Code Name: Princess

Code Name #6

by Christina Skye

When a beautiful hotel investigator teams up with an irresistible Navy SEAL, going undercover could take them over the top . . . 

 Two FBI agents are dead. A top-secret government lab animal has been stolen. Now Hawk MacKenzie just walked in on a naked woman in his hotel shower. She says she’s royalty and has the attitude to match.  Whether this arousing female is a true blue-blood or not, the combat-trained Navy SEAL isn’t letting her out of his sight.

Actually a hotel investigator in disguise, Jess Mulcahey can’t believe she’s being held against her will by this gorgeous commando who’s about to blow her cover. Lucky for her, she’s good at narrow escapes. But just when she hits the road, dodging bullets and outwitting cold-blooded pursuers, her luck bottoms out . . . and Hawk is her only hope of protection. A few stolen hours in a stalled elevator show Jess a different, more sensual side to the hard-edged SEAL. Now the two are closing in on their missing government secrets and trying hard to ignore their memories. . . . But they’re about to discover that the most dangerous revelations come from an unguarded heart. . . .

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

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

AKA Roberta Helmer

Roberta Helmer is an American writer of Chinese art and culture and as Christina Skye is a best-selling USA Today and Publishers Weekly writer of over 23 romance novels. Her romance book have been translated into 8 languages.

Roberta Helmer was born in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A., an is a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Adam Helmer. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a doctorate in classical Chinese literature at Ohio State University, where she learned to speak fluent Chinese, French, and Japanese. Later, she worked as translator and as a consultant to the National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. She lived in on the western slopes of McDowell Mountains in Arizona.

Reviews

[Kara Jorges · Rating 1 out of 5]

I yawned most of the way through this one. It was hard to feel any empathy for the heroine, Jess, who made a career out of being a wuss. Jess just can’t get over being locked in a garden shed when she was 16, so she suffers from claustrophobia. Had Jess been repeatedly locked in a dark cellar as a child, I’d have cared. Once at 16 makes me feel like yelling, “Get over it!” Our hero, Hawk, is a Navy SEAL on assignment to protect a magic koala bear. He meets Jess when he finds her in his shower. Jess is a hotel inspector who changed rooms as a staff test and wound up in Hawk’s. Hawk thinks she’s an agent. Jess and Hawk get stuck in an elevator on their way out of the hotel, and to help ease Jess’ cloying claustrophobia, Hawk willingly gives in to her suggestion that they have sex. At this point, the author seems to have run out of fresh ideas, so she apparently dug some old Harlequin romances out of her attic and took inspiration, if not whole paragraphs, from them. I like strong, independent, aggressive heroines, and Jess was a throwback to 80’s romances complete with looking up to Hawk like a big, strong man and bleakly realizing those two hours in the elevator are all she’ll ever have of him. Come to think of it, sex in a broken elevator isn’t all that original, either. From the moment Jess and Hawk emerge from the elevator, Hawk spends the rest of the book trying to get rid of her. He’s a Navy SEAL on a dangerous mission tracking bioterrorists and he wants her to be safe. Lost in a maze of her sad introspections, Jess always manages to be in the right place at the wrong time, and always manages to be in the middle of Hawk’s mission. Things finally wrap up when the missing koala bear turns up in the same garden shed Jess gets locked in on some crazy lady’s property. Hawk and Jess shoot a few bad guys and then Hawk leaves to finish his assignment. We meet Jess again four months later. She’s carrying Hawk’s baby and getting phone calls and gifts, but she hasn’t seen him. When he shows up, she starts hemorrhaging and Hawk fears she has lost the baby. She hasn’t, though. Koala magic has her body healing itself.

Our hero, Hawk, is an interesting, cool guy, but we don’t get to know him well enough. He’s too busy being a SEAL.

This book was a disastrous marriage between an old-fashioned pulp romance and a chick spy thriller. The author simply doesn’t have the skill to intertwine the two, and needs perhaps to take a few lessons on the art of the romance novel. Her ideals are dusty.

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heroine in CODE NAME: PRINCESS is the twin sister of the heroine from the first book, but the girls are very different. Summer is an FBI agent, while Jess is a civilian. Though Jess is only a few minutes younger than her sister, Summer has always mothered and worried over Jess, trying to take care of her. The girls were put in the foster care system as teenagers, but their paths diverged there, with Jess having behavioral issues and being sent off to have them worked on. That experience had a profound impact on her life and her character.

Hawk is a Navy SEAL, recovering from broken ribs earned on his last mission, and on a new mission to help rescue a very valuable stolen lab animal. There was a side plotline about Hawk being given experimental drugs for his broken ribs, which cause his hormones to go crazy, likening him to a horny fifteen year old. I thought this part of the story was a bit stupid and unrealistic and didn’t really contribute any worth to the story, but others may disagree.

Jess finds herself thrown into the middle of Hawk’s mission, and they part company more than once, only to have circumstances thrust them back together. I loved both Jess and Hawk. I don’t know people like Hawk in real life, but I felt I got a look at how hard it would be to be involved with someone who can’t talk about his work or share his day with you. Hawk has always been a loner, indulging occasionally in casual sex but never in a real relationship, and seeing him have to put his feelings and emotions aside to focus on his mission and his orders, I could understand why he chose to live that way.

By the middle of the book I was in don’t-want-to-put-it-down mode, and last night, even after taking Nyquil around 10:30, I stayed up past midnight to finish the book. While I felt the resolution was a little too drawn out, it was very satisfying.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about Jess Mulcahey - twin to the FBI agent/nanny of the previous book. Jess is a hotel investigator and has bribed a hotel manager to bump another guest to see if he would take the bribe. Unfortunately, she bumps Navy SEAL Hawk MacKenzie, on assignment to find a rare genetically altered albino koala. Hawk is not happy to find her in his hotel room, nor to have her hit him on his motorcycle later that night. She has issues from her childhood (claustrophobia) and when they're stuck in an elevator they have wild sex to get her mind off of her phobia. Hawk is on an experimental drug to heal broken ribs which makes him a hormonal 15-year-old with a constant erection. He keeps trying to get her out of the search area and harms way. She manages to always end up in the thick of it. Eventually, they recover the koala and bad guys are rounded up. Four months later, she's pregnant but having problems and he finally gets leave to see her and proposes.

Too disjointed, too many characters thrown in, not enough reasons. Why are they hunting the koala - why is it SO special. Too much too fast without explanation. Over the top sex and drama.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a faster paced, engaging read. I enjoyed the characters and their personalities immensely. This pulled me in and didn't let go. Great for passing time (just don't lose track), snuggling in or for the all-nighter. Interesting character, action, suspense, emotions, quirkiness, strength and courage, steaminess, written very well and a great HEA. Enjoyed and would read again. I am definitely looking into reading the rest of this series. (I think my to-read is getting too long...Not Enough Time!) Enjoy!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice fairly quick read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learning their back stories ... giving some this book some depth. The story is peppered with action and a drfinite hot attraction.

For the most part I really enjoyed the book however I became a little confused towards the end Of the book. There was a lot happening and I had to keep re reading to determine who was looking at who and talking to who...

[Blue Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. This book may not have been as long as the first, but it was just as action packed and totally engaging. The characters were exciting and distinct from her others and I loved the familiar face.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little mystery, a little spice... nice quick read and although I only gave it 3 stars I would read more in this series of books.

[Gus]

Maple leaf harvest

[Chandra Woolson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast, fun read.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Navy SEAL Hawk Mackenzie gets some help from Jess Mulcahey

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting from page one!

[Natward1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tricky book to review. I liked things about it but there were some things I didn't like about it. I think it's hard to review because a lot of the story was a bit muddled or something. For one thing, it jumped around to different characters points of view suddenly and without warning within chapters. Also, most of the action scenes caught me way off guard. Like, id be going along reading and all of the sudden they'd be in a bar brawl, or a shoot out or something like that and I'd have to back up to make sure I was following correctly and they were actually in some kind of scuffle. It's hard to explain but one minute they are just going along and then in the same type of tone an action scene begins so subtly that I almost miss it until I'm halfway through it. It was just kind of odd. Several of The action scenes were just, well, odd. Like I said, it's kind of hard to explain. It wasn't horrible or anything I was just left scratching my head a bit after certain events would happen. Maybe it's because the different scenes would happen from paragraph to paragraph and jump from the different points of view without warning that was making it seem muddled and confusing. Also I didn't mind the romance at first. I hate insta love and this author just barely danced the line but didn't quite cross it at first. Yes they do have an insta lust situation but it seemed more valid because I actually liked both characters and could actually see why they'd be drawn to each other. I like her. She does things in the book that actually contribute to the story. She isn't the lame, sit back while everyone does everything kind of girl. She's caring and doesn't complain about every little thing. She's good to go along with the flow for the most part. So I liked that. She wasn't a tiring, unoriginal, argumentative female character. So that was good. And he is a great, bad ass type male. I like him also. But the end of the book was a bit disappointing. Weirdly the insta love happens at the end of the book. Don't get me wrong it ends well, I do like a happy ending, but it's just a bit too far fetched and cliche. I just don't like a book where the characters are "in love" after only a handful of conversation. Especially when the guy makes it clear that he isn't a relationship kind of guy. Really? But then all of the sudden you are talking about being in love with someone you've known for a few days? It's a disconnect for me and makes him less believable as a character. But the plot is original which I appreciate a lot. And I did want to keep reading for the most part even though it got a little boring sometimes.

[Christie P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jess Mulcahey is an undercover hotel reviewer with practically nothing to her name except her beat up Jeep and a few bucks in the bank. She's also the twin sister of Summer Mulcahey, FBI agent.

Hawk MacKenzie is SEAL on a mission to rescue a very valuable stolen lab animal. He's also recovering from the injuries he received from his previous mission and taking experimental drugs to help that have his hormones on over drive.

Jess and Hawk accidentally end up in the same room at the hotel and Jess becomes involved in Hawk's mission whether she wants to be or not. Once it's time for both to leave they accidentally get stuck in the same elevator, where it becomes very obvious that Jess's traumatic past has caught up to her. In the form of getting stuck and her claustrophobia. Hawk's distractions lead to moments of passion that both had felt but neither intended on acting upon.

They think they're time together is over until Jess gets pulled back into the mission and ends up in danger.

This Codename installment wasn't the best. I had a lot of problems with both the main characters, all of the petty little things. Jess felt really whiney about her past and for someone who didn't want to remember she sure talked about it a lot. And Hawk was a little absentee, for my taste, during the second half of the book. Things between all the characters felt a little forced and unnatural.

I did like that Jess's bravery showed up in the end, especially when she met Princess. But aren't koalas mean? I feel like I've heard and read they are not nice animals, but what ever she was super cute.

[Beth F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the sequal to "Code Name: Nanny" which I had not liked so I wasn’t looking forward to this one. But it was about 50% shorter and since it was already on my bookshelf thanks to the folks at booksfree.com, I felt compelled to read it.

And thankfully this one was better.

I think part of my problem is that I'm not a big fan of contemporary romance in the first place and the sheer surreality of these relationships tends to throw me for a loop sometimes.

If there are vampires flying around or someone has a magic wand, I am generally more inclined to suspend my disbelief in reality and go with whatever flow the author is trying to share with me. But when a book (ahem, contemporary romance genre!) is more rooted in reality than not, I have a hard time letting go and believing in the ludicrous positions that characters land themselves in.

That being said, most of the "Code Name" series by this author are a bit too far-fetched for something that otherwise feels like it's supposed to be mainstream and normal to me.

However, this one was extremely hot and I liked the elevator scene. It was very hot!

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful, creative, inventive plot. Horrible, terrible execution. Why is it that an author can get the big thing so right and fail on the small thing? What are editors and proofreaders for if not to make sense of the plot and correct it when the author makes a mess of it?

Princess, a very special top secret kola bear has been bearnapped and two FBI agents are dead, two more badly injured. Hawk, a Navy SEAL and Izzy, government agent extraordinare are tasked with finding her ASAP. There are also a lot of baddies after her too.

Jess is a hotel compliance inspector and she bribes a clerk to change her room with Hawk's not having any idea how much trouble that act could cause her. Hawk and Jess get trapped in an elevator when the manager takes his revenge on Jess for a bad report. they make very good sex time use of the event. Jess ends up in the middle of the operation and in a lot of danger too. Hawk finds his attention focused on Jess instead of his mission. Not something he has ever encountered with a woman before.

[Heidi Dover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic re-read that held up fairly well. The beginning was good and engaging, although the whole top secret special koala bear thing was weird and not really well developed or explained. What is it for? What does it do? Why is it so important? It's touched on later, but suffered from the lack of depth and development, felt more like a plot device. I was actually enjoying the characters and story until the end when it took a bit of a shark jump with how the final confrontation came about and went down the wife of the biker/koala bear kidnapper who is anti social and suspicious anyway just decides to invite strangers to pick up her kid and go out to eat with them and takes them to her house--after pulling a gun on them when they initially demure? And even weirder, not even as a threat, really, just a way to encourage them randomly to accept? This was completely odd, didn't fit at all, and off-putting. Overall fun, though.

[Judit Sereg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't overly happy with this book, mostly because I felt the storyline was a bit forced, especially the whole "rescue the genetically modified coala bear" thing, which was - in my biased opinion - a bit overdone. I mean I really couldn't believe that such a large-scale operation would be organised for such a seemingly mundane thing. But okay, it's a book, not reality, so I guess I should accept that. And I should accept as well the fact that a lifelong love can be based on basically two or three uninterrupted conversation and a steamy hour of sex in an elevator. I know, I know, love at first sight and everything, but there are books where this is believable and even enjoyable, but in that case I felt it was a bit forced and over-the-top. On the plus side, the book had its moments, a few funny scenes, a likeable heroine and of course a rough-on-the-edge but quite hot commando-type. So if you don't expect too much of it, it can be an enjoyable read on the metro.

[Cate Meredith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the elements of the premise of this book: a genetically engineered koala bear, a Navy SEAL, a woman posing as minor European royalty. But the execution was dismal. The story didn't even make sense. Why was a Navy SEAL looking for the animal and why was he alone (they work in teams)? The heroine has a rather ridiculous job - I didn't respect her at all.

I could list all the crazysauce stuff that happens in this book but I would bore myself. I might try one more of Christina Skye's novels just to see if this is the norm, but I've got a stack of really enticing books awaiting my attention so if I ever do, it will be in the distant future.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't good, in all the ways you'd expect.

Even for a contrived plot line, this was contrived. The story was too short to really even get behind the romance, and there was virtually no foreshadowing of anything, the significance of everything was explained as they happened, instead of providing backstory ahead of time to get the reader a bit more engaged.

The final nail in the coffin was the "jargon." It didn't feel authentic, more like the research for this book was taken from some other crappy spy novel, and phraseology and slang were inserted here. It felt brutally inauthentic. Boo!

I don't recommend this book to anybody.

[Jaime Stricklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm thinking it may have been a mistake to read this one directly after Code Name:Nanny. There were too many similarities, but not enough of the good ones. How convenient that two sisters not only fall in love with Navy Seals, but that a shower in the wrong room is the start of both relationships. Maybe it should have made things quircky, however, it seemed more a lack of anything new to write. I liked Nanny, but this one didn't rate as high with me. I will still seek out some other books by this author because I like her writing style.

[Evelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, I am not very into the whole navy-seal-though-hardass-comando guys.
But for this fun book I make an exception!
I really liked it. It's a fun,explosive book and very entertaining.

I only have two remarks. First of all, I really liked to have some more information about Hawk like some background inf and more of his emotions.

second, I missed an epilogue ! Some time,interaction between Hawk,Jess and the baby would be very nice.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A secret operative is tracking a fragile and extremely valuable animal that was stolen from the government. Through a series of bizarre circumstances, he involves an innocent bystander who just happens to help him locate the animal and bring it to safety. Oh, and they of course, fall in love in the process.

[Alexandra Harkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. I think the synopsis on the back of the book is a little misleading. Jess has the koala bear for all of like 10 pages. It was a little disappointing. Also, I feld that the love story was completely rushed. They had a couple of hours in an elevator and that was the basis for long term love? It was a little hard to believe.

[AliciaJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, if you choose to suspend all disbelief and plunge into the realms of the absolute ridiculous, then you'll probably enjoy this book. For me, I'm afraid it just wasn't my cup of tea. There was little to no characterization, the plot was way too over the top, and the dialogue left me cold. I just couldn't get into it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5* This was fast paced and fun. I was not expecting princess to be a koala; that was an interesting twist. Loved that Izzy was back. Jess and Hawk were good together. I just wish they would have talked more after the adventure.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay. Jess got on my nerves alot, probably because she seems, to me, a whiny character. but in one way, she really grew on me that she mange to get over her fears. Hawk...i don't even want to start on him. like i said, not one of my favorite in this series, but it was okay overall.

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a Christina Skye book for a while,and I had forgotten how good they are. This is another romance with lots of adventure, and is also a very quick read. A good one for you if you looking for something light and funny.

[Peni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series by Christina Skye. Each story stands on it's own but when reading them all, the story is only enhanced. These are fast paced and quite edgy. In my opinion, these stories are for adult readers.

Highly recommended.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was exciting and fast moving. We met Jess Mulcahey in the last book about her sister Summer. She is supposed to be the crazy twin but she proves that she is tough enough for the SEAL that she has met. Interesting story line.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this. Really makes me want to read the others in the series. I really do hope that she publishes a book on Izzy. I have become attached in just two books.