ARC Review: HOT SEAL Devotion (HOT SEAL Team #8)

HOT SEAL Devotion (HOT SEAL Team #8)

by Lynn Raye Harris 

Blurb:

She’ll ask him to marry her. And pray he says yes…

Kayla wants a daddy for her little girl. Navy SEAL Zack is perfect for the job. Kayla’s made wrong choices before, but she knows this one is right. Zack’s a strong, honorable man who will keep her baby safe.

Zack’s been twisted up inside from the moment he laid eyes on Kayla. It’s been months, and he still can’t untangle his feelings. Especially after the single night they shared. A night that took their relationship out of the friend zone and put it firmly into the hot zone.

When Kayla proposes a marriage of convenience, Zack won’t agree to a name-only arrangement. If he’s going to marry Kayla, and be a dad to little Ana, then it’s all or nothing.

But when Kayla’s past returns, threatening the life they’re building, Zack will sacrifice everything to protect his new family from harm…

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

 The devotion of a man to the woman that has owned his heart from the beginning and the little girl that has gradually stolen it, is front and center in this story of love and danger by Lynn Raye Harris. Long-time readers have been looking forward to this story and wondering when we would find out if Zack and Kayla would find their way to an HEA ever since they first met.  Chemistry and connection are so obvious, but we have been dying to find out if that deep love would develop and keep her safe from the danger that continues to stalk her.  The HOT series has evolved into one of my favorites since I stumbled on it a few years ago and the more operators we meet, the greater their stories become.  Harris has an amazing way of pulling you right into the lives of her characters and allowing you to live each and every moment with them as they go on their adventures.  The last few novels have had such a connection with her spin-off series (Black’s Bandits) and I can already tell that as the two continue to run parallel, the depth and greatness of the two series will only grow.  If you are a fan of amazing military heroes and the women that make them more human as they fall in love and make fools of themselves, you can never go wrong with the HOT series, and HOT SEAL Devotion is no exception, with two characters both going on false assumptions until they finally have to put all their cards on the table or risk losing everything.

Kayla hoped she was finally going to be able to move on from her past mistakes, but once again her past is back to haunt her. Danger is stalking her again and she has a crazy plan to keep herself, and more importantly those she loves, safe and happy.   Zack has lusted after Kayla from the beginning but after their one hot night together nothing was ever right again, so no one could be more surprised when she shows up on his doorstep and proposes marriage.  He won’t settle for anything less than everything though, and a marriage between them could be nothing less than explosive.  Terror lurks around every corner, but when his wife and new daughter are in the crosshairs, no way will Zack stand down.  Zack and HOT step up to keep Kayla and Ana safe, but it might not be enough and if he is too late he knows that his life will be destroyed so there is no way he will give up.   Can he be everything needed to save them or will the darkness of Kayla’s past win in the end?

I loved Zack, even when he was a bonehead, because he is just such a loveable bonehead.  Despite all of his skill in the female department, apparently he has no way to spot the instant emotional draw to the woman of his dreams, relegating the need to physical.  Once he is offered the dream he never even realized he wanted, he jumps in with both feet, moving ahead at light speed and making them a true family in no time at all.  I loved all the sweet moments as he tried to prove to Kayla how he felt without ever having to use the words and open up, bringing her little girl into his heart and falling in love with both of them so totally. He remains a true badass operator, but we get to see the softer and gentler side that makes him a good husband and father and I am looking forward to maybe seeing them with more kids later on too.  Kayla has so many insecurities from her past that color her outlook on life that I feel bad for her more often than not.  She has definitely drawn the short-straw most of her life, but getting to see her find her footing and standup for herself was wonderful.  She not only initiated just want she wanted out of life by proposing the marriage, she slowly asserted what she wanted from Zack once they began to communicate more and their emotions deepened.  She refused to live with anything less than his whole heart and she offered him the same in the end, finally giving that last bit of her trust at just the right moment to save them all.  She proved to us all that she is more than just a product of her life and experiences and that she has a backbone of steel.  I also loved the way she interacted with the other wives and her sister as she blossomed and found her place as one of the HOT women, making her an integral member of the family.

HOT SEAL Devotion was filled with emotional moments, surprisingly more often than you might expect from a story based around special operators that are basically alpha badasses.  Zack might be able to kick butt and take names when he needs to, but he can be gentle changing a diaper or sweet offering to hold his woman when she is an emotional wreck too.  I loved getting to know him and seeing every facet of his personality developed until he was a fully rounded man to admire.  Kayla had her moments also, coming out of her shell and beginning to understand for herself that she doesn’t always need someone else to come to her rescue, sometimes she can save herself.   She was the kind of wife and mother that most women need to model themselves after, fun and sexy, while remaining soft and strong equally to be the home that her man returns to after the devastation he sees in the dark world he protects with HOT.  The passion between Kayla and Zack was apparent in the first moment they met in previous novels and never cooled, though it was lowered to a simmer as they finally allowed their hearts to connect as well and they began to admit that their love was even stronger than just their lust.  I enjoyed each moment of this story, even the odd family moments of simplicity as Zack and Kayla began to build their lives together and I look forward to seeing them in future stories.  Whatever comes next for these HOT guys, I know the SEAL team is down to just one more bachelor and I can already guess that story is going to be monumental and sexy as hell.  CANNOT WAIT! Another masterpiece, Lynn.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.