She doesn't want a glorified babysitter…until all hell breaks loose
Following a particularly tough deployment, Master Sergeant Wyatt Magnus is given a boondoggle assignment providing anti-terrorist security for an International Trade Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Convinced he's in for a whole lot of boring hours, he's surprised when he goes toe-to-toe with the feisty and sexy as hell convention director.
Fiona Allen has a difficult enough task corralling foreign dignitaries and pulling off a seamless itinerary. She doesn’t have time to handhold the far too arrogant and impossibly desirable Special Forces soldier assigned to her event by the Department of Homeland Security.
A hotel room double-booking lands them together in the same room. Her red-hot anger quickly turns to blazing desire. Giving in to one night of passion, she realizes will never be enough. But trouble is brewing in the form of a man on a mission of revenge, armed with hatred and enough explosives to obliterate the convention center and everyone inside.
NOTE: This book was previously published by Myla Jackson aka Elle James at Samhain Publishing.
Award-winning author Elle James grew up as an air force military brat. She received her work ethic from her rock-solid father, her creative streak from her artistic mother and inspiration from her writing partner and sister, Delilah Devlin. As a former member of the army reserves and a current member of the air force reserves, she's traveled across the United States and to Germany, managed a full-time job, and raised three wonderful children. She and her husband have even tried their hands at ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas) in the Texas hill country. Ask her, and she'll tell you what it's like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-and-fifty-pound bird and live to tell about it!
Her adventures in the army and air force reserves, and the wild antics of her life on a small ranch in Texas give her fodder for mystery, suspense and humor in her writing. Elle writes gothic, paranormal mystery for the Harlequin Intrigue line and paranormal romantic comedy for Dorchester Publishing. A former manager of computer programming and project management professionals, Elle is happy she now has the opportunity to pursue her writing full time.
I liked Wyatt, I get that he has PTSD and the only way he knew to deal with it was to get back to being at work. Keep busy and all that. (Meaning active duty).
Fiona.... Nah, didn't really get on with her. She had horrible taste in clothes... I'm sorry, but lime green tank tops, and sherbert orange blouses... when she has RED hair? Eww honey no. Those are the colours you aren't supposed to wear when you've got red hair. She also really never did anything other than go to the bathroom. Bathroom then Wyatt collision in bedroom. Downstairs, yell at front desk, then go to the bathroom to freshen up. Important important work that requires her to go to her office... was a conversation with her assistant that could have been done over the phone, and then masturbate on her desk with a vibrator her assistant gave her as a gift. Then immediately leave office, not noticing that her skirt was tucked into her thong. There was no actual work that was done, and the confab with the assistant should have been done over the phone. Also what assistant gives their boss a vibrator? Seriously???
Wyatt actually did the most in regards to his actual job in the book.
I've given this author a chance with other books... but I'm just not 100% on her. It was better than the others I've previously read, so 3 stars.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and I can honestly say the author has a best seller. Both leads have issues and are able to see beyond these issues to develop a very satisfactory relationship. The suspense keeps you guessing and the characters are perfect for each other. As always this author delivers a great story and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
Loved this story!! Full of action, adventure and romance. Well developed characters with a kick-ass heroine that falls hard for the lady he is determined to protect from a threat. Highly recommend
Wyatt's War is the first title in a new series by Elle James, an author whose books I generally love, but while I liked the concept of this novel, a wounded warrior with PTSD, who, while recovering from serious injuries after being held hostage by Somali terrorists for 3 weeks, is assigned to head up the security detail at an International Trade Convention is San Antonio, organized by a sexy and determined event planner, the story simply didn't live up to its promise, which is why I can only give it a 2.5-star rating.
The Special Ops soldier is Wyatt Magnus, the event planner is Fiona Allen, and they meet by accident when they are out running and Wyatt ends up knocking Fiona into the river. He does haul her out of the river and is thoroughly attracted to the petite redhead, and while she appreciates the handsome man, she's more than a little annoyed. That annoyance ramps up when she, stark naked, exits her hotel bathroom soon after her dunk in the river, to find Wyatt, also naked, in her hotel room--despite careful planning on her part, the hotel double-booked the room and these two are forced to share it, since the hotel is packed with conventioneers.
Of course, this situation and their physical attraction to one another quickly develops into insta-lust and several hot encounters between the sheets and in the shower, but while I generally love Elle James' sex scenes, these two people barely have a single conversation with one another. Neither is looking for a long-term relationship, and aside from Wyatt's understandable issues with PTSD and nightmares, there is nothing here in the way of character development or of either character really even attempting to get to know the other, which made the sex scenes feel flat and mechanical.
There are real threats to the attendees at the convention center, but there really isn't much of a lead-in to them, no hint or clue as to who the threat is from, and, by the time the threat is neutralized this short novel comes to an abrupt ending--no conclusion, no epilogue, and not really much of a HEA ending either, after all, these two characters have barely known each other for 3 days and and are still relative strangers outside of bed, rarely communicating, or learning much about each other beyond their sexual compatibility.
All in all, this short novel felt unfinished and rushed, and, the lack of a backstory on either character, the lack of communication, and my high expectations of Ms. James' ability to write an emotional and gripping story went unmet, and left this reader emotionally unsatisfied.
This novel was previously released by a different publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed it and received no compensation for doing so.
Wyatt, a Master Sergeant, is just returning from a deployment. As a way to decompress from all he'd endured overseas, he's given a security assignment for an International Trade Convention. He figures he's in for nothing but boredom. A feeling that changes upon meeting the sexy convention director. Their chemistry is everything but boring and he has no problem guarding her body, err watching over her.
Fiona has enough on her schedule between dignitaries and following the itinerary. The Special Forces soldier assigned for the duration of the event is bossy, yet she can't fight the impact he has on her.
Sparks, numerous kinds, fly between them immediately. Not all of them good as an accident causes Fiona to fall. He didn't make the best impression on her, but she'd definitely made one on him. Now if only he could've gotten her name and number before she took off. Fiona can't get the man, nor his obvious strength, out of her mind, but, unfortunately, she has to. She was hired by the city to oversee the event and she needed to ensure she did a good job. Thankfully, her childhood as a military kid helped her regain her usual discipline, but she wishes she had a way to contact him after the convention. It seems fate is smiling on both of them as a mix-up leaves them sharing a room. As neither are willing to compromise due to their professional responsibilities, they're unable yo reach an agreement. However, that isn't their last encounter. It seems both are running late for a meeting...hmm...what are the odds?
It isn't long before one of Wyatt and Fiona's discussions turns into an explosive kiss that quickly gets out of control. Both know their chemistry is intense and debate the merits of acting on it while working together, but since it'll only be a temporary arrangement, what could it hurt?
Will Wyatt and Fiona be able to maintain a professional and personal life, keeping both separate? What happens when their time together is over? Will Wyatt's skills be needed at the convention? Are the attendees safe? Is Fiona? Is Wyatt and Fiona's mutually beneficial arrangement becoming something else? Will they admit their growing feelings for one another? Will Wyatt be deemed fit to return to duty and leave Fiona behind? Can he and Fiona compromise in order to explore where their relationship may take them? Is there a HEA for them?
One-click now and follow along as two people meet under potentially dangerous circumstances and discover a love worth fighting for.
On a purely personal note, I started getting a little irritated with Wyatt in the beginning and his mental thoughts regarding what equated to a backhanded compliment to Fiona. His numerous musings about how she'd essentially fixed the lack of a sexual drive that he'd experienced since slightly before his last deployment. In his mind, he could get that drive back on track with Fiona so when they parted ways, (in a nutshell) he'd be ready and willing whenever a chance arose. That's an insult to Fiona and shows that he's intending to use her basically as a match to reignite his fire for other women. Maybe I read too much into it, but as this review is to state my opinion, there you go.
**I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.**
This book is laughingly terrible. I hate read it for a while and then decided to give up when it became clear that this is one of those books where there's some pressing reason for the couple to share a room. While I'll deal when it's a good book, this one just wasn't worth it.
There is a really disturbing scene near the beginning of the book when the main characters meet in their hotel room. The woman is in the shower with her bags open around the room. The man comes into the room, hears the shower and sees women's clothing in the bags. He promptly strips naked and waits to surprise her when she comes out of the bathroom, presumably not wearing much herself. That sounds absolutely terrifying and based on the hero, would be a calculated move to put her at a disadvantage. She comes out of the bathroom and he doesn't immediately cover himself and put on clothes. He certainly doesn't leave immediately when he first gets into the room and go downstairs to resolve the problem once he realizes someone is in his room. How is that sexy, alpha, or anything other than sexual assault?
When he finally does dress, he finishes in the elevator. Classy.
The heroine pretty dumb if she can't figure a way out of sharing a room. As the person in charge of the convention, she would have provided for someone having a problem with their room.
He's one of the smuggest heroes I'm come across in quite a while. You get all those alpha heroes who want to protect and save, but this guy wasn't one of those, he was just really smug. He was also really condescending toward the heroine, which was completely unwarranted.
The couple argue in the room about whose room it is instead of just calling the front desk. The two main characters could have started resolving the problem earlier. She could have called her assistant to start the backup plan for this exact situation. As I said before, there's always a chance this could happen to a convention attendee so the heroine would have had a backup plan.
With such a dumb heroine and such an amazingly horrible hero, this book is not worth reading.
I have a soft spot for a good romance with a military hero, which (in my opinion), automatically requires a strong heroine who can hold her own. "Wyatt's War" delivers on both counts. MSgt Wyatt Magnus is recovering from PTSD. Meanwhile he's been assigned to oversee security for an international conference. Fiona Allen is in charge of coordinating said affair involving dozens of foreign dignitaries and all the ensuing diplomatic hurdles that go hand in hand with such an undertaking. The pair is thrown together in a most unlikely fashion and between a very real bomb threat during the convention and Wyatt and Fiona being forced to share a hotel room, the sparks fly from more than one source. "Wyatt's War" is an enjoyable read and one I would recommend if you're looking for a feel-good romance. The plot premise is good with solid suspense but I would like to have seen more character development of the hero and heroine. Some of the PTSD issues were touched on but the emphasis was really on the sizzling hot sex between Wyatt and Fiona. I know this writer has many titles to her credit and maybe it's presumptuous of me to make suggestions but I was asked for my opinion, so here goes. I wish the author would tighten up her phrasing; e.g. "rose up his throat" (can anything rise down?), the use of pretentious descriptors such as orbs vs eyes and digits vs fingers, phrasing such as "...his jeans had become two times tighter..." Doesn't "....his jeans had become twice as tight..." sound and read better? And yes, a really solid plot is critical but it's the niggling details, including typos and dropped words, that trip me up as a reader. Okay, now I feel kinda guilty because I received a courtesy copy from the publisher for an honest review.
The story is ok it is not very indepth ... it more like a weekend whirlwind romance but it does seem to be part of the next story in the series so it maybe a bit more as their story may intermix with the others. In this story he is a Military guy think it was Army... he served in Afghanistan and got injured he was shipped home to recover after he lost his team and best friend in the last assignment when he was injured... As part of his recovery he is assigned to head a team thats doing security for a international business conference that has had a high threat level intel so he is asked to work for Homeland as the lead... he arrives in town and goes for a jog that leads to him literally bumping into the lady who is organising the event he is there to protect... they got chemistry and end up sharing a hotel room .... there is a threat he eventually finds it and after all is done he decides to give a relationship a try because he likes her a lot. Literally it all happens in a weekend or week. It is a good story but i guess i like a bit more happening besides the romance and sex... it would have been more interesting if he had found something concerning so you spent the story anticipating what might happen next, or if there had been more too the story... like a ex boyfriend or stalker ... or a bit more of a team beyond his dog trainer friend so you had some background... there is a little with the Dog trainer friend who likes the lady but is to nice to really go after her because his friend likes her...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Special Ops soldier Wyatt and officer's stepdaughter, Fiona have a few rocky first meetings- yes, more than one- that are a bit too coincidental but typical romance novel stuff. She's a beautiful and feisty redhead that needs lots of control in her event planning business, and Wyatt's a laid back special opps soldier dealing with PTSD after a mission gone bad in Somalia. He's given the job of overseeing security of an international conference for the UN after threats are reported- really?- with Fiona heading the event planning. The suspense is good, and resolved just okay; their relationship not so much. There's the usual insta-lust/sex, which is hot but typical, but the story ends in a final sex scene after the little-detail, semi-exciting, story climax. It's not even a HFN story. You don't read about his friend Joe, or Preston's business, or the hotel bomb cleanup, or if the conference went on despite the disasterous evening formal get together, or if they're even going to try to have a deeper relationship. It seems to me that their jobs' weren't over yet. It just ends and I guess you're to assume everything worked out fine, and they manage to have a relationship of some kind, somehow. Very disappointed. Won't be reading more.
This book was amazing!! It had everything a good book should – suspense, drama, chemistry, laugh out loud moment and sexy times. The two leads were written perfectly, so it was a joy to read.
Wyatt and Fiona first meet when both are out for a run. That incident doesn’t end well for Wyatt but he can’t get the woman out of his head. He goes to check in and after a very funny and awkward run in, he finds out that his room has been double booked with the hot woman.
Both Wyatt and Fiona are instantly attracted to each other but not willing to admit it. Fiona is the event planner and Wyatt is hired as security. This means that not only will they have to work together but also sleep in the same room as one another and not give in. Their chemistry is off the charts and reading about them bantering back and forth is comical at times.
They both take their jobs seriously, they both want the trade convention to go off without incident and both take precautions to ensure safety for all, all the while falling in love with each other.
This book was amazing!! It had everything a good book should – suspense, drama, chemistry, laugh out loud moment and sexy times. The two leads were written perfectly, so it was a joy to read.
Wyatt and Fiona first meet when both are out for a run. That incident doesn’t end well for Wyatt but he can’t get the woman out of his head. He goes to check in and after a very funny and awkward run in, he finds out that his room has been double booked with the hot woman.
Both Wyatt and Fiona are instantly attracted to each other but not willing to admit it. Fiona is the event planner and Wyatt is hired as security. This means that not only will they have to work together but also sleep in the same room as one another and not give in. Their chemistry is off the charts and reading about them bantering back and forth is comical at times.
They both take their jobs seriously, they both want the trade convention to go off without incident and both take precautions to ensure safety for all, all the while falling in love with each other.
4 stars I purchased a copy of the steamy Texas set romantic suspense Wyatt’s War: Hearts and Heroes book 1 by Elle James, and this review was given freely.
Irony, Fate, or bad luck bring the couple together in this instant attraction romance complicated by tragic moments stemming from PTSD. A running accident and a hotel error place the panic attack suffering, recuperating wounded soldier turned temporary Homeland Security agent, Sergeant Major Wyatt Magnus as the surprise government-appointed head of security for the International Trade Convention coordinated by regimental events planner and Army colonel’s daughter Fiona, whose has gone into debt in hopes of becoming a big business events planner. 18+ for some steamy moments and extended intimate scenes.
This is Wyatt’s and Fiona’s story, a soldier and an event planner. I loved they way there was an instant sizzle and connection between the two. This novel is light on suspense, but still a compelling read. The characters are very likable which engages you as a reader from the start, allowing you to form attachments and drive you on to read just a little more.
The secondary characters are excellent and compliment the main characters. I hope we get to read Joe’s story.
***I requested a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated and not required to write a positive review. These are my thoughts on the story***
What an intriguing story. Wyatt is dealing with PTSD and feels that no one is safe around him. Along comes Fiona - she is a busy person trying to get her business off the ground. She is literally run over by Wyatt and then things get interesting. Once they figure out they will be working with each other plus share a room, things start to heat up. I guess it wasn't too catastrophic when Wyatt saves a lot of lives by thwarting Preston's plans. The ending could have given us more knowledge as to whether Fiona and Wyatt find their happily ever after but alas the ending does not. Good job Elle! I would recommend this book.
I absolutely love Ms James’s stories, but I have to say I found this one just OK. The plot was interesting and very plausible but except for Joe , a secondary character, I was not engaged in the characters. Things between Wyatt and Fiona happened too quickly and felt rushed. What I did appreciate , was the reminder that PTSD is something some of our dedicated troops suffer , and that captivity is not only a reality, but also devastating. I was gifted this copy. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Wyatt is recovering from being held hostage by Somali terrorists. He expects to go back to war, but his superiors have other ideas. He is to head up the security for an international convention. He has to work with a beautiful woman and he isn't sure that he can keep his hands off of her. They are thrown together and decide they can have a temporary relationship. But, as the threats continue and the danger is real, they decide that it can't be temporary.
Wyatt Magnus is assigned to work at an International event in San Antonio. He is stateside after being being captured and tortured before rescue. He is not happy about the assignment til he meets the feisty event planner for the event. Add to that is due to overbooking Fiona Allen and Wyatt are given the same room. Can the two work together, share a room , and stop a terrorist without falling in love?
This book wasn't bad. It was a short read, and the sex was tasteful, not scintillating. I didn't really feel the connection between Fiona and Wyatt. To me, it felt mainly sexual. I think it ended too abruptly. The author could've done more to establish a stronger emotional connection between the couple and resolve some of their issues before ending the book. There wasn't a full completion of their character arcs, in my opinion. I'm left dissatisfied.
Wyatt's War is a sexy story about a military man who falls hard for an independent business women named Fiona. Their sparks will burn your kindle, their banter is great and I loved these two characters. I personally cant wait to meet the rest of the Magus crew. Happy Reading!!
3.5 Stars - I wanted to give this more than 3.5, but I could not because it ends at 80% and it left me unfulfilled. I needed a more complete ending to their story. It is unfortunate because Wyatt and Fiona's story was so good until it ended too quickly and was not complete in my opinion. I hope the next story is worth it.
Wyatt's War This is a romantic suspense. The characters are wonderful and Wyatt and Fiona just crack me up. The chemistry is instant but they both try to fight it and the banter between them is witty. I received a copy for an honest review.
Excellent start to the Hearts and Heroes series! Wyatt and Fiona meet under stressful circumstances and are instantly attracted to each other. Romance, hot & steamy love scenes, action, suspense, and great characters makes this a great read. I can't wait for the next book in the series!
Great read. A misunderstanding leaves The main characters sharing a room Has all the elements needed for a good story Dislike.the grudging acceptance passion. With danger lurking round the corner.
A good beginning to a series. What more can you ask for? You get a romantic adventure with a soldier hero and a strong heroine. Neither looking for the romance, but a great ending. Plus a preview of the next book is included.
What could be more innocuous and boring than an international trade conference....WRONG! Sizzling romance heats up while some unwanted threats brew. Just the right balance of action and romance. Well written short story. Definitely recommend.
A quick read, only took me a morning! One hot Special Forces alpha and one hot sexy, intelligent and resourceful woman! The sizzle was so much fun, as Fiona and Wyatt found each other! While lacking any palpable suspense, it was a delicious romance!
This is a well written story with great characters. It is a short, quick and easy read. If your looking for a great short read give this one a chance. I think you will enjoy this one. I think this one is worth your time.
This is an awesome story that is entertaining and well written. The characters are captivating and complex. There is plenty of mystery and suspense and romance. I enjoyed and think you might also.
Really liked Fiona. Independent, hard working business woman. Wyatt is intense and recovering from injuries. Maddie is Fiona's assistant. she is funny and loyal to Fiona. Great story line. I liked Joe and Baccus. Can't wait for TBE next one!!!!