Hot SEAL, Independence Day

ARC for honest review with no compensation Hot SEAL, Independence Day by Elle James is book 32 in the SEALs in Paradise series by various authors. This book is also a crossover with the Brotherhood Protectors series by Ms. James. Navy Seal, Jack Marsten is ready for his time off the grid after his last deployment. Peace, quiet, fly fishing in a small cabin in the Montana Crazy Mountain owned by Hank Patterson of the Brotherhood Protectors, who is also recruiting him once he is ready to leave the service. Little does Jack know that his life is about to change…. Diedre “Anne” Tyler, pregnant and on the run from her abusive ex boyfriend, living in the same apartment building as Jack. When her ex finds her she escapes to Jack apartment, stows away in his truck and Jack takes her to Brotherhood Protectors. What happens next…cross country ride, action, anger, troubles, romance brewing, and lots more…another awesome read!!

Anne Tyler lost her parents while in college. Her parents were older when they found out the were pregnant with her, but provided a good example of forever love. After losing her parents, Anne was alone in the world. She had to sell her family home, drop out of college and go to work. While waitressing at the local cafe, Anne meets her boyfriend. At first, he filled the hole that the loss of her parents left. After convincing her to move in with him, he became verbally and physically abusive. She tried to escape, but was not successful. When she finds out she’s pregnant, she KNOWS she has to escape for the sake of her unborn child. It was during the escape that she finds herself using an alternate name and renting a tiny apartment next to Jack. Jack Marsten is on a two week vacation from his last deployment as a Navy Seal. He wants nothing, but peace and quiet. He has plans to spend a day or two in Vegas gambling, before heading up to Colorado to fly fish. Hank Patterson, of the Brotherhood Protectors, has offered him his cabin in the mountains for his escape. His plans are quickly changed when he discovers a stowaway—aka Anne… This story had a little bit of everything….suspense, stalking, abuse, bear attacks, fishing, and Brotherhood Protectors to the rescue! I loved that Anne didn’t “instantly” trust Jack. It made the story more believable and realistic. I found Jack’s grouchy attitude endearing because he just wanted peace and quiet. What he got was so much more. I also enjoyed seeing Hank and Swede. Jack’s fan girling was hilarious—couldn’t wait to tell the guys he’d met a movie star (Sadie). Truly enjoyable! I read a gifted copy and all opinions stated are my own.

Surprise baby. Check. Ex-boyfriend (and baby daddy) from Hades. Check. Awesome, alpha, military hero. Check. In a cross over book, we get to see the Seals in Coronado and the Brotherhood Protectors in Montana. I loved seeing all of the characters from both series. It is such a treasure to see what is going on in everyone's lives. Plus I had to laugh when Jack said marriage isn't for military guys. It may not be, but you can't control when it happens. This was such a quick read for me. I was sucked in to the story from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down. I think my favorite scene was the fly fishing the very first day at the cabin. They had fun. They worked together. And there was no competition.

Elle James wrote yet another awesome book with Independence Day. First off, neither people in the book are in any rush to be involved with anyone again due to past relationships. Jack “Mars” Marsten is a SEAL about to go on leave and going to visit Hank Patterson of the Brotherhood Protectors, who he served with, to spend some time at a cabin on his property to fly fish and be alone. Just before he leaves he finds his neighbor Anne hiding in his home. He finds out she hiding from her abusive ex. He reluctantly says she can stay while he’s gone. Then she stows away, afraid the ex will find her and he, again reluctantly, takes her to Montana. He realizes she needs protection and takes her to Hank. There are twists and turns that Elle is famous for, and it kept me turning the pages, I couldn’t out it down. Such a great book!!