This is a hard book for me to review. I did like the story line of female Seals but I just did not like Griffin and his attitude toward women. And that did not improve till close to the end of the story. Since this is a series I will be watching for the next book and will read it to see how it goes. I love Cindy Dee's writing style and have read everything she has written

If you watched GI Jane and liked the movie you will love this. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are several women trying out for seals, besides the expected issue with "politics" and Seals who say no place for women this was really well done. A tad to much hot sex for me, (yes I know its personal preference) it seemed a bit much while they were supposed to be training and learning. I actually had a tear at one point (no spoiler) and it left me with the question of the future. I want to hear more about Tate and Griffin, how they juggle and all that transpires. Since his is book 1, am guessing the rest of the series will be with the other members. Hoping that these two pop up ! Thank you Cindy Dees, Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and thank you Net Galley! All thoughts and opinions are my own and were unsolicited.

I thought this book was fantastic!!! We follow Sherri, a female naval lieutenant who is training to be one of the first female SEALS. Sherri is a warrior and goes through hell and back. Griffin, a SEAL, is training Sherri and their chemistry is hot AF. It was entertaining throughout and I can’t wait to read more in the series. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

This book took me a long time to get into it. I have to admit if I hadn't received it for review I probably would have set it aside. Despite the storyline being about how a woman being capable of becoming a Navy SEAL a good portion of the beginning of the book focused on how hot both the hero and heroine found each other. It fed into all the stereotypes of why women shouldn't be in the military. Couldn't they at least wait until they got to know each other before wanting to rub up against each other?!

Once we finally get to know Skylar and Griffin beyond the fact that they're both hot I actually came to enjoy both characters. I came to admire that Skylar was able to hold her own and that Griffin honestly came to respect her and the other Valkyries abilities. Once Skylar finally makes it to BUDs training I felt the story finally picks up and I enjoyed it much more. So if you can past the first 1/4 of the book the rest is enjoyable.

Great characters, snarky attitude by the female trainees and a great sense of camaraderie between them - no bitchyness!

These girls are taking on the men and I loved the way they managed to get the men to realise that they are just as capable, brave, courageous and sneaky as they are. Griffin may not think much of the Valkyrie plan at the beginning but he sees the grit and gumption of the trainees and by the end, he is as committed to them as they are to the SEALS.

Sherri is used to not being taken seriously because of her looks but rather than resent them she uses them to her advantage. She dazzles them with the pageant smile whilst outmanoeuvring them! The other girls are all accomplished athletes and I'm glad that was emphasised. Griff and Sherri may think they can keep their relationship light and uncomplicated but love has away of catching you unaware.

Glad Grundy got his!

I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion. This was a great book and one I would recommend. The strong alpha male with a strong female lead is too good to pass up.

The premise of this book is there have been orders to graduate women seals, whatever it takes to get them qualified. Griffin is not happy with his assignment. His partner Sherri Tate, an ex beauty queen. He is convinced she doesn’t have what it takes to become a seal. She will have to prove him wrong.

The book is mostly a romance with a little suspense thrown in. I enjoyed reading it and would not hesitate to recommend it. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Should women be allowed to be an elite Navy SEAL? The pressure is on to train and graduate women and seeing an opportunity for good press, former beauty pageant queen Sherri Tate is one of a group of women placed on the fast track to success. Training her would be Griffin Caldwell and his Reaper SEAL team, whether he liked it or not.

He never expected to respect and admire the beauty’s determination and abilities, let alone to fall for her. BEYOND THE LIMIT by Cindy Dees is certainly entertaining, plays to the whole “men are putty in the hands of an extremely beautiful woman,” theme, as well as the blatant sexual attraction between the two. More fluff than substance, it IS an entertaining read with some real nail-biting moments for Sherri and Griffin.

Read it for the romance, get a one-layer-deep peek at the training and remember, beauty is only skin deep, there is more to a woman than her looks and let’s hope men are smarter than the ones in this book! A fun read for a relaxing afternoon!

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Sourcebooks Casablanca!

Series: Valkyrie Ops - Book 1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (June 25, 2019)
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
Genre: Military Romance
Print Length: 352 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Female SEALs...YIKES! Beyond The Limit by Cindy Dees leads us through the advance training for three women and their SEAL trainers. Ms. Dees has given readers a well-written book with a phenomenal cast of characters. Griffin doesn't want to train women to become SEALs. Sherri was excited to get out of DC and stop being the pretty girl mouthpiece for the military and do some real military service. Griffin and Sherri's story is loaded with drama, humor, action, smokin' hot sex and suspense. I loved every page of this book, couldn't put it down. Beyond The Limit is book 1 of the Valkyrie Ops Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First, I want to say that I admire our military and everything they do to protect our freedom.

I want to say a big “hooyah !” This is one action packed read with romance thrown in. Having ladies train for the SEALs, would be amazing. Especially if they are like these ladies. Sherri Tate, is one tough cookie. With every test thrown at her, she did it. When she transferred to BUD/s training, Griffin went with her. Her swim partner/lover, and a seal. He was her tailsman throughout the hellacious journey to become a SEAL. Cindy Dees, did an amazing job explaining the intricacies of become a seal and honoring those who serve. I can’t wait for the next books in this series.

Oh no he didn't! This was my manttra throughout the book. The Beginning was because of Griffin but then it changed to other men throughout the book that were acting like pigs. Sherri was put through a lot. Not just physical but mentally also. She is one tough lady. Beyond the Limit, is a wonderful book that I will definitely be rereading.

I really enjoyed this story, I love kick ass heroines and Sherri was definitely one! What I particularly loved was that she didn’t have a chip on her shoulder and allowed herself to laugh at herself as well as others in an environment that could have made her bitter. Griffin although a thru and thru alpha male was her perfect counter part and enjoyed reading about them both.

Beyond the Limits is book one in the Valkyrie Ops series written by Cindy Dee.  only 353 pages, kind of short really, I had fun reading this book, though I felt I had read this book somewhere before. The Navy SEALS are under pressure to finale have a female SEAL, and to help to accomplish this agenda Team Reaper was chosen. Griffin Caldwell doesn’t believe that a female has what it takes to become one of the elites, but Navy media officer Sherri Tate is there to prove him and anyone who thinks like him wrong. This title had everything going for it a great plot and nice chemistry between the two leads. A good book for any reader who loves military romance.

I was really excited by the blurb for Beyond the Limit. A SEAL team is tasked with training women to prepare for becoming the first Navy SEALs—something that platoon leader Griffin Caldwell doesn’t believe is possible, and something that Navy media officer Sherri Tate believes she can prove.

The hero was obnoxious about women in the first chapter, but I let it slide. Second chapter, let it slide. But when it takes 15 of the 25 chapters for Griffin to show some sign of change that is never truly achieved? Unforgivable.

I was torn on whether Beyond the Limit was a 1-star, 1.5-star, or 2-star read for me. After a couple of days of reflection, I decided that it’s a 1.5-star book—but rounded down, because there is so much more bad to discuss than good.

For me, the good started around 60% through the book, when Sherri moves on to training that does not include Griffin being involved much in the story anymore. Sherri is a much better character without Griffin involved. Unfortunately, the only good and interesting part of the story is over within 10 chapters (around 90% into the book), leaving the reader to suffer through the end.

It takes a lot for me to have such a viscerally negative reaction to a book, as I’m happy to roll with most plots as long as I feel that they are justified, structured well, and have relatable (even if they’re not likeable) characters. Griffin is a terrible character. His attitude toward women is ridiculously sexist—something you can see in him even through the final pages. It was frustrating to read chapter after chapter of Griffin’s BS.

I normally highlight and note a few things in books to refer back to in my reviews. A few, as in, less than 10 notes of major things I noticed in the writing or some commentary on my mind. In Beyond the Limit, I had 104 notes. A handful of these notes were lines that I noted as breakthroughs in Sherri’s progression as a character. Another few notes were highlighting the main character names and changes in location. But the vast majority of the notes highlighted areas where Griffin was being a jerk, whether in general or through sexist commentary. I had so many attached comments of “ugh,” “meh,” “WTF??,” and expletives I won’t print in a review that my Kindle notebook is painted in a rainbow of my frustration.

Ultimately, it was Griffin’s terrible characterization that ruined the story for me. The plot regarding the first female SEALs is quite topical, but Griffin drains any enjoyment of it. The good part of the plot only comes once he’s temporarily on the back-burner and Sherri gets to shine.

Even though one of my major interests in Beyond the Limit was the story being a romance—it would have been much better with no romance. Its unsatisfying HFN conclusion seems to agree with that sentiment.

This was a good book. Sherri is in the Navy but has always been put in the position where her looks are the main focus. She is a former pageant winner but there is more to her than that, if only she could get others to look past it. Griffin is leader of his SEAL unit and isn't too happy with being tasked with getting three women in shape to get into the SEALS.

There was a lot going on in the book. I think the author did a good job of pointing out the differences in men and women in the armed forces. That being said, it was a bit over the top at times. Sherri and Griffin's relationship unfolded exactly as I expected it to. It was a good read with plenty of action. I will read the next one to see what happens to the other ladies.

It was a 3/5 for me.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy of this book via netgalley. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Sherri Tate is asked to participate in a program to introduce females to Seal training. She and her fellow trainees are given prior training to the official program by the Reapers Seal team. Griffin is not exactly on board with the idea of female Seals but works to prepare them for the difficult road ahead. He is assigned to work with Sherri and has to fight his feelings of attraction. Sherri is beautiful, motivated, ambitious and a fit Naval officer. The possibility of a female Seal delights my soul and the possibility of men accepting them is evolutionary in many ways.

Oddly reminiscent of ‘The Medusa Project’—a book of Cindy Dees I read a long time ago, ‘Beyond the Limit’ failed to enthral me because it felt like ground that has been trodden on before: women attempting to break through the elite ranks of spec ops, an area traditionally and still dominated by Alpha men and the likes, and eventually getting them to eat their words, while forming a sisterhood in the process.

Miss Congeniality turned Spec-ops potential soldier Sherri Tate is the first in line in this book, as a SEAL platoon is tasked to get them up to speed as suitable candidates (and probably getting them to fail in the process). But seeing Sherri Tate swooning over her instructor and his hot bod felt painfully awkward instead and trying to meet all the men’s , seemingly proving the point that women and men couldn’t work together in the military without someone dying of lust.

I realise I’m not quite the type of reader who crows about female vs. male prowess even if it’s with the former coming out top), even if it’s about the women trying to earn a place in the SEALs—and how the men do everything in their power to wash them out. There’re misogynist and chauvinistic tendencies, both overt and implied and so deeply buried in everyday vocabulary—that men would be made obsolete if the women joined their ranks?!—but if the intention is to rile the female reader, it didn’t exactly work on me because it felt like a story that has been already told…by Dees herself a long time ago.

It’s not that I don’t think a very special breed of women can cut it in spec ops (there are already women rangers out there, so it’s a moot point), but rather, it’s probably the sense of entitlement of the elite SEALs have, along with the whole cyclical round of women proving men wrong that I’m tired with. Even though the women do it and triumph through sheer grit and hard work.

It’s all on me, I’ll readily admit, that I wasn’t as engaged in the storytelling as I would have liked and the skimmed the whole way without being able to get a hook into the whole journey of Sherri going through her rounds and rounds of training. ‘Beyond The Limit’ just didn’t do it for me, for a combination of reasons that had me not finishing it.

Dees gives the reader a deep insight into SEAL training by taking us on Sherri's quest to become the first female SEAL. Readers will be rooting for Sherri's success in this male-dominated world. A bonus is Sherri finding her equal in Griffin and how they evolve together, along with some major bumps throughout their journey. Beyond the Limit is a very satisfying read.

I unfortunately lost all desire to read this book after the first two scenes. Based on the description "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." I knew there would be sexism in the book, but I just was not able to get past it. The blatant disregard of the bride at the wedding and the way the ladies talked among themselves at the army base coupled with the seals heading to the mission after having been drinking just all made me not want to continue reading. It is quite probable that it would have gotten better since the description says "even this hard-nosed SEAL has to admit she's tough as nails"