REVIEW!!! Hot SEAL (Hostile Operations Team #9) by Lynn Raye Harris

Buy SEALS of Summer 2 Here!

Synopsis (SEALS of Summer 2):

Subject: Ten sexy Navy SEALs
Objective: Complete the mission and win his lady's heart.

Heat up your summer with 10 brand-new stories in this SEXY NEW SEAL romance super bundle. From the war zone to the bedroom, these SEALs are on an all-new mission to fall in love.

FALL DARK (SEALs Undone) by NYT and USA Today bestselling author Zoe York.

HOT SEAL (The Hostile Operations Team) by USA Today bestselling author Lynn Raye Harris.

SEAL'S HERITAGE by NYT and USA Today Bestselling author Sharon Hamilton.

THE GUARDIAN (SEALs Beyond Battlefields) by NYT and USA Today bestselling, RITA-award nominated author Kimberley Troutte.

THE STRONG, SILENT TYPE (East Coast 8 prequel) by NYT and USA Today bestselling, RITA-award nominated author Elle Kennedy.

HER NEXT BREATH (Uncharted SEALs) by NYT and USA Today bestselling author Delilah Devlin.

SEAL'S DEFIANCE (Take No Prisoners) by NYT and USA Today bestselling author Elle James.

A SEAL'S CHANCE, by NYT and USA Today Bestselling author Cora Seton.

ONE HOT SEAL (When SEALs Come Home) by NYT and USA Today bestselling author Anne Marsh.

A SEAL'S DUTY, by NYT and USA Today Bestselling author Jennifer Lowery.

Synopsis (HOT SEAL)

Sex with the ex… It shouldn’t be this good the second time around.

Navy SEAL Dane “Viking” Erikson has sworn off women—or at least he’s sworn off one woman: DEA Agent Ivy McGill. His ex-wife.

But when they’re forced to work together on a critical military mission, Dane can’t help but notice how the one woman he shouldn’t want is the only one he can’t stop thinking about.

Ivy knows what it’s like to fall for a SEAL’s hard muscles and killer smile—and she knows what it’s like when everything falls apart. So why is she naked against a wall and begging Dane for more?

Review (HOT SEAL) 

I like action plots. That means something is going on besides the hot sex with well-built guys. The HOT series consistently delivers on all three fronts: non-stop action, sex scenes that can steam the wallpaper, and hunky guys with skills both in and out of the bedroom [and any other location that appeals.] The current entry, HOT Seal, does not disappoint – it is definitely romantic suspense at its best.

Once upon a time SEAL Dane, the hero, and DEA Agent Ivy, the heroine, were married. It didn’t work out. Two tough people working even tougher jobs – and neither was willing to compromise. And now they’re brought back together by those very same jobs. But they can handle it. It’s a mission, just business. Yeah, like that’s going to work…

The point of view alternates between Dane and Ivy and their likenesses and differences become very obvious. Both of them are hard, strong-minded people committed to doing what they see as right. They are both protectors to the core. Neither of them is much of a communicator but Ivy is especially locked up. However their chemistry, both old and new, brings them steadily closer together.

FYI:  This is a novella rather than a novel. This could be read as a standalone but honestly? I always recommend reading the series. Each story is complete but there is a continuing series arc. Each story incorporates characters you know and love from previous books – just like this one does. NOTE: for those following the series YES this is number nine and it is being released before number eight, Hot and Bothered. That is because it is appearing in the anthology SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle. But don’t worry, it contains no spoilers for number eight. (There are plans to release it as a standalone later this year.)

Hostile Operations Team series

Hot Pursuit 1

Hot Mess 2

Hot Package 3

Dangerously Hot 4

Hot Shot 5

Hot Rebel 6

Hot Ice 7

Hot and Bothered 8

Hot SEAL 9

Copy received from the author for an honest review.

REVIEW!! Game For Love: Out of Bounds by Lynn Raye Harris

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First off, I’m a fan of Lynn Raye Harris’ HOT series (Hostile Operations Team Series) novels. They’re great books with action driven plots, hunky heroes and eventual HEAs. So I eagerly took the offer to review this one. I was a little taken aback when I discovered this was a relationship driven story with little action and a sports setting. It starts out with the hero aching from the wound of his twin brother’s death and wallowing in guilt because the brother had joined the army ‘to make a difference’ while he had joined the NFL to play a sport he loved while raking in fame and fortune by the handfuls. Then there’s the heroine. She’s raging from having her romantic beach wedding interrupted by the screaming appearance of the groom’s wife and child. Notice there is not an ‘ex’ in there… The rage is directed at her attempted bigamist, slime-ball ‘groom’ – and at herself for being too stupid or too needy to see the truth.

The hero finds the heroine on a relatively lonely road, still wearing her wedding dress, dragging a single suitcase, and about to be about half-drowned by a thunderstorm. He doesn’t really want anyone around but his conscience insists he rescue her. She really doesn’t want to be around anyone either but the incoming deluge convinces her. Plus she has no real money with her. He takes her to his [very large] home, then puts her at ease by leaving her to deal on her own while he does the same. Little by little they drift towards each other…

I’ll admit I had doubts. Sex? Sure. It’s a way to bury their pain. But falling in love in the middle of such emotional traumas?  But Ms. Harris did such a great job with characters that I really fell into the story. They begin their healing process by helping each other over the rough spots and end up realizing that each is what the other needs: a supporter, a partner, a friend, a lover, and finally their own happily ever after.

My understanding is this story is set in the same world as Bella Andre’s Game For Love series which I have never read. That didn’t seem to be a problem and the focus here is on the relationship, not the sport.  It works very well as a stand alone. It’s a quick read and worth the time.

This review was based on a copy provided by the author for an honest review.

REVIEW Hot Mess (Hostile Operations Team 2) by Lynn Raye Harris -

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Synopsis

English professor Dr. Georgeanne Hayes has a problem. Her star pupil, an Army sergeant who works in a Top Secret government program, is missing—and someone tried to push her in front of a train last night.

Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight is used to looking out for Georgie. When they were kids, she was just his best friend’s baby sister. But Georgie’s not a baby anymore and Sam is getting some very male—and very dirty—thoughts about the girl he knows he can never have.

When someone threatens Georgie’s life again, Sam will do anything necessary to keep her safe. Even if it means spending the next few days locked up in a remote house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her.

Sam might be used to denying himself what he wants, but he’s about to find out that being cooped up with Georgie will push him to the limit. And maybe beyond.

Review

I enjoyed it – so much so that I immediately went out and bought book 1. This is a nice little second chance romance with lots of action. The hero and heroine knew each other ‘way back when’. She wanted him and he wanted her but she’s his best friend’s little sister and her father and mother provided him with the family stability his own parents didn’t so not much happened. Now he’s come back into her life just in time to save her from mega-bad-guy terrorists who think she knows something she doesn’t…

The hero is the newest member of H.O.T., a group that seems to combine the physical skills of a Special Forces team with mad hacker skills of an MIT computer lab. They specialize in anti-terrorism so her problem is right in their ball court but [of course] they are super hush-hush so they never do much explaining.

The heroine is [understandably!] terrified of the turn her life has taken but is happy it has led Sam back to her. She still wants him and not for just now, she wants forever. Sam still feels she deserves better, his military career - especially in such a high-risk group - would be too great a burden, yada, yada. He finally caves and they work on a compromise: he’ll believe it’s a ‘happy for now’ and she’ll believe it’s ‘happily ever after’…

Needless to say I’m rooting for the HEA. The sex is well written and doesn’t bury the plot, the plot kept me turning the pages, and the characters were interesting. Characterization is probably the weakest point in this story. Although you get a good feel of the KIND of people they are, I never really got a defined visual for either of them. I suspect that is the result of the shortness of the story. It’s still an enjoyable read that I cheerfully recommend.

The first book is Hot Pursuit.

Copy received from Netgalley and publisher for an honest review.