Review: HOT Addiction (Hostile Operations Team #10)

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.