Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Harris

SERIES: Fire Lake #8

AUTHOR: M. Tasia

PUBLISHER: Boroughs Publishing Group

LENGTH: 172 Pages

RELEASE DATE: December 5, 2024

BLURB:

UNDERCOVER LOVE

Harris and Woodley have the best kind of relationship. Neither wants a partner, commitment, or any of the boundaries that come with it. For them, it’s all about great sex and a little companionship.

Until Harris decides to make himself bait for the nefarious Noah Group who’d captured and performed experiments, including genetic manipulation, on Harris and his twin sister, Jennifer.

Woodley’s pissed off at the members of the Fire Lake team for allowing Harris to put himself in such extreme danger, and finds he has an unknown deep and wide protective streak, which angers him even more.

Now he’s a love-struck sap, not the former US Marine and detective who’d volunteered for, and enjoyed the hell out of, the most perilous assignments.

And he’s scared to death he’s going to lose the man who’s made him feel this way.

REVIEW:

Harris and Woodley have a – sex with no-strings arrangement. They don’t do feelings, but that aspect isn’t working well. However, neither will admit that their strings are knotted. When Harris plans on what looks like a suicide mission, something shifts. It’s a good thing Harris has special abilities – he’s going to need them.

Harris sees the welcome Return of the Fire Lake Series, whose team are comprised of Navy SEALs and others who had connections to the infamous Noah Group. Harris is book eight with one remaining of the series. I enjoyed the story, but I felt it was the calm before the potential big finish of book nine.

The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Harris and Woodley. Worldbuilding has evolved over the previous seven books, and in this instance, the Fire Lake Crewe go after a foe they’ve encountered before. On the way they find more Noah Project survivors who I’m sure will come into their own in future adventures.

Harris and Woodley’s respective pasts ensure they are each other’s band-aid to their boo-boos, and because both are in denial, their journey towards full emotional realization needs more than the occasional elbow in the ribs. Because they are the features of this story, the author kindly provides them, but I’m not going to spoil any enjoyment by going into details.

Regarding the overall tale, I get the impression that this story is calm before the storm because among the odd flourish of action parallel to surveillance and intel-gathering research, more Noah survivors are found, and others come into their specialisms. It’s like the gathering of the forces. I get that a good mission is backed by sound research, but the Fire Lake team are so efficient that it almost takes the heart-beating sting out of the final encounters.

The story was a good filler for things to come, and there were some sweet moments. However, I hoped for more than it delivered. I wanted my heart in my mouth, and it rarely blipped.

RATING:

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