I wanted to like this book more as I do rate Ms Dutton as an author but I felt it just lacked something... It is a romance so the HEA is a given and we get the necessary stumbles along the way as Lauren struggles with being "out" and Kim struggles with developing feelings for her dead best friend's ex.. It has all the ingredients but somehow didn't quite gel for me.

The writing is well paced and the characters are likeable (especially Lauren's helicopter colleagues) and the developing relationship seems credible. I wanted more about Lauren's emotional baggage and why she was the way she was. And I felt at times that Kim was a bit superficial and for someone in such a senior role in the Police, maybe a little lightweight but I read and enjoyed the book.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Wowza. Dutton is always a mixed bag for me. A couple of her books I really liked, most are okay, but none have managed to pretty much enrage me as quickly as this one.

The beginning is pretty much a very lengthy info dump on what the author has learned about this topic. So much about helicopters! I really don’t need an author to prove to me how well researched a book is. The less I as a reader am aware of the research while I’m reading it, the better, I think. But I wasn’t ready to give up yet. Then the author described one of the MC‘s looks as ‚exotic’ due to her mixed-race heritage. I was pretty much out at that point. But I snuck a peek at the following pages only to find a long info dump on the complicated history of the two MCs. And then I was out.

I really expect better writing from such an experienced writer, especially when I know she can.

I read this book because I HAD to not because I WANTED to so it fucking killed Me to get to 80% and I have no idea how to review this book fairly, I didn’t take as much notice as I should have done because I was bored shitless, I wasn’t overly keen on any of the characters, the romance or anything really, it was just.....🤔 flat and uninteresting to me, I didn’t finish this either so I’ll rate it 2.5 stars to be fair to the author because I normally do like her books...

Often in romances, it’s the slow burn or the lead up to the two characters getting together that takes up the bulk of the book. It’s also usually the main sizzle of the story. I didn’t think that was the case with Landing Zone. To me, the story really took off once Kim and Lauren actually started dating because there was so much complexity to their dynamic, even more so than the usual relationship drama. Both of their pasts in the military, facing up to life’s mistakes, forgiving yourself for those errors and moving forward played big roles in this book and were handled very well. And of course, the elephant in the room which was the connection between Kim, Lauren, and Courtney hung over everything. I hope to read more about Kim and Lauren because they still seemed to have more to tell. As far as chemistry and hotness factor for the couple, that’s a yes.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I was engrossed in this book from the very first page. The author done some solid researching and I loved the storyline. I immediately felt a connection with Lauren but it took a few chapters for me to fall in love with Kim (Monty) but in the end I felt they were a good couple. I also liked the secondary characters especially Buck, Brian & Brianna.

This is only my second book from this author I have read but it certainly won’t be the last.

Nice story and an enjoyable read. I really liked the characters and how the author portrayed them and their issues There was a lot of discussion between the main characters which was a nice build up for their relationship. If you're looking for a nice easy read, I recommend. I will be recommending this book for my students book group.

Another all nighter. A slow burn romance that deals with PTSD, wronged feelings and some action into police work done from the skies.

I enjoyed reading how police personnel are trained and how police helicopter pilots / personnel work and respond in different situations. The book deals with past relationships and history between the two romantic leads, unfortunately, it was hard / tough to understand why Lauren wouldnt have been in any significant relationship since then. Afterall, it wasnt as if her spouse had died or there had been a divorce.

Luckily, the book avoids the common pitfalls of quick get togethers and instant forgiveness.

'NetGalley ARC provided by The Publisher in exchange for an unbiased review'

**'Criticism can never instruct or benefit you/writer..Develop a tough skin.Not everyone likes every book and they wont like yours...'

No Landing Zone its Not!
'LANDING ZONE' is a multifaceted disappointment. Take for instance the blurb which is very misleading because not only does this storyline veer far from it -- i only consider it as readable but with no sense of direction,purpose or any structure and where Lauren needed to also deal with the aftermath of her injuries from the war,and her past memories that she's been running from her entire life. I personally felt there were a few instances where both women (Lauren & Kim) were a bit too irrational at times,undecided about both their future and relationship. Then again,the circumstances surrounding how this story began or even how they knew each other may only justify both ending up seemingly together without that much unreasonable chemistry or being in love. They had to also rediscover the strained relationship between them which was the cause of one being a closeted lesbian -- this relationship was tested as each had to learn how to let down the walls around both their hearts and start trusting each other. Overall,this was a weird story,that was laced with some cheesy dialogue and even the writing was lackluster.

I liked this one. I’ve read most of Dutton’s books and they can be hit and miss for me, but there was a lot to like here. Both main characters were interesting and got equal weight in the story. The setting was also interesting, as were both characters jobs, although I did think the book got a little bogged down in the details about the recruits.

I liked that they cleared the air pretty early about their past baggage and moved on, but felt that there was also a fair bit of going over the same ground (Lauren’s reluctance to be fully out, and for a character who was dead Courtney seemed the third most featured character, it felt like she hung over everything).

Still the characters spent a lot of time together, they talked to each other, and when the angst hit, it felt organic rather than shoehorned in. They also had chemistry and I thought the way their relationship built was actually pretty sweet, and that they achieved a believable HEA. This is probably my favourite of Dutton’s in awhile.

While parts of the story feel a little convoluted, Kim and Lauren have a bit of history and their own demons they need to overcome before things could possibly work for them.

While I knew I was reading a romance that typically has an HEA, its a tough road for these two and the issues are big.

3.5 Stars. When I see a new book out by Dutton I know I’m going to read it. She is not one of my favorite authors, but she is pretty consistent in writing books that I like. And I did like this book, but I didn’t love it like I was hoping to.

After an injury that ends her Army career early, Lauren gets a new job flying helicopters for the police department. The helicopter base shares space with the police recruit training grounds. The police instructor in charge of training the recruits is Kim. Lauren immediately can’t keep her eyes off of the beautiful instructor Kim. But what Lauren doesn’t realize is her ex-girlfriend used to be Kim’s best friend. And all Kim can see when she looks at Lauren is a horrible cheater. Can these two women with so much baggage between them ever be anything more?

I can’t help but love stories about women in uniform; military, police, whatever I’ll take it. I also liked that Dutton gave these two a ton of baggage in the way of a potential relationship. There was also a tiny bit of excitement in their jobs that kept the story moving. Overall, I enjoyed the whole storyline.

I thought the romance was decent. They did have some chemistry however there wasn’t a ton of it. But it was enough that I did believe in them as a potential couple. The sex scenes were pretty average. When it came to the conflict I actually thought it was pretty believable. I was happy that the angst did not seem to be forced.

I guess my main issue was I felt like the story on a whole did not have a lot of depth. The characters dealt with some tough issues like PTSD, but everything felt a bit too on the surface for me. When a character is hurting, I want to feel bad for them. Everything was just a tad too far away to really affect me. So while I enjoyed the story and the characters, I wished I had a deeper connection to everything.

I think if you are a fan of Dutton or women in uniform, you will like this story. It is an enjoyable book, it just isn’t great. I will be reading whatever Dutton writes next.

This book has ups and downs and the development is a bit inconsistent.

The two protagonists have a common past, not very positive. Lauren was Kim's best friend's girlfriend, Courtney, and the relationship between Lauren and Courtney did not end very well. That's why now Kim does not trust Lauren and her attitude toward her is a little distant. But Lauren does not have a totally cordial attitude towards Kim either, so the first part of the book has a series of somewhat tense situations between them. But then the thing softens and their relationship also goes to another level, since the two feel attraction towards each other and finally accept it.

But in between there are some issues as is distrust, fear of having an open relationship, reminiscence of the years in the army and don't ask don't tell policy), overcoming PTSD, issues that come and go throughout the book. When a situation seems overcome, later it reappears and it is as if, wtf, again with this? And this happens several times and the truth is that it spoils the story and makes it lose its meaning. And the two protagonists are quite obnoxious in some situations. And I have not found that much chemistry between them.

So the book is fine, nothing extraordinary, although I think it's not a waste of time to read it.

<i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>

Lauren Henley has worked hard to recover from her injuries in Afghanistan where she was based as a helicopter pilot before retiring from Army and has taken a job with the police department in their air division. Just next door to the hangars is the police department’s new recruits training centre where Kim Montgomery is one of the training officers. Kim recognises Lauren immediately as her late best friend’s cheating ex-girlfriend. Nothing surprises either of them more than the attraction they start feeling for each other.

I’ve only read one other book by Dutton and I wasn’t thrilled by it. It’s quite difficult to know whether the way the author writes just doesn’t work for you, or if it was just that particular book, until you try another one. I’m pleased to say I enjoyed “Landing Zone” much more than I enjoyed “Fully Involved”. I liked both characters and appreciated the way they interacted with each other and their dialogue. I got a much better sense of Lauren than I did of Kim but I didn’t mind the one-sidedness because Lauren had a lot more to resolve than Kim did.

This was an all-round good read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Landing Zone is one of those books that the title is a bit deceptive of the story’s content. Yes, it is about about former Army combatants, one of them being a chopper pilot, but it is so much more than a vet story. This author has a singular talent for writing about complex and deep relationships, not just romance, although the chemistry between Lauren and Kim is definitely smokin’ hot. Both women have ties to another woman in their lives that tragically lost her life in the line of duty, and overcoming that former tie to be together becomes a instropective journey neither of them anticipated. And it wasn’t just one of them tripping up and waiting for the other to catch up. Both Lauren and Kim had to arrive together, at precisely the right moment, while overcoming different but equally challenging obstacles. Neither woman was perfect, and sometimes displayed downright despicable behavior, but that is the reason I came to love their story so fervently. They made mistakes like everyone else, sometimes really bad ones, but in the end the payout is so worth the risk. This story made me feel for them deeply, and I loved every minute of it.

I liked the sound of this book as I love the added complication of friends and ex's. This had the added complication in that the friend had died giving another obstacle to the already fractured relationship between Monty and Lauren. The chemistry between the two was there from the start and I felt Dutton did a fantastic job in slowly shifting the relationship between the two.

Erin Dutton always provides such great insight into the emergency services in all her books and she doesn't disappoint in this book either.

Erin Dutton’s Landing Zone was an interesting read and although some people think 3 stars is “bad”; I see 3 stars just as it is spelled out. The book was good.

Kim is ex-military and working at the police academy. Lauren is also ex-military and newly hired as a police department helicopter pilot. The complicated part is that Lauren used to date Kim’s best friend Courtney. Their break-up was bad and Courtney died in a helicopter crash not too long after. When Kim and Lauren meet at work, the situation is more than awkward. Kim thinks she has the whole story about Courtney and Lauren’s break-up so they have a lot to work through especially when they realize that there is a mutual attraction simmering between them.

The book is told in the third person from both women’s point of view so I felt like I got to know each of them. Courtney is the most fleshed out of the two main characters. She is haunted by the break-up and then the death of Courtney. She is also dealing with PTSS resulting from being shot down while serving over seas. Kim is strong, assertive and holding firmly on to her grudge against Lauren. The author did a great job showing the tension between the two characters through her descriptions of their body language and the very clipped dialogue during their exchanges.

I appreciated that the author made the main characters work for their relationship rather than just write a love at first sight novel, but neither of the women were tremendously compelling to me. I think there was a missed opportunity for a dramatic crescendo seeing that this novel is about police officers.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a read about what is next. Lauren Henley, a former army pilot with mental and physical injuries to negotiate after retirement from the military. She continues to have flash backs to her time in Afghanistan that she works to keep in the past. Liking the order and discipline of the military as well as operating a helicopter, she decides the police aviation department is the best place for her. Kim Montgomery, having spent time in the military, now enjoys her work at the training academy, preparing future police officers. I appreciated the reference to policing in today's climate of uncertainty, unrest, and a general "eyebrow raise" to law enforcement. When Lauren is stationed at the same facility as Kim, old issues surface as both women are reminded of unfortunate past events. This is also a read about the emotional transition pre/post DADT. It was interesting to watch their interaction as they give and take with each other. Romance, uncertainty, forgiveness, and letting go.