Review: Romancing the Military Man box set

Romancing the Military Man: Ten Hot Military Heroes
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: self published
File Size: 3821 KB
Source: book provided by publisher for review

What makes a hot military hero?

Whether it’s romance, suspense, or action/adventure, Romancing the Military Man: Ten Hot Military Heroes Boxed Set offers ten romance stories with something for everyone who craves a hot military hero. For a limited time this is your chance to enjoy books from today’s New York Times, USA Today, and national bestselling authors.

Sharon Hamilton:
SEAL’s Promise
He makes a deathbed promise to care for his best friend’s wife and baby. She wants nothing to do with anything that reminds her of her fallen SEAL husband, until fate steps in to show her she is still connected, and needs the love of the flawed warrior who shares her grief.

Caridad Pineiro:
Stay The Night
Sexy Navy SEAL Rafe Castillo is home after months of separation. Will Rafe stay the night with his wife Elena so they can rekindle the love they once shared?

Toni Anderson:
The Killing Game
A snow leopard biologist becomes prey when Cold War secrets threaten to expose a modern-day spy ring, and an elite British soldier is forced to choose between his country and his heart.

Karen Fenech:
Caught
When Elle Jameson is caught by a human trafficker, she doesn’t dare believe the man’s claims that all is not as it seems and that he will see her safely home, not even when she finds herself softening toward him, because trusting him, believing him, may cost Elle her life.

Kathy Kulig:
Red Tape Protector, FLC series book 2 (stand-alone)
Black-ops agent is hired to train a secret White House society member to be an assassin or be eliminated.

Jan Springer:
Christmas Lovers
Nurse Tania Sparks has always been purely professional with her injured soldiers…until sinfully sexy Connor Jordan enters her hospital.

Lisa Hughey:
Still The One (Family Stone #4 Jack)
Jack Stone never got over Bliss Lee…but he can he convince her she’s still the one?

Denise A. Agnew:
Saved By The Marine
Explosive danger creates a whirlwind of heat between a marine and the woman he’s just met when they’re trapped in a terrifying situation.

Adrienne Bell:
Carter: The Sinner Saints #1
Sometimes a bad boy is the best man for the job.

Monique Dubois:
Romance: Quickies (Encounter 9)
In Quickies (Encounter 9), Malia is introduced to the world of BDSM by a mysterious army ranger. He captivates her body and senses, but does he have a secret side that leads her into danger?

Review: This is a boxed set that has ten books, all with a branch of the military at its core, that were written by ten different authors. But that’s where the common thread ended since there are a variety of romance genres represented – some I enjoy and some I usually stay away from, especially erotica, since it’s out of my comfort zone. All the stories were vastly different not only based on the setting of the book. The contents page included the title and author of all the books as well as a brief summary so I had an inkling of what the books would be about.

SEAL’s Promise by Sharon Hamilton had a lot going on that included a promise made to a fellow SEAL on his deathbed who died while serving his country, the SEAL brotherhood, terrorists, romance, steamy, hot loving and love. Shannon, T.J. and Frankie were front and center throughout and it was heartwarming at times to view the relationships between each of them even after the death of Frankie. My interest was held from the first page to the last but at times I felt the story fast forwarded too quickly and I had to race to keep up. There was nice closure but the story ended too quickly. An epilogue would have been great. Hamilton is a new to me author and I will look for her other books that feature SEALS.

Stay The Night by Caridad Pineiro was a quick read at only fifty five pages so there wasn’t a depth in the storyline or the characters. Rafe and Elena married young due to an unplanned pregnancy. The next five years he’s been serving overseas as a SEAL and they have had limited contact in person. Although each has been faithful to the other, now that Rafe’s home possibly for good, will they be able to reconnect and get their lives back on track? An abrupt ending that had so much more potential. Pineiro is a new to me author and I may give some of her other romances a try.

The Killing Game by Toni Anderson was a romantic suspense filled with intrigue and adventure involving snow leopards, soldiers, spies and lots of weapons that were involved in battles left and right. There were vivid descriptions of the lands, the animals and the people. The story was mainly set in Afghanistan but England too and pitted Axelle and her research team against good guys and bad including Dempsey and his British SAS team never knowing who was who.

Caught by Karen Fenech is a novella from the Protectors Series and I can’t wait to read the other books in the series. This is a romantic suspense that had a lot of darkness with sex slave trafficking at its core. There was some lightness but mainly fear and even revulsion. Special Ops SEALS were the good guys and things ratcheted up when they were around. This was a quick read at only sixty one pages, flowed nicely and kept my interest from beginning to end. There was more to Sloane than met the eye.

Red Tape Protector, FLC series book 2 (stand-alone) by Kathy Kulig gave enough information that I didn’t feel lost since it is book two in a series. The book was filled with intrigue and suspense but was too erotic by far for me with BDSM front and center. There were also secret missions, training sessions, assassination attempts and lots of gun play. The ending was too abrupt and there wasn’t any closure. If it hadn’t said the end I never would have guessed it was the end of the story.

Christmas Lovers by Jan Springer is only sixty pages but a lot was packed into it. There was a lot of sexual fantasies as well as fantasies fulfilled. Beyond my comfort zone with m/m and a ménage but a quick read. There was chemistry between Tania and Connor from the start and their surprised meeting later in the story thanks to Kidnap Fantasies, an interesting business, burned up the sheets.

Still The One (Family Stone #4 Jack) by Lisa Hughey is one of my favorites in this boxed set. A romantic suspense with a family business at its core and lots of secrets. Twists and turns to the story along with a second chance at love? There was some closure but the ending was too abrupt. I’m hoping because of the cliffhanger there will be another book in the series. I do plan to read the first three that I missed.

Saved By The Marine by Denise A. Agnew is another favorite. A contemporary romance with a little intrigue too. Lots of loving, friends and family. Candy and Mike had definitely chemistry. I could feel the cold and see the location in my mind just by the descriptions. I look forward to reading more books by Agnew, a new to me author.

Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 by Adrienne Bell is full of intrigue and suspense with a mystery to be solved but will it be too late? Lots of shoot em ups, battles, misplaced anger and bad guys that sets the tone and keeps you guessing. Great chemistry between Carter and Ally and camaraderie between Carter and his team – military friends that work with him in his security firm. Needed better closure since there were a few loose ends. I want to read the other books in this series and I had previously read The Wedding Trap (Second Service #1) by this author and enjoyed it.

Romance: Quickies (Encounter 9) by Monique Dubois is too graphic for me with Malia having a skewed sense regarding sex and sexual encounters with strangers. She did not listen to her inner warning bells going off and is lucky things didn’t turn out worse for her. There was a definite dark side to this story. The book ended with a cliffhanger but I would have liked better closure in an epilogue at least but what can you expect in sixty three pages?

Favorite Quotes:
Seal’s Promise by Sharon Hamilton: He rubbed his fingers against her shoulder while he thought about all the dumb things he and Frankie had done together, all the times he had made Shannon furious with him. Frankie always seemed to walk away unscathed, leaving him to battle with Shannon. Now he saw why. He and Shannon were so much alike they were the same side of the coin. Her intensity was what he craved as sure as he loved that in himself.

Stay The Night by Caridad Pineiro: So many accomplishments while he was basically the same man she’d hastily married just over five years earlier. Well, not quite the same. He was a little older, a little more worldly, and a lot more battered, emotionally and physically.

The Killing Game by Toni Anderson: Snow and ice outlined the peaks, and a frigid wind tore down the valley, slicing through her clothes like splintered. Right now she had little choice except to follow the leopard she was convinced was injured. She’d deal with the soldier later-if she had to. She checked the radio signal and adjusted her course.

Caught by Karen Fenech: Sloane. The man speaking to her, the man touching her cheek, was Sloane, her abductor. After an instant it registered that she wasn’t on the boat any longer. Not in the cage. She was on a bed…somewhere.

Red Tape Protector, FLC series book 2 (stand-alone) by Kathy Kulig: “Ah, but you are attractive.” He stroked her hair and fought his own arousal. How easily he could slip into his Master role, to care and protect. He sensed her pain and vulnerability and wanted to comfort her…

Christmas Lovers by Jan Springer: Shit! These KF guys were good. From what he could see of the chick, she was a freaking Nurse Sparks clone. She hadn’t seen him yet and he opted to remain silent as she strolled down the wood stairs.

Still The One (Family Stone #4 Jack) by Lisa Hughey: Jack nodded briefly at Bliss, but didn’t offer his hand. Instead he propped his hand on his waist. “We’ve met.”

Saved By The Marine by Denise A. Agnew: …Clouds had completely disappeared overnight, and it had warmed above freezing. He drove cautiously on the slushy roads…

Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 by Adrienne Bell: …”It wasn’t always this way, though. I didn’t have much when I got out of the service. I built Macmillan Security from nothing.”

Romance: Quickies (Encounter 9) by Monique Dubois: A small trickle of fear cropped up in her. It came out of nowhere and caught her by surprise. A little voice inside her told her that doing this was probably not the smartest idea, although she didn’t fully know why. It was just an instinct that she could go too far down the path of the unknown with this guy. A path she might regret.