Protecting Maddie

The Omega Team #4

by Desiree Holt

When Maddie Winslow talked a student out of his gun in her classroom, she never figured it would set off a chain of events that put her life in grave danger, and the lives of her parents.

Hiding in WitSec for thirty years, the her parents thought they had beaten the odds—until the image of Maddie, an identical replica of her mother—hits the television airwaves and the people who have been seeking revenge all these years find her. Intent on learning where her mother is hiding, they break into her home and then try to kidnap her. Frightened, she goes to her friend, Zee, who once dated someone in Delta Force. She calls him to explain her friend’s situation, but he’s prepping for a mission and can’t leave the base.

Hunter “Hawkeye” St. John, a Delta Force team member, is on medical leave recuperating in Tampa and chafing for some action. When the he and Maddie meet, the sparks flying between them sizzle the air. But if Hawkeye wants to move forward with Maddie he first has to keep her safe and then eliminate the bad guys.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Romance, Military Fiction, Military Romance, Contemporary, Suspense, Contemporary Romance

93 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2016

About the author

A multi-published, award winning, Amazon and USA Today best-selling author, Desiree Holt has produced more than 200 titles and won many awards. She has received an EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and many others including Author After Dark’s Author of the Year. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The London Daily Mail. She lives in Florida with her cats who insist they help her write her books, and is addicted to football.

“Get out the ice water and fan…Desiree Holt delivers smoking hot alpha heroes and red hot romances.” Lea Franczak, USA Today Happy Ever After blog


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Reviews

[Kinsey Alyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just meh.

I’ve read several others in this series, and most of them have not disappointed. This one however had very little action. The characters weren’t well liked for me. Maddie was a bit pathetic (waiting around after a guy hurt her, only to forgive him like nothing happened). The characters also lacked real chemistry, which isn’t something I feel has happened when I read books. It was a quick read (which these books often are), but it was so quick that enough wasn’t packed into it. It lacked a little depth.

[Fiction Junkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Loved it. I always hate when there is a separation, but it only last couple months. Great read.

[♡Tonya♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Protecting Maddie

Another book from Susan Stoker's  Operation Alpha,  but this time one of her heroes was a main character and Desiree Holt's Omega Team supported him. 

Hawk was very protective and alpha when it came to Maddie.  He had an instant attraction to her, but didn't feel he could persued it because his mission was to protect her. 

Maddie was a great heroine.   She was strong,  smart and so brave.   She was not alpha,  but she was certainly tough enough to be a military spouse.  

--strong alpha hero
--fantastic heroine
--pushing away by hero
--military couple of steamy scenes
--no ow/om drama
--HFN ending with NO EPILOGUE  (that is a big fat NO-NO)

I'm glad I gave this book a chance.   I will definitely look into Desiree Holt's writing!

[Jacki Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate books like this.

The heroine seems desperate and the hero is a jerk. I gave it 2 stars because the plot was good.

[Coco.V]

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[Char Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Beautiful story of two heroes one a teacher saving her students an the Delta Force protector who stole her heart

This suspense filled story will have you on the edge of your seat and the characters are captivating.When a student pulls a gun on her freshman class teacher Maddie decides she has to get him to give her the gun. She breaks through his demons to the hurt troubled teen and before anyone is hurt. What she doesn't know is her face on the news an social media will change her.life forever.When things get scary and the cops aren't doing anything Maddies friend teaches our to her cousin for help he's a Delta Force member.He's leaving for a mission an says a fellow Delta Force friend is in the area on medical leave an going crazy he'll call him to help.The chemistry between Maddie and Hawkeye is smoking hot an off the charts from the moment they met.He knows getting involved with Maddie isn't a good idea because he thinks he should wait til he leaves Delta before finding someone.But it seems the universe has other ideas.Will Hawkeye be able to keep Maddie safe? Will they give in to their chemistry?Will he break her heart by leaving her ?Will they find their way back to each other?There are so many twists an turns to this story that will have you riveted until the very last page an leave you begging for more.I love the way this amazing author brings the characters to life before your eyes an you can feel their emotions an their pain.I can hardly wait to see what's next by this multi talented author.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protecting Maddie: Special Forces Operation Alpha: The Protectors Book 1 is by Desiree Holt. Once more, Desiree writes a wonderful summer novel. However, it is a formula book that varies only slightly from the others in the series. That makes it nice to be able to read a book and keep up with it even if you aren’t paying close attention to it. There is enough variation to keep it interesting.
Maddie Winslow was a teacher who talked one of her students out of his gun with which he was holding her class hostage. She talked to his parents afterwards and got him some help. Of course, the media went wild and she was on the news. Several weeks later, unusual things started happening. She felt someone had been in her house and had taken the only picture she had of her parents and moved things around. When called, the police could really do nothing. When she felt she was being followed by a gray car, they could do nothing again. Then, outside her friend, Gretchen’s house, a man tried to pull her into his car. Once more, nothing could be done or was done. Gretchen called her cousin, a member of the Delta team, who sent a friend, Levi Hawke to help her. Levi was already in Tampa recovering from a medical injury but was going crazy sitting home. He was glad to help. Finding out where the trouble was coming from was more difficult than they thought. Who was following her and why?

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve lost a great voice in the romance community, and I felt I needed to read her books again. I’m sure there is a specific order for some of the books that I have in my collection, but I never really felt that Desiree’s books led us a specific direction other than love.

Middle grade schoolteacher, Maddie Winslow, has made herself very visible to the public eye after talking a student out of using a gun in class. This story, originally published in 2016, still reads very current, and in our times, scarily accurate. When she starts to feel the hair at the back of her neck raise in apprehension, she escapes to a friend’s house for ice cream and a listening ear. Enter Hawkeye St. John, Delta Force, on an injury sabbatical, and he believes Maddie story. Secrets reveal themselves in time, and our characters spend some super quality time together in and out of the bedroom.

These stories are short, so everything speeds up in the relationship levels, and I can tell you, Desiree Holt wrote steamy scenes the way we all want them to be.

[Whispers From · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off some of the descriptions is wrong. Now there is intrigue and sex. What I didn’t like was the scene where they capture the bad guys. There was nothing to it, no fighting or anything. I was terribly disappointed.

Maddie is a teacher who talks a gunman, a student, into putting the gun down. She’s on the news and someone tries to take her. She runs to her best friend and she calls her cousin who is in Delta Force. Hawkeye is on leave until his injury heals and he can go back to work. He helps Maddie but the chemistry between them is combustible. He wants nothing to do with a relationship. After the danger is off Maddie, Hawkeye leaves and is cleared to go back to work. Will he realize that plenty of the special officers keep their job and women too?

[Cc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddie and Hawkeye/Hunter

She was the nightly news Teacher that talked her student into giving up his gun. Then she started noticing she was being followed and her home had been discretely searched. The police didn’t believe her. So her friend called in a favor from her Delta Force brother.

He sent Hawkeye, another Delta Force Seal on medical leave, to check out what was happening. Turns out Maddie was right she is being stalked.

This was another instant attraction, a night to confirm their feelings then the guy leaves because he feels he’s the wrong guy for the girl he loves. This was a well done romance but I’m getting tired of the guy always thinking he knows what the woman needs even though they never discussed it.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that broke off from Susan Stoker book series. I really enjoyed this book and I love how we get to meet two characters that we don't know from any books. Hawkeye has a lot of anger because he was injured and because of others I know Delta guys don't like to be not busy. So for him to be able to be helpful and keep someone safe is perfect. I loved Maddie in how she softly talked to her student to get him to put down the weapon before he caused more issues. It's a teacher I would want my own kids to have. Of course she has her own faults in the book but I loved that she took charges and became the hero in the beginning. The story-line is amazing in this book, while there is not much of smut in the book. There is a lot of romance involved. I highly recommend checking it out.

[Deb Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protecting Maddie is a magnificent romantic suspense by Desiree Holt. Ms. Holt has provided readers with a well-written with a spectacular cast of characters. This is a fairly quick read, perfect for those with limited reading time. Maddie talks one of her students into giving her his gun and the story goes viral. Levi is on medical leave from Delta Force when a buddy calls him when Maddie needs help. Maddie and Levi's story is packed with drama, humor, sizzle, action and suspense. I loved this story and can't wait for my next book by Desiree Holt. Protecting Maddie is book 1 of the Protectors Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story

I enjoyed the story here. It was interesting and I liked the characters. My only complaints are.. first, I don't know if this book was revised when the Kindle worlds ended but the blurb said the heros name was one thing and it was different in the book, also the friends name and her relationship with the Delta was also different... The other thing was how the drama was cleared up without any fanfare really. He just shows up and says it's all taken care of... Other than that it was pretty good.

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Really good read

Maddie finds herself in the middle of a media frenzy when she manages to talk down a troubled student from shooting his classmates.
After this weird things start happening to her and she’s convinced she’s being followed. In steps Hawkeye to protect her and delve into what’s been happening. The chemistry is explosive between them and Hawkeye finds himself in unfamiliar territory.

I loved the dynamic between these two. The protectiveness was so beautiful and love how Hawkeye made his return at the end. Always love a conflicted hero.

[Eryn Kahler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love all things Susan Stoker Related, but..

This book had the chance to be so very much more than it was.

I understand that it was a Novella and that greatly limits the amount of time in which to do things. And don’t get me wrong I love the sexy times in books as much as the next person. But perhaps if there were a couple less or shorter scene’s then the storyline could have more meat on it. The build up was actually pretty good, then the ending is just a huge dud as far as the suspense goes.

It was absolutely not worth the time I spent on reading it.

[Ginny Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddie has just talked a student down who was holding a gun on the class. She soon realizes she is being stalked. She goes to her friend Gretchen. Gretchen calls her cousin Ghost
Hawkeye is on medical leave for a shoulder injury. He will help since Ghost called and gives Grey Holden a call. Between the help from Omega and Hawkeye, they find out why she is being targeted. Can they bring down the bad guys?

[Shaynanana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. With all the books published and high reviews I figured it would be decent. It’s a very short read. Which is fine. But the good action parts were skipped over and the sex scenes were very meh. I never felt excited about the story or sucked in. I forced myself to finish it since it was so short. The end irked me. Yeah he just comes back after months of no contact and you just drop to your knees so grateful that he graced you with his presence?!? Yeah no

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desiree Holt Protecting Maddie

The reason I gave Protecting Maddie a 5 star the author was able to make me feel like I was there watching everything going down. Maddie and Hawkeye were great together and it was a great book to read. Thank you for having some hot scenes. I wish there story could of been longer.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A realistic story as far as school shootings go. Maddie is a teacher and had such an incident. Hawkeye is a Delta soldier and was asked as a favor from Ghost to protect Maddie when things started happening with her. A lot of secrets come out, good and bad, and Hawkeye didn't know if they could make a go of it with his profession. HEA.

[Sharon Ryder Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it as well as the characters, but the plot was barely there... I would of loved to of read about guns being drawn and fired, fists and feet pounding into the bad guys as well as capturing them but it never happened" well it did, but with little detail. This lack of detail surrounding the capture made the novel dive for me in a big way..

[Sherry Sias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

I think this is a first of this author. I enjoyed it. It was fast-paced and full of action. The story started quick and to the point. It had a little twist that I wasn't expecting, but thats what makes everything more exciting to read. I really enjoyed Maddie and Hawkeye!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure if this was written before schools had intruder training or not. As someone who is extremely educated in this area I couldn’t get through the first chapter. It was all wrong and completely unrealistic. If you haven’t been in school and gone through all of this training, give it a read, I am sure it is probably a great book.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the crossover with Susan Stoker's books but for me, this one was a book of not a lot. The whole threat to Madrid was dealt with behind the scenes so fell flat for me and left this as a 'romance' where not a lot happens.

[Iris Hehe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I really enjoyed this book. Maddie met Hawkeye when she knew she was in danger. Twice she had almost been snatched. Hawkeye was a friend of a friend, on medical leave. When she told him her story he promised he would keep her safe. And he does.

[Katherine Horvath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling in Love!

Protecting Maddie: WOW! It was a wild story! I loved the different surprises and suspense throughout the story! Levi and Maddie had the connection and could teach each other lots of things. It was an amazing story!

[Linda H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Protecting Maddie (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

I loved the instant attraction from the get go and the compatible characteristics between the two main characters. I just would have enjoyed more action scenes.

[Rene' Hurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery only a Delta can solve.

This book was a good read . When Hawkeye was asked to protect Maddie he gets more than he thought. Sparks fly, but will his job / fear keep him from having what he wants?

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

fast pace, detailed.

I loved this book. It wasn’t too long, but it didn’t skip around or seem fast forward. There were a few words used in places that bugged me, they threw the scene off, but was able to push on.

[Kim McCallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delta men

Having been introduced into the world of Delta men with their Alpha personalities, this book transports me into their world. Action packed, strong female and an Alpha male.
What more could you ask for? Amazingly written!

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a man who knows when he’s being an as*.
Hawkeye is that man.