Hi guys, Garrett Leigh stops by for a visit on the first day of her blog tour for her new release Between Ghosts, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and Aerin’s review so check out the post, leave a comment to enter the giveaway and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Between Ghosts

Garrett Leigh

In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace—anything to ease the pain of his brother’s death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn’t need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm’s way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat’s built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he’s ever truly loved.

Excerpt

Nat left it until dawn to seek out the hack. He figured he’d find him asleep in a corner somewhere, clutching a Dictaphone, a pair of geek glasses stuck to his face. So he was surprised when Dib directed him to a lone figure jogging around the perimeter fence.

At least he’s fit. He’ll bloody need to be. Nat hadn’t had much contact with the swarms of war reporters who’d flooded Iraq when the war had begun, but the few he hadn’t managed to dodge had left him little hope for this bloke’s ability to keep up with his crew.

Nat waited by the exercise yard for the hack to finish his lap. It was part of the job to scrutinise strangers, so he lit a smoke and studied the man. From a distance, with his strong shoulders, tanned skin, and a week of dark scruff on his face, he didn’t look much different to any other bloke on the base. As Nat got closer, he took in his close-cropped brown hair and keen dark eyes . . . dark eyes that were distracted enough for Nat to walk right up to the hack before he got a reaction.

“Regan?”

The man blinked. “Jesus. You’re the third person to sneak up on me since I got here.”

“I didn’t sneak up on you,” Nat retorted. “Maybe you should pay more attention.”

“If you say so. Who are you?”

“Nathan Thompson. D Squadron. Been sent to babysit you for the next few weeks. You ready to be briefed?”

“Briefed?” The man raised an eyebrow. “Thought the OC was doing that?”

“Nope. He’s busy. Just as well, really, though, ’cause I reckon as I’m in charge of keeping you alive, my rules take priority.”

“Fair enough. I’m Connor Regan, by the way, from the Guardian.”

“I know.” Nat shook Regan’s proffered hand, though he hadn’t known his Christian name. Connor. Yeah, it suited him and his rakish half grin. Shame the bloke was a hack. He would’ve looked good with a Minimi and gun grease smeared up those strong forearms—

“Bloody hell, Natty. Stop ogling me. I know I dance like a stripper, but I gotta missus back home, ya know . . .”

Nat stifled a chuckle that made his chest ache and recalled his reply to Pogo, growled so long ago he could hardly picture where they’d been at the time. “In your fucking dreams, mate. Stop fucking prancing about and get your shit done. Besides, your only missus is your ma.”

“Nathan?”

“What?”

Connor grinned that damn grin again. “Where we doing this? Out here? Or have you got an office?”

“An office?” This time Nat couldn’t suppress his amusement. “Yeah, okay. Let me show you my office. And by the way—”

“Yeah?”

“It’s Nat, not Nathan. Only my nan calls me that.”

“You’d better call me Connor, then. Regan reminds me of my cunt of a stepfather.”

The crude insult sounded wrong wrapped up in Regan’s—Connor’s—gentle Mancunian accent. Nat waited for him to elaborate, absorbing the new hardness in his dark gaze, but Connor looked past him to the main hangar, so Nat led the way inside to a quiet corner of the munitions store.

“So,” he said when Connor had taken a seat on a box containing enough explosives to blow the whole building apart. “I don’t know what they told you before they let you out here, but if you’re running with my crew, there’s going to be rules.”

“Rules?”

“Fuck yeah. I’m not having you bumbling about on patrol and getting yourself killed, or worse, getting one of my men slotted.”

Connor nodded. “‘Slotted’ means killed, right?”

“Right.” Nat stopped, once again distracted by Connor’s smile. Get a grip, dickhead. “Anyway . . . we’ll do whatever we need to keep you safe, but before we get to that we’ve got to be clear on what you can write about in that column of yours.”

“I signed a waiver back in Hereford. Nothing goes to my editor without clearance from the MOD.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nat had heard that shit before, only to see a comrade’s name and photo printed in the fecking Daily Mail. “I don’t give a fuck what bollocks you were fed in Hereford. You’ve got to use your noggin. No names or descriptions, even shit you think is innocuous. And no bloody cameras, either, video or otherwise. No photos, no voice recorders, nothing.”

“Got it,” Connor said. “Soldier A, Soldier B, and I’ll write everything shorthand with pen and paper.”

“Pencil, mate. They don’t run out and you can sharpen both ends.”

Connor frowned. The crease in his forehead made him seem older, and Nat wondered how old he actually was. Didn’t look much over thirty, but he had one of those faces that had likely been the same since he’d turned twenty-five, and would remain so until he hit fifty.

Connor cleared his throat. “Anything else?”

Nat thought on it a moment. “Yeah, fuck the shorthand. I can’t read that shit, and nothing leaves here without my say so.”

“Veto power. Got it.” Connor rubbed his face. “Reckon we’ll figure it out. I knew there’d be a lot of things I couldn’t write about, even before I got word I’d be shadowing an SAS team.”

“And there’s your first lesson,” Nat said. “There is no SAS here, especially in the field.”

“But you are SAS, though, aren’t you?”

“Am I?”

Connor attempted to stare Nat down for a moment, then shrugged. “Point taken. What about access in the field? The OC back in Hereford said it would be up to whoever had command on the ground. I’m guessing that’s you.”

“It will be when we get out there. How fit are you?”

“Fit enough,” Connor said. “I run marathons.”

Nat smirked. “With full kit under the desert sun? If you’re coming with us, you might as well make yourself useful and carry some gear.”

Connor met Nat’s smirk with a grin of his own. “Think I can manage that. I did winter selection with the ARs last year. Froze my nuts off in the mountains. Jumped out of a plane and all the rest of it.”

“The reserves aren’t the same as us,” Nat retorted, though in truth, the selection course for the Regiment’s civilian unit was tough for any man.

“Us? Thought there was no such thing out here. You’re slipping, Nat.”

Something about the way Connor uttered his name set Nat’s skin alight, though he couldn’t quite figure out if he liked it or not. He shivered. Must be the generator. “If you say so. Anyway, while you’ve got your running legs on, let’s get back out there, see what you can really do. No offence, but I’m not taking your bloody word for it.”

If Connor was offended, he didn’t show it. He slid off the box of explosives with a sinuous grace, and left Nat to ponder a heady mix of the looming mission and the perfect shape of Connor Regan’s calves.

– Read more at: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/between-ghosts (Just click the excerpt tab)

About Garrett

Garrett Leigh is a British writer and book designer, currently working for Dreamspinner Press, Loose Id, Riptide Publishing, and Black Jazz Press. Her protagonists will always always be tortured, crippled, broken, and deeply flawed. Throw in a tale of enduring true love, some stubbly facial hair, and a bunch of tattoos, and you’ve got yourself a Garrett special.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible. That, and dreaming up new ways to torture her characters. Garrett believes in happy endings; she just likes to make her boys work for it.

Garrett also works as a freelance cover artist for various publishing houses and independent authors under the pseudonym G.D. Leigh. For cover art info, please visit blackjazzpress.com.

Giveaway!

Win $20 in Riptide credit!

Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!

Review

Title: Between Ghosts

Author: Garrett Leigh

Genre: Military, Contemporary

Length: Novel (226 pages)

ISBN: 9781626493520

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (March 14th 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Aerin

Blurb: In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace—anything to ease the pain of his brother’s death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn’t need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm’s way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat’s built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he’s ever truly loved.

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/between-ghosts

Review: It’s been a long time since I’ve read any military MM books, especially ones that are set in a war zone. I knew this wasn’t going to be a traditional romance because that wouldn’t be very believable given the circumstances. But I love Garrett Leigh and so I HAD to read this! I’m so happy I did, because this was a very lovely book, realistic, and a definite eye-opener when it comes to our troops and their experiences while deployed.

Connor is a journalist who lost his brother, James, 3 years prior to the events taking place, while his brother was deployed with the British Army. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the exact circumstances of his brother’s death, and Connor feels compelled to go give voice to those brave soldiers who sacrifice themselves for their county’s safety. Connor is still brokenhearted, and he hopes this experience will also bring him some closure and ease the pain the loss of his brother brought.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, the person in charge of his elite SAS team, a much respected person and a wonderful friend. Nat lost his best friend (Pogo) and team member 3 years ago, and he still hasn’t recovered from the loss and the guilt and responsibility he feels over Pogo’s death.

Taking a civilian journalist under his wing and keeping him safe at all cost is the last thing he wants to do and a hassle his team doesn’t need, but Connor is not the wallflower Nat expects him to be. There’s this chemistry and sexual tension between Connor and Nat at all times from the first second they met, which I absolutely loved.

Nat’s bisexuality was well-known among his close friends and teammates, but it was something Nat was keeping quiet about outside hit close-knit group. Connor is everything Nat likes in a man, and he can’t get him out of his hear, no matter how hard he tries to do just that.

This book isn’t full of romantic dates and slow love-making, because this wasn’t the time or the place for something like that. Instead, Nat and Connor have a lot of stolen moments, and fast and furious sex, and the need for secrecy makes it all so much more intense. It was exactly what I expected and it fit with the story setting.

When dealing with extremist forces, things don’t always go as planned, which I suspected ahead of time, but I honestly didn’t think Connor was going to have such a big part in solving the mystery. When it all went to shit and Connor was in mortal danger, things got a little weird for me and certainly very confusing.

I hope I’m not giving away any spoilers here, but when the time to save Connor and extract him from the enemy hands came, there were over 20 soldiers against 4 or 5 enemies. And somehow, they all mysteriously vanished or something, because the showdown happened between Connor, Nat and the #1 enemy.

Of course, they almost died, yada-yada and all that drama, and the whole time I couldn’t stop wondering where the rest of the extraction team went. I was a little disappointed with how that whole scene played out. It was the deciding factor in my rating of this book.

There were plenty of things to love, like the banter and friendship between teammates and comrades, the behind-the-scenes glimpses in the everyday lives of our heroes (which sometimes are funny and heart-warming, while other times they are completely heartbreaking), the relationship between Connor and Nat, and definitely that beautiful HEA.

Great book!

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour