-| Reviewing… Appetite For Risk by Jack Leavers | Blog Tour |- #AppetiteforRisk @jackleavers @BookGuild @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

So, as you can tell from the title today is my stop on the blog tour for Appetite for Risk, a big thank you to Emma from Damp Pebbles for inviting me.

With Saddam Hussein deposed and an entire country in need of rebuilding, former Royal Marine John Pierce hears the siren call of adventure and opportunity. His fledgling UK business is struggling to support his young family and he has connections in the Iraqi capital – fate seems to point one way.
In early 2004, Pierce rolls the dice when he jumps into a taxi in Jordan and heads for the turmoil of postwar Baghdad to grab a share of the reconstruction gold rush. But when Iraq spirals into the hell of a full-blown insurgency, he must rely on his wits and his local friends if he’s to evade the rampant bloodshed.
As the action rolls across the blood-stained Iraqi landscape and embraces London’s seedy underbelly, Pierce tangles with the authorities at home and finds himself thrust into the heart of British and American covert operations against Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Having set out with little more than ambitious goals and an appetite for risk, can a determined ex-bootneck survive the mounting chaos unscathed and succeed in hitting the jackpot? – Goodreads –

Leavers talent for describing environments is top notch, It was as if I could see Baghdad for myself as well as feel the intense atmosphere of being in such a unstable environment.
John Pierce, oh boy, how lucky can one man be! I just couldn’t connect with him, this probably has more to do with me as a reader, I haven’t read a lot of books which focus on the armed forces which could be the reason why I found so many of his decisions infuriating.
Appetite for Risk reads a lot like an autobiography of his life within that time period than a work of fiction.

I found the first 170/200 pages to be pretty slow build up, however, once you get past that it is so action packed, it was like a high action blockbuster movie that only I could view!
Add the dangerous atmosphere of the country mixed with a seriously explosive situation and you have one hell of a thrilling mission!

I had such a difficult time trying to give a rating for this book, it is a really good book in terms of it’s content as an action thriller postwar in Baghdad, however I was not the reader that the author intended for this book.
This is a perfect book for those who love movies such as Black Hawk Down. Unfortunately I just had a hard time connecting with the story, so I don’t feel like my review does the book justice.
So, purely in terms of my enjoyment of Appetite For Risk I’m giving it 3 and a half cups of coffee out of 5.

-Grab Your Copy Here-

So who is Jack Leavers?

Jack Leavers is a former Royal Marine with over thirty-years’ experience spread across the military, private security, corporate investigations, maritime counter-piracy, and risk management. His varied career has included numerous deployments to conflict zones around the world such as Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, trouble spots in Africa, and the Somali pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean.
Jack continues to work in challenging environments and has now begun to pen novels inspired by some of the more enterprising projects that got the green light, and other audacious plans that didn’t.
The current WIP is a follow up to Appetite for Risk that sees ex-bootneck John Pierce return to face a ruthless enemy in Africa.
Jack is normally based in London, UK, but finds he’s at his most productive writing-wise when deployed overseas. Trips to Iraq and Africa beckon, so the follow up should be finished soon.

You can connect with him here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jack-Leavers-Author-2132537826799473/
Twitter: https://jackleavers.com/
Website: https://twitter.com/jackleavers

-Make Sure To Catch The Other Blog Tours-

See you guys in the next one…

Advertisement