Daring Her SEAL

SEALs of Fantasy Island #3

by Anne Marsh

Subject: Navy SEAL Levi Brandon

Mission: Sort out his accidental marriage…without sleeping with his "wife!"

Devil-may-care Navy SEAL Levi Brandon faces a terrifying task: telling Ashley Dixon that their faux wedding during their last mission together was actually real. It's bad enough that she completely loathes him, but she's DEA. Levi will be lucky to get away with his life…

Now Ashley and Levi have returned to Fantasy Island to sort things out…and are tempted to play a dangerous game of lust and restraint. A game of dares. All Levi has to do is keep himself from having sex with the hottie DEA agent. But Ashley's playing to win—and darers always go first.

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Blaze

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2016

About the author

Anne Marsh is a sucker for a grumpy hero who falls hard, a sunshine heroine who won't back down, and small towns where everyone knows your business (but shows up with casseroles anyway).

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with 30+ romance novels, Anne writes contemporary and paranormal stories full of banter, steam, heroines navigating real challenges (chronic illness, anxiety, all the messy parts of being human), and happily-ever-afters you can believe in.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Talia Hibbert, and Olivia Dade.

Anne lives in rural North Carolina with rescue cats who barely tolerate her and neighbors who are real-life heroes—fixing cars, hauling mulch, pulling you out of ditches without even being asked. Her books are love letters to small-town kindness and big-hearted romance.

COMING SOON: Hot for Preacher (Harlequin Afterglow) - February 24, 2026
Grumpy preacher. Sunshine country singer living with rheumatoid arthritis. Second chances. Small-town meddling. So. Much. Heat.

Newsletter: https://anne-marsh.com/newsletter/ (join for bonus scenes, early covers, and book news)

FOLLOW ANNE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_anne...

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/annemarshau...

TikTok: Coming soon!

Reviews

[Carole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just can't recommend - the Hero's set up is too severe. In the first 25% of book he is an irritating, manipulative, sexually harassing DICK! Also had a beef with Heroine making a point of being strong and independent and when arriving on Island she marches away and automatically expects him to carry her luggage - What??

DNF'd at 25%, but because this was a Blaze book where I expect a certain standard, I skimmed through the rest of the book and discovered rest of book was better. So the following day I went back and finished reading it. Middle 50% of story - OK- 3 star. Last 25% was 4 Star for me.

Such a pity the first 25% was so awful, since the middle and end of the story were enjoyable and the proposal scene in the final chapter was adorable.

Final Rating: 2 Stars - Will Toast from my Eook Library

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC received for review

I loved Levi and Ashley in book one and really wanted them to have their own book. They had great chemistry in book one, but in this one their constant snipping just got on my nerves.

[Reading Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may think 4 stars is too high but for a Harlequin love story it lives up to the stereotypes. I'm laughing at myself for reading it. Quick read, unrealistic love story that develops without much sincere dialogue...it was entertaining and fit the mold.

[Lissanne Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy. When I found out that Levi and Ashley from Pleasing Her SEAL had their own book, I just had to buy it! I loaded it up to my e-reader and devoured it.

In Maddie and Mason’s book, Maddie asked Levi, one of Mason’s teammates, and Ashley, a DEA agent who sometimes works with the SEALs, to stand in for the bride and groom who ditched her at the last minute so she can take some photos for her wedding blog. Levi and Ashley agree to go through a mock ceremony and Maddie gets her photos.

However, three months later when this book opens, Levi receives a wedding certificate in the mail. A real one. It seems that someone on Fantasy Island didn’t get the memo that the wedding was fake, and Levi and Ashley are hitched for real. Levi finds it doesn’t bother him that much, because he’s attracted to Ashley and she’s hot, but Ashley apparently hates him so breaking the news is going to be hard.

Levi blackmails her into going back to Fantasy Island for a week so they can sort out this mess once and for all. However, when they get there, Ashley is drawn into a game of truth or dare with Levi, and she can’t help but notice how hot Levi is. Turns out she’s never hated him, but doesn’t care much for his apparent love of bedhopping with his flavour of the week. Levi is actually more discerning about who he beds, and has a hard time getting Ashley to believe it.

She dares him to go without sex for a week, and he agrees on one condition: for every night he goes without, she agrees to act out the name of a drink on a secret cocktail menu the island has, which is just code for ordering sex. Ashley can’t resist a dare, especially one she’s going to win, because she thinks Levi doesn’t take anything seriously. However, Ashley finds herself giving in to her attraction to Levi before the week is over, an attraction that has been simmering for a year, and they have hot sex. Levi asks Ashley to marry him for real, and she turns him down because she thinks he’s a player who can’t settle with just one woman.

Levi’s determined to prove her wrong, especially when they find out that the marriage isn’t real after all. They eventually leave the island and Levi realises he wants Ashley to be his wife for real, so he drives from Louisiana, where he’s attending a joint bucks night for Mason and their team leader Gray, to Virginia where Ashley lives. When Ashley gets home, she finds Levi naked and waiting for her. She has a surprise of her own – she’s gotten him an engagement ring, because she’s also realised she loves him and wants to marry him for real. She asks the question, he says yes, she puts on the pearl and diamond ring he gave her on the island, and they live happily ever after.

Another excellent book from Anne Marsh. A hot Navy SEAL, even hotter sex, and a happy ending. What more could a girl want?

[Fedora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daring Her SEAL is the third in Anne Marsh's SEALs of Fantasy Island trilogy, and is a fun, fast oops-we're-married read.

Levi Brandon and Ashley Dixon have worked together on missions, and their last one had them filling in for an AWOL bride and groom. Since they get along about as well as oil and water, neither of them is thrilled when an official looking marriage certificate arrives by mail a couple weeks later.

Hoping to take advantage of their undeniable chemistry, Levi dares Ashley to join him on a return trip to the island to unravel their so-called marriage. Hijinks ensue, and hearts get involved...

Anne Marsh's story is an entertaining read as neither Levi nor Ashley are pushovers in or out of bed. Perfect summer fun, or for an island getaway any time of year!

[Rae Latte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A secret mission, a marriage license, rules, games, intense chemistry and a trip back to paradise. When Levi Brandon and Ashley Dixon realize that their previous mission to Fantasy Island resulted in a legal marriage they will need to go back and investigate and undo the mishap. If they can survive another visit to this tropical island and resist what is going on between them mission success. However, they will work really hard to resist their feelings. Will they give into temptation?

If you love steamy stories with sexy SEALs and adventure don't miss this scorchin hot read with intense heat and characters that you could read for days.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for this advance reader copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Svalora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this book on Audible — the narration was good so it did not detract from the book.
I’m not sure what is was about this book that just didn’t do it for me. I liked the characters okay. And the setting and the plot were okay to. But I guess that’s what it was — everything was just “okay” for me. It was a take it or leave it kinda thing.

[Deb Diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daring Her SEAL is a fast-paced action and suspense romance by Anne Marsh. Levi and Ashley's story starts with them doing a good deed and ending up married. Now they must travel together to unravel the mess they find themselves in. This story has plenty of drama, action, humor, sizzle and suspense.

I read a print copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Christine D · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a fun enemies to lovers romance. The witty/sexy banter between Ashley and Levi was really fun.

[Cheriwinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This book wasn’t bad, necessarily, I just found both characters more annoying than anything else. Thanks for a wonderful job narrating, Abby Craden!

[Donna Repsher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review and here it is: 3 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two novels in this series, and was really looking forward to seeing the romance between Ashley and Levi blossom in this one, but although it was a mildly entertaining read for the most part, it left me somewhat disappointed.

Levi, as depicted in the earlier novels as well as this one is a seriously hot hunk of a Navy SEAL. Ashley is a beautiful DEA agent with whom he worked in a previous op on an island in Belize. During that op they had a pretend marriage, substituting themselves for the intended bride and groom, and it was supposedly conducted by a pretend minister. When Levi is back stateside and receives what looks like a genuine marriage certificate from Belize, he lets Ashley know that apparently they really are married. Since they both want the marriage annulled, they need to head back to Belize to take care of it, and although Ashley has a lot on her plate job-wise, she just submitted government paperwork on which she listed herself as unmarried.

While I expected that some sparks would fly between these two strong-willed characters, what I didn't expect was an updated version of The Taming of the Shrew. If these two characters weren't daring each other to have or not have sex, they were actually having sex, and when they weren't having sex, they spent all their time sniping at each other and trading barbs. Of the two of them, Levi came off as sincere and a bit clueless about women, and Ashley came off as a complete and total bitch.

When Levi actually asks Ashley to marry him for real, she basically grinds his proposal into the sand. After that scene, I could see absolutely no reason why he'd still want her. That was also the point as which I stopped caring about how this would all end and had I not agreed to read and review this novel, I'd have stopped reading it right there. I also need to add that other than the non-stop bickering between her two main characters, this novel is sorely lacking a plot, or even an intelligent conversation between Ashley and Levi. Aside from mind-blowing sex, I fail to see why on earth Levi would want Ashley to become his wife. I wouldn't even want her for a friend.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed several of her other novels, I know that Ms. Marsh is a far more skilled writer than is exhibited in this novel. If you're following the series, by all means get it and read it, and decide for yourself whether or not you think it's as good as her previous ones. In my opinion, it isn't.

[Book Binge · Rating 5 out of 5]

He’s a womanizer, or at least that’s the rumor and that’s what Ashley believes. And she really can’t stand womanizers. She has pretended to be his girlfriend on an earlier mission when they were undercover together with a motorcycle gang. But the one kiss they shared, hot as it may have been and as much as they each appreciated that hotness, was a one time thing, and to hear Ashley tell it, she was prepared to cut off Levi’s tongue if he got it anywhere near her again. Now he has to tell her that the pretend marriage they staged on the beach of Fantasy Island on their last mission undercover, was inadvertently registered and is legal.

Levi is the kind of guy that teases and drives everyone sort of crazy with his unceasing talk, mostly about their glitches and mistakes and booboos. He does indeed love the ladies and he does manage to hook up frequently. But there’s just something about Ashley, and while they may be legally bound, Levi is wondering what it would really be like to have someone like Ashley in his life.

This is the third novel in the trilogy involving the members of SEAL Team Sigma, a group of Navy SEALs who are totally off the grid and whose identities and appearances are guarded to protect them when they go undercover. Levi is a sniper and a man who has given himself heart and soul to his team. But he is now over 30 years old and beginning to wonder about what it would be like to settle down, especially as two of his team are now preparing to walk down the aisle.

This novel has a lot more adversarial conversation that the two previous stories in this trilogy. Levi and Ashley simply don’t like each other. But like all situations of this kind, especially in romance fiction, there are changes in the offing and we know that Levi and Ashley will probably have their HEA. It’s just a matter of how they manage that, and Ms Marsh is so good at getting us to that HEA in creative ways with lots of fun and sexy encounters thrown in. I read this book as an ARC from Netgally and after reading the first two books I was delighted to have the chance to read this one as well. I think readers who already enjoy Ms Marsh’s writing will find these three books delightful. If a reader is just encountering this author, there’s lots of good reading ahead. I suppose some would call this light hearted reading, but I just simply enjoyed the book and it kept my interest. It is entertaining and took me to a Fantasy Island where anything was possible. I believe most of us would be happy to have the wherewithal to go there ourselves. Since I know I can’t, this is the next best thing.

I give this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Netgalley for this third book in Anne Marsh's latest trilogy about the SEALs of SEAL Team Sigma. Ashley is a DEA agent that has partnered with the SEALs on their last two undercover missions including this trip to Fantasy Island in the Caribbean. She is beautiful and sexy, strong and smart, and is the kind of woman who would have become a SEAL if women were allowed to do so. She has posed as girlfriend to Levi Brandon, a womanizing, gorgeous, seemingly ego driven member of the SEALs who has bedded most of the women in the ports where they have been deployed, or at least that is the rumor and what Ashley believes. Now, as a result of a fake wedding staged by Maddie Holmes (in book two), Levi receives a marriage certificate in the mail from the resort stating that rather than just being stand-ins for the bride and groom who didn't show, they are well and truly married. Thus they find themselves back at the resort in an attempt to find out from the Belize Registry Office on the island if their marriage is indeed a fact. Ashley and Levi know there is chemistry and they both acknowledge the "L" word -- lust. But the another "L" word seems to be missing-- like. Their story is littered with slights and insults, verbal sparring with a lot of sexual innuendo thrown in. There's some kissing, or at least that's how it starts and you can imagine the rest, or perhaps that's what we think happens, but in truth, their story is different. There is a lot of daring between these two, as that is sort of the SOP among the SEALS. So Levi and Ashley have an interesting story for readers to enjoy. I think readers will also appreciate Ms Marsh's good writing. A truly worthy final book to this trilogy.

[Books and Spoons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sexy innuendos, fiery banter, lust filled thoughts, seductive dares with the one you married accidentally, on a tropical island...
I liked the story, I thought Ashley and Levi were fun together. The constant banter and competing with each other on every matter was great verbal foreplay in between them. And that foreplay has been evident in the previous books in the series as well.
When they finally get together, they are earth shattering, and explosive, sensual, and spicy.
The plot was well thought out, there are events that give it twists, and the tension and electricity between Levi and Ashley is nearly addictive. You just want to keep reading about them. There were much more to Levi than I expected, his character is deeper, and he is more developed as a person, than just the playboy he has been so far in the series.
I think the story would have benefited greatly from an epilogue. I think this one particular, with the ending rather surprising, I would have liked more time to see, if/that the feelings were actually as involved as they said they were.
But for the story, delightful as it is, I will give
~ Four Spoons

[TashNz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun story!

Levi, a Seal on a mission of a lifetime, to get unmarried - but it doesn't take him long to figure out he quite likes this marriage gig. But Levi's the fun one, the one that makes you smile, that appears to have his life motto as fun.fun.fun but when he's accidentally married to Ashley Dixon, Ashley is the realist and knows marriage isnt just fun fun fun. It's back to Fantasy Island they go. Daring Levi to a week of no sex seems to be easy at the start because, after all, Levi is a Navy Seal and he's trained to win and survive at all costs! What he didn't count on was his plan to backfire.

Stuck on an island, with a cyclone raging, cocktails and a game of truth or dare... marriage proposals... what can go wrong?

Loved this story, it made me laugh and it made me cry. The cover doesn't indicate how fun it is and makes Daring her Seal to appear quite a serious and intense story - it's not - it's the sun coming out after a storm kinda story. Everything you could want for a Sunday morning read.

I give a happy four stars to Book 3 of the Uniformly Hot series. Very very stoked to have receive an advanced ready copy from Netgalley.

[Vero Stro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Book 3 in the Uniformly Hot Series but it can be read as a standalone without any problems. Levi Brandon is SEAL and he had shared a couple of missions with Ashley Dixon, who works for the DEA. During a mission in Fantasy Island in Belize they need to perform a fake wedding ceremony. Only that a couple of months later Levi receives a certificate showing that they are married in real life. He wants to clarify the situation and he makes Ashley go with him to Fantasy Island to see what happened.

They seem to hate each other while fighting a strong attraction. The characters are fun, their interaction is great and the chemistry between Levi and Ashley is awesome!


Fun and easy read! Highly enjoyable!


I received a copy from the author for an honest review

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daring Her SEAL by Anne Marsh was a great read from start to finish. Levi and Ashley had some smokin' chemistry. Since I didn't read the previous connected books, I felt a little left out. I kept expecting some suspense elements based upon the hints about the other books, but the weather wasn't what I expected. It was written well, nonetheless, and I would read more from Ms. Marsh.
ARC provided by NetGalley

[Alphas Do It Better Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Levi and Ashley's book was a fun quick read for me that I would read again when I was in the mood for a book to make me laugh and have a great HEA. A trip back to Fantasy Island for this pair leads to sexy games, dares and challenges while trying to sort out whether or not their "marriage" is real. I really enjoyed this story, I found myself laughing and even yelling at the characters at times for their stubbornness. It had just the right amount of bantering between the characters, sexiness and left you wondering what would happen, that I read it all in one session! I would definitely recommend this book to others and would reread it again myself.

Review by Cara

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly enjoyable story from one of my favorite authors, Anne Marsh. Take a hot SEAL, add in DEA agent who has met her match now. What a wonderful addition to the series and it was a quick and funny read. Enjoy!

[Geraldine Sadiku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, Sexy fast paced read that takes you along for the ride.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Uniformly Hot!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, fun read!

[Jo-Ann Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last story in the series of 3.

During the other books, especially the first, you got to know the hero and heroine in this book. Towards the end of the second book, the wedding blogger has them act if they were to get married. Welll... This book picks up after everyone returns from this assignment only to find the hero has mail waiting for him - the acting wedding was actually a real one. He knows from the last conversation he had with the heroine, this will not go over well with her. He dreaded telling her but eventually does tell her. Needless to say, it didn't go over well. Soon they are off to the island once again. However, once they are there they hit nag after snag to find out if they really are. Meanwhile, they make bets to keep from acting on the sizzling chemistry they have. Sooner rather than later they find themselves not being able to stay away from each other. Soon after that they finds huge hurricane aimed right at them and they were left behind. Will they make it? Will they find out if they are married and get it annulled or divorced?

This was a bit better than the other books in the series. In fact, I was looking forward to the characters in the other books because these seemed more fleshed out and had more character than the others in the series. They were but after about halfway in the book they seemed to loose steam unfortunately. The best read out of the series.