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heabooknerd's review
3.0
I always love a good action romance and this had it in spades. Alpha Security is your typical private security/mercenary group working to take the assignments the government can’t sanction or be involved in. The beginning of this was rough and I almost stopped reading it; however, it does really pick up and it was worth sticking with it. I felt like April Hunt chopped off the beginning of her story in order to have an opener that was filled with action. The beginning and introduction to the characters was much too abrupt, especially with the addition of Penny and Trey knowing each other.
Rafe was a little overbearing in the beginning but it stems from his protectiveness and believing that Penny isn’t prepared to deal with Fuentes. As the book goes on, Rafe is much more likable and his support of Penny is great. The initial antagonism between Rafe and Penny was really strong, so it was weird that they so quickly jumped into a physical relationship and then started to work so well together.
Penny herself is one tough woman! She takes a pretty good beating throughout this book and keeps on fighting back. Her devotion to her niece (who is only a few years younger, so more like a sister) is strong and admirable considering Penny was willing to risk her life to bring Rachel home.
We got some brief glimpses into the other members and I look forward to their books, especially the very British, very sassy, team nerd Charlie.
Rafe was a little overbearing in the beginning but it stems from his protectiveness and believing that Penny isn’t prepared to deal with Fuentes. As the book goes on, Rafe is much more likable and his support of Penny is great. The initial antagonism between Rafe and Penny was really strong, so it was weird that they so quickly jumped into a physical relationship and then started to work so well together.
Penny herself is one tough woman! She takes a pretty good beating throughout this book and keeps on fighting back. Her devotion to her niece (who is only a few years younger, so more like a sister) is strong and admirable considering Penny was willing to risk her life to bring Rachel home.
We got some brief glimpses into the other members and I look forward to their books, especially the very British, very sassy, team nerd Charlie.
alwaysbooking's review against another edition
4.0
see more reviews at alwaysbooking.wordpress.com
This book starts off with a bang, the two characters literally collide. I can’t believe that Penny was willing to take down such a big guy. Bravo young lady, bravo! If you like books with lots of alpha men, in camo, then this book is for you. If you like books with strong female characters not afraid to go after what they want, then this book is definitely for you.
Let’s start with Penny because if you have been following my blog at all you will realize I LOVE strong female characters. Penny goes to Honduras to locate her lost niece, who was taken by an evil drug dealer. I love how Penny’s character is so strong, she is walking the seedy side streets of town when a man comes up behind her. Does Penny cower in fear, hell no she starts to kick his ass. Penny gets dragged in to the Alpha security team’s headquarters because they think she is up to no good. She doesn’t expect to run into people she knows. When Alpha sets her up with Rafe to take down the drug lord things take an interesting turn. The chemistry is off the charts in this book, and I love how Penny doesn’t back down when Rafe goes all Alpha on her. Her father was in the military so she is so used to military men. I loved her comrodeary with the other Alpha’s how they kind of tuck her under their wing. Penny is one of the perfect examples of a strong heroine. She can keep up with the boys but still has feminine feelings.
Rafe is all cave man… swoon. Rafe was in foster care when he was younger moving from one home to the next. When he joins the military he finally finds family in his other soldiers. I can’t even imagine being in the same room as Rafe because he’s all alpha male, but a room full of all of them yikes the testosterone. At first he thinks Penny is a liability but after he sees her in action he realizes she could be an asset to the Alpha team. However once Rafe starts letting her in to his bed and then his heart will he be able to walk away since he knows it is what’s best for her. I loved how Rafe always tried to go Alpha on Penny and she wouldn’t let him. I also really enjoyed how every time he told her to stay somewhere she didn’t and you could tell he was exasperated and amused at the same time.
The only flaws I could see with the book is that they were together over the space of a couple months but because it was so fast paced if you didn’t catch the paragraphs where it mentioned the time table it almost felt insta- lovey. There were also a lot of steamy scenes, don’t get me wrong they were well written but I would’ve liked to have seen more of the planning and scheming that lead to decisions made by the team.
Even with those minor flaws I really enjoyed the book! It involved some kick butt characters and side characters. I can’t wait to see where the series goes, and which of these alpha males falls hard next!! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes strong heros and heroines!!
Thank you to Forever Publishing and April hunt for the ARC in lieu of my honest review
This book starts off with a bang, the two characters literally collide. I can’t believe that Penny was willing to take down such a big guy. Bravo young lady, bravo! If you like books with lots of alpha men, in camo, then this book is for you. If you like books with strong female characters not afraid to go after what they want, then this book is definitely for you.
Let’s start with Penny because if you have been following my blog at all you will realize I LOVE strong female characters. Penny goes to Honduras to locate her lost niece, who was taken by an evil drug dealer. I love how Penny’s character is so strong, she is walking the seedy side streets of town when a man comes up behind her. Does Penny cower in fear, hell no she starts to kick his ass. Penny gets dragged in to the Alpha security team’s headquarters because they think she is up to no good. She doesn’t expect to run into people she knows. When Alpha sets her up with Rafe to take down the drug lord things take an interesting turn. The chemistry is off the charts in this book, and I love how Penny doesn’t back down when Rafe goes all Alpha on her. Her father was in the military so she is so used to military men. I loved her comrodeary with the other Alpha’s how they kind of tuck her under their wing. Penny is one of the perfect examples of a strong heroine. She can keep up with the boys but still has feminine feelings.
Rafe is all cave man… swoon. Rafe was in foster care when he was younger moving from one home to the next. When he joins the military he finally finds family in his other soldiers. I can’t even imagine being in the same room as Rafe because he’s all alpha male, but a room full of all of them yikes the testosterone. At first he thinks Penny is a liability but after he sees her in action he realizes she could be an asset to the Alpha team. However once Rafe starts letting her in to his bed and then his heart will he be able to walk away since he knows it is what’s best for her. I loved how Rafe always tried to go Alpha on Penny and she wouldn’t let him. I also really enjoyed how every time he told her to stay somewhere she didn’t and you could tell he was exasperated and amused at the same time.
The only flaws I could see with the book is that they were together over the space of a couple months but because it was so fast paced if you didn’t catch the paragraphs where it mentioned the time table it almost felt insta- lovey. There were also a lot of steamy scenes, don’t get me wrong they were well written but I would’ve liked to have seen more of the planning and scheming that lead to decisions made by the team.
Even with those minor flaws I really enjoyed the book! It involved some kick butt characters and side characters. I can’t wait to see where the series goes, and which of these alpha males falls hard next!! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes strong heros and heroines!!
Thank you to Forever Publishing and April hunt for the ARC in lieu of my honest review
sissykat31's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the romance between Rafe and Penny and loved the suspense.in the
angels_gp17's review against another edition
2.0
Heated Pursuit is book one in the Alpha Security series by [a:April Hunt|15019342|April Hunt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1456745601p2/15019342.jpg]. I picked this one up; because so many others raved about this book. I feel like I read a completely different book than what everyone else read. When I finished this one. I was like “Finally! It’s over!”
I won’t go so far as to say I hated it, but it did have too many things that bothered me. It also had some good stuff too, so there were positives and negatives, but it just didn’t work out for me as I was hoping.
What I liked:
- I liked the Alpha Security team.
- I liked that action and suspense.
- The last 20% of the book.
What I Didn’t Like:
- The start. It wasn’t a great start or introduction to the novel. I was a little puzzled and confused in the first few chapters.
- Penny. I had so many issues with our heroine. I never felt her character and she shouldn’t have been on the op. It just didn’t feel like she was qualified or read for this type of deal.
- In the beginning of the book she gets picked up by men in fatigues and hoods, so how does she know WHO these mystery men are? How does she know about the Alpha Security team? Yes, one of them is her brother and she knows that he is part of something, but how can she be so familiar with all the others; especially since she has been estranged from her brother for a long time (family issues). Question after question just from the first few pages.
- Next. The guys decide it’s a good idea to send a non-trainee undercover. (I was not feeling this; especially when she does some stupid things that almost blow their cover.) She was informed that their would be bugs everywhere in this bad guy's house and in every room and what does she do?
- Their where at least two intends where she almost blows their cover. The first time she get’s to their room and was about to get into it with Rafe about something. (Don’t remember the something) This something would have blown their cover sky-hi. How does Rafe save them? Well he kisses her and then they have mind blowing sex and then she realizes she was about to blow their cover. This is just one of the incidents in the book. Ahhhhh!
- Rafe and Penny have been in the jungle on the run for two days now. They somehow end up getting hot and heavy; kissing, clothes coming off, him about to go down on her. Can we just say, ewww! Almost sex, no clean clothes, no shower, no teeth cleaning. Totally turned me off. The only thing that stops this from happening is that he sees a bandage on her leg that he didn’t know about.
- Last, I never got a romance. Ya, these two have lust and boy is it combustible, but I never felt it go deeper than that.
Heated Pursuit wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t for me. I may or may not give the next book a try. It had some good things going for it, like the Alpha Security team and suspense, but when the lead character doesn't appeal, well you have a hard time enjoy the book.
Rated: 2 Stars
katewatson528's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this RS from April. It was a great start to a new series. It kept my attention throughout the book. Penny was a great heroine. I felt that she had a good mix of strong/independent but wasn't stupid thinking she could do everything and I admired her loyalty to her niece Rachel. Rafe was a great Hero expect for a small portion where he was still trying to convince himself that Penny was better off on her own but luckily that part didn't last long. I liked the secondary characters and I am currently reading the next book which is about Trey.
No OW/OM drama which I always appreciate.
No OW/OM drama which I always appreciate.
br3nda's review
3.0
I grew somewhat tired of this book about 3/4 of the way through. There was just too much sex, it became unrealistic. I even started skipping over those sections. I will likely not read the rest of the series. I suspect it will be exactly the same.
chroniclesofabookreader's review against another edition
3.0
**3.5 Stars**
April Hunt’s HEATED PURSUIT delves into another country with bad guys, hot military alphas, and a stubbornly feisty heroine. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite sub-genres so when I saw the blurb for this book I couldn’t pass it up. And when you open this book, you’re right into the thick of it immediately. There is no let’s-get-to-know-our-characters-lives first, instead you’re thrust right into the action which I applaud because this is what makes a book hard to put down in the first few pages.
While some romantic suspense can start to blend into others, what set this book apart was the appeal of our hero, Rafe. He had this magnetic charm that stuck to you like glue. Or stuck him to me like glue. Yeah, if only, right? He and his rag-tag group of buddies felt unique in a sea of sameness, and drew me into wanting to stick around to not only read this story but to see theirs as well. The back-and-forth challenges and banter between Rafe and Penny, our heroine, added some fun to the book even if, at times, her hardheadedness made her hard to connect to.
Hunt has great writing and the potential to build fabulous stories. I think the one thing that stuck out to me that dropped the star rating was that the suspense wasn’t as prevalent as I had hoped. When it was there, it was woven beautifully and smartly, but it fell to the wayside when I so desperately wanted it to keep building. The balance between sex and plot skewed a bit to the left, but I can’t really complain because I did enjoy all aspects. There was fire and fun and action, everything that makes a novel what it should be. I’m looking forward to where Hunt will take us next.
**Received an early copy and reviewed voluntarily**
April Hunt’s HEATED PURSUIT delves into another country with bad guys, hot military alphas, and a stubbornly feisty heroine. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite sub-genres so when I saw the blurb for this book I couldn’t pass it up. And when you open this book, you’re right into the thick of it immediately. There is no let’s-get-to-know-our-characters-lives first, instead you’re thrust right into the action which I applaud because this is what makes a book hard to put down in the first few pages.
While some romantic suspense can start to blend into others, what set this book apart was the appeal of our hero, Rafe. He had this magnetic charm that stuck to you like glue. Or stuck him to me like glue. Yeah, if only, right? He and his rag-tag group of buddies felt unique in a sea of sameness, and drew me into wanting to stick around to not only read this story but to see theirs as well. The back-and-forth challenges and banter between Rafe and Penny, our heroine, added some fun to the book even if, at times, her hardheadedness made her hard to connect to.
Hunt has great writing and the potential to build fabulous stories. I think the one thing that stuck out to me that dropped the star rating was that the suspense wasn’t as prevalent as I had hoped. When it was there, it was woven beautifully and smartly, but it fell to the wayside when I so desperately wanted it to keep building. The balance between sex and plot skewed a bit to the left, but I can’t really complain because I did enjoy all aspects. There was fire and fun and action, everything that makes a novel what it should be. I’m looking forward to where Hunt will take us next.
**Received an early copy and reviewed voluntarily**
sblyon's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars … this fast paced adventure moved fast, told an interesting story, and has me wanting to read more by April Hunt. Rafe & Penny meet while he is chasing her down in a seedy part of Honduras, only to find out they are they are looking for the same dangerous person, but for very different reasons and with very different forms of back up! Rafe is part of Alpha security team tasked with tracking down Diego Fuentes for drug and human trafficking. Penny is simply a bail bonds agent from small town Pennsylvania who is trying to track down her missing niece.
When the Alpha team allows her to join their mission & their romance heats up, the mission becomes more and more dangerous.
When the Alpha team allows her to join their mission & their romance heats up, the mission becomes more and more dangerous.
whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Penny hasn't had a lot of close people in her life, so when her niece is kidnapped, she's booking passage on the first flight to Honduras.
Former Delta operative and now with the private Alpha Security group, Rafe has spent the majority of his life as a soldier. While on mission to shut down a drug lord, his path crosses with Penny and their worlds collide.
Its tropics, heat, attraction, and danger as Rafe and Penny battle for survival and their chemistry.
"You dirty up pretty good, Red."
April Hunt has debuted and I am here for it. Heated Pursuit, the first in the Alpha Security series, is romantic suspense that recycles a lot of sub-genre favorites: group of hot sexy military men, tough but vulnerable heroine, dangerous situations, sex in unrealistic side-eye moments, and villainy villains. There's nothing really new here but what it does well is give you what you paid for with the added bonus of fun, heart, and charm; tangibles that have been sadly absent in a lot of recent releases.
"Is this your way of telling me you're going to be touching my ass, Rafael Ortega? If it is, I should warn you that that perk better go both ways."
Penny is our tough but vulnerable heroine, she's a fairly new bail enforcement agent, so she has some moves but also winds up in over head and gives us some too stubborn for her own good annoyance. Her back story of cold uncaring father with absent mother was sketched out enough to make her trepidation towards Rafe believable if not deeply felt. She spoke her mind well and you'll like her spirited contributions to her conversations with Rafe.
He was bravery, loyalty, and a kick-ass attitude wrapped up in a six-and-a-half-foot mass of hard muscle.
Our hero Rafe is where this story is going to win you over. That heart and charm I was talking about, Rafe is its main source. He's the risk his life but never his heart alpha male that over saturates this sub-genre but crushes and kicks to the curb any cardboard cut-out notions. Rafe had personality, wit, and magnetism; he felt real to me and I found myself lusting right alongside Penny.
She was a complication in its truest form---and he didn't give a hundred fucks.
I loved these two together, whether they were engaging in back and forth dialogue, running for their lives, or having trouble keeping their hands off each other, their chemistry was always front and center. I do wish it could have taken them a little bit longer to hit the sheets and Rafe must have Viagra running through his veins instead of blood (seriously, let's tone it down with these Boneroes). I also really enjoyed how the secondary characters, mostly Rafe's Alpha Security team members with a couple friends of Penny thrown in, actually fit into the story and didn't feel like series baiting. They supported without cluttering or trying to steal the spotlight, we get introduced to all the men with enough personality given to each to make me want to read their own stories but didn't overwhelm. I would have liked Penny and Trey's (member of Alpha Security) past surrogate brother/sister relationship explained and explored more along with the appearance of Penny's Navy SEAL friend Vince, which ended up feeling very tagged on. The villain was a bit weak and the ratio of sex and story leans more towards sex but the action and story starts off right off the bat and I was with it every step of the way.
Like I said, there's not a lot new here, former military men looking to stop a madman from distributing a super drug while the heroine finds herself caught up in the crossfire, danger ensues, and lust and love with one of the men develops. However, even with its done before recipe, Heated Pursuit manages to break from the crowd and stand out with its humor and charm; this will reenergize and remind you why you love this sub-genre. I found it to be along the same lines as Tara Janzen’s Steele Street series, fast paced, fun, and hot.
The characters have character and the hero's charm is why we love reading about these good bad boys. As a debut, this has me super excited for future books in the series. The author's talent with chemistry between her characters is definitely evident and I look forward to her gaining confidence and experience to step outside the usual romantic suspense elements. There's a line in the book that I felt encapsulates it very well:
It was intimacy and total abandon disguised as a marathon of hot touches and hotter kisses.
I can't wait for the next in the series.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Penny hasn't had a lot of close people in her life, so when her niece is kidnapped, she's booking passage on the first flight to Honduras.
Former Delta operative and now with the private Alpha Security group, Rafe has spent the majority of his life as a soldier. While on mission to shut down a drug lord, his path crosses with Penny and their worlds collide.
Its tropics, heat, attraction, and danger as Rafe and Penny battle for survival and their chemistry.
"You dirty up pretty good, Red."
April Hunt has debuted and I am here for it. Heated Pursuit, the first in the Alpha Security series, is romantic suspense that recycles a lot of sub-genre favorites: group of hot sexy military men, tough but vulnerable heroine, dangerous situations, sex in unrealistic side-eye moments, and villainy villains. There's nothing really new here but what it does well is give you what you paid for with the added bonus of fun, heart, and charm; tangibles that have been sadly absent in a lot of recent releases.
"Is this your way of telling me you're going to be touching my ass, Rafael Ortega? If it is, I should warn you that that perk better go both ways."
Penny is our tough but vulnerable heroine, she's a fairly new bail enforcement agent, so she has some moves but also winds up in over head and gives us some too stubborn for her own good annoyance. Her back story of cold uncaring father with absent mother was sketched out enough to make her trepidation towards Rafe believable if not deeply felt. She spoke her mind well and you'll like her spirited contributions to her conversations with Rafe.
He was bravery, loyalty, and a kick-ass attitude wrapped up in a six-and-a-half-foot mass of hard muscle.
Our hero Rafe is where this story is going to win you over. That heart and charm I was talking about, Rafe is its main source. He's the risk his life but never his heart alpha male that over saturates this sub-genre but crushes and kicks to the curb any cardboard cut-out notions. Rafe had personality, wit, and magnetism; he felt real to me and I found myself lusting right alongside Penny.
She was a complication in its truest form---and he didn't give a hundred fucks.
I loved these two together, whether they were engaging in back and forth dialogue, running for their lives, or having trouble keeping their hands off each other, their chemistry was always front and center. I do wish it could have taken them a little bit longer to hit the sheets and Rafe must have Viagra running through his veins instead of blood (seriously, let's tone it down with these Boneroes). I also really enjoyed how the secondary characters, mostly Rafe's Alpha Security team members with a couple friends of Penny thrown in, actually fit into the story and didn't feel like series baiting. They supported without cluttering or trying to steal the spotlight, we get introduced to all the men with enough personality given to each to make me want to read their own stories but didn't overwhelm. I would have liked Penny and Trey's (member of Alpha Security) past surrogate brother/sister relationship explained and explored more along with the appearance of Penny's Navy SEAL friend Vince, which ended up feeling very tagged on. The villain was a bit weak and the ratio of sex and story leans more towards sex but the action and story starts off right off the bat and I was with it every step of the way.
Like I said, there's not a lot new here, former military men looking to stop a madman from distributing a super drug while the heroine finds herself caught up in the crossfire, danger ensues, and lust and love with one of the men develops. However, even with its done before recipe, Heated Pursuit manages to break from the crowd and stand out with its humor and charm; this will reenergize and remind you why you love this sub-genre. I found it to be along the same lines as Tara Janzen’s Steele Street series, fast paced, fun, and hot.
The characters have character and the hero's charm is why we love reading about these good bad boys. As a debut, this has me super excited for future books in the series. The author's talent with chemistry between her characters is definitely evident and I look forward to her gaining confidence and experience to step outside the usual romantic suspense elements. There's a line in the book that I felt encapsulates it very well:
It was intimacy and total abandon disguised as a marathon of hot touches and hotter kisses.
I can't wait for the next in the series.