous Navy SEALs, Beyond the Limit features Sherri when she’s the first to face misogyny and skepticism from the super soldiers charged with judging her competences.

Grifin is a typical Navy SEAL, confident alpha male full of misconceptions about women and SEALs. I liked seeing him realize pretty women are more than ornaments and men are not necessarily better at all things physical.

I also loved reading descriptions of the training and trials the heroine must go through – hats off to those enduring that because it’s more torture than pleasure, and you need an iron mind to overcome that for as long as needed, which is well highlighted in this book.

On the negative side – and it’s strange in a romance story – the attraction is really too much present. From the minute of their meeting, the hero and the heroine spend long moments fantasizing about the other, to the point where for a too long time there’s not a page without a reference to the physical beauty of one or the other, or to the effects this beauty has on the libido of the character whose thoughts we’re reading. That’s too much when it’s during a banal scene, it becomes laughable and annoying when it’s at a moment concentration is required like when learning precision shooting. Not to mention the repetitions about the beauty of one or the other… I think the reader can understand the second time it’s mentioned they’re both super beautiful, no need to say it 50 000 other times….

Another point that I didn’t like is the sentence repeated several times saying men are afraid to be obsolete if women are accepted among the SEALs. Opening a job to the other sex doesn’t take out usefulness from those who’ve done it for a long time – fortunately, or I would have to pack up my syringes ^^

All in all it’s a more contemporary than suspense story which is relatively pleasant to read in spite of some flaws. I think that for the action scenes I will perhaps try the next volume when it’s published next year.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Military Romance

Whew, I really enjoyed the pace of this book. Sherri is a take-no-prisoners military woman who goes after what she wants. She has had to overcome her looks and show the men around her that she's more than just a pretty face. But when the opportunity knocks for her to try her skills at becoming a SEAL, she jumps at the chance.

Griffin is a tough, rugged SEAL and he is somewhat set in his ways. When he's called to a top secret assignment, he thinks they'll be shipped out to hunt someone dangerous down, not recalled to help train a few women to become SEALs. There are no women in the SEALs and Griffin believes that's the right call. But as he gets to know the women, he's impressed and awed by their grit and determination.

When a terrorist from his past comes calling, Griffin and his team will have to decide whether or not women can truly help them or if they will turn the women away.

I really enjoyed this story and loved the romance. It built and was steamy without being forced or fake. I am loving the military setting and can't wait to read the next book.

Triggers: Death, Kidnapping, Terrorism


Mary – ☆☆☆☆
Griffin Caldwell is part of the Navy SEALs and his team is his family. When all the members get a message from their commander, they can't believe it is during their brother's wedding. They are all, except the groom, taken to a close airfield and flown off in the darkness of night.

Sherri Tate is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, working in DC as the media officer for the Navy but she wants more than to be the pretty face. So she decided she wants to make something of herself that she can be proud of and that being the first female Navy SEAL would do just that.

As Sherri and two other women are trying to get ready to join the group to be Navy SEALs, Griffin and his team will train the three women to see who can make it. As time goes by, Sherri and Griffin grow closer together.

Will Griffin see that Sherri is determined to be a SEAL and help her in the end? Can Sherri show them all that she can be the first female Navy SEAL? What will happen when something goes wrong during one of the training evolutions?

I love good romantic suspense with a killer heroine and alpha hero that makes this story great. This is a first for me from this author and I can't wait to read more in this series. If you are looking for a new series with a kick, then this one is for you.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I really, really enjoyed this fast-paced, cleverly plotted story. The concept of preparing women to be SEALs, and the reality behind the seemingly good faith measure is really poignantly written. I enjoyed the story from the very first page, and even though I was confident that there would be a satisfying ending, there were some moments of doubt, which caught me unawares.

Giving us an insight into SEAL training, and the brutality to be honest of the methods used – wow, respect. How the three women coped with the intensity and drew on the teams just came over so well. And obviously Skylar – usually called Tate – was an incredible athlete, yet her description of dealing with the pain of stretching herself beyond her limits was crazy. That single-minded commitment is not something that many are blessed with, so reading about it was fascinating. Huge respect to Dees for getting it over with her writing.

Along with all that hard, physical work, were the ups and downs of working so intensely on one's mind. There were some lovely funny moments, and moments of darkness and fear – but all brought to life vividly. Having Grif's input, and his attraction in spite of his annoyance at babysitting these women, did give some idea of why women in the service could cause issues – but he also acknowledged that their strengths were aspects that he had seen lacking when out in the field. I loved that level of detail, it made the book so much richer for me – and was never done in a preachy way, rather fell out of incidents and conversations very naturally.

His constant attraction to Tate and its effect on his body was very funny, and he was swift to say that it was not the outside package, even if that was gorgeous, but her very being. Tate too had a strong desire for him due to his looks, but as they started to work together, a deep level of respect and friendship developed – the fact the chemistry was off the walls was almost a side benefit to their relationship (a great one, but not the only thing holding them together).

I am really excited about the next book in the series already, and will enjoy thinking about Tate and Grif and how they dealt with what they faced, and how it changed them both for the better. Thank you, Cindy Rees, for a special book.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
A female SEAL? Are they crazy? Nope and it's going to happen sooner rather than later.

Grif and his team of Reapers have been assigned to train the first three candidates for BUD/S school. They are not happy about it, thinking this training is going to be more about babysitting than actual training. This was supposed to be their leave and downtime before being assigned another mission.

Sherri Tate is one of the three candidates for SEAL school along with Lilly and Anna. They are excellent soldiers and exemplary athletes.

Grif is assigned to be Sherri's swim buddy. They are never apart during training. Grif does his best to encourage her to quit, to ring the bell, all the while he can't but help noticing that she's all woman. Knowing that any type of relationship between them will not only affect her shot at becoming a SEAL, it would also damage both of their careers. That doesn't stop them from indulging in a little hanky panky when they can get away with it.

When Sherri volunteers to be the first female to attend BUD/S training, she knows that she will become the poster child for the Navy if she passes. She will be paraded around at various events rather than being out in the field with her fellow SEALs.

A series of events befall her during training and when it comes to a head during Hell Week, Sherri must dig down deep to come up with the strength to survive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters herein. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I received an e-arc of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Ok so let me just say, G.I. Jane, but in a book? YES! But so good! I loved this book, I love how detailed the author was with the pre BUD/S training and the way the guys joked and talked seemed realistic. I couldn't put the book down, and even better, I'm anxiously waiting for the next book in the "Valkyrie" series. If you like books about badass women who are still feminine and sexy while also being tough and assertive then this is for you. And the men are awesome too. Guys who are sexy and alpha but also caring, sensitive and genuine...sign me up. I highly recommend this book.

I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy through Netgallery of Beyond The Limit .
I found this story outstanding . I love a story with tough military men . This story doesn't just have tough military men it goes beyond that it has tough military women especially Sherri Tate . The military has decided it would be good publicity to have a woman Navy Seal . Griffins team being one of the best gets chosen to prepare 3 women how to pass Buds training and one will be going to seal training
While two will be operater's . Sherri is to work with Griffin . I was cheering Sherri on . Sherri is one tough cookie . This story keeps your attention completely . It's intense , suspenseful , intriguing , action packed , definitely steamy . It kept me turning the pages with anticipation . The story is amazing . You feel like you're right there in the story . The characters are spectacular . I'm looking forward to the next story in this series . I highly recommend taking the time to read this 5 star read .

I LOVE CINDY DEES!!! I did not love this book. I kept getting confused on the timeline and I'm a very smart person. It would appear that the time jump wasn't really stated so much as inferred. I really got turned around on that. The plot and storyline was good. I just felt discombobulated.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book