Review: Callie Croix - Covert Seduction

Covert Seduction

Published: January 14th, 2013

Publisher: Carina Press

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

Format: eBook

Length: Novella (53,000 words)

Available at: Amazon | Amazon (Audible) | B&N | Books On Board| Carina Press |

Blurb

Navy SEAL Reid Galvin is back from hell and eager to find comfort in Becca Anderson’s arms. He knows he hurt her when he cut contact during his deployment, so when his call interrupts her date with another man, he has only himself to blame. But he can’t forget what she means to him—or the sexy email she sent him—and he won’t miss this chance to claim her as his own.

It’s been weeks since Becca heard from the man she thought she was involved with. So when Reid wants to take up where they left off as if nothing happened, she refuses. Then he rescues her from a first date gone very wrong, and she realizes she’s not quite ready to let him go.

Reid and Becca have a lot to talk about, but since she’s not listening, he’s going to have to regain her trust another way—by bringing her most erotic fantasies to life. Making her surrender to pleasure just might be his most important mission.

My Review

A Navy SEAL dominates and conquers in this scorching hot erotic romance!

One thing I like about this author is the attention she pays to authenticity and the research she does when it comes to her military heroes. I found that she captured this Navy SEAL’s job and the rituals quite accurately. Aside from that, Covert Seduction really lived up to its title through the sizzling hot eroticism going on between Reid and Becca. The sex wasn’t rough and kinky just for the sake of fitting them in there to fill in the moments of non-danger. The scenes were highly erotic, but with the undercurrent of a love not acknowledged by either of them. I wanted to yell at them to just talk like a pair of grown ups.

I’m not sure the corporate embezzlement plot worked to an advantage here. It didn’t serve to get Reid to come to her (which I would preferred). I also didn’t find it all that believable that the hired thugs turned out to be mere amateurs. The danger was almost a bit laughable. With a SEAL as the protector, give him a real challenge. Since the story is a short one, the drama basically got swallowed up among all the sex.

I came across one reviewer who felt that Becca should have shown more compassion, patience and understanding after she found out that a tragic mission had taken the life of twenty of Reid’s men. Finding out about it on the news, and then weeks later having to hear that he had been briefly in touch with his family to let them know he was okay, but not her, I could absolutely understand why she thought their relationship hadn’t meant as much to him. Besides, I honestly don’t think that any relationship in limbo can survive a deployment without clear communication beforehand. So really, they’re both at fault for not addressing the “what ifs” before he shipped out.

Overall, I thought the story was very enjoyable. I felt a little numb towards the sex after the third intense scene, but each encounter was definitely well written. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll be panting away in tandem with Becca. Trust me! My absolute favorite moment was towards the end. I teared up because even I could feel the significance of the moment through the words:

Stunned, she gaped at him. “I can’t take your Trident,” she protested, blinking back tears even as she curled protective fingers around it. The pin lay solid against her breastbone, warm from his body heat. The significance of that wasn’t lost on her.

[...]

“It’s not a ring, but it makes the same promise. More so, in some ways. It means that if something ever happens to me, my teammates will come to you. They’ll take care of you if for some reason I can’t.”

3.75 rounded up to 4

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy from Carina Press via NetGalley. A review in exchange was not promised. The views and opinions expressed in this review are my own, and in no way represent the views or opinions of the publisher/distributor.

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