5 STARS ✮ CHANEL CLEETON ✮ INTO THE BLUE

Into The Blue

Wild Aces #2

by Chanel Cleeton

Chanel Cleeton, where have you been all my life? I was fortunate to have the second of this amazing series waiting for me after finishing Fly With Me, thanks to the author gifting me an ARC. 

Military men are a league of their own. They own every little bit of confidence, cockiness and arrogance but also loyalty and love for whatever they deem worthy. This is why I love stories featuring them.

The whole remaining squadron of the Wild Aces is still reeling from the tragic events in book 1. They try to deal with it but Eric, call sign Thor, finds it increasingly hard to focus. An almost accident makes him realize that he needs a time out, away from the job he loves to find solid ground again, to move on. After a chance run-in with his ex fiancée Becca he takes up the opportunity to go home and see where they stand, wanting to salvage the ties he cut loose a decade ago because they wanted different things out of life. His regret hasn't subsided in those ten years but will Becca be able to forgive him?

Look at me. Please. Forgive me. Let me in.

Seeing her ex again after such a long time has left Becca angry and confused. And when he comes to his home town after a decade of absence she does everything she can to shut him out and put up walls against this different yet familiar Eric. He sneaks past Becca's walls though and soon she finds herself entangled with him again. Forgiving is hard, forgetting almost impossible, and nobody wants to be second fiddle to your guy's job. 

I have no idea how to put all my emotions for this book and the series into words. The heartbreak these two endured separated from the other because of one bad decision, the love that jumps from each page at you, the hope that is tangible, it all lured me in, hook, line and sinker and I just couldn't stop reading.

"It feels like a dream."
"What?"
"You being here. In South Carolina. With me."
"Not a nightmare?"
"It depends on the day you ask me." 

Becca is an endearing heroine with a huge chip on her shoulder. Her strength is what defines her, so it's no surprise that forgiveness doesn't come easy to Becca but she is willing to work through the history that connects her with Eric. And so is he, he shows her with small and big gestures that he thinks the world of her. The way he treats Becca is achingly sweet. 

Eric is such a swoon-worthy hero. He has it all, the cockiness, the arrogance and the depth to make him doubt himself and his decisions. His remorse for cutting himself loose is in every word he says. With his heart in Becca's hands he is desperate to find a solution out of the mess he created otherwise it would mean ending up where they did those ten years ago. 

"Have dinner with me tonight."
She grinned. "Okay."
I graduated from "maybes to "okays", and I felt like a fucking king. 

Their soul deep connection makes this story so worth reading. They try so hard to get past their messy history, it's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. And then there is that lady parts-tingling attraction, the undeniable force that draws them together that makes you gasp and hold your breath. Their deep sexual need for one another is exciting and it almost makes you feel like an intruder. I loved their chemistry. 

At some point I was wondering how this would play out, with both of them being on completely different paths and not being able to stray from them. I couldn't see either of them give in...but I shouldn't have doubted that the author would get it right. When Becca finally realizes that things have changed from the impossibility of their love to the only way, it is mindblowingly sweet. At that point my heart strings let loose a crescendo of feelings for these two. I was so relieved. You realize that these two had to go through the heartbreak to find a common path. They weren't in the same place when they separated and only the time apart got them to where they had to be. 

Maybe it took losing her to realize just how much I needed her, the contrast between my life with Becca and my life without never clearer than in this moment.

What I love about the heroes of this series is that they are good men and still have the edge of badasses and super-alphas. They don't mess around, they go for what they want without being dicks about it. They are open about what they feel and have no shame admitting it. It's easy to fall in love with them.

Chanel Cleeton's writing style is fluid. The dialogues feel natural and you can't help sinking into the story and being swept away with it.

I hope after this series finishes Chanel Cleeton will continue writing romance with fighter pilots. I have no idea why not more authors do it, there is so much potential. Maybe they shy away from the knowledge that is needed, or even the insight that Ms. Cleeton has. But be that as it may, I think if this author continues what she's doing she'll strike a rich vein. I'm her devoted reader at any rate. 

ARC received by the author in exchange for an honest review - thank you so much!

Quotes are taken from the unpublished work and are subject to change.