Forged in Smoke - Trish McCallan

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Published: July 2016

ISBN: 9781503945494

Faith Ansell could never be mistaken for an action hero. The scientist is content in her lab, working with her team on life-changing discoveries. But when a mysterious organization captures her colleagues, she’s forced to flee for her life with SEAL Team 7.

Lieutenant Seth “Rawls” Rawlings, ST7’s corpsman, hasn’t been himself since a near-death experience in the Sierra Nevadas. He’s tense and distracted, and the team caught him arguing with himself—loudly. Despite his erratic behavior, Rawls is the only one Faith feels comfortable confiding her life-threatening secret in.

But Rawls has a secret of his own: his wasn’t the only spirit to return to the physical plane when he was resuscitated. At first, Rawls assumed the “ghost” he saw and heard meant he was having a complete mental breakdown. But the apparition soon becomes convincingly real, and what’s more, he may be the key to the conspiracy looming over them. Rawls had better act quickly because ST7’s race to save their reputations—and Faith’s life—is on.

My review
Hot muscled SEAL men and mysterious spirits and conspiracies? Yep, count me in. So I was very excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley. Since this was the third installment of the Red-Hot SEALS series of Trish McCallan, I just dove in and thought: "let's just see how it goes". Technically you are able to read the book as a stand alone. However, if you haven't read the first two parts of the series, you've got a lot of catching up to do. The first quarter of the book you get a little dizzy and distracted by all the names and groups in every new chapter. However, about one third in the book you get to the good stuff. Faith is a scientist, working on some super secret discoveries, when most of her colleagues are taken hostage and some are shot. She has to flee for her life with the SEAL team. But who can she trust and who is on which side? Especially with her life-threatening secret, Faith is scared to show her weaknesses to them. Only lieutenant Rawls feels trustworthy to Faith. Well, more than trustworthy actually. More like sizzling-hot-attraction-feelings. And judging by the growing bulk in Rawls trousers, he is definitely also attracted to Faith. But why is he keeping her away? And why does he throw his cookies into the wall and calls it a spasm in his arm? Faith, the scientist as ever, doesn't believe a thing of the explanations Rawls tries to give her. 

But when Jude and Wolf show them there is more between heaven and earth, Faith is torn between her scientifical background and the believing in Rawls 'ghost'. What if this ghost is real and what if he is the key to the unraveling of the whereabouts of her colleagues? Find out more in this sizzling book.

The book is a delightful mix of paranormal, scientific and just plain hunky hot men. Definitely my kind of book. So four out of five stars for this Red Hot SEALS book. After this, I'm starting with the first two books of the series and I'm already waiting for part four. This will be about Rawls SEAL buddy Mac. Since there is already some tension between Mac and Amy, I'm guessing the theme already. Go Trish!