This is not quite your usual suspense filled mystery and is told in two parts . Jina in training - Jina out in the field .
Jina is in charge of communications for a paramilitary organisation , Go-Team . using her drone surveillance
skills to assist the Team in the field .
Levi “Ace” Butcher is the team leader and despite not wanting Jina on the team he undertakes her gruelling training - the inevitable attraction not withstanding .
During a mission , the base where Jina is stationed is attacked leaving the Team thinking she is dead .
She must save herself using the skills Ace taught her and help Ace solve the mystery of just who attacked the base and why .
This book is told from two points of view and in the third party which I found disconcerting to start with .
However I persevered and can say that overall I enjoyed the book although the protagonist was a little farfetched

I was given an arc of the book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Not what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed this book. The first half is Jina training and joining the team, and the second half is morefast paced where she is out in the field.

Jina Modell is a computer geek, happy in her own little world working in communications for a paramilitary organisation until one day her bosses install some video war games in the break room.
Along with several of her colleagues her skill with these games lead to her being press-ganged into being trained up as the eighth member of a Go-Team where her job will be to operate a drone, providing extra surveillance for her team while they are out in the field. After being brought up the middle child in a family of five siblings, the one thing Jina isn’t is a quitter even if it kills her in the process and since her options are join the team or unemployment it just might. Levi “Ace” Butcher is the team leader. He doesn’t want Jina in his team and makes it clear that, as far as he’s concerned, she’s the most expendable member but if he’s got to have her he’ll make sure she’s up to scratch by taking over her training himself with the help of the rest of his team. The only problem is there’s an instant attraction between them but Ace is an honourable man, even though he can’t act on this attraction while Jina is under his command he doesn’t do anything to impede her training & reduce her chances of actually failing the course.

I loved the character of Jina. She’s a stubborn, larger than life character with a ‘do or die’ attitude and a mouth on her – something she needed to handle her fellow team members. She had two mantras throughout this book - ‘I’m not a quitter’ and ‘I hate them all’. She wasn’t fearless but she faced her fears head on, determined to succeed, especially the parachute training where a weaker person would’ve quit. The romance between her and Levi was definitely a slow burner, even though the sexual tension was there throughout the book. Other than a few furtive U-Rated encounters that were definitely spur of the moment, nothing really happened between them until the last couple of chapters but I don’t feel this slow build up lessened my enjoyment of the book. In fact it made a change to have the characters get to know each other instead of jumping into bed in the first chapter. The plot itself was well written with lots of suspense and action. I’ve been a fan of Linda Howard’s novels for years and The Woman Left Behind is definitely one of her books that is on my re-read list.

When I read the book description of ‘The Woman Left Behind’ I was immediately fascinated and requested the book on Netgalley. I love romantic suspense novels and this book just sounded really good. So I was super excited to start reading.

In ‘The Woman Left Behind’ we meet Jina Modell a ‘geek’ who loves to work with computers. When Jina’s boss forces her to join one of the GO teams, she isn’t expecting to be forced to do a lot of physical training, something she isn’t good in at all. But the one thing Jina never does is quitting. Especially after she meets her new team leader Levi who seems to want Jina to quit. Now she is determined to be a part of the team. But being a part of the team also means she can’t be attracted to Levi, if only she could tell her heart that.

Where to begin.. I absolutely, definitely, utterly loved and devoured this book!! I loved it so much that I just couldn’t stop reading! There honestly was nothing I didn’t love about this book. To begin, I loved the main character Jina. She isn’t your average female character. Jina is strong, tough and funny and is able to stand up for herself in the middle of a testosterone filled team. I really enjoyed reading about her!

Then there is Levi, he is very mysterious and seems to be this very hard unkind guy. But from the very beginning it is clear that it’s just the way he has to be as a team leader and to get the best out of his team. The chemistry between Jina and Levi is really amazing to read about. I loved them so much.

Time in ‘The Woman Left Behind’ went very fast at times. I think a year and a half past throughout this book. This normally bothers me a lot and I mostly feel rushed when that happens. But in this book I didn’t feel rushed at all. Time moving fast at times just fitted the story.

And last but definitely not least the suspense in the book.. O boy!! It kept me on the edge of my seat it was so good. This book made me feel almost every emotion out there. And I just never wanted the story of Jina and Levi to end. And those other team members where definitely fun to read about too. Sure there was some stuff in this book that definitely would never happen in real life, I mean from being in no physical condition to being some kind of super woman.. How?? But this didn’t bother me at all. Mostly it just made me feel hopeful that I can get into shape too. LOL!!

I can’t believe this is the second book in the GO team series and I haven’t read the first book. I definitely have to read that one too. ‘The Woman Left Behind’ is definitely one of my favorite reads of this year and if you ask me everyone has to read it!!

The protagonists of this story are Jina, who works in tech and Levi, team leader of an elite paramilitary unit called the Go-TEAM. The story is told in dual POVs and in the third person.

Jina Modell goes from working in the office of a paramilitary group to being drafted for in the field operations as a drone operator. She’s assigned to “Go-TEAM,” and must go through and pass rigorous physical training to keep her job, or she must quit. Jina is determined not to leave and more so because of Levi, whose team she's been assigned to.

The first half (and then some) of the book focuses on the grueling training Jina has to go through and how she navigates her relationship with Levi. So there's romance and then here's the suspense part: a powerful congresswoman wants to sabotage McNamara, and she wants to do this by taking down his beloved Go-TEAM.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC.

This is a fab story centring on a Jina a techie who gets selected to join a special ops team. She shows real grit and determination, winning the respect of all her team mates. Nicknamed “Babe” she earns a position as their comms expert after overcoming her fear of heights after three consecutive parachute jumps. Levi Butcher is the GO-Teamleader. He is torn by wanting Babe to succeed and wanting her to fail so he can see where their chemistry leads.

During a mission, the base where Babe is stationed is attacked, and the team think she has died. With two guys wounded, Levi is forced to leave Jina behind.

This is a really good story. The only problem I had was the back story surrounding a congresswomen which I found confusing and a little distracting. I am sure this would be resolved by reading the first book in the series. I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.