Jen’s review of Breaking Point (Shadow Warriors #5) by Lindsay McKenna

In the line of fire… 

OPERATION SHADOW WARRIORS 

An ongoing U.S. military experiment to test the integration of trained female military operatives in live combat scenarios… 

The Alpha Platoon. A unit of Navy SEALs stationed in the unforgiving dryness of Afghanistan…who just learned that their newest team member is a woman. But Bay Thorn has a spine of steel—and the chops to prove it. Without a team to back her up, however, she’s dead in the water. And her only ally is Gabe Griffin, a lone SEAL who is lethal, dangerous and unbearably attractive…. 

Between the open hostility from her team and the harsh Al Qaeda territory, Gabe is a lifeline for Bay. But mutual respect quickly grows into mutual attraction. And with each day and every assignment, the longing only deepens. 

They mustn’t speak of it. Mustn’t act on it. Because in this line of work, falling in love can get you killed….

I enjoy a good military romance occasionally, especially one where a woman has to prove herself, so I wanted to give this book a try. My book mojo has been way, way off lately, though, and lots of my recent reads have been disappointing. Breaking Point unfortunately didn’t end my losing streak.

The book is about Bay Thorn who is part of a top secret Pentagon project to test women in combat situations. Bay is an exceptional medic assigned temporarily to a SEAL team in Afghanistan, which is where she meets team member Gabe Griffin. Bay has to prove herself to the rest of her team (many of whom are convinced a woman in the group is a bad idea), negotiate the rigors of life in a combat zone, and try to cope with her burgeoning feelings for Gabe.

Sounds pretty exciting, right? Well, given all the potential sources for conflict, this was an amazingly un-exciting book. The opening scenes build up some good tension, with some of the SEAL team members being skeptical, or even hostile, to Bay. She has to stand up for herself without being a jerk, something she does well. It seemed like this conflict was going to be a real challenge, but after a couple confrontations it just fizzles out. That’s exactly what happens with most of the conflicts in the book. It seems like something will be a source of tension, and then after a couple chapters it just gets resolved and goes away. The SEALs have missions, and those can be interesting at times. For instance, there’s a helicopter crash that strands Bay, Gabe, and some others in enemy territory. The crash itself is pretty harrowing, and there are some tense scenes while they’re fighting enemies off while waiting for a rescue. But then that part is over, and it’s back to mundane stuff. After the crash, Bay and Gabe have to spend a night away from their home base, and they get to visit Gabe’s friend’s civilian villa. I thought “Oh here we go! A chance for privacy, for some good conversations, maybe even some sexual tension!” As usual, though, they stay mostly professional, and nothing happens. And the pattern repeats through the whole book–source of tension comes up, all gets quickly resolved and goes back to normal. In fact, huge chunks of this book are just made up of descriptions of weapons, procedures, SEAL ethos, etc. Much of it felt like one big info dump.

There’s really not much sexual tension between Bay and Gabe either. They understand they would ruin both their careers by getting involved. Plus, they’re in a combat zone and dealing with constant threats. However, this means there’s really nothing grabbing the reader and building anticipation, aside from a few heated glances. They don’t even kiss until about 70% of the way through the book. I just never felt the chemistry.

Once Bay’s leave starts, the slight tension the combat setting provides evaporates and the book really drags. There is lots of conflict potential. For example, Bay was involved in a terrible firefight immediately before leaving Afghanistan, and she was shot. Her Kevlar vest protected her, but she has an injury from it. Yet again, something that’s building as a source of tension just gets handled and resolved with a quick doctor’s visit. They both realize that being the significant other of a service person in combat is stressful and that their professional paths might require sacrifices, but after a bit of discussion they very reasonably find solutions to cope with the worst of it and accept that it will be difficult. There’s some talk about how Bay is struggling to adjust to civilian life, as all those who’ve been in combat do, but that’s mostly resolved off screen. We just hear about the two of them discussing it or thinking about it. It’s treated as entirely normal and not an obstacle for their relationship.

Bay arrives back in the US at around 75% of the way through the book. The last quarter of the book, nothing. happens. at. all. There are a bunch of sex scenes that come rapid fire (and none of them very engaging), as if the book was trying to squeeze in all the sex that normally would have been happening throughout the story. Instead, we hear about boring, ordinary stuff, such as pages of description of the two of them making or eating food. They gush at each other about how much they love the other, how they didn’t imagine they’d get so lucky, how the other is so amazing. Rinse. Repeat! It was, quite simply, incredibly boring. There was nothing keeping them apart anymore, and I didn’t understand why the story kept going and going.

Most of the time, readers complain about a lack of realism in books. In this case, I think the book is a little TOO realistic for its own good. Military operations are full of scary stuff, but they’re also full of lots of down time, rules and procedures, routine tasks, etc. That’s not the stuff that makes a great dramatic story. It would have been fine if the interpersonal conflict could have carried the book, but there was almost none. Bay and Gabe are both very normal people, with no quirks, hang ups, or even imperfections. (Bay in particular is a total Mary Sue that everyone adores.) They are open and honest, and they have nothing keeping them apart other than their current situation in Afghanistan. There is literally no drama–both are entirely logical, reasonable and self aware. While we may all complain about realism in romance sometimes, seeing two people act rationally, professionally, and with restraint all the time is kind of like watching a reality show about a regular person getting ready for work. It may be true to life, but it makes for a boring story!

I appreciate what the book is trying to do–clearly the author takes great care with all the details of military life. This is a well researched book, but there just isn’t a substantial enough plot or character development to hold my interest.

Grade: 2 out of 5

This book is available from Harlequin HQN. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.