by Lynn Raye Harris
Blurb:
English
professor Dr. Georgeanne Hayes has a problem. Her star pupil, an Army sergeant
who works in a Top Secret government program, is missing—and someone tried to
push her in front of a train last night.
Sam
“Knight Rider” McKnight is used to looking out for Georgiee. When they were
kids, she was just his best friend’s baby sister. But Georgiee’s not a baby
anymore and Sam is getting some very male—and very dirty—thoughts about the
girl he knows he can never have.
When
someone threatens Georgiee’s life again, Sam will do anything necessary to keep
her safe. Even if it means spending the next few days locked up in a remote
house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her.
Sam
might be used to denying himself what he wants, but he’s about to find out that
being cooped up with Georgiee will push him to the limit. And maybe beyond.
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Just
to be clear, this review is for the expanded version of this story, not the
original, because of course Lynn heard our cries that this story had a few
little pieces that needed fleshing out to make it even better and giving us the
magic that we have found in the later installments of this series. If you would like to see my review of the
original from way-back-when, please see the original blog post here.
This
story kicks off shortly after the first story ends, with a few new additions to
the HOT alpha squad joining the boys, including Sam “Knight Rider” McKnight and
we have an all new adventure as we get to know him and the woman that stole his
heart so long ago. I enjoyed every
second of revisiting this story and getting to re-experience Sam and Georgie falling
in love, mainly because it was so long ago when I read it the first time that I’d
forgotten how much I loved them. Harris has evolved so much as a writer and her
story plots have becomes so much more complicated that I’d almost forgotten the
beautiful simplicity of her first few novels.
For first time readers I can promise you that the love between Sam and
his Georgie will reel you in from the very beginning and the passion between
them will leave you just a little bit hot and bothered yourself. If you are a
fan of friend-to-lover stories and action revolving around bad-ass special
operators, Hot Mess will be just the
ticket.
Sam
and Georgie were basically raised together, but when they started to notice one
another as more than just children Sam knew he was never going to be good
enough for her. Georgie wanted nothing
more than to be claimed by and claim Sam when she was a young woman, but once
he walked away she grew up and moved on, more-or-less. Now that her life has changed coarse again
she finds herself in the same place and time as the sexiest version of Sam she
could have ever imagined, and suddenly in a serious amount of danger that only
he can protect her from. As they are
forced to come to terms with their past and their current attraction to one
another, they have to work together to be sure that they have a chance at a
future together, if they can get past their fears and hang-ups to have one.
I
loved getting to know Sam and Georgie again, seeing how their chemistry
remained so obvious, but their fears and insecurities were a bit more obvious
now that I recalled them being in the past.
Georgie is a woman that has had her world rocked recently and she is
trying to find her place in it again, but in the meantime she refuses to let
anyone speak for or make decisions for her ever again. Her strength might be a little bit hidden
behind some of her fears and insecurities, but with the self-confidence that Sam
encourages, it slowly begins to come out and her backbone becomes more and more
obvious as the story progressed. Georgie
was definitely the type of woman that made a perfect match to Sam and you can
see that despite all the challenges coming their way, they were going to be
together a long time (even for those of us that haven’t followed the series all
the way to the present *wink wink*). Sam
returns to Georgie’s life, quite reluctantly, at the request of his best friend
Rick who is concerned about his little sister being all on her own in DC after
her divorce, but he never thought that her appeal would have multiples so much
in the past decade. When he discovers
she is in danger, there is nothing that will stand in the way of him keeping
her safe and thankfully he is able to bring in his team to help. His continued denial of his attraction and
feelings for Georgie were STILL a bit annoying, but I understand if fully
knowing his past and hang-ups, but I am glad that he finally accepted that he couldn’t
live without her a single moment longer.
His ability to kick ass and protect his woman at all costs, boost her
self-confidence, and bring down a serious bad guy all in one fell swoop are incomparable.
Sam and Georgie remain one of my favorite couples and I was glad to get a
chance to return to their love story.
HOT
Mess is the type of story that we all hunger for—filled with passion, action,
and intrigue—and both Georgie and Sam are fantastic characters, all pieces that
come together to make this story into a masterpiece. The action of this series certainly becomes
even more deadly and the drama more terrifying, but this early story in the
series is wonderful even in its infancy to the beginnings of the HOT missions.
Sam has spent his life trying to make something of himself to prove that he is
better than his parents, and even though he doesn’t think he is good enough for
Georgie, when he accepts that his love for her is too strong to let her go he
fights more to make sure he continues to earn her love. Georgie has never cared how Sam began, she
has always seen the kind of man he would grow into and has loved that man for
more than half her life, but when he broke her heart and left her behind, she
tried to find happiness with another.
Having a second chance to find their HEA together, despite all the
danger they are facing, give Georgie and Sam an even greater reason to fight
the evil coming for them. I enjoyed
every romantic and passionate moment of Georgie and Sam’s return to love, even
when they were fighting together, because the obvious chemistry between them is
just too good to deny. I can recall from
my review that there were a few issues with the drama plot points being a bit
abrupt and leaving me wanting, but this expanded version gave me much more and
filled in much of that need, taking away that lack and making this story into the
fully rounded and fleshed out story that I wanted from the very beginning. If you haven’t tried this series yet, I recommended
grabbing this story as the beginning of your adventure with the HOT guys and if
you are a longtime reader you will enjoy this expanded version as much as I did
and not regret grabbing it. I am dying
to see what comes next in the series overall and of course continuing to see
more and more of Sam and Georgie in their present lives even in those stories.
*ebook
provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No
compensation was provided.
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