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Growing with Her: The Alpha Team Collection Book 1
Shadow
She shouldn't even be here and I won't sway on that. She's pompous, arrogant, and distracting. I shouldn't care what happens to her, or has happened. But those scars etched so deeply on her back keep me up at night. What the hell has happened to her to make her so jaded?
Fable
This guy's a jerk and he won't get off my back. I hate him so much... but then he acts like he cares, like he can read my mind and see into my soul and I just want to melt. But it doesn't matter anyway, there can never be anything between us, even if he puts himself in danger to save my life. He's my teammate, and I'll never make the mistake of getting involved with a teammate ever again. Right?
Growing with Her is a rivals-to-lovers military romance story where secret identities, morally grey characters, and a jaded past come to clash as Shadow and Fable fight an omnipotent threat while being forced to come to terms with their own demons. But when Shadow can't figure out if the biggest threat to Fable is the terroristic threat they're fighting or her own past, can he save her in time?
Growing with Her is the first book in the Alpha Team Collection. Each book is a standalone with an HEA. This is the story of Shadow and Fable. Shadow is a Lieutenant and lifelong military man. Fable is from a military family but chose to become a mercenary. Now they're together, on the same special forces team with her uncle, Captain Jamie Foster, and the Sergeants, Lance McCaffery and Danny Hughes. This is a spicy morally grey, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance, which features violent scenes as well as explicit sexual content.
Morally grey
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
Masked man
Men in uniform
Badass FMC
He falls first
Touch her and die
One bed
Forbidden love
Secret identity
Work adversaries
Revenge
Sworn off relationships
Emotional scars
Physical scars
Can't spit it out (say "I love you")
Note: This book contains explicit sex scenes and is not recommended for those under the age of 18 years old. Please check the content warning page at the beginning of the book. Some scenes may be highly triggering.
She shouldn't even be here and I won't sway on that. She's pompous, arrogant, and distracting. I shouldn't care what happens to her, or has happened. But those scars etched so deeply on her back keep me up at night. What the hell has happened to her to make her so jaded?
Fable
This guy's a jerk and he won't get off my back. I hate him so much... but then he acts like he cares, like he can read my mind and see into my soul and I just want to melt. But it doesn't matter anyway, there can never be anything between us, even if he puts himself in danger to save my life. He's my teammate, and I'll never make the mistake of getting involved with a teammate ever again. Right?
Growing with Her is a rivals-to-lovers military romance story where secret identities, morally grey characters, and a jaded past come to clash as Shadow and Fable fight an omnipotent threat while being forced to come to terms with their own demons. But when Shadow can't figure out if the biggest threat to Fable is the terroristic threat they're fighting or her own past, can he save her in time?
Growing with Her is the first book in the Alpha Team Collection. Each book is a standalone with an HEA. This is the story of Shadow and Fable. Shadow is a Lieutenant and lifelong military man. Fable is from a military family but chose to become a mercenary. Now they're together, on the same special forces team with her uncle, Captain Jamie Foster, and the Sergeants, Lance McCaffery and Danny Hughes. This is a spicy morally grey, enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance, which features violent scenes as well as explicit sexual content.
Morally grey
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity
Masked man
Men in uniform
Badass FMC
He falls first
Touch her and die
One bed
Forbidden love
Secret identity
Work adversaries
Revenge
Sworn off relationships
Emotional scars
Physical scars
Can't spit it out (say "I love you")
Note: This book contains explicit sex scenes and is not recommended for those under the age of 18 years old. Please check the content warning page at the beginning of the book. Some scenes may be highly triggering.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2024
125 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
A.R. Carlson
12 books7 followersA. R. Carlson is a work-from-home mom of some fantastic sons (though she's biased in that) and has loved writing fiction since she was just learning to read. On a good day, she'll be found scribbling down some random story idea, with her nose in a book, or cleaning up after her kids (that happens a lot).
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 11, 2024
I'm sorry, but this book had so much potential.. unfortunately, the timeline was soo hard to follow. i felt like the characters repeated themselves a lot.. and the trama dumping.. *phew*
November 2, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An Unforgettable, Perfectly Executed Rivals-to-Lovers Romance with Depth and Spice
Growing with Her absolutely nails the slow-burn transition from tension to chemistry. The gradual shift from slight hatred—or at least distrust—to something deeper was so satisfying, especially with how immersed we were in both characters’ internal thoughts. A.R. Carlson handles dual POVs brilliantly, switching perspectives to give us the same point in the timeline, but with fresh, layered insights. Unlike other dual POVs that can feel repetitive, here every perspective felt intentional, adding new details and moving the story forward without rehashing.
And the smut! Let me just say, Carlson knows how to write spicy scenes that hit the perfect balance. Often with romance, especially smutty scenes, there’s a risk of cringe, but I didn’t feel that once in this book. Those chapters were intense, passionate, and beautifully written. For any romance lover—especially those who crave well-executed dual POVs, military reads, and expertly crafted slow-burn spice—Growing with Her is an absolute must-read. Highly recommend!
An Unforgettable, Perfectly Executed Rivals-to-Lovers Romance with Depth and Spice
Growing with Her absolutely nails the slow-burn transition from tension to chemistry. The gradual shift from slight hatred—or at least distrust—to something deeper was so satisfying, especially with how immersed we were in both characters’ internal thoughts. A.R. Carlson handles dual POVs brilliantly, switching perspectives to give us the same point in the timeline, but with fresh, layered insights. Unlike other dual POVs that can feel repetitive, here every perspective felt intentional, adding new details and moving the story forward without rehashing.
And the smut! Let me just say, Carlson knows how to write spicy scenes that hit the perfect balance. Often with romance, especially smutty scenes, there’s a risk of cringe, but I didn’t feel that once in this book. Those chapters were intense, passionate, and beautifully written. For any romance lover—especially those who crave well-executed dual POVs, military reads, and expertly crafted slow-burn spice—Growing with Her is an absolute must-read. Highly recommend!
January 5, 2025
DNF
I tried so hard to get past the first half of the book but it's so hard to follow the timeline. There's a ton of trauma dumping and it feels like a 13 year old wrote this on Wattpad.
I just found this to be very cringey.
I tried so hard to get past the first half of the book but it's so hard to follow the timeline. There's a ton of trauma dumping and it feels like a 13 year old wrote this on Wattpad.
I just found this to be very cringey.
July 15, 2025
♘ “...The most broken people are the most beautiful and you are the most lovely and beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” ♘
The story offered an intriguing premise and carried a lot of potential, but its execution occasionally fell short. One of the main challenges was the timeline; it was sometimes hard to follow, which pulled me out of the narrative more than once. The pacing didn’t help either; it felt uneven, making it difficult to stay fully engaged through certain sections.
♘ “Your scars are not a flaw, they’re a sign of strength and perseverance.” ♘
Violet/Fable, took time to grow on me. Early on, she came across as overly cocky and abrasive, lacking the kind of depth that makes a character memorable. Initially, she didn’t stand out, and I found it hard to connect with her. However, as the story progressed and more of her true self was revealed, I began to see a very different character, someone layered, complex, and worth rooting for. I’m glad I stuck with her arc, as her development became one of the highlights of the book. Shadow was another pleasant surprise. Given his initial reaction to Fable’s presence, I didn’t expect much from him. But as the story unfolded, his character revealed unexpected depth, adding a compelling dynamic to the narrative.
♘ “Ello, love.” ♘
That said, certain plot connections, particularly those involving Fable’s ties to the target, felt confusing and underdeveloped. Even with the explanation of her old teammate’s involvement, I struggled to understand how everything fit together, which left parts of the story feeling disconnected. Overall, while the book had its flaws in structure and clarity, the character growth, especially of the main duo, provided enough payoff to make the read worthwhile.
Stars: 3.5/5
Spice: 2.5/5
Tropes:
◈ Rivals to Lovers ◈
◈ Merc. FMC x Lt. MMC ◈
◈ Secret Relationship ◈
◈ Trauma & Healing ◈
The story offered an intriguing premise and carried a lot of potential, but its execution occasionally fell short. One of the main challenges was the timeline; it was sometimes hard to follow, which pulled me out of the narrative more than once. The pacing didn’t help either; it felt uneven, making it difficult to stay fully engaged through certain sections.
♘ “Your scars are not a flaw, they’re a sign of strength and perseverance.” ♘
Violet/Fable, took time to grow on me. Early on, she came across as overly cocky and abrasive, lacking the kind of depth that makes a character memorable. Initially, she didn’t stand out, and I found it hard to connect with her. However, as the story progressed and more of her true self was revealed, I began to see a very different character, someone layered, complex, and worth rooting for. I’m glad I stuck with her arc, as her development became one of the highlights of the book. Shadow was another pleasant surprise. Given his initial reaction to Fable’s presence, I didn’t expect much from him. But as the story unfolded, his character revealed unexpected depth, adding a compelling dynamic to the narrative.
♘ “Ello, love.” ♘
That said, certain plot connections, particularly those involving Fable’s ties to the target, felt confusing and underdeveloped. Even with the explanation of her old teammate’s involvement, I struggled to understand how everything fit together, which left parts of the story feeling disconnected. Overall, while the book had its flaws in structure and clarity, the character growth, especially of the main duo, provided enough payoff to make the read worthwhile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stars: 3.5/5
Spice: 2.5/5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tropes:
◈ Rivals to Lovers ◈
◈ Merc. FMC x Lt. MMC ◈
◈ Secret Relationship ◈
◈ Trauma & Healing ◈
January 14, 2025
This started out pretty good. But around the 75% mark, it really began to feel like the author was just trying to get that word count in. It just began to drag to the point that even the high stakes weren't keeping me interested.
It became a very repetitive plot. There's an unknown time jump, either Shadow or Fable is hurt, the other one goes all Rambo to save them. Wash, rinse, repeat. And the time jumps! They worked once or twice (would have been better if I knew exactly how much time had passed) but then it was every other chapter, and then it was mid-chapter.
The characters were written pretty well. The plot was fairly decent. Honestly, Growing With Her would have just been better served with an editor and a healthy trimming down of like 100 pages. I liked it. I wouldn't say no to continuing the series.
It became a very repetitive plot. There's an unknown time jump, either Shadow or Fable is hurt, the other one goes all Rambo to save them. Wash, rinse, repeat. And the time jumps! They worked once or twice (would have been better if I knew exactly how much time had passed) but then it was every other chapter, and then it was mid-chapter.
The characters were written pretty well. The plot was fairly decent. Honestly, Growing With Her would have just been better served with an editor and a healthy trimming down of like 100 pages. I liked it. I wouldn't say no to continuing the series.
January 5, 2025
Simply put... No
Read
February 3, 2025So much happened in this book that nothing happened
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews