Wednesday, July 12, 2017

ARC Review: Mission: Armor by A.D. .Starrling

Series:     Division Eight #2
Pub. Date:July 14, 2017
Publisher:Self-Pub
Length:150 pages
Source:Author

This is a quickie review for the second book in A.D. Starrling's second installment of the Division Eight novella series.  Mission: Armor is a bit of a prequel for the series as I believe it takes place prior to the first book, Mission: Black. So I don't think you would have any problem starting with this book if you are just discovering the series.

Division Eight is a team of covert operatives headed by our hero, Alex Slade. Alex is an extremely skilled operative, but he is also a tortured hero experiencing some PTSD-type dreams from his former capture and torture by a drug cartel. Alex has sought out Vivian Thorpe to be his second-in-command based on their prior history, one that saw her rescuing him from the clutches of the cartel. Vivian knew she was in trouble when she joined the team, particularly as she fell in love at first sight with Alex during that prior rescue mission. 

Mission: Armor sees our Division Eight team taking on a ruthless group of international arms dealers. Once again, Starrling does not disappoint. There were an abundance of thrilling action sequences that kept me turning the page as quickly as possible, in addition to well-researched military and geographical aspects. One of my favorite things about Starrling's writing is that her female characters are just as kickass as the males, sometimes even more so. The female operatives that are part of Division Eight don't want (or need) a man saving them... but neither do they walk around with a chip on their shoulder. In turn, the male team members have the utmost respect for their female teammates and don't try to undermine their abilities by butting their nose in where its not wanted. I love how the team works as a cohesive unit, with certain pairs seeming to anticipate each other's moves before they happen. 

I did miss Tristan Payne in this installment, but I enjoyed watching Gaby and Abraham pick at one another and I think that they will be a lot of fun once they are finally paired together. 

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the author. As always, one of my favorite aspects of the story is Starrling's Facts and Fictions section at the end of the book (before the teaser chapter of Haunted). This author does her research extremely well but conveys technical, historical and scientific information in a way that makes it interesting to the reader without being too complicated for a fiction story.  I can't wait for the next Division Eight novella. 

Division Eight

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