Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Just a touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine perspective
When mains are first on page together: Didn’t note it but fairly soon in, maybe 1-2 chapters in
Cliffhanger: Not for the main romance – that ends in a happy for now - but themes of the plot are left unsolved
Format: audiobook checked out from Hoopla
(Descriptions found at end of my review)

Should I read in order?
This is the first book of the series, but yes – things are given in this book that help the plot move along in future books.

Basic plot:
Dan is undercover, hidden in Scotland, while he tries to find who sold them out on their Russian mission. He soon gets caught up in Annie’s diving trip and they both realize there’s way more than meets the eye.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance (romantic suspense?)
- American mains
- Scotland setting
- Navy SEAL hero
- one bed
- forced proximity
- tattooed hero
- heroine has her PhD in Marine Ecology
- celibate hero (not strictly stated but it’s mentioned it’s been a long time for him)
- Pescatarian heroine (vegetarian + fish)
- on the run
- protective hero
- medium steam – 4-5 full scenes (one was on the vague/short side)

Ages:
Hero is 33, heroine is 26

First line:
SEALs liked to say the only easy day was yesterday.

My thoughts:
I adore McCarty’s historicals. So her contemporary novels have been on my TBR forever.

I really loved that this took place in Scotland. I think it’s one way to get me to actually read contemporary haha. There were a lot of things I did enjoy about this book. I loved that they were together for most of the book. I loved how protective ‘Dan’ is. I loved the on the run together vibe. The steamy scenes were good but maybe didn’t quite pack the punch I usually get from her Highland Guard books.

I struggled a bit with some things that pulled me out of the story. The mains tend to have some polar views on things, and there’s some political talk I really wasn’t into. It’s the last thing I want to think about when trying to escape this world. There were a few parts I thought the heroine didn’t use her phD to the best of her ability and did some dumb things.

I struggled with the narrator’s Texan accent. I think maybe I just got used to the initial accent? I’m not sure but I felt like ‘he’ sounded totally different. There was also some additional POV to establish further plots in the series and I am not a big fan of that.

Overall I’m still mildly curious about this series and might read the next one at some point!

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- scenes of danger and fear underwater where the heroine is attacked by knife and gun
- scenes of war/hazing
- light political talk between mains as well as gender norms (things like her pink bag being ‘girly’ etc)
- possible feelings of infidelity – the heroine has a boyfriend while she lusts after the hero
- death and murder on page
- some light mentions of weed usage (done in a neutral to lightly negative way)
- neglectful and abusive parents mentioned

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
Safe sex: 

Hero forgets a condom the first time and pulls out, condoms used in later scene, I think no condom used in last scenes 

 
16% - kisses with her boyfriend (not the hero)
39% - kisses
41% - 🔥kisses, fingering for her
60% - 🔥bedtime cuddles, sex, him behind her in bed
69% - kiss
70% - 🔥kisses, breast play, oral for her, blow job (complete), her on top
85% - 2 sex scenes together but it’s a bit vague and light
97% - kiss
99% - 🔥sex against the door