Review: Heat of the Storm by Elle Kennedy (Out of Uniform #3)

Publisher - Samhain Publishing
Publication Date - 23th July 2009
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Purchased

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it.

Book Info - Lieutenant Will Charleston has waited fifteen long years to show up as anything other than a one-pixel blip on Mackenzie Wade's romantic radar. If a powerful storm is what he needs to send her into his arms, he'll take it. Once the hot sex is over, though, she seems determined to kick him right back into the friend zone.

Not this time. This time, he's going to teach her the meaning of tenacious.

Mackenzie has always had feelings for Will, feelings she fights with all her strength. He's her best friend, her safety net. The one man who's not scared of her accursed psychic gift. No doubt he drives her wild in bed, but their night of passion was more than a mistake. It generated a tragic vision of the future, one that leaves her more confused--and afraid--than ever.

Problem is, Will knows her too well. Plus he's a SEAL to the bone. And they don't like to lose...

My Thoughts - Heat of the Storm is the third instalment in Elle Kennedy's Out of Uniform series, about a bunch of SEALs and the women who love them. I absolutely loved the first two books so held very high hopes for this novella. And i was not disappointed in the slightest.

This is Will's story. He has always kept a bit of a distance from the other SEALs that he works with - he's the quiet, reserved member of the group who likes to keep his business to himself. I really liked Will. He has been in love with Mackenzie for a number of years and he is her best friend and confidant. He has stood by her side as men have come and gone in her life and has been the only constant in her life as other, weaker men have decided that Mackenzie's visions of the future are too much for them to deal with. And I have to admit that I fell a little bit in love with him because of his loyalty to her, despite the fact that they've never taken things further than just being friends. Will would have been perfect for me, except for one small thing... in this novella Will has become convinced that Mackenzie has feelings for him and so is no longer willing to sit on the sidelines anymore, and his desperation to make her trust him and love him means that he makes some pretty big mistakes. These mistakes are completely understandable and, in some ways do make Mackenzie come to her senses, but as I was reading I did start to feel pretty frustrated that the patience and loyalty that I'd loved about him right from the very first page... no, when his situation with Mackenzie was first bought to the readers attention in the previous novella... seemed to disappear before my very eyes. But Will is still the type of character that will have the reader cheering for him from the very offset.

Mackenzie is also a character that will have the readers caring for her and cheering her on to find her happiness with Will. She has been plagued with visions from the future her whole life - some of them pretty horrific ones - but she is stuck with the awful knowledge that no matter what she does she can't do anything to stop these tragedies that she witnesses ahead of time. Because of this, men have never stuck around in the past meaning that she's had her heart broken a time or two, so now she is unwilling to get involved with another man. Especially Will, her best friend, the only man who has stuck around in her life. She doesn't want to lose him when he realises that her visions are too much to cope with. It is impossible not to feel for Mackenzie and the burden she carries through life.

And the chemistry between these two characters, right from the very first page is smokin' hot! Elle Kennedy is certainly very good at writing a sex scene that will leave the reader feeling hot under the collar. Will is very much a take charge man in all aspects of life, what with being a SEAL and all, and this doesn't change in the bedroom. He knows that Mackenzie always keeps herself under very tight control because of her visions - but he also knows she craves a lover who will take control for a while so that she doesn't have to worry about a thing - and the results are quite spectacular!

Summary - Another great instalment from one of my favourite erotic romance series. I really can't recommend this series enough.

Other books in the series:
1. Heat of the Moment
2. Heat of Passion
3. Heat of the Storm
4. Heat it Up
5. Heat of the Night
6. The Heat is On
7. Feeling Hot
8. Getting Hotter
9. Hotter Than Ever

Review: Heat of Passion by Elle Kennedy (Out of Uniform #2)

Publisher - Samhain Publishing
Publication Date - 24th March 2009
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Purchased

Rating - 5 out of 5: It was amazing!

Book Info - Carson Scott is the king of one-night stands, so a naughty encounter with a sexy brunette in a nightclub supply closet is right up his alley. When his mysterious seductress disappears, he’s blindsided by an unfamiliar emotion—disappointment. One thing’s for sure…if he ever encounters his lady of the evening again, he won’t let her slip away so easily.

Between her catering business, family issues, and her broken heart, Holly Lawson has too much on her plate to think about committing to a serious relationship. Hot, sweaty, anonymous sex with a Navy SEAL…now that sounds like the perfect appetizer to take the edge off. With no plans to ever see him again, she indulges in a fling. Only to come face to face with him weeks later while working a wedding.

Worse, Carson is hell-bent on the one thing she doesn’t want. The R word. She has no intention of falling for him, but in the face of his seductive, mind-changing methods, her resistance is crumbling…

Warning: This title contains a ridiculously hot Navy SEAL, a sassy heroine, and sex in a supply closet. Read only if you have time to take a cold shower afterwards. Graphic sex, explicit language.

My Thoughts - Wow, this book is HOT! The chemistry between the two main characters means that you have to take the warning in the book blurb very seriously - only read it if you have time to take a cold shower afterwards! The sex between Carson and Holly made steam come out of my Kindle (okay, not literally otherwise I may have cried over the loss of my beloved Kindle, but you know what I mean).

I fell for Carson from the first page. He is used to having women fling themselves at him and he has had way more than his fair share of one-night stands. But now that his best friend is settling down and getting married (Garrett from book one in the series) he can't help but think he'd like to do the same. But a one-night stand in a night club supply closet makes him see that his lifestyle is getting a little out of control. He hates himself for succumbing to anonymous sex with somebody he's never going to see again so he vows to stop fooling around and look for somebody to get serious with - ideally the woman from the nightclub who he hasn't been able to stop thinking about since their encounter.

What I loved most about Carson was the way that, after finding Holly again, he did everything he could to let her know how serious he was about being in a relationship with her. I love books that have a hero who isn't afraid to go after the woman he loves and Carson is definitely that kind of guy. He's fun, sexy, charming and a Navy SEAL. What more could a girl want?

Holly is also a great character. She is the mother figure for all of her brothers and sisters since her mother died a couple of years ago and they literally can't do a thing without her. They are constantly phoning her for help with things that they are more than capable of doing themselves, especially since Holly is the youngest of them all. But she does it all with a smile on her face and never complains - her family are everything to her. She is incredibly strong, being able to take on the responsibility of her family whilst grieving the death of her own mother. But I loved how Carson brings out her fun side and makes her realise that it is also time for her to start living her own life rather than running around after everybody else.

Summary - A steaming hot romance with characters that are so easy to fall in love with. I am loving this series and I can't wait to get started on book three.

Other books in the series:
1. Heat of the Moment
2. Heat of Passion
3. Heat of the Storm
4. Heat it Up
5. Heat of the Night
6. The Heat is On
7. Feeling Hot
8. Getting Hotter (released November)

Review: Heat of the Moment by Elle Kennedy (Out of Uniform #1)

Publisher - Samhain Publishing
Publication Date - 17th June 2008
Genre - Erotic Romance

Source - Purchased

Rating - 3.5 out of 5: I liked it

Book Info - Shelby Harper has lusted over Navy SEAL John Garrett for over a year, but no matter how many sexy signals she sends out, the man shows a complete lack of interest in getting naked. Then she overhears Garrett talking to his SEAL teammate - a discussion in which they conclude she's vanilla. Stung, Shelby sets out to show them exactly how un-vanilla she is.

Garrett can't believe it when sweet, sexy Shelby suggests a wild and sweaty menage. He's been trying to figure out how to ask her out without coming off as a guy who only wants to get in her pants - her friendship is too valuable to him to risk it. But if a crazy, heat-wave three-way is what Shelby wants, then he's ready and willing to give it to her.

Once she gets it out of her system, however...well, then he'll let her know he wants her all to himself.

Warning: This title contains two dangerously hot Navy SEALS and a heroine determined to get it on with both of them. Be prepared to take a cold shower (or maybe two) after reading this heat-wave menage.

My Thoughts - So I've been hearing a lot of very good things about Elle Kennedy's Out of Uniform series recently, due to the recent release of book seven, Feeling Hot.  I decided that after seeing so many good reviews for Feeling Hot I just had to give the series a try for myself.

I enjoyed this short story a lot, although it was very short and was therefore lacking some background for the hero and heroine. I loved the fact that Garrett and Shelby have been lusting after each other for a year, each without realising the other person felt the same. However, I would have liked to have seen this in play a little bit more to really get a better picture of the dynamics between the two main characters. But I can understand why that is so difficult to achieve in so few pages.

The action between Shelby, Garrett and his best friend Carson kicks off pretty quickly and it was hot. I have to admit to accidentally reading book two in the series first, which is Carson's book, so I was already a little bit in love with him when I started reading Heat of the Moment. But, although the threesome makes for some steamy reading, I couldn't help but feel it was added just for that reason and had no real purpose in furthering the relationship between Shelby and Garrett. I think I would have liked the story to be a bit longer so that more focus could have been placed on them as a couple once Carson had left.

Summary - Overall, Heat of the Moment is a quick fun read that will leave you feeling hot under the collar. However, due to the short length of the story, it does feel a little bit light on the details. But I enjoyed it and will most definitely be continuing with the series.

Other books in the series:
1. Heat of the Moment
2. Heat of Passion
3. Heat of the Storm
4. Heat it Up
5. Heat of the Night
6. The Heat is On
7. Feeling Hot
8. Getting Hotter (released November)