Her Rogue Alpha by Paige Tyler

Title: Her Rogue Alpha (X-Ops #5)

Author: Paige Tyler
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

HE'LL DO ANYTHING FOR HER

Former Special Forces Lieutenant Jayson Harmon can't believe that his war scars don't matter to beautiful feline shifter Layla Halliwell. Why would she saddle herself with a broken man?

But Layla knows that Jayson is a hero to the core, and that only she can heal his wounded soul. So when Jayson is deployed on another deadly mission, no way is Layla staying behind...

Totally loving this series!!! Jayson is finally getting his story after hovering in the background for a little while. He's a wounded hero searching for some sort of purpose in life. Not being able to return to active duty had destroyed him inside. But Layla sees something else in Jayson, and she's determined to prove to him that he's worth far more than he think.s

I had a bit of a problem with Jayson at first. He had popped up in previous books and I quickly labeled him as whiny (then felt guilty, because he had his reasons). So I had a hard time going into this one liking him from the very beginning. Layla saw something I didn't, and I'm glad she did. While he makes some pretty stupid decisions, his need to be a "whole man" again is driving him, and I can understand that. It also gave him a drive to stop being the grumpy, woe-is-me type and get moving.

Once Jayson got moving, even though he was still not back to his old self, his determination and drive made me fall in love with him. I wish he could have had this from the very beginning. His mission is a dangerous one, and possibly a set up, but he will get the job done or die trying. But Layla isn't going to sit back and let him risk his life on his own, she rushes off to help and I loved every minute of it.

A great addition to the X-Ops series, I'm only sorry that now I have to wait for the next one!

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Her Perfect Mate by Paige Tyler ~ Review

Title: Her Perfect Mate (X-Ops #1)
Author: Paige Tyler
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 316 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Source: Library
Rating: 5
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

When Special Forces Captain Landon Donovan is picked for an assignment with the Department of Covert Affairs, he’s stunned to find his new partner is a beautiful woman who looks like she couldn’t hurt a fly, much less take down a terrorist.

Ivy Halliwell isn’t your average covert op. Her feline DNA means she can literally bring out the claws when things get dicey. She isn’t thrilled to be paired with yet another military grunt, but Landon is different. He doesn’t think she’s a freak and he’s smokin’ hot.

Soon they find themselves facing a threat even greater than anyone imagines...and an animal magnetism impossible to ignore.

 This book was just amazing. From the second Ivy and Landon meet I was hooked. It was such a great scene and what better way to get to know your new partner that by sparring. To all appearances super hot Landon has the advantage - big military man that he is. But Ivy has a special trick up her sleeve - her EVA (extremely valuable asset) status means that she's a shifter - a cat to be exact.

I think the best thing about this book was Ivy's hesitancy to engage beyond doing the job. She has been burned by partners in the past and she may finally have one that respects her and is willing to work with a "freak". Their first mission is great - and it was the perfect time for them to really get to know each other while they were hiking through the jungle.

But the big action takes place a little later - and involves missing scientists and a super evil guy that will do anything to get what he wants. And he wants some seriously scary stuff! Ivy and Landon are sent to investigate, and nothing really goes as planned. And in the midst of things - well - love blossoms.

I am totally hooked to this series now. I'm going to be tracking down the next one ASAP.

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X-Ops Series

Her Secret Agent #0.5

Hell or High Water by Julie Ann Walker - Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

Title: Hell or High Water

Author: Julie Ann Walker

Release Date: July 7, 2015

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Series: Deep Six, Book #1

Only two things could make former Navy SEAL Leo Anderson return to the world of weapons and warfare. First, a capsule of chemical weapons lost on the ocean floor, and second, a plea for assistance from the one woman he can't seem to forget-CIA Agent Olivia Mortier.

Now, working together to race against the clock and a deadly terrorist faction, Leo and Olivia must find the missing capsule, all the while battling the intense desire burning between them. If they can survive, can their growing attraction become more than just a momentary flare?

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Exclusive Excerpt:

“What?” Olivia whispered after Leo stopped at the far wall.

The feel of Leo’s big, callused hand gently gripping her upper arm had her head whipping back around. They were standing so close she had to tilt her chin way back to look up at him. She couldn’t help but wonder which hue his hazel eyes had taken on behind those blasted sunglasses.

“I’m wonderin’ what your plans are after we retrieve those chemicals,” he said, his voice low and rumbling through her chest. Her stupid nipples perked up as if he’d specifically chosen the timbre to titillate them. And wheeee! Here I go again, riding that damned roller coaster up another hill!

“What do you mean?”

He stuck his tongue in his cheek. “I guess I was hopin’ you’d be willin’ to pass the capsules off to your A-Team and sail with me back to Wayfarer Island. I can have Wolf or Romeo fly you to Key West to catch a flight to DC tomorrow mornin’.”

His words slid into her like a spoon into melting ice-cream, and something warm and delicious unfurled low in her belly. “Leo Anderson, are you asking me to spend the night with you?” Oh, please, begged a part of her, the decidedly downstairs part. Good God, should you be doing that? asked a voice in her head. I don’t know if I’ll be able to love him and leave him, admitted her heart.

When he said, “You know I am,” she studiously chose to ignore the latter two. Especially when he scooted closer so he was crowding her, letting her feel him against her. And the look he gave her, the arched brow, the twisting of his wonderful lips? Well, it ranked about a nine…no, ten…on the panty-melting scale. Her heart tripped over itself. Her breaths came so fast and shallow one would think she’d never been seduced by a man before. Although, in all honesty, she’d never been seduced by a man who could hold a candle to Leo.

“You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

“Not anymore,” he whispered, leaning down until his mouth was a hairsbreadth from hers. “I want to finish what we started down there in that galley. Hell, what we started a year and a half ago in Syria. Don’t you want to finish it too?”

“God, yes,” she admitted, watching his lips curve into a smile that could only be described as triumphant and…male.

About the Author:

Julie Ann Walker is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of award-winning romantic suspense. She has won the Book Buyers Best Award, been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award. Her latest release was named a Top Ten Romance of 2014 by Booklist. Her books have been described as "alpha, edgy, and downright hot." Most days you can find her on her bicycle along the lake shore in Chicago or blasting away at her keyboard, trying to wrangle her capricious imagination into submission.

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SEAL Under Covers by Sharon Hamilton

Title: SEAL Under Covers (Seal Brotherhood #3)
Author: Sharon Hamilton
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Military
Length: Novel
Release Date: August 20, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

Navy SEAL Armando Guzman has just returned from a difficult tour in Afghanistan
only to find his sister still making choices that land her in the company of a San Diego drug gang. Vowing he will save her from the bad environment she has placed herself in, he is blindsided by his sister’s hotter-than-hot best friend, Gina.

Gina Mancuso is working her first under cover detail, trying to prove herself on a male-dominated police force, even if it means she has to work side by side with the SDPD officer with whom she had a brief, abusive relationship. She is not prepared for the chemical attraction that slams her against the hard body of her subject’s Navy SEAL brother, Armando. Their hot affair not only threatens to ruin her mission, but could engulf Armando in a career-ending dispute with local law enforcement.

Armando is unwilling to walk away from his sister, especially as tensions rise between he and Gina’s ex-lover. Gina is in a race for time to keep her secret identity from the man she is now sure she loves with all her heart. But will she have to sacrifice their relationship in order to accomplish the mission she was sent to do?

I am really loving the SEAL's of Sharon Hamilton. The way they interact with each other and their different personalities really keep things interesting and fun. Armando and Gina make a wonderful cover, and even though they aren't on the same page at first, they find out they have so much in common.

My biggest concern/complaint about the series, is that so far they seem to end in about the same way. I'd like to see the type of final scene mixed up a bit more in future books. I do like how even though each book could be a stand alone romance, there is a backstory that carefully weaves its way through and really ties the books together.

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Review: Fallen SEAL Legacy (Seal Brotherhood #2) by Sharon Hamilton

Title: Fallen SEAL Legacy (Seal Brotherhood #2)
Author: Sharon Hamilton
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Military
Length: Novel
Release Date: December 6, 2012
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

Nebraska born and bred Navy SEAL Calvin “Coop” Cooper, after his own family has
perished in a tornado, is ordered to meet the family of a prominent San Diego psychiatrist. The doctor’s brother is a fallen SEAL medic who died in Grenada. There, Cooper meets Libby Brownlee, the beautiful niece of this fallen hero. Heavily influenced by her father, “We don’t speak military here,” is her comment about the military in general, and the SEAL community in particular.

What starts out as a frosty debate between two people privately dealing with their own personal grief, turns into a passionate affair neither expected. Just as Cooper realizes perhaps Libby is the woman he’s always been looking for, she is snatched out from under him by a psychopathic killer bent on revenge.

Dr. Brownlee is forced to rely on Cooper’s help, along with his buddies in SEAL Team 3. Will Cooper be able to survive the loss of the woman he loves, or will his self sacrifice be enough to keep her safe?

Another really exciting story full of all sorts of action.  Another strong female character with a SEAL that just loves that part of her.  Book two in the Seal Brotherhood lets us go visit all the seal team guys again - wish I had seen a little bit more of our couple in book one, but the rest of the guys were definitely present in a big way.  Cooper (owner of the Babemobile) is about to find the woman that is going to change his world.  And he really needs that after losing his entire family.

Libby is awesome.  My only fault is the whole "I loved you at first sight" thing.  I just don't buy it - lust, yes.  But not love.  Libby is a fighter and she's not going to let anything bad happen if she can do something about it.  She was fun and quirky and she loved her cat.  Her family was a bit weird though.

Libby's father was my least favorite part of the story.  He was supposed to be a bit off I think, but he was just really not a person I could imagine staying with Libby and her mom.  Wanting to put everyone in danger just because he thought he was smart just didn't seem like something a dad would do.

The ending was out of this world.  I loved the build up of suspense.  Watching the SEALs in action was fantastic and my heart was pounding the whole time.

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More on Sharon Hamilton

Jasmyn's review of Accidental SEAL (Seal Brotherhood #1)

Jasmyn's review of Underworld Queen (The Guardians #3)

Review: Accidental SEAL (SEAL Brotherhood #1) by Sharon Hamilton

Title: Accidental SEAL (SEAL Brotherhood #1)
Author: Sharon Hamilton
Source: Indie Romance Convention 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Military
Length: Novel
Release Date: June 18, 2012
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

Christy Nelson embarks on her new career in Real Estate by holding her first open
house. Entering the wrong house, by accident, she finds the nude sleeping body of a young man.

Navy SEAL Kyle Lansdowne, on a mission to find his AWOL Team buddy, is staying at his buddy’s home while investigating the disappearance. When someone breaks in, he takes protective measures. He doesn’t expect to find that a beautiful young woman is responsible for his teammate’s abduction.

What starts out as a meeting by accident becomes a hot affair neither one is ready for. Kyle is conflicted about getting Christy involved in his mission, but his hand is forced when he learns the same San Diego gang responsible for his teammate’s abduction has kidnapped her.

Battling a cadre of dirty law enforcements hell-bent on getting military equipment, especially state-of-the-art firepower, Kyle is forced to admit that he would die to protect her.

The think I liked most about this book was the way the characters related with each other.  We have humor, misunderstandings, loyalty, and betrayal.  The SEALs on the team are very close and I loved how you could see that every time they were together.  We get to know most of the team to some extent - it was a great way to introduce them while still focusing on our main character, Kyle.

Kyle is a hard man - but that makes sense because he's seen and done things that were necessary, but not easy.  But he seems to melt just a little when Christy is around.  She seems to understand him without him having to really say anything.  Their first meeting was a bit rough, and I'm not sure I would have been able to get over it like Christy had.  There were a handful of times that the characters acted a bit - over the top, but this is a fantasy and it definitely kept the book very entertaining.

I had a hard time relating to Christy at first, but she definitely grew on my by the end.  She's a tough little princess-like girl that knows what she wants, at least most of the time.  She is put under quite a bit of stress and has a good mix of cracking under it and fighting back.

As with many military romances, there was a lot of action.  But in this book it was spread out and given in doses that were easy to absorb without getting too much.  It was very well done and the military story arc was incredibly exciting.

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More on Sharon Hamilton
Jasmyn's review of Underworld Queen (The Guardians #3)

Cover Reveal: SEAL My Home by Sharon Hamilton

Title: SEAL My Home (SEAL Brotherhood #9)
Author: Sharon Hamilton
Genre: Contemporary Military Romance
Release Date: March 31, 2015

Bad boy Rory Kennedy was raised in foster care, bouncing in and out of trouble along the way. He finds his true family and real brothers as a Navy SEAL, one of the Navy’s elite warriors. When his BUD/S instructor barked the SEAL’s Motto: Only Easy Day Was Yesterday, he knew he had found home.

Megan Palmer works in a bookstore and finds her passion in life through reading steamy romance novels. Her brief affair with a man she later found out was married has left her damaged, until she meets the handsome SEAL, who stands ready to open her world and give her things she’s only dreamed.

On a skiing trip, Rory suffers a possible career-ending injury and also comes face to face with a past he never knew of, and a family who had abandoned him. His relationship with Megan is tested to the breaking point as Rory wades through the dark waters of recovery and whether or not he can live without the life he loves. A home-grown terrorist cell forces his hand and he discovers his true purpose.

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About the Author:

NYT and USA/Today Bestselling Author Sharon Hamilton’s SEAL Brotherhood series have earned her Amazon author rankings of #1 in Romantic Suspense, Military Romance and Contemporary Romance. Her characters follow a sometimes rocky road to redemption through passion and true love. Her Golden Vampires of Tuscany earned her a #1 Amazon author ranking in Gothic Romance.

A lifelong organic vegetable and flower gardener, Sharon and her husband live in the Wine Country of Northern California, where most of her stories take place.

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ARC Review: The Movie Star's Red Hot Holiday Fling (Sweetbriar Springs) by Christine Glover

Title: The Movie Star's Red Hot Holiday Fling (Sweetbriar Springs)
Author: Christine Glover
Source: Entangled Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: November 24, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 5
Sexual - 3

Determined to qualify for the fire department's grueling physical, former marine Jessie
Sullivan never gives up, despite the pins in her leg. The last thing she needs is a tall, incredibly hot action movie star sharing her gym...and who makes her want to trade in her reps for some sexy physical activity. Of the naked kind.

Blake Johnston is more than just a Big Screen Sex Machine, and he's willing to prove it. Especially to a spirited and sexy ex-marine like Jessie. But when a harmless dare leads to sizzling fireworks, Jessie and Blake's workout ends up generating some serious heat between the sheets. And it's more than Jessie could have imagined. Much, much more.

But flings don't last forever. And in two weeks, Jessie will have to say goodbye to her red-hot Christmas fantasy...

This was an amazing and heart touching story.  Jessie is a veteran that has been discharged after a bomb blew up and injured her leg.  Yes, HER leg.  The veteran is a female and I loved how the story really took her perspective and brought it to life for me.  She was such an intense character and had a drive to prove that she still had value.  Blake had some very similar characteristics, but they were shown in a different way.  He was determined to show the world that he was more than just another pretty face.  But in the process he helps - and hurts - the woman he has grown to care for.

A lot of this story was about the two of them coming to grips with their past and figuring out where to go with their future.  My favorite part was watching Jessie really come into her own again.  Her journey back to herself was not fun, but in the end it was worth it - at least until she found out Blake's secret.  How they work that out, I'll leave for you to find out.  This is one you won't want to miss.

Oh, and as a bonus, it could be called a Christmas read.  While the season doesn't play a huge roll in the story, it does happen over Christmas.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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