Hot Seal by Lynn Raye Harris

Hot Seal by Lynn Raye Harris

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Blurb

Sex with the ex… It shouldn’t be this good the second time around.

Navy SEAL Dane “Viking” Erikson has sworn off women—or at least he’s sworn off one woman: DEA Agent Ivy McGill. His ex-wife.

But when they’re forced to work together on a critical military mission, Dane can’t help but notice how the one woman he shouldn’t want is the only one he can’t stop thinking about.

Ivy knows what it’s like to fall for a SEAL’s hard muscles and killer smile—and she knows what it’s like when everything falls apart. So why is she naked against a wall and begging Dane for more?

Originally included in the SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle box set.

THE HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM SERIES:
Book 1: Hot Pursuit (Matt & Evie)
Book 2: Hot Mess (Sam & Georgie)
Book 3: Hot Package (Billy & Olivia)
Book 4: Dangerously Hot (Kev & Lucky)
Book 5: Hot Shot (Jack & Gina)
Book 6: Hot Rebel (Nick & Victoria)
Book 7: Hot Ice (Garrett & Grace)
Book 8: Hot & Bothered (Ryan & Emily) ~ Coming Summer 2015
Book 9: Hot SEAL (Dane & Ivy) ~ Coming September 2015

Reviews:

”…one of those must read black ops series that is as good as Maya Banks & Cindy Gerard!” — Just Plain Sassy

“Seriously is there a hotter series out there in this genre? Because if there is, I don’t know about it. I have loved these books from book 1 and they are only getting better and better not to mention hotter!!!” — Goodreads

“So, one of my favorite series (HOT) just got an infusion of new blood…SEAL blood. That’s right, HOT SEALs!” — Saved by Suspense

“Another awesome effort and A+ read in this world of the maybe-mythed-but-oh-my-they-do-exist Hostile Operations Team.” — Mignon Mykel Reviews

“As for Navy SEAL Dane “Viking” Erikson? Well if the man doesn’t melt the panties off of you, I just don’t know if we’re reading the same book.” — Lana Kart

Buy Links

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Google play

Review

Hm. Well, I like to start with the things I liked about a book. Anything with a title like Hot Seal promises a lot of action and this book did not disappoint. Just as is the case with a previous book I’d read by Harris – Hot Seal Redemption, the one that inspired me to pick up this one and the whole rest of the series – there’s plenty of bodies dropping, lots of heart-pounding action, and lots of military behavior just as you might want from something with SEAL in the name.

Unless you’re looking for aquatic mammals. Then you’re sheer out of luck. Sorry.

The heroine, Ivy, is tough as nails – most of the time – and is Latina to boot. These are two characteristics I love to see in books. She has her own, deeply personal and incredibly strong, reasons for working where she does and doing the job she does. She does her job well, and with professionalism. She’s the kind of rock star you’d hold up to your daughter and say, “You see?  She’s an example – you can do anything you want to do.” 

Then we meet Dane, the “hero,” and it all goes out the window.

Dane has no redeeming characteristics, at all, whatsoever. I think I was doubly disappointed by Dane because Alexei, the hero in Hot Seal Redemption, was such a great example of how a character could be “alpha” and not a Neanderthal. Dane is Alexei’s opposite in every way possible.

Dane begins his interactions with Ivy by deliberately humiliating her, in a professional setting, in front of colleagues with whom she must work. He will not lose his job over his behavior. She – who has had to fight simply to be in that room – risks losing everything if she so much as twitches in response. She is the only woman present.

None of those pigs so much as bats an eye in her defense.

Alexei humiliates her as a professional, and he tears apart the way she dresses as well. He doesn’t do this simply out of anger. He does this with the full intention of hurting her and her professional standing.

This is abuse.

How am I honestly meant to view him as heroic in any way?  How am I meant to hope for Dane and Ivy to end up together at the end of this book?

His behavior doesn’t improve. He pesters Ivy through the entire first half of the book, not for sex but to admit she still desires him sexually. It’s a bizarre display of dominance that honestly disgusts me. I’ve found some repulsive male leads in romance novels – both m/m and m/f – but none have had me screaming at the book the way I did with this one. I actually screamed that Dane was the reason I’ll never date a straight white man again.

With my husband sitting next to me.

When Ivy finally gave in and slept with Dane, I lost all respect for her. She knew what he was doing. She knew it was bad, but she decided she wanted him anyway.

So why does this book somehow get 3 martinis, even though I wished the “hero” would end up at the bottom of the ocean for the rest of time?

Honestly, it was the fact that I hated Dane that much but still couldn’t put the book down that made me recommend the book. Harris pulled a TON of emotion out of me. I was sitting around in a funk, finally decided to read instead of pretending I was going to get anything done, and boy howdy did she light a fire under me. Maybe I couldn’t root for the couple to be together, but I definitely felt strongly and that was a masterful job on Harris’ part.

There were a couple of other issues. The main villain was still a little one-dimensional, but Dane was villainous enough I didn’t care. This is a fun book for those times when you need to get your action fix in. It’s also the first in a series, so don’t miss it!