I read this book a while back but forgot that I had read it and ended up reading it again. I know realise why I didn't remember it, the story wasn't exactly the most memorable.

Kim and Lauren were decent characters and the storyline flowed well but I just didn't connect with the characters or the story.

This is an afternoon read if you are looking to pass some time, which is really sad because there was actually some good material which could have been put to better use.

*3.3 stars

Landing Zone focuses on the romance between Lauren, a retired Army pilot (with PTSD) who now flies police helicopters, and Kim, a police recruit instructor who happens to Lauren's ex's BFF. Obviously, they both have a little bit of baggage and conflict to resolve - once things get rolling, the characters mesh well. This was a decent read - if you like military or police characters, this is right up your alley. Overall, this one didn't wow me, but I don't regret the time I spent reading it. Dutton is still a pretty solid bet for a good read.

Books with queer women in uniforms: I'm all for them! :)
This was a fun read at times, but some parts of the book could have used a little bit more depth, with the things the had been dealing with: dead friend/ex, PTSD...

But! The romance and the chemistry between the protagonists was believable, and that's always a good thing when you read these kind of books. Sometimes I disagreed with how they dealt with certain situations, but hey, what's literature for if not to open yourself to different people with different ways? That's the beauty of it.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get into this book. The idea of Kim and Lauren had promise. Though I found myself skipping pages trying to get to a part of the book that would entrance me. I felt as if the story itself was too much in the characters head when I wanted to be shown the story not told.

This book was a great read. For some reason it took me longer to start this book, since I wasn't sure I'd like the whole ex lover/best friend scenario, but I actually really enjoyed the setup. The characters were each very distinct and their interactions between each other were excellent. The author really knows how to write witty dialogue that is both flirty and frustrating, which sounds weird but it's correct to me!

I enjoyed this story very much. It involved some unexpected issues, such as "don't ask don't tell", concerns about coming out to coworkers and career goals. I especially enjoyed the interesting information regarding the flying and maintaining a police helicopter. I didnt know they dont fly in bad weather...never occurred to me. The characters are very likeable and the romance very warm. A lot of camaraderie in this story.

Stevie‘s review of Landing Zone by Erin Dutton
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 17 Jul 18

I’m always happy to read romances set around different careers, especially where some form of transportation is involved, so this story about police helicopter pilots and their ground-based colleagues caught my eye quite convincingly. Lauren Henley is a new civilian police pilot, having previously flown helicopters in the military, while Kim ‘Monty’ Montgomery is the ex-military police training instructor whom
Lauren spots with interest on the very first day of her new job. The only obstacle to them becoming friends, never mind anything more, is their shared history in the form of Lauren’s ex-girlfriend, Monty’s best friend: Courtney, who died in a helicopter crash shortly after she broke up with Lauren. Monty blames Lauren for both the break-up and the accident – if Courtney hadn’t still been upset over being dumped in favour of a man, then she would have been more careful while out on exercises. Of course the real story is a lot more complex than that…


Lauren was career military until a helicopter crash caused by a ground attack led to a medical discharge. Having served initially in the era of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, she’s always been keen to keep her personal life completely separate from her professional life and work colleagues. Monty and Courtney, on the other hand, joined up together with the aim of serving together until the time came to re-enlist, then using their knowledge and skills from the military to build productive civilian careers. As a consequence, Courtney had few worries about being outed, and Lauren’s apparent betrayal was merely an attempt by her to kill off rumours about her sexuality while she figured out what she wanted: domesticity with Courtney or a long-term military career.

When Monty and Lauren meet – the police training centre and the helicopter crews share the same site – Monty is hostile, in spite of appreciating Lauren’s physical features. Lauren tries to keep her attraction to Lauren in check: out of loyalty to Courtney, fear of being outed to her team, and also because she knows what Monty thinks of her past behaviour. The two are repeatedly thrown together and slowly come to understand each other and begin a low-key relationship. It soon becomes apparent, though, that Monty is no more willing than Courtney was to be a secret from Lauren’s workmates – especially when there’s no reason for them to keep things quiet beyond Lauren’s anxiety regarding people’s reactions to her.

While I enjoyed all the details about police training and helicopter crews very much, I did feel that this story lacked a definite feeling of conflict between the protagonists. Although they claim to hold differing opinions and to have different versions of what happened between Lauren and Courtney, there just doesn’t seem to be enough of a spark of anger between them. I’ll be trying other books by the author, should their blurbs appeal, however.

Grade: C

This was a good book with an interesting story and two well written main characters. I really liked it!

Another great read that I really enjoyed it was funny and enjoyable and sad in parts too also intriguing read and I would totally recommend reading it

Lauren is a former army pilot forced to retire due to a war injury. When she gets a job as a helicopter pilot for the Nashville police department, she meets training officer Kim. Both women have a common past, a deceased army pilot called Courtney who was Kim's best friend and Lauren's ex girlfriend. Courtney had accused Lauren of cheating and Kim isn't happy to have Lauren in her workplace. Can they go past their conflict to forge a friendship and maybe something more?

I have read a few of Erin Dutton's books and I found her work a bit hit and miss. I absolutely loved 'Capturing forever' (see my review here: https://lezreviewbooks.com/2016/07/14/review-of-capturing-forever-by-erin-dutton/) but not so much the rest. Unfortunately I found 'Landing zone' on the average side. Ms. Dutton researched helicopters well, the flying scenes are entertaining and believable. I also liked the landing zone metaphor that gives the title of the book. Having said that, when it comes to the portrayal of the characters, I found the author telling the reader more than showing their feelings. I think that Lauren's PTSD is a bit unrealistic and treated too lightly. The main characters' chemistry works fine and the intimate scenes are well written but their conflict is a bit rushed. It's a pity because the plot had so much potential but, in my opinion, failed short in the execution. However, it's still an enjoyable novel.

Overall, an ok read, specially if you enjoy a women in uniform romance. 3.5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.com

I was definitely torn about this book.

It's about Lauren and Kim. Lauren is a former Army helicopter pilot who has been through a hard time and is starting as a pilot for the police force where Kim is a police officer training instructor. They also happen to have a woman, Courtney, in common (she's now deceased). Lauren having dated Courtney, and Kim having been Courtney's best friend.

There's the back and forth that is usual in these lesfic romances, although, because of the fact that these two women knew of each other before, what they each have gone through, it was a quite a bit more intense sort of back and forth than is seen.

The story was an interesting one as well, although there is a twist in there that I just felt like it wasn't enough. (If you've read the book, I know, that sounds horrible...) Younger or not, I just couldn't seen the character that Dutton created, Lauren, doing what she did. But, if the twist had been bigger, I thought it would have worked better. I know that I'm talking in circles, but, as I said, it was a pivotal point, I just didn't think it landed as hard on the reader as it could have.

And then there was Kim. I've said this about other books I've read. The unequal-ness when it came to blame drove me crazy. It was made to be (other than a small scene with Brianna, go Bri!) almost all Lauren's fault. From Kim blaming her, to Brian blaming her even. It was Kim the angel, magnanimously liking Lauren despite Lauren's flaws, and Lauren the evil one who had to get/be better for Kim.

It didn't annoy me quite as much as it has in other books (I think the Bri scene did help some), but, I would have loved it to be a little bit more balanced.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

My main issue with Landing Zone is this: getting wet from the rain, (particularly when you're otherwise healthy and right beside changing rooms, showers etc.) does not make you sick! The common cold, the flu etc are viruses, pneumonia can be viral or bacterial and none of these are carried in clouds - agh!

Ok, personal scientific rant over, I feel less strongly about the rest of the novel (apart from fact that Lauren who is part Korean, part African-American is repeatedly described as having latte or caramel skin; again with the fetishising and foodstuffs.)

Basically Lauren is an ex-army pilot the ex part came about due to a leg injury sustained in the line of duty. She has just signed on to be a police pilot and would you believe it, the hanger where she's going to spend her days is right beside the training centre where her dead ex-girlfriend's best friend (confused yet?) Kim works. How coincidental...

Rather than bonding over the death of Courtney (the dead ex/best friend), they hate each other, but for how long? You can probably guess, hatred followed by grudging respect, one saves the other's life or something, friends with longing looks, they have sex, they outwardly regret it and run away, one nearly dies, they declare undying love for each other. I've read about six books since I read Landing Zone and it wasn't really that memorable so the above precis might not be that accurate, but then again...If you want mental popcorn, go ahead you could do a lot worse but you could also read tonnes of way better books.

I gave this three stars because I like the content when they were actually in the helicopter, or talking about the helicopters, I'm a nerd that way :)

I really enjoyed the dynamic between the characters in this story. Dutton shows the complexity between loss and the effect being gone has on those left behind. I thought that the characters and their dialogue was the strongest part of the story. The two female leads were well thought out and they felt like real people. One area i felt was weaker was when the women were unable to talk to each other properly as it felt that this was super hammy and over the top.

Having read most of Ms Duttons book I was looking forward to reading this effort and I’m happy to say that she continues to deliver. In this book we have Lauren Henley who always wanted to follow her father and grandfather in serving her country by enlisting into the USA Army as a pilot, flying helicopters. When she joined DADT was still in place so when she started dating a fellow pilot it wasn’t long before she wanted Lauren to leave her dream and start a life outside the army. Lauren tries to tell her it’s not going to happen so when her GF Courtney hears rumours Lauren has been cheating on her she does nothing to fight the rumors. While Lauren goes onto her next assignment so does Courtney all the while telling her BF Kim Montgomery the rumors were true. Shortly after Courtney goes on to her next post she where she’s killed in a flying accident. When Kim’s released from her duties she moves to Tennessee to become a police officer. Two years in she is asked to teach at the police academy, a job she’s not only good at but a job she loves. Lauren serves until she’s injured. An old friend offers her a job flying for the same police force where Kim has made her home. We know these two will fall in love but the path to happily after isn’t any way smooth. Ms Dutton knows how to tell a story. This book reminds me why I liked her other books. Very enjoyable read.
eARC via NetGalley

Helicopter pilot Lauren, is healing, emotionally and physically, form an injury she sustained while in Afghanistan. She takes a job at a local police station flying their helicopters to try and move forward with her life. She clashes with her past when she runs into Kim, best friend to her ex-girlfriend Courtney. Kim, an instructor at the police academy next door to the helicopter station, believes Lauren cheated on her best friend and doesn't hide the fact that she hates Lauren for what she's done. The two women are drawn to each other in spite of their past, but is the past too much to overcome, or is there such thing as new beginnings?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a easy read in that I was able to really connect to the characters and and get lost in the enjoyment of the book. Kim and Lauren were likeable characters even with the baggage they carried around, some good angst and drama, the chemistry was fantastic and I really liked the way their relationship slowly evolved. I loved all the secondary characters, and the way they helped round out the story. It was interesting to see a glimpse of the side of police work - the academy and helicopter pilots - that I have never actually thought about or read about before. It was a really cool story, and a great tale of love and friendship and healing.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this story seemed rushed. It was a slow read because the whole premises was off. I never really felt a good connection between the characters. I have read other Erin Dutton books I liked but this just fell short.

Really enjoyed this book. Erin Dutton always creates characters that are true to life and likeable. I did however find the romance rather slow to get going and the middle section of the book dragged a bit with not very much happening.

I usually love Erin Dutton book, but to be honest this is not up there as one of her best. It's a simple read and a little bit unadventurous.One minute Kim totally dislikes Lauren, the then without any real justification they have a mutual like and attraction to each other. The book isn't a bad read, but just needs a bit more depth to the story. Saying all that, would I recommend this book, then the answer is yes....if you're looking that simple 'time out relaxation'

This was a pretty mediocre book. If I am being honest I was very uncomfortable with the friend dating the ex thing. It just seems weird that they would both be okay in that relationship. The plot wasn’t great, the story felt a bit stale and like I have read similar books in the past. There wasn’t anything about this that made me feel like it was a great book. The love story was cliched, the two leads read very similarly so I kept having to reread passages to know who was speaking. Overall not the best book I have read in a while.

I always enjoy Erin Dutton’s books. Landing Zone is no exception. I found the whole police training storyline to be very interesting, and also the cross-functional veterans who move to the civilian side to assist with police work. I really liked the chemistry between Lauren and Kim and appreciated the realistic way that each of them didn’t want to be attracted to the other, rather than the typical love at first sight. The secondary characters were good as well. A great way to spend a weekend.