HOT Pursuit

Hostile Operations Team: Strike Team 1 #1

by Lynn Raye Harris

The last man she ever wanted to see…
Might be the only one who can save her…
Things are about to get HOT in the bayou!

Evie Baker’s luck just ran out. Thanks to an ex-partner with organized crime ties, she’s lost her restaurant, her money, and nearly all her self-respect. Forced to return to her hometown and work as a shampoo girl in her mother’s salon, she doesn’t think her luck can get any worse.

But then someone starts shooting at her, her sullen baby sister is suddenly missing, and the high school heartthrob who stole her heart—and her virginity—is the only man big enough and bad enough to help.

Army Captain Matt “Richie Rich” Girard can’t afford to get involved. He’s already on the verge of a court-martial after a Top Secret op gone wrong, and he’s been ordered to stay out of trouble while he’s home for his sister’s wedding.

But when Evie’s ex-partner turns up dead, staying out of trouble is the last thing on Matt’s mind. He failed Evie once before; he can’t fail her again. If he’s going to protect her from a killer, and find her sister before time runs out, he’ll have to risk his entire future—and both their lives—to do it.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Military Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Contemporary, Military Romance

387 pages, ebook

First published July 13, 2013

About the author

Lynn Raye Harris is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sizzling military romantic suspense novels and contemporary romance novels. She lives in Alabama with her husband (former military), her cat, and her American Saddlebred horse.

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Reviews

[Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read** · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3 Stars***

This was a solid start to a new series and a great introduction to Lynn Raye Harris. My interest has definitely been piqued with what's to come with the rest of the HOT team. I'm told by multiple trusted sources that this first book is the weakest in the bunch and that this series only gets better with each passing book....and well, that's got me pretty damn excited!

Let's start with the positives.

The writing - It was easy and engaging and, for the most part, it flowed effortlessly. Yes, there were some moments that dragged and the momentum stalled a bit in the middle of the book, but the talent is evident.

Multiple POV's - In addition to having both Matt and Evie's point of view, we also get some other key characters...including the villains. This is typically pretty hard to pull off without taking away from the suspense, but the author did a fantastic job. Just the right amount of time and just the the right scene was used to add an extra layer to the story. It actually ended up adding to the suspense, rather than taking away from it.

Matt - Yeah...I love me a military guy. Matt was a great combination of sweet, strong, protective, vulnerable, badass and sexy. We get glimpses of him as a boy, and seeing the type of man he turned into only added to his appeal.

He was definitely not the same boy he'd been ten years ago. She'd had a crush on that boy - that popular, gorgeous, unattainable boy.

But the man before her now was terrifying in ways that boy hadn't been. The man was empathetic, authentic - and far more appealing than the boy had ever been.

And far more dangerous.

The backstory - I absolutely loved the glimpses we got into the friendship and bond that Evie and Matt had when they were children. Especially the story dealing with the death of Matt's mom. The way that Matt truly trusted Evie to let his guard down and seek comfort from her as a little boy helped show how truly connected these two were.

The action - I gotta say, there were quite a few moments where I had a death grip on my kindle. And when little miss Evie didn't have her head up her ass, she was a great counterpart to Matt's military badass-ery.


Unfortunately, now it's time to move on to the not so great things.


Evie - Oh man, she was a hard one to like. I couldn't understand her level of blinded selfishness. She hightailed it out of her, according to her, stifling small town after her high school graduation to chase her dreams. In those 8 years, she only visited home twice and from the sound of it, basically turned her back on her family. Her now teenage sister has a non-existent relationship with her...they barely know each other. I can understand wanting to reach for your dreams and feeling stifled by a small town when you have big aspirations, but why disconnect yourself from your family? Everything to Evie was about her dreams. Her needs. Her wants. I don't understand why she basically turned her back on her family, especially if they weren't the ones trying to pigeonhole her.

And another big pet peeve of mine....a heroine who runs towards the trouble to "help" instead of staying where she was told she'd be safe. If a trained military guy tells you to stay put where it's safe so he can concentrate on investigating something, when gunfire rings out, for fuck's sake stay where you are!! Don't go running towards the bullets.

And what kind of fucking help were you going to provide? Because you're unarmed and untrained...and I'm pretty sure you arriving on scene with an "Are you okay? I was scared something happened to you" doesn't provide any type of additional fucking assistance in the middle of a fucking shooting...because NOW he has to concentrate on protecting himself AND you. Just saying.

And lastly, I have no idea how to wrap my head around Evie's rationale when it comes to CONSTANTLY questioning why Matt joined the military. Another example of her selfishness, in my opinion.

...she hadn't understood how anyone could come from the kind of wealth and privilege he did, could have a beautiful home like Reynier's Retreat and a job as an oil executive waiting for him, and could choose instead to drive getaway cars, deflect bullets, and rescue little sisters.

But she was damn glad he did.

Of course she was happy...because it helped HER. Fuck understanding how he wants to help the world as a whole.

"You think people born into privilege shouldn't serve their country since they have the means to do other things? Should it only be the poor or disadvantaged who risk their lives?"

"I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did."

Okay, probably she did. But it was unfathomable.

"I would have made different choices if I had your resources. I'm sorry if that offends you, but I refuse to believe there's isn't a better way to contribute to society, if that's what you want to do."

So basically what she's implying is write a check and move on with your privileged and charmed life. UGH....I'm getting ragey all over again.

Repeatedly bringing up the past - At sixteen, Evie offered her virginity to Matt (he was 17), and him being a bit tipsy, having a crush on her and being a lot horny...accepted. Then he did a douche canoe thing and bragged to all his friends about it afterward....on top of that, one week later he was gone...graduated and off to the military. This left Evie alone in their hometown to deal with rumors of her being a slut. In time things passed, but Evie carried around that humiliation with her for a long time.

The two work this matter our fairly early in the book, but it keeps being brought up again and again and again. If you've forgiven someone and say it really isn't as big of a deal anymore, what's in the past is in the past and should stay there, then do as you say and move the fuck on. Stop bringing it up. Don't rehash the issue. You're both grown ass adults and different people than you were ten years ago.

Rushed Ending - That one is pretty self explanatory.



So, there you have it. My rambling and wordy review.

In a nutshell, the heroine was a big downer. BUT, I still enjoyed the read and look forward to more from Matt's team.

If this book is the weakest in the series, then there's a lot of great things in store for me!

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was definitely not the same boy he'd been ten years ago. She'd had a crush on that boy - that popular, gorgeous, unattainable boy.
But the man before her now was terrifying in ways that boy hadn't been. And far more dangerous.

This was a a first book for me by this author, and after finishing it, I can say it will definitely not be my last. It was a great romantic suspense.

Ten years ago Evie Baker gave her heart and her virginity to Matt Girard, only to have him break her heart and trust in the cruelest way imaginable.

Now let's stop here for a second. I am SUCH a sucker for this type of scenario. Hero and heroine meet, fall in lust, hero breaks heroine's heart so the heroine now hates him...only to come face to face with the hero years later. That set up right there? Yep!


Ok, so moving on.

Evie suffered a big humiliation at the hands of Matt in high school. Matt left for the army, and Evie was left to deal with the painful repercussions of his actions. She couldn't wait to get out of the small town to pursue her dreams. Unfortunately things did't pan out as she was hoped. After opening her restaurant and being robbed blind by her partner and lover, she lost everything. Now forced to come back to her hometown, the last thing she wants is to run into Matt again.

Matt is a member of a top secret military group, HOT. When a mission goes terribly wrong, and he loses two of his team members, Matt no longer knows where his military career stands anymore. Now back home for his sister's wedding, he comes face to face with his one regret, Evie.

Matt deeply regrets the way he acted as a young and immature boy, and Evie wants nothing to do with him. Of course they can only fight the attraction between them for so long.

Evie may be angry, but she cannot deny her feelings for the sexy soldier.

And here she stood ready to lose herself in him one more time. Because there'd always been more between them that just one night. Because they went back a long ways, and she'd loved him as a friend long before she'd ever fallen for him as a man.

When Evie's little sister goes missing, and her past comes back to haunt her, Matt knows that he has to protect her.

Now while the romance between Evie and Matt was a good part of the book, the predominate part of it was the suspense. I really enjoyed that. There were no out of place sex scenes. You know the ones I'm talking about.
Oh my god! The bad guys are shooting at us!
Uh oh! You're right! But the adrenaline is making me horny! We should have sex!
Definitely, but let's at least go find an abandoned warehouse somewhere.
(yes, I've actually read that before *long suffering sigh*)

This was a perfect mix of plot, suspense, action and steam.

There were multiple POV's, like Evie's sister and each of the bad guys. I usually don't enjoy that. But I thought it was very well written, where it wasn't confusing and didn't flip flop. The POVs were mainly Matt and Evie's, with a few snippets of the others. It actually added a little something to the book that I liked.

Now as for my rating, that was a toughie. While I enjoyed this book, it just wasn't one that I loved. I am not even sure what it was...but I just had a hard time connecting to the characters. The suspense part of it was very good, and the ending caught me completely off guard (I really didn't see that twist coming). The romance was the part that I found lackluster, I suppose. I wish I can pinpoint exactly what it was, but I can't. It just wasn't one that I was incredibly invested in.

The set up for the future characters really drew me in, however. I cannot wait to get Kev's story.

So as for my rating, I'll go with something between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I still can't make up my mind, so I'll round up to 4.

If you enjoy a good military type romantic suspense, definitely give this book a try.

Really looking forward to future books in this series.

*ARC courtesy of author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

For more reviews visit: Dirty Girl Romance Book Blog

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★]

FREE on Amazon US today (2/9/2015)

BLURB:
He was the last man in the world she wanted to see…but he might be the only one who could save her…

Ten years ago, Matt Girard did something he shouldn’t. When sweet Evangeline Baker offered him her virginity, he took it. Then he left town and he’s never looked back.

Until now. His future as a black ops soldier with the Hostile Operations Team is in jeopardy, and he’s come home for a few days before going back to face the consequences of a mission gone wrong.

Matt still makes Evie’s heart pound, but she wants nothing to do with him. She’s had enough of men who lie and promise things they don’t deliver. But when her sister goes missing and her ex-boyfriend turns up dead, she’s in need of Matt’s special military skills.

With time running out, Matt will put everything on the line to protect Evie and find her sister. Even if it means sacrificing all he’s worked for with HOT. Sometimes, the reward is worth the price. Especially when it’s the one woman he can’t forget…

http://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Hostile...

[Duchess Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evie Baker recently returned to her hometown of Rochambeau...depressed, broken, and the newest hair washer at her Mom's salon. From her ambitions and the realization of her dream of owning a restaurant, free to create culinary masterpieces...to this. To add insult to injury, her childhood best friend and the man who horribly betrayed her young heart is back in town.

Captain Matt Gerard is also coming back to Rochambeau a defeated man. Soon up for a hearing that will decide whether the death of two of his Special Forces teammates is his fault, Matt is heartbroken as well as a little lost feeling. Especially when he walks into the small town's salon and comes face to face with one of his biggest regrets.

Matt and Evie had been best friends since they were little. Their friendship not only survived a myriad of childhood hardships...not the least being the death of Matt's mother....but seemed stronger for them. It began to dwindle when Matt started seeing other girls in a whole new light...and yet Evie still only had eyes for him. The breaking point was the night that Evie gave Matt her most precious gift, and he made a mockery of her for it...and left town to join the Army.

Matt immediately wants to make up for his young and dumb actions, but Evie still needs to guard her heart. After all, it was her lover who stole her blind and ruined her restaurant. But Matt is persistent, and when Evie's past comes back to haunt her...and her mom and little sister, she is forced to lean on Matt for help. His experiences in intense tactical situations makes him the perfect guy to have along for the ride that she's getting ready to take. And she quickly comes to realize that one night of inconsideration doesn't make up the entirety of the man who used to be her best friend in all the world.

I enjoyed this book. I expected to have a bit more action and intrigue than what was included, I think. I felt like the emotions and regrets of both Matt and Evie were sort of recycled and used again throughout the entire book, and it really dragged the story out. What action was included was fairly riveting. The love scenes were well done, definitely for a mainstream romance market, but still sexy. My favorite part was when Matt starts speaking his French bayou yumminess! Chere', indeed!! Especially toward the last half of the book, Matt's team gets some face time and we are introduced to the guys who likely get the next few books in the series.

Overall, a nice Romantic Suspense...not too heavy, a bit stagnating in the middle, but ended on an exciting note with lots of room for series growth.



Big thanks to Victory Editing and Net Galley for the arc in exchange for a review!

[Jane Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contrived conflicts. Heroine stupidity. I wanted it to be over.

If you love romantic suspense and cannot get enough, you might enjoy this. I did not. This was typical characters and done-before-plot and action. There was nothing special or different. If I were to recommend something to the author I would say come up with unusual and special characters. Let the characters’ personalities create conflicts instead of having them do illogical things. For example:

They have great sex. Afterwards he is cold and insensitive with no explanation. The next time they have great sex, he leaves without a word and does not call her - for four weeks. So he has to apologize.

She loves him. He asks her to go with him to his sisters’s wedding. She says no. Later she shows up. They both want to be with each other after the crisis. But when the crisis is over, she says no.

HEROINE STUPIDITY:
He tells her to stay hidden while he goes after killer thugs. She does not stay hidden. She goes after him because “she wants to help.” She has no weapon and no fighting ability. She is a chef. He is a highly trained Army Ranger. This happened three times.

When she first tells him about her problem. She does not mention “organized crime” because she didn’t like to think about that.


They are hiding. He sets an alarm for a short nap. She turns off the alarm because she thinks he needs more rest. As a result the bad guys enter and get them.


OTHER:
I would have liked more details about the informant, ambush, and escaping in Iraq. I also wanted to know what the authorities did with the information about Rivera; i.e. give me a more complete ending.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Kindle count length: 4,698 (548 KB) 387 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words but rarely used. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 4. Setting: current day Louisiana and Iraq. Copyright: 2013. Genre: romantic suspense.

[Rachel the Book Harlot]

Hot Pursuit is a hot mess.

I don't know what I was thinking with this one, but in my defense I was bored, in the mood for a good romance, enticed by the pretty cover (just look at that guy), and it was free. But, I guess as any good economist will tell you, nothing is ever truly free. Seems I always learn that the hard way whenever I download these Kindle freebies.

Aside from the pretty cover, the concept of the story intrigued me. The heroine, Evie, down on her luck after being swindled by her business partner, is forced to move back to her hometown. Matt, Evie's former high school crush, is back home for his sister's wedding. Matt also happens to be part of an elite military special forces unit. When Evie somehow finds herself embroiled in a situation created by her former business partner, she is forced to turn to Matt for help.

The story sounded like such good fun, and I think it had a lot of potential to be a fun, sexy romantic suspense if the author had taken more time to flesh everything out. As it was, what I like to call the "emotional pacing" felt off and rushed, and the characterizations were all over the place. These two people were supposed to be in their mid-late twenties, but they felt and behaved more like high school kids. And they weren't the only ones--the conversation between Evie and her friend Julie was ridiculous.

I just couldn't wrap my head around Evie and Matt's behavior. I'll give a few examples:

1. Matt and Evie were best friends as kids, and he essentially broke Evie's heart in a rather cruel way. He feels ashamed of his past behavior and apologizes to her...then proceeds to behave like a total sleazeball. Upon their second meeting at a party, after he's apologized for being a total a-hole, he compliments her dress then says, "Maybe I'd like to see what's under that dress."

Yeah. Way to show her you've changed, Matt.
I mean the whole issue between them was the fact that he'd taken her virginity, told a few of his friends while in a drunken stupor, and not only did he never call her again, but he left for college and hadn't seen her for 10 years. So for him to try to get into her pants again after all of that seemed a little ridiculous and insensitive.

2. Upon seeing Matt for the first time, Evie wants to maintain some semblance of dignity. Yet, she's immediately hostile and sort of in his face about the way he had treated her when they were kids. Her behavior would have been fine if she hadn't just told me, the reader, that she wanted to maintain her dignity.

3. After seeing Evie for the first time in 10 years, Matt thinks:

"There was something about having her near, something that sparked inside him and made him feel somewhat human again. He didn't know why, and he didn't know if it would last. But he liked it. For the first time in months, he felt as if he could breath again. As if he'd come home for real instead of simply going through the motions."

This would have been fine except for the fact that she'd only spoken about 3 sentences to him and was also hostile towards him. His sentiment didn't fit with the situation and the timing of it just didn't feel right.

Anyway, after a few more ridiculously nonsensical and contrived scenes, I decided to call it quits.

DNF: 22%

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two old friends, a dark shadow of the recent past, suspense, and maybe new love? This book definitely grabbed my attention.

Evie was a hot mess. She left town eight years ago to go to culinary school and start the restaurant of her dreams. Her naivete had her falling for the tricks of a con artist, which ruined her new business and forced her to come home with her tail between her legs. What was she going to do?

Matt left town right after high school and joined the military. His father expected him to stay to run the business, but Matt's blood ran too hot to sit behind a desk and slowly die from mind-numbing boredom. He plays fast and loose, in life and in relationships. He doesn't have time to settle down and promises nothing. So what if he feels an emptiness yawning in his chest. Ignoring it and denying it got him this far, hasn't it?

When Evie's con artist shows back up, bringing the mob right along with him, not only is Evie in danger, but so is her family. And the only person she can count on is the man who showed her that he couldn't be counted on. For a guy who doesn't tend to stick around, Matt's willing to do whatever it takes, even gamble his future military career, to protect and help his friend.

This book ranks pretty low on romance, although it did have a couple of steamy scenes, but the plot was interesting enough. Matt wasn't the easiest guy to warm up to, but he gave me just enough hero vibes to make me like him. Evie was a bit ridiculous in her urges... why she thought she could protect Matt in every dangerous situation was beyond me... but I liked her spunk. As an introduction to the series, I already like the guys who make up H.O.T.

[Coco.V]

FREE on Amazon today (11/08/2017)!

[Penelope ✘ that awkward girl that doesn't go here ✘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

FOUR STARS!



I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again, I have a serious hard-on for military reads. Men in uniform have always been a great weakness of mine, but military and/or navy uniforms have the ability to reduce me into a drooling mess. So it comes as no surprise that I really enjoyed this book, nor am I surprised at how willing I am to pauper myself so I can read the rest of this series (my book budget and I are currently not on speaking terms).

Hot Pursuit is the first book of the Hostile Operations Team (HOT) series, featuring Captain Matthew Girard and his childhood friend Evangeline Baker. It has been ten years since either of them have seen each other, ten years since Matt's dick move that tore their friendship apart, but Matt and Evie find themselves thrown together after trouble from Evie's past rears it's ugly head and threatens her family. Determined to keep them safe, Matt places his career and life on the line as he fights to protect what has become most dear to him, Evie.

I enjoyed this book. Enjoyed the action, the main characters and the fast pace of this story. But let's focus on the main characters because my goodness, I was so damn impressed with them.

There's something about a good ol' southern boy in uniform that really works for me. What I absolutely loved about Matt was his character growth. Gone was that boy who would brag about having sex with a girl in the back of his daddy's car to his mates, and in his place was a man who couldn't help but need to affect change in people's lives. His strong protective instincts is touching to see, and I couldn't help how erratically my heart beat when he would go into hyper overdrive whenever he thought Evie was in danger. Now Evie's character was a pleasant surprise to me. I had the fear that Evie would be a weak character that would make Matt's job difficult by playing the damsel in distress. Totally not the case, and I was so grateful for that fact. Evie's tough. Yeah, she may not have any experience in physical combat; yeah, the sight of a small boat might make her turn a sickly green, but she's definitely ballsy and not afraid to face danger head on. She had some great scenes which had me smiling over how empowered her character was. Definitely impressed with how she was portrayed.

So, why not five stars? Honestly, I wish the sex could have been hotter (this seemed like such an important requirement while I was reading for some reason). On a more serious note, I had two minor quibbles which stopped this from being an amazing read for me. The first is that I couldn't figure out why Evie was having trouble reconciling herself with the idea that Matt was involved with Black Ops missions. She constantly brought up his background, saying how she couldn't understand why he was putting his life on the line when he obviously comes from money and has many "options" for his life. Honestly, woman, if the man wants to save the world, that's his business. Build a bridge and get over it. The second thing was how abrupt I thought the ending was. It wasn't exactly terrible, but I'm the sort of person that likes her HEA spelled out in definitive terms. But I guess the HFN ending means we'll see more of Matt and Evie in later books? I'm really hoping this is so.

Overall, a great read. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the series!

[Sheryl C. Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE Lynn Raye Harris and her Harlequins, and when i found out that she was self-publishing, i was BEYOND excited!! THEN, i read an excerpt of Hot Pursuit on Ms Harris's website and i was literally on the edge of my seat waiting for this book to be released! (And, oh alright, i also saw the cover and pretty much wanted to lick it ).

Now, BEFORE anyone dismisses this story because y'all are not into Harlequins, Hot Pursuit was NOTHING like Ms Harris's Harlequins; this is romantic suspense of the military persuasion... YUMMY!!

Call me shallow, but what to me makes an awesome read, BESIDES a well-written storyline, is how DELICIOUS the male lead is! And make no mistake, while Matt Girard comes across as one tough Alpha male, he is just so sexy and sweet and *OMG* growly (*SWOON* can anyone say panties on fire?)!

All in all, this was a THROUGHLY enjoyable read, filled with page-turning suspense and enough heat to make you squirm (in a GOOD way!!) and it has certainly whet my appetite for the rest of the men in the Hostile Ops Team!!! Bravo Ms Harris, for taking the plunge into self-publishing and romantic suspense; if this book is any indication of what's to come, suffice to say i am EXTREMELY EXCITED!!!

*ARC courtesy of Lynn Raye Harris and Netgalley*

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s very difficult to find a good or even a great romantic suspense. Most either lacks suspense or romance. So it’s rare to find a RS where the balance is just perfect.

Evie and Matt has quite a history. They grew up together, and were best friends until they drifted apart. Mostly because of Matt who got new friends, and didn’t really have time for Evie any more. Evie had a crush on Matt for many years and finally at sixteen she asked him to be her first. After which Matt crushed Evie’s heart by leaving but not before he drunkenly told his friends about deflowering Evie.

Now it’s ten years later and Matt has come home for a week, before he has to go back to HOT, where he has to face the consequences of a mission that went wrong.

Evie is at her lowest. She’s just lost her business after being betrayed by her partner, and was forced to return to her hometown. Matt is the last person on earth she wishes to see. But then her sister goes missing, and her life is in danger. The only person who can help her, is the last person she wants to turn for help – Matt, the boy who broke her heart.

While I really enjoyed the suspense of the story, and learning about HOT (Hostile Operations Team), I had trouble liking the romance. I’m not a big fan of second chance romances, because usually the hero didn’t appreciate or realise what he had, screwed up, and now suddenly I’m forced to believe he has seen the light, and has always loved the heroine. Really??? I prefer that my heroes know what they want from the start, and that they will do anything to keep the heroine. So, while I had no problem believing that Matt wanted to have sex with Evie, he made that quite clear right from the start, I just couldn’t believe that he thought she grounded him, and that he had loved her all along. And the fact that Evie gave in so easily to Matt, after all he put her through, just made me think her a little weak. Yes, they were very young when he betrayed her, but still, a little more grovelling would have worked for me.

But even though I didn’t enjoy the romance that much, the sexy times were very steamy, and I really enjoyed the suspense. A solid RS read, and if you enjoy second-chance romances, then you will definitely like this book. This is my first book by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last.

[Jonetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evie Baker is a chef whose Florida restaurant failed when her partner embezzled funds and left her in dire straits. She returned to her hometown in Louisiana but seems to have attracted attention from the wrong elements connected to her partner. Matt Girard, an Army special forces captain, also has returned home while he waits for a decision regarding the fate of his career following a failed operation. He and Evie have a history that is about to be resurrected.

The story starts off interestingly enough with a strong premise and intriguing characters who have compelling back stories. The pace was also pretty good as things seemed to move along quickly. It fell apart for me with the romance between Evie and Matt as I never felt he really had any remorse for what he did to Evie right before he left town ten years earlier. It affected her deeply, shaping her future. And, she seemed to let him off the hook easily. I just couldn't get into him.

The action and suspense built to what should have been an exciting climax but just ended quickly. There were too many straggling details left unexplained or not delved into more expansively. This just ended up being an okay reading experience but I intend to read at least one more book in the series, especially since the next book seems to be pretty good.

[Barbara Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romantic suspense revolving around military heroes and heroines is one of my favorite genres, and I was so excited to learn about the new Hostile Operation Team series that Lynn Raye Harris has created and have the opportunity to review the first book, Hot Pursuit.


This first book introduces us to HOT, a new special ops force within the U.S. Army and centers on Captain Matt “Richie Rich” Girard’s team. Matt is the hero of this book, and when the story opens, he is back in his hometown of Rochambeau, Louisiana, waiting for an upcoming hearing that will determine his future with HOT because of the team’s last failed mission where two team members were killed. Matt is not in a good emotional place at this point. He’s weary, worried, and I sense a deep loneliness within him.

When he walks into the local beauty salon for a haircut, I’m sure he doesn’t expect to see the woman he hurt ten years ago. Evie Baker certainly doesn’t want to face the handsome, wealthy, popular Matt in front of a bunch of gossips and especially now, when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom. After losing her beloved restaurant because of scheming accountant and former lover, Evie has been forced to return home to try to start her life all over again while working in her mother’s hair salon…the same one Matt enters.



Matt and Evie were close childhood friends, but then puberty hit, and Matt left her behind when he began to notice other girls. However, Evie developed a serious crush on Matt until he humiliated her and broke her heart after she gave him her most precious gift.


To make the situation even worse, everyone in the town heard about the scandal. Matt leaves for college soon after, while Evie is left to deal with the swirling rumors and hurtful remarks.



In the opening scene, Evie is hiding out, hoping to avoid Matt, and just as she’s about to slip out the back door, her mother instigates their awkward confrontation with the “Don’t you remember my daughter?” line. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes because that is just like something my mother would do to me. So, I connected with Evie right from the get-go. The teenage years are difficult and I’m sure most of us have our own embarrassing memories that we’d rather forget. I also grew up in a small town where it doesn’t take much to become grist for the gossip mill.



Whereas, I probably would have taken the easy way out—using the back door---


Evie stands up straight, holds her head high, and approaches Matt in front of all those inquiring eyes. Go Evie!

Evie is an emotionally strong woman. I admire that even after losing everything, she isn’t a “woe is me,” victim. I also like that she doesn’t totally blame Matt for the pain he caused. She acknowledges her part in the situation and, she is upfront with him about what really hurt her. When she realizes she needs Matt’s help to find her missing sister, she puts the past aside without constantly harping on it. Moreover, Evie handles herself well in dangerous situations. One of the best scenes in the book is the intense car chase with Evie behind the wheel listening as Matt coaches her on how to outmaneuver their chasers. The scene is so vivid that I felt as if I were watching it take place. Overall, Evie isn’t reckless, but she also doesn’t hesitate to jump into the fray just in case Matt needs to be saved. I like her gumption!

Yes, I was disappointed in Matt for his thoughtless behavior, and, initially, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but as his character developed and his painful past growing up in a dysfunctional family is revealed, I was able to empathize with him, even though what he did was absolutely wrong. Plus, he just melts my butter when he slips into using Cajun French to comfort and soothe Evie.



It’s a challenge to smoothly incorporate a romance into an action-packed plot fraught with danger, but Harris does it well so that the romance is believable, and the intimate scenes between them are appropriate to the situation. I always struggle with plots where the couple temporarily forgets their lives are in danger, and even though the clock ticks away, they don’t seem to have a problem getting into the mood for sex. Kudos to Harris for making it work.



I can feel the strong connection that still exists between Matt and Evie. The depth of their childhood friendship and their simmering sexual chemistry make it difficult for them to remain emotionally distant from each other. I think Matt realizes this when he first sees Evie:

“There was something about having her near, something that sparked inside him and made him feel somewhat human again. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t know if it would last.
But he liked it. For the first time in months, he felt as if he could breathe again. As if he’d come home for real instead of simply going through the motions.”

And for Evie, Matt has always been more than a teenage crush:

“…here she stood ready to lose herself in him one more time. Because there’d always been more between them than just one night. Because they went back a long ways, and she’d love him as a friend long before she’d ever fallen for him as a man.”

Over and over in the story, Matt shows Evie that he is no longer the self-absorbed, inconsiderate jerk she remembers, and she fears that being around the man Matt has become puts her heart in jeopardy of being broken again. However, both have issues to resolve before they can take their feelings for each other to the next level. Evie doesn’t understand why Matt would choose to put his life in danger every day, and Matt doesn’t feel he has anything to offer Evie since his future is so uncertain. For all he knows, he may end up being court-martialed for his recent actions.

Hot Pursuit has a well-written, unified storyline that brings readers full circle by its conclusion. The plot contains several surprises that I didn’t foresee that raise the stakes and build to an exciting, suspenseful climax. Every scene contains a complication or conflict so there is never a lull in the action or drama, and I was eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.

To sum up, I am now a HOT fan and encourage all your romantic suspense readers to check out this hawt series!




I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Since the quotes are from a pre-published copy, they may have changed or been omitted from the final version.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I realize I'm in the minority here but I hated this book. At 20% I gave up and stopped reading.

The premise was great. Hero & heroine grew up together as best friends then the Hero hurts and humiliates the heroine before leaving for the military. They see each other again after ten years. There is a lot of anger and pain from the heroine and a lot of regret from the hero. This has the start to a great build up. But within one day of the hero being home the heroine is ready to sleep with him again? There was an issue with a crazy guy with a gun at a party on the lake (how old are these characters anyway? 16?) that the hero helps the heroine with...but for that she's forgiving and forgetting and ready to jump in bed with him? Knowing he is just in town for a few days? I dont get it. The hero should have done some serious work to get her back and the heroine really needs to evaluate her dignity.

No thanks. I have no respect for women who swing from 10 years of hatred to jumping the man that hurt them immediately.

Anyway... Major disappointment. I won't read this author again.

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently read book #7 and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd try #1. It was enjoyable, but not as good as #7. Maybe they needed a dog...

The plot and characters were "fine", but they just didn't click with me. A bit too much forced angst. The tension was good, but the bad guys were a bit too thick-headed. The sex scenes were moderately inventive, and they were interrupted a few times.

I'll come back to this series again, but not tomorrow...

[Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't hold my interest much.

I skimmed through after the first 15%. Repetitive conversations went on and on and on about his asshole-ish behavior 10 years before.

I just couldn't feel the lurve between the Hero and heroine. It was so MEH.

3 stars. Such a waste of a fabulous cover.

[Anu · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not that the writing was bad, it's that the story was. And the characters were. And well, it was shit, basically.

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only touched on this book because it was free, I'm so glad that I spend no money on it. It started out solid and then it dissolved into stupidity about 25% of the way in.

Evie and Matt are childhood friends who had sex in their teenage years and he was an asshole about it afterwards, bragged to all the boys in their small town how she was really easy. Right off the bat I hated on this asshole, especially since he feels its perfectly okay to say he is sorry and then try to seduce Evie again years down the road. Evie constantly tells herself that she can handle meaningless sex with Matt but she is kidding herself because the moment they have sex and he retreats emotionally, tells her right after that he can't give her anymore than sex, she is angry and hurt.

What was she expecting?

He repeatedly told her he wanted a passing affair and she accepted but when he showed his true asshole colors again she is upset. Evie is a terribly insecure young woman with low self steem, while her mother doesn't have a big role in the book it is implied that she is an neglectful parent and Evie feels responsible for her teenage sister when it is her mother's responsibility to provide Sarah with a stable home life. Matt has a distant self absorbed father who neglected his children after Matt's mother died and marry crazy women who could never mother his young children. Matt is so divorce from his emotions that he sees using Evie for sex, and to 'feel' something, a perfectly reasonable thing to do even though he broke her heart like an afterthought when they where teenagers.

It doesn't feel like Matt and Evie are in love with each other but more like they have history. They are so deeply damaged that they can't have a normal relationship with anyone so their history and chemistry feels like love when its not. Their relationship is toxic because Matt can't open himself emotionally to Evie and is always hurting her by having sex and then telling her he can't give her love. Evie keeps saying that she can deal with it but the truth is that she craves love and Matt is the sum of all her teenage fantasies, that's why she feels like she loves him.

The prose ruminated too much and Matt and Evie had the same argument worded differently each and every time they talk. I got bore with it.


Goodbye book!

[Debra Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hot Pursuit by Lynn Raye Harris
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Crime, Romance, Suspense
3.5 Stars

Just a few adjustments to this story and it would have been a solid 4 stars for me.

There was action and suspense on virtually every page. Most of which I enjoyed. Unfortunately there were also instances of the mc's having 'Asinine' moments during the action.
Then there is excessive repetition in the mc's thoughts about each other, their past and themselves. Add to that, some of these thoughts are truly juvenile.

A Mother's Rant ⤵⤵
At the 10% mark there is a scene that really aggravated me.

"She turned and tried to smile politely at Jimmy. He wasn’t bad-looking, with his dark hair and dark eyes, but she’d never liked him." "Evie pushed his hand away and kept smiling. There wasn’t an ounce of friendliness in it, but she knew Jimmy was too dumb to see it."

I don't know what the author was trying to portray here, but, quite frankly, if I don't like someone and they put their hands on me, I am NOT going to smile politely. I will slap the sh#@ out of them & I expect my daughter to do the same. Especially if you think they are too 'Dumb' to get the message.
NO MEANS NO!
If you have to, Kick Them Where It Hurts! You do what you have to do to make your point clear.
I am a Southern Woman. We Do NOT politely smile and take that type of behavior with a wave of our fan and a giggle. We Do Not train our young Southern Ladies to be polite about being harrased in that way.

The rest of the story was pretty good. Good enough that I kept reading and didn't dnf it.
It is interesting & it has potential.
The adult intimate scenes were not overdone and they were romantic. Not super hot & steamy, but definitely adult.

I have the bundle of the 1st few books in the series & I will read them eventually. I just can't say when that will be.

All in all, it is an okay read. About midway between 3 & 4 stars.
Since I round down, this is a 3 star for me.

[Mo_Better · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I was on the verge of DNF with this one on so many occasions but I just needed to see how the conflict with the sister played out. That being said I skimmed a good 40-50% of this book and did not miss anything overly important. This was because the book was repetitive and spent a lot of time on irrelevant details. Plus, it was excruciatingly long on the internal dialogue and had very little actual dialogue between the h/H. Most of the book took place in their heads.

My biggest problem with this is that I just could not feel any connection with the characters. Especially, Evie who annoyed me to no end. On top of the fact that she spent a good amount of time bad mouthing his job, a job that gave him the connections and skills necessary to help her in her predicament, she was ditsy and wishy washy.

She was borderline too stupid to live. Big, bad, deadly, highly trained army operative whose specialty is hostage extractions and kidnappings tells her what to do and she constantly ignores his commands and does the exact opposite because she wants to help. Yes, Evie because if he can't do it on his own you with all of your professional training as a chef are going to be able to help him. Uh huh right. At one point I was actually hoping someone would shoot her so she would have to shut up and listen to Matt. She questioned him so much in my head I smacked her a time or two.

Matt was no saint either. His interactions after sex were beyond awkward. It's like he's never been with a woman before. The entire storyline with him and his stepmother was so beyond pointless I cant understand why it's there. Then he finally decides he's gonna stay with her but instead he disappears for 1 month. He makes a shit load of excuses for why he didn't call her but he called his family. He couldn't have put in one call just to say 'hey thanks for all the sex and btw I'm not going to jail'? Then he shows up after leaving her high and dry for a month of which she's been heartbroken and she forgives him within like 3 minutes. Lame, just lame.

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not really sure how exactly I feel about this book. I did it as an audio book and that might have been my first mistake. The reason I say this is because this book is from multiple POV's which if I was reading it I would have liked but when it is an audio book if you aren’t paying close attention you miss when it switches to someone different.

Evie Baker just returned to Rochambeau Louisiana, which is her hometown. She is working at her mother’s hair salon after suffering the loss of her true dream. She owned her own restaurant in Florida but unfortunately her boyfriend/finance guy stole money from her causing her to close permanently. She feels betrayed but mostly she’s heartbroken that she lost her restaurant.

Captain Matt Gerard has also returned home to Rochambeau after suffering a loss of two of his Special Forces teammates in a special op gone bad.

Evie & Matt have bad history from when they were young and it did seem like they quickly worked that out or so it seemed yet it just kept getting brought up which was a bit annoying.

I liked the action and suspense in this book but I will say Evie irritated me when she wouldn’t listen to Matt. For the love of all that is holy, he is in the military, if he tells you to stay put then STAY PUT!!!! You would think she would realize he knows best.

I don’t know…..I still can’t really decide how I feel about this book. I think I might read the next one in this series before I completely give up on this author since there tend to be quite a few people who like her books.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh! Their history - she begs him to take her virginity, he does, then brags about it. He then leaves to join the military, without saying a word to her. She turns her back on her family when she leaves the small town. Now is back, basically with her tail between her legs. She runs into him, he apologizes for having been such a jerk in the past, then immediately tells her he wants to see what's under her dress. What a pig!! Add to that, the heroine is TSTL. He's trained military, he tells her to stay put when they are being shot at. She, of course, doesn't listen and then says, "I just wanted to help." This happens multiple times! She's a chef, for the love of all that's holy! How is she going to help, make the bad guys a souffle?!?! Again I say ugh!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot Pursuit by Lynn Raye Harris is a July 2013 release and is published by Victory publishing.
I received a DRC of this book from the author/publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Evie and Matt were best friends as children. But, as teens, Evie and Matt 'hooked up' and things were never the same between them again. With her reputation is ruins, Evie leaves the small Louisiana town of Rochambeau to become a chef. She eventually runs her won restaurant until her partner's connection with the mob is discovered and all of Evie's assets were seized. Now with her tail between her legs, she returns home and begins work in her mother's beauty salon.

Matt is a member of HOT or Hostile Operations Team. His last mission cost two of Matt's men their lives and now Matt blames himself and his military career may be over.
Home for his sister's wedding, Matt needs a haircut and saunters into the salon. He isn't sure what Evie's response to him is going to be, but he's not surprised when she is less than friendly towards him.
But, they run into each other again and this time guns are blazing. Matt's instincts kick in and he steps in to save Evie. Then Evie discovers her younger sister has not returned home after a date. When she goes to her mother's she finds her mother in terrible shape and her ex-partner is dead. There is no sign of her sister, Sarah.
Matt and Evie have to figure out what the kidnappers want and get it to them to save Sarah. They just don't know what they are looking for. In the meantime, things heat up between Evie and Matt.
Although they care about each other it looks as if the two of them may not be able to work out their issues. But, before they can even get to that point they will have their hands full trying to get Sarah back and stay alive.
This is a fast paced romantic suspense novel. The characters are easy to relate to and feel a connection with. Matt has had an up and down childhood and his family is a little dysfunctional. His team is really his family and his job means everything to him.
Evie is trying to put her life back together and start all over from square one. I think many people can relate to that predicament. We see both these characters learn what is important to them and they find out just what they are made of.
There is lot of action and hot romance. Matt, in my opinion, is a nice mix of Alpha and Beta and Evie is a strong woman that never gives up. Lovers of romance, action, and mystery suspense will enjoy this novel. Well written with equal part romance and suspense. This one gets an A.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this cover a few weeks back and thought it was gorgeous, and when I checked out the synopsis I knew I had to have it on Release Day.
It was a great read and I really enjoyed the story. But I had to rate it three stars because it wasn’t… amazing. I liked the story, the main characters were endearing and sweet and there was some awesome action too. But I just wasn’t blown away.

I really liked Evie, the way she dealt with Matt’s return was really dignified and throughout all the chaos, she was strong and did what needed to be done. Even if she did make mistakes and almost get herself shot, she did it trying to help Matt.

Matt is a good, solid hero. He’s powerful, loyal, smart and incredible at his job. I have to admit, the way he referred to his HOT Team training, or the way he compared every single situation to a similar army situation did start to get on my nerves at times. But it didn’t put me off him. Maybe that’s just what it’s like for Soldiers when they come home. So I can’t really judge.

It was endearing to see Matt accept that he treated Evie badly in the past and that he broke her young heart and then left her behind. He knew in coming home that he’d missed her terribly, her friendship more than anything. He was feeling so alone and nervous about his future, he just wanted someone to be there for him. He wanted to make it all up to her…

”I’ll move heaven and earth to make you happy, Evie.”

The storyline about David West, Brianna and the Mob Boss Rivera was good. I think it could have done with a bit more detail, and I definitely wanted to know more about what happened to David… Was he dead? Or did he survive? It said ’Matt propped a boneless David against the ladder and turned.’ Then nothing else, I read it a few times over and still don’t know if he died or not. Which is a bit annoying.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. It was light, clever, fun and had some great action too. I would definitely read a second in the series :)

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and thought the author did a nice set up and created a good plot. I like how strong Evie was, she wasn't too perfect with dealing with the bad guys but did try to act smart. Although the H, Matt, was hot and yummy, I had a hard time liking him. He really didn't treat Evie well when they were teenagers and yet he supposedly cared about her. Fast forward 10 years and he's still self centered and (SPOILER) leaves her again without communicating. For me this is not a Hero, it was hard to respect him.

There was a little too much re-hashing without moving forward and the plot kind of stagnated in the middle of the book. There were a few plot moves that didn't ring true for me and it pulled me out of the story when I questioned them. There were some really good action scenes and I wish there had been more.

I think this book fits this genre well (military/law enforcement romantic suspense) and could be a good series. The rest of the HOT team were introduced and have their own stories.

Stand alone book with HEA. (Sad I have to say this is a stand alone book but with all the ridiculous cliffhangers out there...)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evangeline "Evie" Baker gave her virginity to Matt Girard and in it's wake he walked away for ten years and left her to deal with the small town who took notice. Matt has come back for his sisters wedding only to find that Evie is the only one not thrilled with his return.

Evie wants nothing to do with Matt, they had been the best of friends and his walking away from her without a word was a betrayal that cut deep, still does. Matt wants to make it up to Evie and when he finds she is in danger he is right there, however the chemistry they once had is in full force. Evie isn't the type for one and dones and that is all Matt can offer. Will Matt walk away from the best thing that has ever happened to him?

This was good, a bit melodramatic in parts but overall an intriguing story. Matt has his own inner issues he is dealing with, but where Evie is concerned he finds himself conflicted. I thought Evie's feelings were honest where Matt was concerned and it was not a quick your forgiven which appreciated. Would definitely read more in this series.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars...romantic suspense featuring childhood friends that made stupid mistakes with each other. He's a sexy black ops officer home on leave. She's a chef, home after losing her restaurant after trusting the wrong person and having her money stolen. What follows is a roller coaster of emotions, drama, kidnapping, death threats, boating in the bayou, small town gossip and houses being blown up. I enjoyed it!


ARC provided by Lynn Raye Harris via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Desere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her dreams in shreds, all hope lost and feeling pretty sorry for herself, Evie takes the only option she has and heads back to her home-town to work in her mother's salon until she can piece together again the pieces of her once near perfect life.

But she comes face to face with her past, I-want-you-naked-and-screaming-my-name Matt. She faces him head on all nerves of steal, but the hurt that Matt inflicted on her poor teenage heart is still there, simmering on the surface and ready to explode.

However her sexual attraction to Matt is far stronger than the hatred she knows she is meant to feel after everything his actions from the past did to her life.

Add in mad gunman, her sister being kidnapped, a series of bad-guys out to get her and Matt determined to protect her even if it costs him his job with the elite military team HOT and you have Evie on high alert and so not ready to expected the unexpected.

And when she finds herself pinned under delicious ripped muscle and being protected by the once hero to her heart she realises there is no where else she would rather be. But Matt is not planning on sticking around, he will leave yet again and she will be left to pick up the pieces of her heart again, only this time the pain will be far worse. Can she convince him that no matter what she will follow where he leads even if it means he never comes back to her?

The character of Evie was really neat, she has lost it all more than once, I totally loved that she comes back stronger every time. No matter the bomb that gets thrown her way she gets back and up and starts again. I adored that the author lets her evolve into a somewhat wonder woman with each situation coming her way, going from cooking in the kitchen to bring down a bad ass crook to his knees in one swift move is not a skill just any woman can learn in less than 24 hrs.

I particularly loved that she lets Evie lose her strength every now and then, it showed that the tough image she upholds can crack and crumble and that she is very much only human, a tough cookie but still just human.

The character of completely swoon worthy Matt was absolutely perfectly written. The author showed that he is a true hero out in and out of the field, always ready to face danger and take action. This to me made him more real, as we all know most reads contain a billionaire hero who does and says most things real men would never do, but Matt was very real with his actions towards Evie during their years of friendship, to the point of him breaking her heart and right up to the point where he shows what he is really made off. Brilliantly done Lynn!

I adored that the author showed him as still being in the war zone even whilst standing in a salon, proving he is a true soldier always alert and ready. Really loved that he was the target and Evie the incoming RPG ready to blow him out of his boots, and completely shatter his defences.

Matt was also the key character for me in this read as he is what ultimately brings it together, with his life blending in with the life of Evie so swiftly it is as if they never parted ways. He easily goes from apologetic to lets get naked in just a few pages, showing him as the definitely 'hero now forget about me tomorrow' type.

This might sound like he is a very un-likeable character and that you would rather hit him at the first given opportunity, but once the author gets into his mind she shows with vivid clarity what the work out the field can do to even the strongest of men, his actions and reasoning's become very clear and let me in to the mind of a damaged and tormented man, who simply needs the right push to let it all out.

The backdrop settings for the scenes were action packed, thrilling, exciting and totally awesome! From the deserts of Iraq to the gator infested waters, it all was incorporated with perfection. The dialogue was hot and oh so very, very sexy! Going from dangerous and sexy to revealing and shocking and back to thrilling and exciting with effortless ease.

I do need to mention that if you prefer your hero's more pure that you keep the following in mind when picking up this read.

Soldiers are in a completely different frame of mind at any given stage and they do tend to use swear words a lot to express their feeling, it comes with the adrenaline and that fact that they are in the zone at all times thinking only of the actions needed to get out and get out a alive, even if they are miles from the war their minds are still in it.

I advise that you keep in mind that this read is as close to real life as it gets and the characters, their words and actions are very realistic so the author adding in a large amount of swear words was necessary, to keep it real.

I am taking away a message of courage, risk and hope. You need to dare to believe that when you love someone and you let them go into the most dangerous of situations that they will always have you on their mind and this will make them strong and keep them fighting to make it back to your arms.

I highly recommend this read for fans of action romantic suspense military related reads, filled with enough action,suspense, mystery and romance it will leave you on the edge of your seat, and ready to go into any contact situation just to find a hero like Matt.

I am 100% certain this read will go to the top of the best sellers list. I have in my reading experience only found one other author able to offer up this kind of kick ass, action packed, keep me on the edge of my seat read, and I am very happy to announce that Lynn Raye Harris has definitely made the team to the elite world of romantic adventure suspense authors! Kick ass writing all around!

I very much look forward to the next instalment in this series, Lynn get writing I need the rest of the team and I need them NOW!

5/5 Star review
"Putting it all on the line in the name of love, is always worth the risk"

[Tpagirl Loves Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot Pursuit was the first book in the Hostile Operations Team - Strike Team 1 series by Lynn Raye Harris. Harris has several related military series and although enjoyable, the series don’t have to be read in order.

Matt “Richie Rich” Gerard was the leader of a HOT military team. He was Army Special Forces and he had just come off of a difficult and deadly mission. He went home for his sister’s wedding back to the bayou in a rural town in Louisiana. Evie Baker had left her home town the moment she could get out, but unfortunately she had to crawl back home after her ex-business partner embezzled and left her penniless with the bank seizing her restaurant. She can’t believe she’s home again but hopefully she can avoid running into Matt Gerard for the short few days he’s home and then she’ll figure out where to go from here. But as luck would have it, her longtime crush and heartbreak was walking through her mother’s salon doors now, and the story began….

I enjoyed both characters as well as the storyline. It was action packed, suspenseful and full of humor and conflict. Harris took us through the backstories as well as how they merged together with the current danger and conflict. It was sexy, fun and entertaining and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.

[Beeg Panda]

🆓13 Jan 2022 in boxset