Book Tour for Hostile Ground by Aleksandr Voinov & L.A. Witt (Review & GIVEAWAY)

Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/Aleksandr Voinov/L. A. Witt blog tour for the thriller, Hostile Ground!  Keep reading to get a glimpse of this erotically charged and suspenseful crime story, as well as my impressions of it, and learn even more about this book by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour.  Leave a comment and fill out the form to be in the running for books and a $10 Riptide Publishing GC too!

Enemy territory is a dangerous place to fall in love.
After the deaths of three undercover cops investigating a drug ring in a seedy strip club in Seattle, Detective Mahir Hussain has been sent to finish the job. He joins the club’s security team in the hopes of finding enough evidence to bust the operation before the men in charge find a reason to put him in a shallow grave.

To protect the strippers, only gay men can work the club. Ridley, the cold and intimidating head of security, knows exactly how to test potential new hires—including Mahir. From the minute they meet, Mahir and Ridley engage in a dangerous dance of sex and mind games. Mahir needs to find his evidence before Ridley figures out he’s a cop—and before they both grow too close to betray one another.
As the game goes on, Mahir burrows deeper into the operation, where he learns there’s much more happening than meets the eye . . . and why every cop who made it this far has been silenced with a bullet.

Hostile Ground is available now from Riptide Publishing.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Ever since I read Dark Soul by Aleksandr Voinov I became enthralled by that author's clever crafting of the sexy antihero.  In this latest collaboration with Ms. Witt we see many of the same elements which all combined make for yet another compelling read that keeps you on the edge of your seat amidst a sea of grey trying to determine who's on the side of good.  This is a gritty world where danger is just a breath away which results in numerous frantic and sexually-charged interludes between the two lead characters, Ridley and Saeed/Mahir.

Saeed/Mahir is left a bit bruised and disillusioned after his time in the military.  Looking to do some real good he's sent deep undercover into an operation of drugs and prostitution that's already resulted in the deaths of other cops.  To get to the heart of the organization he has to earn the trust of right-hand man Ridley which leads to one intense encounter after another.  Though Ridley seems like a cold-hearted bastard Saeed sees something else when he looks at him which leads to a crisis of conscious as he starts sleeping with the enemy.  As he gets closer to the truth the twists and turns become more erratic as enemies become friends and danger hits close to home.  Through it all Saeed/Mahir has to balance his fake life with the emotional upheaval brought on by his nephew who's dealing with coming out in a very religious family.  The authors incorporated all these facets beautifully, allowing them to intermingle in a very believable way that added to the story's pulse-pounding action.  I admired Saeed/Mahir for doing what must be done to bring the bad guy to justice even when it goes against his beliefs.  He's a lonely man comfortable in his skin who longs for more in life.  He finally finds the one man who he can see being with forever in a most unexpected place, but their happiness may end before it begins as the bad guys come knocking with guns blazing as he gets closer to bringing down the bad guy.

Ridley is a cold-hearted man whose eyes reveal only what he wants you to see.  He's not afraid to get his hands dirty when ordered to do so, but occasionally another side slips through.  He feels an immediate and sizzling connection to Saeed/Mahir and against his better judgement starts an intense sexual relationship that is at times reckless but increasingly emotional.  This relationship leads to the truth about Ridley coming to light which changes his and Saeed/Mahir's future, complicating things and yet giving each of them unspoken support for their individual goals.  I was immediately drawn to Ridley despite his scary exterior, maybe because of it truthfully.  He exudes confidence and strength which made for a powerful aphrodisiac.

The suspense in this book is cleverly crafted with multiple layers to keep you constantly on the edge of your seat.  Danger abounds which kept me quickly turning the pages trying to keep up with my pounding heart and with worry for its likable characters who were constantly in jeopardy.  The sexual interludes were HOT with off-the-charts intensity when it came to moments of power play that left me parched.  Seeing the familial complications of his nephew, combined with living a dual life, made me even more engaged in Saeed/Mahir's life as he never had a moment of peace trying to help everyone and do what was right and it left me rooting for him all the more.  This story sucked me in right from the start with its intense emotions, steamy romance, and compelling fight for justice and proves once again why these two authors are among my favorites in the m/m genre!

My rating for this is an A.

*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Aleksandr has been published for twenty years, both in print and ebook. He has ten years’ experience as a writing coach, book doctor, and writing teacher, and until recently worked as an editor in financial services. 

After co-authoring the M/M military cult classic Special Forces, Aleksandr embarked on a quest to write gritty, edgy, sometimes literary M/M and gay fiction (much of which is romance/erotica)—the only way he can use his American Literature degree these days.

He’s been published with Heyne/Random House, Carina Press, Samhain Publishing, and others, and is an EPIC Awards winner and a Lambda Awards finalist. 

WEBSITE:  http://www.aleksandrvoinov.com

BLOG:  http://www.aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.com

TWITTER:  @aleksandrvoinov

GOODREADS:  http://www.goodreads.com/Vashtan

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.

L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).

**********GIVEAWAY**********

Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off our backlists (excluding Hostile Ground) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 17^th, and winners will be announced on May 19^th.  Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.

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