Customer Reviews

Grayson's Surrender (Wingman Warriors) (Silhouette Intimate Moments)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Air Force pilot and flight surgeon Grayson "Cutter" Clark fears nothing. Even the trip to war-torn Sentavo to rescue war orphans doesn't bother him. Yet when Lori Rutledge joins his crew as the NGO operative, she nearly brings him down. Now he must rescue the children, and avoid becoming emotionally attached to the woman he left nearly a year ago.

The fates intercede, as Grayson gets another girl in his life, a young orphan named Magda. She quickly becomes a unwitting cupid between the two, and slowly Lori and Grayson begin to realize that the spark they felt over a year ago is still strong. Is this flame of passion strong enough to make their love eternal, or will the blaze die in a glorious sensual moment?

GRAYSON'S SURRENDER offers a sweet yet steamy romance, with a hero to love and cherish, and a woman brave enough to face a war zone and a child who can't speak English. The minor characters also enhance the overall plot, from the talkative and often fun-loving Bronco, to Grayson's parents who have troubles of their own.

Military romance fans will enjoy the pure intensity of the details, including a sudden decompression. The emotions flowing between the two and the pain of loss and injury strikes like a lightning bolt. It leaves one begging for another blast, a second helping of pleasure and a simple delight. Catherine Mann has begun her career in grand style, with all elements firing off without a hitch, so expect big things from her in future novels. -- Jo from Author, Author!

I had the good fortune of hearing Catherine Mann speak at a workshop two years ago. She was dynamic, enthusiastic, generous, and dedicated. In Grayson's Surrender, it is clear those qualities transfer to her writing.

Grayson's Surrender is a fabulous book that is so full of heart it is easy to forget you are not reading about real events or flesh-and-blood people. The plot is exciting, thrusting the reader into a normally closed world (military). The characters are so identifiable and compelling.

Major Grayson Clark is a hero and a hunk. Of course, being married to a real-life AF pilot makes me biased. But there's something more here than a babe-magnet in a flight suit and Ray-bans. With his sense of decency and nobility, Grayson is a modern day knight.

I look forward to many more books about the Air Force world written by Catherine Mann - because, in the words of my favorite pilot - "Chicks dig flightsuits."

Lt. Grayson Clark is fearless...except when it comes to relationships. But no relationship, no woman, ever affected him the way Lori Rutledge did. Even after a year without her, he can't shake the thought of her. And when they're sent on a mission together, all those all feelings flood back.

Lori broke her own heart a year ago when she left Gray. She doesn't know if she can live through that kind of pain again. But how can she walk away from this one last chance with him?

Catherine Mann delivers a fast-paced, touching story of rediscovery as Lori and Gray find what they were meant to have all along...love. I'm looking forward to the next book, Taking Cover, this November.

The military is Major Grayson Clark's life. His father had served in Viet Nam as his mother struggled with the challenges as the wife of career officer. Those experiences left an indelible mark on Gray, defining his goals, his fears and his needs. Consequently, Gray vows that he will never marry or have children. Even when he fell in love with Lori Rutledge, he let her walk away rather than risk the pain his family had known. A year later they are thrown together in a mission to rescue orphans from a war torn country, risking life and limb to save seventy children.

The moment Lori scoops little Magda into her arms, her heart goes out to the child. Later, when Magda's adoptive parents withdraw their petition, Lori opts to adopt the child herself. That decision sweeps Gray back into her life as well, as they oscillate between the pain of the past and the demands of the present. The daughter of gypsy parents, Lori craves the stability and security of home and family, things Gray refuses to provide. Despite impossibly conflicting goals and values, however, neither Gray nor Lori seem to be able to simply walk away and stay away.

Author Catherine Mann brings the reality of her own experiences as a military wife to GRAYSON'S SURRENDER. Lori's struggle with her fear for Gray's safety, her need for stability, and her longing for family encapsulate the very essence of the challenges faced by military wives. Her determination to adopt Magda cannot help but touch reader's hearts. Gray's determination to remain aloof from his emotions even as he struggles with his desire for Lori and his growing concern for Magda culminate in a poignant scene when this huge service man plays Barbie dolls with this tiny, vulnerable child. Such profound moments lend GRAYSON'S SURRENDER an endearing, evocative undertone even as Lori and Gray's wills seem to violently clash. A powerfully told tale that all readers will treasure, GRAYSON'S SURRENDER comes very highly recommended. Readers will look forward to the second Wingmen Warriors novel, TAKING COVER, to be released in November.

Air Force Major Grayson Clark and Lori Rutledge had been lovers for a short, but intense, time a year ago. Now, after that time apart, they come together as a team to fly into a war-ravaged foreign country to rescue helpless children in an orphanage. Gray is a flight surgeon that is very much devoted to his career and although Lori still has feelings for him, she does not want to come second in his life. Instead she has devoted her life to helping children and is determined to work with Gray on this assignment regardless of their personal issues.

Gray has his own reasons for not wanting to make a life time commitment with Lori in the past or now. His father had been a POW and that childhood incident had shaped his life. But now, as he works closely with the only woman he had shared so much with, he starts to question himself about what he truly wants in life and as he embarks on being relocated away from Lori, he also wonders if he can live with out her by his side? The title says it all.......Grayson's Surrender!!!

Wow, I need to read this book again ASAP! Catherine Mann definitely has a winner with the first book in her new military series "WINGMEN WARRIORS". Her knowledge of the service shines through in her storytelling which is one reason why military romance is so interesting. Grayson's Surrender also has family warmth that touched my heart and the chemistry between the hero and heroine makes for an extremely exciting romance. It left me with wonderful feelings....what a keeper!!!

This is a touching love story about a medical pilot and a young woman who are wrestling with their feelings and mostly egoism in order to find a solution to be able to live with their loved one.

I found it interesting that both main characters knew that they loved each other but didn't really know how to explain their feelings to the other one.

Although very touchy, neither the plot nor the main characters managed to persuade me and remained, according o my opinion just an acceptable reading pleasure, unfortunately nothing more.

I have read every one of her books, even the early ones, where she is still struggling for a voice, and these tend to be a bit formulaic. But no on handles the charismatic 'flyboys' of the Air Force like CM...she has cornered the market on these wonderful men and women, and one of her finest stories is Grayson's Surrender.
Mann is married to an Air Force officer, and knows the ins and outs of military life in a way that only someone who is intimately involved can be...she also cherishes family values, and though this sounds corny, her psychological portrayals of character's motivations reveal a deep understanding of human nature.

I have read Grayson;s Surrendor four times. I keep on returning to it because it manages to describe two wonderful people who are both with issues but who are so drawn to each other, and yet can only resolve their arguments through mind-blowing sex, (and Mann is a master in that sphere of writing as well)...and are on the verge of destroying each other's happiness.
The story is poignant and touching and human and riveting in that both the stud flyboy surgeon/flight pilot (drool) is equally matched by a wonderful female character - not always the case in many romance novels, where the female character is either ditzy and off beat but never fully evolved and equal to the male figure.

If you want to sample Mann's wonderful storytelling, this is a superb book to start off with....

Some readers complain, tongue-in-cheek, that "Book One" in any series must be a myth. By the time they start reading a series they enjoy, the first book is always out-of-print and impossible to get...if it truly existed in the first place.

So, as a public service to series-lovers, particularly those who can't get enough Suzanne Brockmann or Merline Lovelace, I want to give you a chance to get in on the ground floor of a hot new military romance series from Silhouette Intimate Moments, Wingmen Warriors. As the wife of a career air force officer, Catherine Mann brings a fresh, authentic voice to Grayson's Surrender, "Book One" in the chronicles of C-17 Squadron, whose motto is "Anything. Anywhere. Anytime."

Doctor/pilot Grayson Clark gets a second chance at love with social worker Lori Rutledge when they take part in a mission to evacuate orphans from a war zone, and end up bonding with one little girl who needs them almost as desperately as they need each other. Gray is a sexy charmer whose committment-phobia is poignantly fuelled by his father's traumatic POW experiences and their effect on his family.

Because of their past failed relationship, the sexual tension between Gray and Lori starts high and never lets up. Their journey to Happily Ever After is as beliveable as it is heart wrenching, when three wounded hearts risk reaching out in love to find mutual healing.

A strong supporting cast will make readers eager to read more about the men and women of Squadron C-17. Fortunately, two more Wingmen Warrior books are in production with a fourth in the works. Be sure you don't miss out on this first one. And while you're at it, maybe you should pick up some extra copies to sell for top dollar when later Wingmen Warrior fans go searching for the elusive "Book One".

When I taught English, I often found students becoming what "they read;" therefore I carefully selected literature designed to elevate their sense of possibilities and to illustrate characters (and authors) who had no inner compass or clarity. The same dynamic remains true for adults. If I remember this author's credentials correctly, her Master's Degree focused upon dramatic literature, particularly William Shakespeare. This classical education I find evident in the mental images she creates - Her characters actually "move" within the reader's mind with the vibrancy and speed of a Shakespearean drama. For readers who enjoy romantic fiction, I recommend this well constructed and fast paced book. It weaves not only a unique plot, but also leaves the reader with personal questions, "Am I in a box?" "When did I crawl into this box?" The writer offers, not just a glib romance story, but a more profound statement on what it takes to live "happily ever after." A "To be or not to be" questioning at the end, resolves quite nicely, but not without personal examination, a sacrifice of false pride, and a commitment to move forward. Alessandra