Review, Q&A, and Giveaway - - Between Love and Honor

Between Love and Honor
by Tracy Solheim
Men of the Secret Service - Book 3
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Release Date: March 26, 2020
Reviewed by PJ
  

The Secret Service’s number one cyber asset, Special Agent Ben Segar, has a reputation for playing it straight... until a top-secret assignment has him cozying up to an enigmatic beauty from his past – his runaway prom date. Now, he’s willing to break a few rules to even the score, including unmasking a potential traitor, which would make his revenge even sweeter.

Photographer Quinn Darby was born into the spy game. When her life is threatened, she turns to the one man she knows she can trust, but Ben is no longer the mild-mannered lab partner she once loved. Instead, he’s a full-grown, alpha-man whose appeal is even more irresistible. She’s vowed to never again deceive him, but to protect him, she must keep her double life a secret.

Soon, Quinn and Ben are embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game with the enemy – and each other. As the case intensifies, so does the heat between them. Will the greatest casualties be their hearts?

PJ's Thoughts:

Between Love and Honor is filled with the sensual chemistry, thought-provoking intrigue, and heart-stopping action that readers have come to expect from Solheim's Men of the Secret Service series. I've read it twice and, even knowing how it would all end the second time around, I still couldn't put it down until I reached the conclusion. I love when an author, especially one writing romantic suspense, is able to surprise me. The twists and turns expertly woven into this story kept me on my toes and trying to guess what would happen next until the very end. 

One of the facets I've most enjoyed about this series are the complex and fully dimensional characters Solheim brings to life on the pages of these books. I love the friendship among Adam, Griff, and Ben and the sense of family that extends to the women in their lives. The vibrantly depicted secondary characters, both good and evil, enrich the story and I'm hoping readers will see more of some of them in future books. Several characters from the first two books have significant roles in this third story but it never feels as if they are trying to steal the spotlight from Ben and Quinn. 

Ben and Quinn are clearly the heart of this story and I was in their corner from the get-go though it did take me a while to decide whether or not I fully trusted Quinn not to hurt him again. Second chances are my jam and the circumstances surrounding both Quinn's abrupt disappearance from Ben's life when they were teens and her equally abrupt reappearance, along with the secrets both are keeping, only upped the ante. I love that they meet again as equals, even if they don't immediately realize that. I love that each of them is determined to protect the other, even when their trust is still in question. I love their intelligence, honor, and bravery, but also their vulnerability. And, boy howdy, do I love their set-the-sheets-on-fire chemistry. They're my favorite couple from the series and I couldn't get enough of them. 

Between Love and Honor has my enthusiastic recommendation. It can be read as a standalone but, as the main characters from the first two books figure prominently in this one as well, I'm glad I read the three books in order. 

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Q&A with Tracy Solheim

Welcome back, Tracy!

Thanks for hosting me, PJ. I always love hanging out with your readers. Everyone here is so welcoming and enthusiastic about the romance genre.

Between Love and Honor is the third book in your Men of the Secret Service series. What would you like readers to know about this series?

I’d like readers to know they won’t find any politics between the covers!! Our society is quite polarized right now, and people read to escape. Some see a picture of the White House or the Capitol on the front, and they might shy away from this series. Nothing could be further from the truth. This series is about an unbreakable bond of brotherhood between three West Point classmates who, after serving in the Army, now work for the U. S. Secret Service. The trio of special agents, dubbed the Heartthrob, the Brain, and the Enforcer, are devoted to their demanding jobs, thriving on the daily pressure and adrenaline. When each of them meets the one woman he can’t live without, their lives take on a whole new dimension.

I love second chance romances. Add in a revenge twist and it’s even more intriguing. What is it about these tropes that inspire you as a writer?

I think everyone can envision a situation in their life where they’d like a “do-over.” Especially in a relationship. We often imagine in our head how it will play out and the result we want—especially if we want revenge! But as a writer, there are so many different directions we can go with these scenarios. In this case, I had a geeky guy who was stood up at his senior prom by the hottest girl in school. Living in a small town meant it was hard for him to outrun the embarrassment. So when I bring them face-to-face again, revenge is one of the first things on Ben’s mind. But he’s never met puzzle he couldn’t solve and that suddenly becomes his main focus. That, and the lingering attraction he feels for Quinn, make him want to uncover all her secrets. Unfortunately, Quinn spends her entire life spinning secrets. She’s very good at it.  Readers know the trope well, and they are confident they’ll get their HEA, but it’s fun to lead the characters through an intricate dance before they get their second chance.

How would Quinn and Ben introduce themselves to readers who have yet to meet them?

Ben is the Brain of the trio, with a big heart and a love for sailing. He’s also a bit of a Boy Scout, loyal to his two buddies he thinks of as brothers. And he is always prepared. Except when he unexpectedly crosses paths with Quinn once again. That throws him off his axis. And he doesn’t like not being able to know the answer before everyone else.

Quinn can only be described as elusive. She’s confident, self-sufficient, and used to being a one-woman-show--right up until she sees what she has been missing all these years. Quinn has a soft heart, too. She’s just had to keep it locked up for her own survival. She was also the most difficult character I have ever written. It took several tries to make her likeable!

This book has a great balance of action, suspense, and romance. What was your favorite scene to write in the book? Which was most difficult?

One of my favorite scenes is when Ben takes Quinn to his sister’s restaurant. There’s a fun interaction with his nutty family members. The reader gets to see how much his family means to him and why keeping his alter-ego a secret creates such a strain on him. Quinn, on the other hand, gets a glimpse of what her life might have been had she stuck around. The scene is both funny and laced with emotion.

The hardest scene to write—and get right—I can’t talk about because it will reveal too many spoilers!

There are several intriguing secondary characters in this series. Will you be returning to Washington, D.C. for any future books?

I’d like to, at some point. Agent Groesch needs her HEA after all. There’s also the Secretary of Homeland to consider. There are also some additional fun facts about the White House I’d love to share with readers, not to mention taking a peek at the Vice President’s residence. Both buildings transcend their residents and are more character than setting.

All three books in this series have kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end. To what author do you turn when you’re in the mood for edge-of-your-seat, action-filled romance?

My all-time favorite action-filled romance is For the Love of Pete, by Julia Harper, aka Elizabeth Hoyt. It was funny, sexy, and very suspenseful. I love a good Julie Garwood book, as well.

What’s next?

I’m headed back to the gridiron for the near future, finishing up book one in a series I’d started before the Men of the Secret Service books. This one focuses on a new football team in Milwaukee but will feature some familiar faces from the Baltimore Blaze. I’ve also got a seasoned romance trilogy flushed out that I’d love to write. If only I wrote as fast as the voices in my head!

Thanks for visiting with me, Tracy. Is there anything you’d like to add? Would you like to ask our readers a question today?

Thanks for inviting me, PJ and thanks to all the readers for stopping by. 

The second chances trope is one of my favorites to read. I’m curious, readers, what are some of your favorite tropes? Tell me, and PJ will randomly select one person to receive this fun prize of a signed copy of Between Love and Honor and a heart shaped key chain from Brighton. (US only, please.)

Winner will be chosen from comments posted by 11:00 PM, March 27.

Today's Special - - Tracy Solheim's Shot in the Dark

I'm happy to welcome Tracy Solheim back to The Romance Dish today. Tracy's newest novel, Shot in the Dark released last week and it's another fast-paced, action-packed, suspense-filled romance that's sure to keep readers flipping pages to find out what happens next. I loved the pairing of zoologist, Josslyn who hates guns, rebels against authority, and does whatever it takes to keep her beloved animals safe with by-the-book Secret Service agent, and expert marksman, Adam who has yet to meet a rule he doesn't follow. Add in a secret past encounter, sizzling chemistry, and the fact that they are in the cross hairs of an international poaching ring and you can be sure there will be plenty of fireworks ahead...both in and out of the bedroom. 

Connect with Tracy online at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bookbub, and Goodreads. Learn more about Tracy and her books at her website.


Shot in the Dark
by Tracy Solheim
Men of the Secret Service - Book 2
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Release Date: February 25, 2019

If there’s anything zoologist Josslyn Benoit abhors more than guns, it’s poachers. When an African “fact-finding” mission with a wildlife conservationist group goes horribly wrong and one of their members is shot, Josslyn and her team must flee for their lives. What’s worse? Josslyn must call in a favor from her older half-sister…the First Lady of the United States. She returns to D.C. to hunt down a major importer of illegal animal products and the last thing she needs on her tail is a gun-toting, testosterone-fueled hottie who’s too sexy for words and too bossy to tolerate.

After suffering an injury in the line of duty, Adam Lockett, commander of the Secret Service’s elite team of snipers, is sidelined on a boring protective detail—guarding the First Lady’s wild-child younger sister, who’s hell-bent on ditching her detail. He’s biding his time until he can return to the job he loves best, and no tree-hugging, animal saving smokey-eyed beauty is going to ruin his perfect protection record. But when Josslyn’s leads heat up, it’s her own skin on the line, and she’s become much more than a job for Adam. 

Can two opposites find happiness, or is it just a shot in the dark?

Who Says Fiction Can’t Be Factual?
by Tracy Solheim

              I’ve spent much of my adult life researching. Whether it was to earn an advanced degree or testify before Congress, I’ve done my fair share of sifting through archives, depositions, micro-fiche, and surfing the Internet. Just because I write fiction now, doesn’t mean I don’t want it to be “real.”

Case in point, my Men of the Secret Service series for Tule Publishing. The agents may be characters of my own imagination, but the weapons they carry, the equipment they use, the code names they utter, are all based on real-life accounts from actual agents. Best of all, the setting for the series is the White House, a place rich with its own history and a treasure trove of fun facts I can sprinkle throughout my books—especially when the plot seems to stall!

Let’s explore some of those fun facts, starting with the Secret Service. Most people aren’t aware that the agency was created following the Civil War to help sort out the influx of counterfeit money that arose during Reconstruction. It was only in 1901 after President McKinley was assassinated—the third US president to be killed while in office—that someone got the bright idea elected officials might need an extra bit of personal protection. Thus, the Secret Service we know today was born. But that doesn’t mean the agency isn’t still on the front lines sniffing out counterfeiters. They continue to lead federal law enforcement’s efforts in that area.

Getting a feel for the White House was easily my favorite

Children's Garden

aspect of the research for this series. The White House Museum has an interactive site where you can wander from room to room within the eighteen acres of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I had fun sending my characters to the historic rooms everyone sees in history books. But it was the obscure places no one knows about that lend a little something extra to the book, like the chocolate shop in RECIPE FOR DISASTER, or the Children’s Garden in SHOT IN THE DARK.

The third book in the series will feature a look at the First Lady’s offices and Camp David. The characters will also spend a hot minute in the White House Calligraphy office. Yep, they address all those invitations by hand! The three White House calligraphers are among 300 staff whose job it is to keep the executive mansion running on a day-to-day basis. And that gives me a deep well of characters to choose from in this series!

Liberty Ford

If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know that I often include animals. In Recipe for Disaster, Otto the Belgian Malinois is a working Secret Service K-9 at the White House. Spoiler alert:  Yes, he does get injured in the line of duty, but he lives. No worries, dear reader. In fact, very few of the working K-9s are injured while working to protect the president. Only one Secret Service K-9 has died in the line of duty and that was an accident. The dog slipped off the edge of a six-story parking garage during a sweep for explosives. According to accounts I read while researching the dogs, the handlers and agents were devastated. The dog received a full law enforcement burial.

In Shot in the Dark, I put another dog in the White House, Fergus the Scottish terrier. There have been many pets—including a few famous Scottish terriers—who called the White House home. FDR’s terrier, Fala, was so popular, she was the subject of a short film. Miss Beazley, the terrier owned by First Lady Laura Bush, was the first pet to be adopted by a president. Bo and Sunny were scene stealers from the Obamas during photo shoots, while who could forget Nixon’s dog, Checkers or Liberty, Gerald Ford’s beautiful golden retriever.

Obama in Children's Garden

But dogs aren’t the only pets to roam the lawns of the executive mansion. There have been a few cats, too. Including the Clinton’s feline, Socks. Other pets included hamsters and parakeets, fish, and canaries. And don’t forget the horses. Many presidents brought their own trusted mounts to live with them. Horses made a home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right up through the Kennedy administration when Vice President Johnson gifted a pony named Macaroni to Caroline Kennedy.

And there were a few exotic pets, too, including a one-legged rooster Teddy Roosevelt owned and a raccoon gifted to Calvin Coolidge that was supposed to be dinner, but who was spared and kept as a pet by the First Family. The Coolidge family ended up with a second raccoon before they left Washington, not to mention a pet bobcat named Smoky! Benjamin Harrison kept a pair of opossums while he was in office. Martin Van Buren wanted to keep a pair of tiger cubs gifted to him by the Sultan of Oman, but Congress quashed that idea, forcing the president to donate the animals to a zoo, instead.

Speaking of zoos, the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park has a few scenes in the Shot in the Dark. I’m grateful for the docents within the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) who took the time to answer my many questions and show me around the Elephant Trails exhibit—including the poop pit! I truly am lucky to have this career. And yes, I do base my characters in places I’d love to research, because why not?

I have signed copies of both books in the Men of the Secret Service series (digital copies if the winner is international) for one randomly selected person. Just tell me below if you could get unlimited access, what famous place would you love to explore? 

Review - - Recipe for Disaster

Recipe for Disaster
By Tracy Solheim
Men of the Secret Service - Book One
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Release Date: May 7, 2018
Reviewed by PJ

An elusive group of international counterfeiters has escaped Secret Service agent Griffin Keller's net long enough. He's determined to bring them to justice, especially the one known as The Artist, and, finally, he's found a clue that might help him do that. The clue leads him to the White House and executive pastry chef, Marin Chevalier whose family owns hotels around the world that have been used as drop sites for the counterfeit bills. Add to that the strange events and growing body count around Marin, and Griffin is sure he's found a link to the counterfeiters...even as his growing desire for the chef has him hoping he's wrong. Using his legendary good looks - dimples rule - and charm, he sticks close to her until he can determine for certain if she's on the right, or wrong, side of the law but as desire ramps up and unexpected feelings deepen, will they cloud his judgment and hamper his ability to solve the case before it's too late?

White House executive pastry chef, Marin Chevalier is dealing with stress on all sides. With Easter weekend almost upon them, the oven in the pastry kitchen burns up, her sous chef seems distracted, her condescending cousin - for whom Marin is maid of honor - has turned into a bridezilla, insisting Marin bring a date to the upcoming wedding, and there's no likely candidate in sight. And that's before things begin to spiral out of control. Suddenly, a handsome Secret Service agent is romancing her and Marin, who has always been all work and no play, begins to believe she may have finally found "the one." But people around her start dying, the man to whom she could easily give her heart hasn't been completely truthful, and the lurking danger now has Marin in its sights. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in Tracy Solheim's new romantic suspense series centered around the Secret Service. There's great characterization, plenty of action, danger, and twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout while also being well balanced by romance, emotion, humor, and sizzle.  I especially enjoyed Solheim's attention to detail in setting scenes and describing the interior of her White House. It enabled me to not just read about what was happening but become immersed in the journey of these characters as if I were there with them each step of the way. 

Being the first book in a series, there are a number of characters introduced but I never felt confused or overwhelmed by them. I especially enjoyed Otto, a working K-9 who is critical to the plot and won my heart as surely as he did Marin's. Griffin and Marin have terrific chemistry, the obstacles they must overcome are relevant and believable, and their HEA is hard-won and satisfying. I'm hopeful that we'll see more of them in the next two books which will feature Griffin's two pals and fellow Secret Service agents, Ben and Adam. 

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Q&A with Tracy Solheim

Welcome, Tracy! Thanks so much for visiting with us today.

Thanks so much for inviting me to stop by the Dish. It’s always fun to catch up with my friends here.

Recipe for Disaster launches your new Men of the Secret Service series. What should readers expect from this book?

This is the first book in a trilogy about three Secret Service agents who have been friends since their days at West Point. While it’s definitely a suspenseful “Whodunit” I tried to give my readers the same amount of heat and romance they’ve come to know in my previous books. There’s also a pooch for readers to fall in love with. But I’ll warn you up front, Otto is a working K-9 who, like the other heroes in this series, puts his life on the line every day. Just keep in mind as you’re reading about Otto that I’m in the business of writing happy endings. 😊

I was impressed with your understanding of the inner workings of the White House as well as your attention to detail in describing areas within the building that typically are off-limits to the public. How did you obtain your White House store of knowledge?

You caught me! I’m a huge history buff particularly if it involves Washington, DC since I spent nearly half my life living there. I’ve been inside the White House numerous times for holiday tours—including one time when my younger brother decided to play with the dimmer switch in the Green Room and turn out the lights! You should have seen the Secret Service agents that night! For this book, however, I needed more behind the scenes info and that’s where my friend Google came to the rescue. The White House Museum has a fabulous website complete with an interactive map of the entire White House. It was invaluable helping me to navigate my characters' steps from one place to another on the grounds and within the House itself. Information on the artwork and decorations came from The White House Historical Association website. For details on the pastry kitchens, I watched a C-SPAN documentary on the White House and its staff. Where would we be without the Internet? Any mistakes in the book are mine and there’s no excuse because the information is out there! 😊

I adored Marin even though her pastry and culinary creations throughout the book had me drooling all over my Kindle. 😉 Do you enjoy getting creative in the kitchen? And, I have to ask: Is the butternut squash ravioli (such a sigh-worthy scene) actually on the menu at Old Ebbitt Grill? If so, I see a trip to Washington, DC in my future!

I enjoy cooking, but baking is my jam. I look for any excuse I can to bake a cake, cookies or breads for my family and friends. They are always grateful, but my thighs, not so much. I didn’t have a go-to recipe for lemon bars when I had Marin bake them, so of course, I had to try out multiple recipes. As it turns out with most things, the simpler recipe ended up being the best.

Since it’s been over a decade since I’ve eaten there, I took some liberties with the menu from Old Ebbitt Grill. When I wrote the dinner date on the Truman balcony, I could still taste the butternut squash ravioli I had at a restaurant the evening before. It was so delicious, I had to memorialize it in a book.

What was your favorite scene to write in this book? What was the most difficult?

It’s hard to pick a favorite. This was one of those books where the scenes seemed to come easily. I enjoyed writing the parts that took place in various rooms of the White House because it gave me a chance to pretend I was actually there! The most difficult scene for me to write is always the Black Moment. Griffin was a bit of a dunderhead and wasn’t sure what he was losing until he walked away. I didn’t want to make him too much of a clod that Marin would be better off without him!

Griffin’s my new book boyfriend. I fell so hard for this guy. How would he describe himself to our readers?

“I’m much more than just a pair of dimples. Women can’t seem to see past them or my wavy hair.  But I’m a guy who works hard, plays hard, loves my family, and is loyal to my friends. Serving my country is my number one mission in life. There’s no room for any other commitments. Period.”

What can you share about future books in the series and when do you expect them to be published? Will Adam and Ben both have books? What about a certain female FBI agent?

I’m finishing up Ben’s story right now. It’s called Between Love and Honor and readers can expect it in the fall. Writing this one has been a bit like walking on a tightrope. Quinn, the heroine, has hurt Ben before and I needed to make her worthy of not only Ben’s trust, but the readers’ as well. The friendship between the three men gets tested in this book, too.  Adam, the sniper, will get his story in Shot in the Dark when he is injured on the job and has to serve on the protective detail of the First Lady’s younger half-sister, an animal-rights activist who is against guns. Needless to say, the sparks fly from the get go. I can’t leave Leslie hanging either. She might have to meet up with another FBI agent who has dropped into several of my other books. Ava, Marin’s cousin, could also kick-off another series involving the Chevalier Hotel chains. But only after she’s matured a bit.

Otto (a Belgian Malinois) was one of my favorite characters in this book. Do you share your life with any four-legged family members?  How do they inspire you?

I do! Harper, my sweet black Labrador retriever, will be four next week. She keeps me healthy by providing a ready excuse to get out of my chair to take lots of walks—not to mention the exercise from vacuuming up the dog hair!

Summer is almost upon us. If money and time were no issue, where in the world would you choose to visit and what would you most want to see/do while there?

I really want to spend some time in Glacier National Park where my book, Smolder, is set. I’m headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in July to hike and visit the national parks there, so maybe next summer. Of course, I seem to remember your photos and blogs from the Amalfi Coast being spectacular. That’s a place on my list, too!

Where can readers connect with you online?

Website: https://www.tracysolheim.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TracySolheimBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracyKSolheim

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/solheim0062/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6519003.Tracy_Solheim

BoobBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tracy-solheim

Will you be attending any events this year where readers can meet you in person?

I’ll be in Denver July 21^st signing at Romance Writers of America’s Readers for Life Literacy Autographing.

October 6th, I’ll signing at Georgia Romance Writer’s Moonlight and Magnolias’ book fair at the Atlanta Hilton.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Tracy! Do you have anything else to add? Would you like to ask our readers a question?

Have you ever been to Washington, DC? If so, what was your favorite place to visit?

The prize (U.S. winner) is a White House apron and a print copy of Recipe for Disaster. (International winner will receive a digital copy of Recipe for Disaster only.)