HOT Addiction (Hostile Operations Team #10)
by Lynn Raye Harris
Blurb:
Tell
Dex I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let it go this far. I’ve thought for a while
that marrying him wasn’t right, that I’m not the woman for him—I should have
been brave enough to say so. He deserves more.
When
Dex “Double Dee” Davidson was abandoned at the altar by the woman he loved, he
threw himself into his military career, training hard enough to get accepted
into the elite Black Ops unit known as HOT. The love he felt for Annabelle
Quinn burned to ash in the face of her betrayal—so when she crashes back into
his life and begs him to save her, he has no problem laughing in her face.
Blackmailed
into jilting Dex and forced into an abusive marriage, Annabelle never thought
she’d escape the hell of the last five years. But her husband died a month ago
and she’s finally free. Except she isn’t. Someone claims that Eric stole a
fortune—and they want it back. If she doesn’t return it within twenty-four
hours, she’ll be dead—and so will her young daughter. With time running out,
Annabelle has no one to turn to. No one except Dex.
When
Dex learns that Annabelle’s husband committed treason against the US by selling
a top secret military project to the Russians, he has no choice but to get
involved. He’ll protect Annabelle and her child, and he’ll find out who’s
threatening her. But he won’t fall for her intoxicating sensuality ever again.
And if he discovers the secret she’s been hiding from him? It’ll be game over
for good…
Themes: contemporary
Rating: 4.25 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
k so for any true romance reader the
“second-chance at love” trope is one that you have encountered and it is
usually a situation where it’s a love or hate of the story. The skill of the author is the single most important
factor in the quality of these types of stories… and luckily for us Lynn is a
kick-ass author with the skill to pull just about anything off. I have long been a fan of this series and for
each new couple that we get to watch fall in love, I fall more in love with
Lynn’s writing and her immense ability to bring people together in a way that
keeps them exciting and makes you wish you could experience a love like her
characters find. This is one of those stories
that has as many heartbreaking moments as it does heartwarming ones, but in the end
good conquers evil and the HOT team rises above all challenges and beats all
obstacles. If you haven’t read the other stories in this series, you might miss
out on a bit of the undertones of Dex’s story but once you learn more about
him, I promise you will love him as much as loyal fans do. This series keeps
getting better, and though I know the original group is now all paired off,
except Mendez, the HOT SEALs spinoff series is already underway so I am
thrilled to be seeing more of these characters.
I understand that Mendez will be getting his story soon and we had a
hell of a cliffhanger at the end of this story that will lead to an awesome
beginning for his book. If you enjoy a well-written suspenseful military
romance, you cannot go wrong with anything Ms. Harris writes, but her HOT team
lives up to their name is every way imaginable and seeing them fall in love is
beyond a wonderful experience.
Dex
“Double Dee” Davidson has devoted the last 5 years of his life to his military career
and making himself impenetrable to the women he has entertained in his
life. He no longer offers his heart to
anyone, never wanting his heart to be shattered like it was when he was left at
the altar by the love of his life. When he returns to his childhood home to assist
with a family crisis, he never imagined he’d get pulled back in by that sweet
girl that broke him, but when Annabelle storms back into his life there’s no
denying he still has feelings for her.
Belle is desperate; with her bastard of a husband dead and the
responsibilities of being a single mother and business owner falling squarely
on her shoulders, she does not know how to handle the death threat or
ultimatums that have just come in to her life. When she seeks out the help of
the only man she ever loved, she knows it will be an uphill battle to overcome
her mistakes and regain his trust, but she never imagined the love and
chemistry between them would still be so explosive. With both their lives, the
life of her young daughter and friends, and the fates of the HOT team in their
hands, Dex and Belle must find a way to trust each other enough to get out
alive, or risk losing everything.
I
really liked Dex even though he was a little hard of Belle, but I can see where
his hurt and bruised pride could keep him from giving her a second chance right
away. But luckily for Belle (and us
readers), Dex is incapable of turning his back on someone in trouble. I have wondered for a long time what broke
his heart and made him so jaded towards love and women, and now that we know I
can see where he would be callous and try to incase his heart in ice. He is obviously a sexy, strong, and brave
guy, being a member of the HOT Alpha squad, but seeing him interacting with his
team as well as Bella allowed us to see different sides of him, while at the
same time allowing Belle to come to know the Dex of now, not just the young man
she loved and left. When Dex is forced
to come to terms with a secret Belle has been unintentionally holding from him,
we get to see an even sweeter side of Dex and I can already tell that he will
be one of the softest HOT guys where his family is concerned. Belle has lived in hell for the last five
years, not only broken hearted about losing Dex, but having to deal with a
blackmailing, evil husband, and trying to raise her daughter without any of
that darkness blending into her little girl’s life. I was afraid I was going to dislike Belle,
mainly because I couldn’t imagine liking anyone that broke Dex in such a way,
but when I got to learn more about Belle I realized she was really a brave
woman now, even if she was a scared young woman when she made a mistake that
tore her life apart five years ago. Belle
is strong, even when she sometimes forgets it, but when her daughter is in
danger, she steps up and there is no way she will allow her daughter to be
taken from her. It was nice to see her
grow up and make better choices, thankfully choices that bring Dex back into
her life for good.
HOT
Addiction adheres to the name, it will addict you to the series if you haven’t
already been roped in. The HOT operators are the kind of men that any woman
wants to have at her back in a crisis and beside her in her life during times
of peace. Dex is a sexy, alpha, tortured
hero with the skills to kick butt and the heart to be willing to forgive just
about anything. Annabelle is a woman
with a lot of regrets, but in the end, she knows she must live with her choices
and try to move on. The two of them were
obviously meant to be and when they come back together the heat and energy
between them is instantly combustible.
The sizzling passion and intense emotion that is evident in their
sensual moments shows readers that even the most neglected love never truly
dies for two people meant to be, like these two are. It was thrilling to finally see Dex find his
HEA and being able to see him return to his lost love and show her the
forgiveness she so readily needed, reminds us all that there are still men out
there that are truly good at their core.
I am dying to see what comes next for these totally alpha operators and
I cannot wait to find out if or when Mendez will get his very own HEA. Keep the masterpiece’s coming Lynn and I can guarantee
my big southern mouth will continue to spread the word about this fabulous
series.
*eARC provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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