Tag: Uniformly Hot

Guest Review: Daring Her SEAL by Anne Marsh

Posted May 4, 2016 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Daring Her SEAL by Anne MarshReviewer: Judith
Daring Her SEAL by Anne Marsh
Series: Uniformly Hot #3
Also in this series: Teasing Her SEAL, Pleasing Her SEAL
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: May 1st 2016
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Subject: Navy SEAL Levi Brandon

Mission: Sort out his accidental marriage...without sleeping with his "wife!"

Devil-may-care Navy SEAL Levi Brandon faces a terrifying task: telling Ashley Dixon that their faux wedding during their last mission together was actually real. It's bad enough that she completely loathes him, but she's DEA. Levi will be lucky to get away with his life...

Now Ashley and Levi have returned to Fantasy Island to sort things out...and are tempted to play a dangerous game of lust and restraint. A game of dares. All Levi has to do is keep himself from having sex with the hottie DEA agent. But Ashley's playing to win--and darers always go first.

He’s a womanizer, or at least that’s the rumor and that’s what Ashley believes.  And she really can’t stand womanizers.  She has pretended to be his girlfriend on an earlier mission when they were undercover together with a motorcycle gang.  But the one kiss they shared, hot as it may have been and as much as they each appreciated that hotness, was a one time thing, and to hear Ashley tell it, she was prepared to cut off Levi’s tongue if he got it anywhere near her again.  Now he has to tell her that the pretend marriage they staged on the beach of Fantasy Island on their last mission undercover, was inadvertently registered and is legal.

Levi is the kind of guy that teases and drives everyone sort of crazy with his unceasing talk, mostly about their glitches and mistakes and booboos.  He does indeed love the ladies and he does manage to hook up frequently.  But there’s just something about Ashley, and while they may be legally bound, Levi is wondering what it would really be like to have someone like Ashley in his life.

This is the third novel in the trilogy involving the members of SEAL Team Sigma, a group of Navy SEALs who are totally off the grid and whose identities and appearances are guarded to protect them when they go undercover.  Levi is a sniper and a man who has given himself heart and soul to his team.  But he is now over 30 years old and beginning to wonder about what it would be like to settle down, especially as two of his team are now preparing to walk down the aisle.

This novel has a lot more adversarial conversation that the two previous stories in this trilogy.  Levi and Ashley simply don’t like each other.  But like all situations of this kind, especially in romance fiction, there are changes in the offing and we know that Levi and Ashley will probably have their HEA.  It’s just a matter of how they manage that, and Ms Marsh is so good at getting us to that HEA in creative ways with lots of fun and sexy encounters thrown in.  I read this book as an ARC from Netgally and after reading the first two books I was delighted to have the chance to read this one as well.  I think readers who already enjoy Ms Marsh’s writing will find these three books delightful.  If a reader is just encountering this author, there’s lots of good reading ahead.  I suppose some would call this light hearted reading, but I just simply enjoyed the book and it kept my interest.  It is entertaining and took me to a Fantasy Island where anything was possible.  I believe most of us would be happy to have the wherewithal to go there ourselves.  Since I know I can’t, this is the next best thing.

I give this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

four-half-stars


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Guest Review: Pleasing Her SEAL by Anne Marsh

Posted April 18, 2016 by Judith in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Pleasing Her SEAL by Anne MarshReviewer: Judith
Pleasing Her SEAL by Anne Marsh
Series: Uniformly Hot #2
Also in this series: Teasing Her SEAL, Daring Her SEAL
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: January 1st 2016
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five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

SUBJECT: Navy SEAL Mason Black

MISSION: Remain undercover…even if it means going commando!

Wedding blogger Maddie Holmes is twelve times the bridesmaid and never the bride. Still, being on the sidelines of everyone else's happy endings has its perks, like staying at the luxurious, decadent Fantasy Island. The resort isn't just romantic—it's filled with sinful temptations…like delicious hottie resort chef Mason Black. And Maddie can't wait to take a bite!

There's just a teeny problem with her plan. She has no idea that Mason is an undercover Navy SEAL who needs photographs Maddie took that put both his mission and her life at risk. Mason's plan? Retrieve the pics and indulge in a few X-rated fantasies with the curvy redhead…and hope like hell that being between the sheets doesn't blow his cover.

The members of SEAL Team Sigma keep on getting into trouble of the romantic kind while they lie in wait for the leader of a very dangerous drug cartel who is coming to Fantasy Island to marry his current squeeze.  Like his commander, Gray Jackson, hero in book one of this trilogy, Mason Black is undercover as a chef at the resort.  Now unlike Gray, Mason really does know what he is doing.  He has been cooking for years and feeding his team members and his family when he is on furlough with gourmet food.  So he can indeed pull his undercover assignment off.  What he doesn’t expect is to literally have Maddie Holmes run into him in an out-of-the-way portion of the island where she has set up cameras in order to snap shots of sunrises and sunsets for her wedding blog.  If she can do a good job, she will land some significant advertising dollars and as she puts it, be able to not only enjoy writing her blog but paying her rent and keeping the lights on.  One problem as Mason sees it:  her photos have also included the activity of the undercover SEAL team, unbeknownst to her.  So he is dispatched to literally woo her away from her camera so he can erase any shots that may include any team members or the boats that they were waiting to board.

This is a fun story in so many ways.  Maddie is kind of a scatter brained female, messy and disorganized apparently, yet she manages to keep her life and her internet activities organized as she sees it.   She is funny and well spoken, but underneath her cutesy exterior is a woman who is insecure and who has experienced lots of disappointment in her life.  She has come to Fantasy Island on a freebie vacation as a potential public relations connection for the resort.  She seems determined to get as much out of it as she can.  Mason is one of those alpha males who like what he likes but whose personal history has been a disappointment so far.  He loves his sisters and his family, but his long absences has created emotional distance from them.  Being with Maddie, even just a little bit, awakens within him the desire for a family, something that is just a bit more normal than living in foxholes or tents in the jungle.  The conversations between the characters is witty and enlightening.  Readers will see into the inner thoughts of these people but she has kept a good balance between introspection and dialogue, something I personally appreciate.

This story is well written and demonstrates the author’s experience and writing expertise.  She has an extensive writing resume and after reading the first two books in this trilogy, I understand why readers keep coming back for more.  It you like good romance with generous helpings of hot loving and well-seasoned with humor and as well as with the authentic friendship one will encounter between the SEALs, then you will like this novel.  I have a feeling that if this is your first Anne Marsh book, you will look for the others in this trilogy as well as other series she has written.  A truly delightful read and one I happily give a rating of 5 out of 5.

five-stars


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Guest Review: Teasing Her SEAL by Anne Marsh

Posted March 18, 2016 by Judith in Reviews | 1 Comment

Guest Review: Teasing Her SEAL by Anne MarshReviewer: Judith
Teasing Her SEAL by Anne Marsh
Series: Uniformly Hot #1
Also in this series: Pleasing Her SEAL, Daring Her SEAL
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: September 15th 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Subject: Navy SEAL Gray Jackson 

Objective: Stay on mission. And out of her bed.

Surgeon Laney Parker is on her honeymoon. Alone. Without her cheating fiancé, she's enjoying her nonrefundable "vacation" at Fantasy Island, an exotic resort filled with lush greenery, white beaches and staff who apparently grant every sexual request. Including an unbearably hot massage therapist whose touch turns Laney to molten lava…

Laney has no idea that Gray Jackson is actually an undercover Navy SEAL who's supposed to keep his hands off. Or that Gray wants to take total control. To give Laney just what she—hell, what they both need. Gray can grant her every erotic wish, just as long as he keeps his cover. And just as long as their sexy little tease doesn't go beyond the week…

It’s been a long time since I have read an Anne Marsh novel and now I don’t know why I haven’t been enjoying her books right along.  Reading this first book in a new trilogy has been a reminder that I have always enjoyed her books, her stories which seem crafted right out of real life, her characters that are gritty and edgy, and the way her stories develop unexpectedly.  Teasing Her SEAL is a great start to a new series that will feature three men of SEAL Team Sigma, whose specialties have been honed in out of the way places for years.  Most of the guys have been together for years, yet even the newer members of the team are all committed to being ready at a moment’s notice to put their talents and experience at the disposal of their government.  All of them have watched SEAL relationships tank and several have themselves learned the hard way that being gone for weeks or months at a time is too hard a burden to bear for some relationships.  So Gray Jackson has come to believe and he is OK with that.  That is, until he meets Laney Parker, a gritty, mouthy, I-know-what-I-am-doing, take charge trauma surgeon who doesn’t sugar coat anything, but who also has a few things to learn about herself and how to give in when she butts up against Gray and his take-charge ways.

This is, for all intent and purpose, a love story about a vacation fling that somehow goes awry.  But that’s the nature of romance, isn’t it?  Somehow these two begin to really listen to each other, really begin to understand that they each provide something the other needs.  Yet there is the barrier of secrets that Gray cannot divulge and no matter what kind of future they may or may not envision, getting past that barrier is going to be tough.

Ms Marsh has introduced readers to her SEAL Team Sigma guys and their evident trust in each other, their commitment to one another and to the tasks they believe in come through loud and clear.  They tease and teach, advise and correct, commiserate and keep each other’s secrets, but in the end, they want their brothers in arms to be good within themselves.  Laney is an interesting character in that she is a woman who has dared to dream of some semblance of normalcy in her emotional life by becoming engaged to an older doctor she respected and came to love.  She was angry and hurt to discover that he felt that being with any nurse or another woman of his choice was kind of his right.  He really couldn’t understand why she was so upset.  To lose her job the same day was an additional blow.  So gifting herself with this resort vacation, even though she was alone, seemed like something she had earned.  Making a couple of new girlfriends on the island was icing on the cake as friends were not an aspect of social life she had allowed herself with her education and medical practice pressures.  All in all, this is a delightful love story and a credit to Ms Marsh, a worthy addition to her writing resume.

And, once again, I have to congratulate Harlequin Blaze and the editors for putting out a quality product, well edited, good grammar, correct spelling.  A joy to read by someone like me that enjoys the use of good language in and of itself.  So latch on to this one.  It’s a terrific read, and a great lead in to the rest of the trilogy.

I give it a rating of 5 out of 5.

five-stars


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Review: The Risk Taker by Kira Sinclair.

Posted January 25, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Rowena’s review of The Risk Taker by Kira Sinclair.

Hero: Gage Harper
Heroine: Hope Rawlings

Subject: Totally buff ranger Gage Harper

Current Status: Walking wounded—both physically and mentally

Mission: Finally get the girl he could never have

Obstacle: She may just be the biggest risk he’s ever taken

All returned POW Gage Harper wants to do is forget, even if he has to let some gym rat beat him to a pulp to do it. He certainly doesn’t want to tell the tale of his heroism to the tabloids. Especially since he’s no hero…. But one journalist is determined to get the inside scoop—and she’s the only girl Gage has never been able to resist.

Hope Rawlings never took Gage’s romantic advances seriously growing up. After all, she was just his buddy, and a guy like Gage could have any girl he wanted. But now she needs his story to get her dream job in the city. And she’s willing to do anything to get it.

I’m all about military men so I was pretty stoked to read this book.  I’m not going to lie, I wanted to read this book because the cover was just so yummy that I couldn’t pass it up.  Add to the fact that the hero was a POW, yeah my interest in this book was sky high.

So I went into this book, very interested in getting to know the hero and meet the kind of a woman that would snare this very troubled hero’s attention.  There has to be a special kind of woman that would catch his attention, right?

Well, let’s just say that Hope got onto my shit list early on and had to dig her way out but even after all was said and done, I didn’t really like her and it had a lot to do with the fact that she was a reporter, looking for a story and that story was Gage.

Gage and Hope were best friends growing up.  They did everything together and Gage was not shy about letting Hope know he was way interested in being more than just friends.  He asked her out time after time and Hope turned him down, each and every single time.  At first, Hope thought that he was just kidding and she refused to be one of the string of girls that Gage took up with but the last time that he asked her out, asked her to take a chance on him, she turned him down and it broke his heart.

I understood why she turned him down but what I didn’t understand was why she wasn’t up front with him about why she turned him down.  They were best friends.  He just professed his love for you and you said no.  A good best friend would have told him why, all of the why and not just what suited you at the time.  He was heading out to the military, to put his life on the line and you were scared that he wouldn’t come back.  You were scared of losing him the way that you lost your mother, alright…TELL HIM!  But nope, she didn’t do any of that, she just let him go off and think that he wasn’t good enough for her so off he goes to war.

Now he’s back in town, recuperating from being a prisoner of war and he’s obviously dealing with some major shit but he’s not talking about it with anyone.  He’s not ready to tell the story to reporters, he’s not holding any interviews because he went through some major shit overseas and just wants to be left alone….but no, Hope needs that story and she’s going to get it.  No matter what she has to do to get it.

Everything ends the way that it’s supposed to end but the way that Hope handled everything surrounding Gage and the story and well, everything left a sour taste in my mouth and though I didn’t absolutely hate this book, I didn’t love it either.  I did like getting to know Gage and I really liked his family, especially Lexie but Hope left a lot to be desired in a heroine.

Grade: 2.75 out of 5

This book is available from Harlequin Blaze. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.


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