Forged in Fire (Red-Hot SEALs, #1) (2024)

Story not bad but narration was the pits. Didn't really enjoy

What a great find! This is on KU and you can even listen free on audible (which is what I did).

I really enjoyed this suspense story. It is technically romantic suspense, but certainly has more emphasis on the suspense than the romance. But the book caught my attention right away and I was hooked! I listened all day.

I enjoyed the different take on a "mate" story and the paranormal aspect. The heroine was pretty solid. Did not do stupid things and seemed like a pretty normal chick. The hero was a SEAL - so a badass. I liked him and his team. The secondary characters were entertaining and I hope to read their books.

Multiple POVs (beyond the MCs) normally drive me crazy but in this case it worked.

For those who have read it - I LOVED the scene at the end about being nauseous

Safety Gang
Hero was NOT a manwhor*
Neither are virgins - she was previously engaged (to a cheater)
They forget the condom the first time
The sex comes pretty late in the story but the steam is there and I was not frustrated by it even though I prefer more sexy times in my books
Heroine is in denial but never actually pushes him away
Hero is all in immediately
Storyline has a cliffy but their relationship has very good closure

"Hope is the most exciting thing in life and if you honestly believe that love is out there, it will come. And even if it doesn’t come straight away there is still that chance all through your life that it will."
- by Josh Hartnett -

3.5 stars.

Lt. Commander Zane Winters is a Navy SEAL. Zane and his SEAL buddies Cosky and Rawls are on leave and ready to board a plane. They want to attend a friend’s wedding in Hawaii. Beth Brown comes to the terminal because she had a nightmare of a deadly plane hijacking and she saw Zane die on the plane. She hopes that Zane is able to prevent this disaster. Zane Winters is psychic. He’s got a few 'flashes' and knows that something is about to go down on the plane he and his buddies are about to board. Therefore, he isn’t really surprised when Beth tells him about her dream. He believes her and he is sure that Beth is his 'soul mate'. He’s got his hands full...he has to chase the terrorists and protect 'his' woman all at the same time.

Be prepared for quite a lot of violence. People are dying and there are kids in jeopardy and there’s rape, too. And there’s a lot of swearing! However, I have to say that nothing was written overtly graphic.

SLIGHT SPOILER:

About midway through the book, there was a scene when Mac did something really painful and rather shocking. I was stunned to the core. But I had to forgive him. The bad guy deserved it, and I think that Mac has something really sad and painful hidden beneath his steely armor. I have to confess that I am really dying here! I want to read and know more – really more – about Jace Mackenzie. I hope that Mac and Amy will be an item! I know that Cosky’s story will be released in summer 2012. Maybe there will be enough room for Mac and Amy besides Cosky’s story?! Darn, this waiting is SO hard!! And let me take a wild guess...Rawls and Ginny will be an item too.

END OF SPOILER

The book took up a lot of pace about midway through the story. The long action scene was really, really good! Obviously, the story is lacking in the romance department. But I have to admit it’s kind of understandable. This whole plot takes place WITHIN A FEW HOURS. Zane and Beth met during an incredibly strained situation, therefore one can’t expect hearts and flowers. Nevertheless, when Zane and Beth had their get-together they were steaming up the closet! But you'll have to wait long for this particular scene.

While the story unfolds, you will get to know a few interesting secondary characters. The author left some interesting hints about a few particular men and women. They could serve as future H/h.

Why I couldn’t rate it 4 stars:
Finally, Beth ticked me off. Her 'mommy' issues and her relationship problems sealed the deal for me. This woman is in her late twenties but she acted a tad too childish for my liking. She was just looking for a reason to cause a conflict. Gosh, usually one shouldn’t look so hard for that. As a rule, this can’t come to no good.
Furthermore, Zane’s demeanor was kind of overkill at times.
As I already mentioned before there wasn’t enough romance and the point at issue is, this couldn’t lead to enough 'relationship development'. I wanted more quality time for H/h. Unfortunately that did not happen. Frankly, I was so engrossed with Zane’s CO Jace Mackenzie that I didn’t care enough for Zane and Beth. Shame on me! When I wrote the above-mentioned quote I was thinking of...Jace. Shame on me. Again. The quote fits the main couple, though! :))

Forged in Fire was an entertaining and quite engrossing read and I’m sure that all those military romantic suspense addicts will appreciate this book. Naturally, there’s still room for improvement but the start to this series is rather promising! Don’t expect the usual HEA - the story ends with a definite cliffhanger! And I think Forged in Ice (the sequel) will pick up right where Forged in Fire left off. I’m looking forward to read the sequel.

It got much, much better after my 22% status update. In fact, I stayed up late to finish it. Which brings me to why it lost a whole two stars (it would have lost one anyway for the clunky, tedious beginning). It doesn't actually have an ending. I suppose you might call it a cliff-hanger, but I call it a cop-out. You can keep the thread of mystery going and still end the actual story you're telling. But this one ends in a way that makes the whole story feel almost like an excerpt.

Pretty darn infuriating after slogging through the beginning, getting sucked into the action, and just starting to get a feel for the chemistry of the characters.

There was one other thing that was just plain wrong.

SPOILER ALERT:

One of the characters (not the lead) has to sit through a video tape of a woman being brutally gang raped. He's being shown this tape by the woman's husband (she's been abducted and the man is asking for help). So, when this character meets this woman face-to-face for the first time, you would assume his first response to her would be sexual awareness, right? No? You wouldn't think that? NEITHER WOULD I!!! It was really bizarre. The guy's first thoughts on seeing this woman off screen are sexual. And it's not addressed that it's an odd reaction for any other reason than the fact this particular character hates women (from, of course, some past trauma) and he acknowledges she's married. What about the fact that your only exposure to her has been seeing her tied to a bed while three different men rough her up and rape her? It was seriously effed up.

SPOILER OVER

In the acknowledgments, the author thanks several people for their diligent, hard work, reading and rereading this book before publishing. I would have thought one of them might raise a red flag on the above story line. I know I would have.

So ... am I going to read the next one when it comes out in the summer? I honestly don't know. I'm interested in the lead character's story in that one, but if I'm going to get a flipping-the-bird non-ending again, I might be more of a mind to skip it.

Wow!! I want to rate it a 10! This is a new author for me, but one that will be an auto buy from now on. The only negative to this book is having to wait until March to read the next book! This one ends on a cliffhanger. The suspense, characters, and romance come together to make an amazing book! I couldn't put it down!

Beth is not a psychic. After dreaming of three Navy Seals that are killed on board a flight to Hawaii, she is compelled to go to the airport to see who is boarding this plane. She recognizes Zane and his friends immediately. Now she has to figure out how to approach them without seeming like a nut. For those that say this book is slow at the beginning, I have to disagree. I was immediately drawn into the story!

Zane is psychic and he has also seen his friends death, but doesn't have enough information to do anything about it. This book is full of suspense, romance and adventure. I can't wait to read the rest of this series!

Update: Disappointed to find out that the next 3 books are to be released in Dec '12, July '13 and Dec 13.... I guess if I am going to finish them I will wait until they are all out. I really didn't like the cliffhanger in this one. I agree with one of the other reviews this story should have been finished instead of being part of the cliffhanger. If this story is part of the cliffhanger, you shouldn't have to wait two years to finish the story!

UPDATE: I just reread this book because I had read that the storyline is slightly different now. Now there is not a cliffhanger. The first book is more complete. I also wanted to finish this series and it has been long enough that I really didn't remember it well enough.

A diamond in the rough, Trish McCallan's Forged in Fire delivers submachine guns, admirable heroes, and heart-wrenching, nail-biting suspense back to the genre.

Romantic suspense novels deliver tension. Joe has to save Jennifer or Jennifer has to save Joe and the country, but most romantic suspense novels fail to deliver the other half of that coin: the practical details that lend realism to unimaginable scenes. These details also lend weight to the hero's plight and credence to his credentials.

For once I didn't have to suspend disbelief that a hero was military. McCallan's heroes know an MP5 from a revolver, they strategize, and they work as a tight unit. McCallan's researched within an inch of her life, I've no doubt, because I loved the detail as they discuss avenues of approach in an assault or assembling Molotov co*cktails. Her heroes know their stuff. They're calm in crisis, loyal, and practical- and they cuss like military too, LOL.

Racing to save a flight against hijackers, McCallan's Seals keep their eyes on the prize. We don't detour into Romancelandia internal dialogue about the heroine's hotness, et cetera. However, some readers may twitch at the fated-to-be-mated plot device. Though psychic hero Zane Winters firmly believes in their destiny, heroine Beth Brown does not and she was never convinced to my satisfaction. While we see evidence again and again of Zane's nobility, Zane and Beth do not take enough steps together to truly develop a relationship, and Beth's resistance was a little cliche. Some romance was sacrificed to -awesome- action-writing. Smart, well-paced, bloatless, Hollywood-worthy action without any filler in sight, but nonetheless.

In this one suspends disbelief, as well as the rare psychic visions, but these were never used in place of strategy and firepower. Zane only sees ominous warnings of deaths. In fact, I nearly forgot about them. Spy, etc. fiction relies on far-fetched devices too, don't worry, including the famous Jason Bourne novels, LOL.

Fans of J.R. Ward will appreciate the edge and sometimes brutal darkness to Fire, although the Seals' clever, cruel enemy warrants much more fear than the lessers. Kudos to McCallan.

Some readers may object to the "cliffhanger," but the romance and the crisis resolved, the only questions remaining related to the peripheral crisis continuing and a couple coming in the second book Forged In Ice releasing this summer. I appreciated that the ending wasn't trite, and I'll be happy to read Ice! Recommended to any action fan, especially if you'd like to see Seals who are Seals and no too-stupid-to-live characters! 4.5 stars! <3

A fast action romance suspense, impressive for a debut. I think fans of Catherine Mann or Nina Bruhn will especially enjoy.

Albeit a highly implausible story, it was entertaining! Lt Commander Zane Winters has a history of seeing visions of events to come. Though they are never clear and detailed, they are always accurate. So when he gets flashes of danger on the airline him and his SEAL team 7 buddies are about to board in 90 minutes, they all know to take him seriously. But just as they are putting a plan into action, a shiver of awareness hits Zane square on. The woman meant for him (aka ‘mine, mine, mine!) has just walked into the flight lounge area. What he doesn’t know is that Beth is there to find him too.

Beth has been having dreams over the last 24 hours, and much of it is coming true. A warehouse fire…etc. really happened, which means the terrorist who plan to take down a flight from Seattle to Hawaii and divert it to South America will likely come true too. In her dream she sees Zane and his two officers, so out of desperation she goes to the airport in hopes these men are real and can help.

What unfolds is a fast action cat-and-mouse chase, plenty of thrill and bloody action, and finally a nice hot steamy closet scene with Zane and Beth. The timeline is a quick one day, but given the context of the story it felt believable. We meet many interesting characters, and have to guess who is the bad guy. Typical, yes, but still fun.

While there are PNR elements in the story (psychic visions…etc.) it is not a PNR. You are just going to have to go with it or you’ll never make it through the story. I especially liked how the author used their special gifts at the end of the story, no matter how implausible it really is. It was about the entertainment value, not the realism.

Several reviews have eluded to the cliff hanger ending, and while it does have one I saw it more as a setup for the next book. (At least, I assume it’s a setup otherwise it really was a crazy ending.) I don’t doubt Zane and Beth get their HEA, so that is not a worry. I didn’t feel cheated one bit by the ending, so don’t let it stop you from reading it.

Multiple POVs

Very little romance but heavy on the suspense action.

Main couple gets happy ending but storyline is left with cliffhanger.

I’ll continue this series….eventually.

I’ve had this book on my shelf for over a year, having downloaded it when it showed up as a Kindle freebie. Friends recommended that I give it higher priority as they thought it a standout in the genre. I really regret it’s taken me so long to get to it as the story grabbed me from the first page.

The set up
Zane Winters has some psychic abilities where he gets flash visions of the future, not enough to get a complete picture but just enough to see the horrible outcomes. Beth Brown has never had premonitions until recently and when two of the three dreams materialized, she trusted that the last, most horrific one would come true. They both end up at the Seattle airport departure gate, she to intervene and he actually booked on the doomed flight. Neither has a clue about the other but when Zane sets eyes on her, he immediately realizes that she’s the soul mate he was predestined to be with and has been searching for over the last 10 years.

The issues
Getting the appropriate authorities on board to stop and search the plane is problematic. How do you explain the intel and who can you trust when it’s obvious this kind of undertaking requires inside help. Zane is all over Beth and she’s overwhelmed by his level of affection and lust. Conditions keep changing rapidly, requiring on-the-fly strategic adjustments, while still not knowing who’s behind the plot, just what the outcome looks like. And, they’re holding hostages while manipulating the situation.

What worked for me
When I read a book in this genre, my expectations are that I’m going to have a gnarly mystery and/or an exciting suspense to go along with my romance. I’m even okay with it if the suspense aspect tends to overshadow the romance as I love the thrill. This story took hold immediately and never let me go. The tension level was so high at times I found myself almost hyperventilating, having to stop reading just to calm down. The pace was almost excruciating, even when the situation at the airport was prolonged. It wasn’t predictable and I really had no clue as to where the story would land and who would be on the casualty list. There were some awful things that happened to some of the good guys so no one seemed to be sacred. Zane and Beth’s romance worked for me, even though I can take or leave the “soul mate/predestined partner” trope. Having the dual points of view gave me insight into each character’s true emotional investment about the other, keeping me in the light even if they were in the dark about how they felt about each other.

What I found troublesome
There was one character whose misogyny was almost intolerable. You knew there had to have been something in his past that left him embittered (we were spared that information) but his attitudes and behaviors were just too unrealistic for me to swallow. Mac is a critical and trusted character in a leadership role and he just wouldn’t have been able to get away with this (we hope) in a modern environment. More importantly, the other honorable men in his command just wouldn’t have stood for it nor respected him as they obviously did. It was that bad. Also, the psychic aspects of the story, while interesting and different, just weren’t developed well enough for me to accept. I needed a lot more to understand Beth’s abilities and why they suddenly manifested themselves. I’m hoping the next book provides a lot more context and clarity for this aspect of the series. It gave the story a paranormal “lite” edge, but definitely not enough to label the story in that genre category.

The bottom line
I really liked the story. Period. This Indie author was able to get me to care about these characters in a short amount of time, though I ultimately paid a price for my feelings. The story MOVED and the villains were scary, anonymous and brutal. The romance heated up gradually, in spite of Zane’s efforts to the otherwise, and hit a steamy apex right when it should have. If you like high-level action and suspense with your romance, you’ll enjoy this story. If you prefer more time devoted to relationship development, it might fail in that regard but I believe you’ll still enjoy the book. I’m now okay with having delayed reading it because it didn’t end neatly and the next book isn’t scheduled for release until January. Just be prepared for a thrilling ride.

5 stars ⭐️

Hot Damn. If you like Cristin Harber’s Titan Series and Maya Banks KGI Series then you will love this story. Full of suspense, action, hot alpha SEALs. A terrorist act foiled but the danger has not been neutralised. SEAL Team 7 has been hung out to dry, in a plot that involved more than an attempted to hijack an aeroplane ✈️. This is the first book on the road to clear themselves of any wrongdoing, and ultimately find out who is behind the terrorist act and why.

This is why Self-Publishing is going to flourish. No one would pick this up as a debut book. Seriously, I can't think of one publisher who would take the chance on this book for so many reasons...and all those reasons are why I loved it:

Non-stop action.
One day... forget about the unneeded setup.
Lots of backstory, but none of it dumped.
And it's a cliffhanger of sorts. THIS story is wrapped up nicely, but there's *a lot* left to carry to the next book.

I have no idea when it happened, but some time in the last 12-15 years it became acceptable to have ROMANCE cliffhangers, but no other kind. Well, I'm excited to be reading a series where it's old school: If you don't start with book one, it's your own darn fault.

Beyond this, McCallan does use a lot of standard paranormal romance paths, but I love how she also mocks them a little – she references other books, other writers and favorite characters. This romance book isn’t outside the lines, it uses the lines to create its world and break down walls and expectations.

The perfect example is how the heroine first realizes what the hero is. I laughed out loud at the reference she made and thought “good for her.”

Her heroes are varied – No carbon cut-outs of each other trying to make them different by their eye color. Also, they pull no-punches. These guys are tough to the point of being scary and have mouths on them that would make a mother invest in soap. These SEALs are guys-guys. Don't expect polite chit chat from McCallan's boys.

Her heroines… I’m really excited. We have feminine and stubborn, bitter, kick-ass… McCallan isn’t going to make us read a Mary Sue over and over again… The women of this series are going to keep us on our toes.

I’ve seen lots of commentary about the self-published thing. For those a little afraid to pick up one, let me say this: It’s CLEAN. It’s obviously been professionally edited, copyedited, proofread and formatted. This is how it should be done. Books like this will change the tide of how we look at self-pub/trad pub.

Final word: Can’t wait for the next book. The continuation feel makes me wish they were all out at once and I could just speed through them.

3.5-4 Stars I did not expect to enjoy this at all except for maybe the hot men. I am not a fan of military/cop/weapon type stories. This was grabbed me by the neck and dragged me into a story I couldn't put down. I was looking for the clichés, woman does not listen to warnings gets taken away, man doesn't listen to woman gets shot, or the usually stupid woman makes stupid choice puts all in danger just because she's angry... you know it's how 95% of stories go. I was reading and seeing trouble coming and wait what was that and intelligent choice ??? "NO WAY" These characters did not follow the set rules of most other series they used their brains. Yes, brains and even, are you sitting down ?.....common sense. Not once was I holding back a scream of 'OH, come on idiot !' LOL The macho-++ is there these guys are Navy Seals and they do go over board a bit, but nothing more than you'd expect from real live Seals. There is also a nice little touch of humor to balance some tough scenes.
So- It was action jackson with lusty, sexy scenes and real life drama that entranced me into a world I rarely show interest in. I am reading the next book.

I bought this for free years ago and now it is missing from my Kindle library. This isn't the first time it has happened and it is annoying.

This was a good novel. Had a psychic vibe, had villains, not seals, Insta-love and action. You didn't know who to trust of what was going on. Even at the end the mystery is still unanswered so even though the love story is tied up, other issues are not. His teammate is fighting for his life after being shot, they are being framed by someone in their team maybe and the person behind the almost hijacking is still out there and they have hostages still.

This was a 4* half a book - but I am just sick and tired of authors (and publishers - but in this case it doesn't apply) publishing HALF a book. I'm also getting tired of reviewers not warning me clearly that I will invest 4 hours in a book and then want to throw my kindle across the room.

A cliff-hanger ending is one thing ... and I don't like those particularly. Are authors really so insecure they think I won't buy their second book if they ACTUALLY FINISH their first book?

Sorry rant over.

Good book, tightly paced, good characters, well-researched.

Really I enjoyed it. BUT be warned it was just all ruined for me by the ending ... that wasn't, and doesn't. This book doesn't end, REALLY, it just stops.

It simply stops with the main relationship unresolved, an important character hanging between life and death and NO answers. Seriously NO answers as far as the whole plot is concerned, we have no idea why anyone wanted to get hold of the 7 people that the whole book starts with.

I just finished the book and have no clue why I bothered! I certainly will not buy the second book as I really can't get along with authors who don't seem to realise the responsibilities they have to readers and the difference between a cliff-hanger and publishing half a damn book.

If you're reading this by the time the second one is out - by all means read it - realise you WILL need to buy both books and I can offer no guarantee you will get any answers in the second one either.

I really enjoyed this book. Sure there was a little more bloodshed than normal, and not that much romance, but I didn't mind it at all. But there was one thing that kind of didn't sit right with me and it was to do with the bonding between Zane and Beth. I would expect it from a PNR but not in a romantic suspense and I found it a little bit unbelievable. I'm really looking forward to finding more about the sub characters especially Mac and Amy's story.

This was a really good read. Zane Winters lives for his job, using his uncanny psychic powers to carry out missions for elite SEAL Team 7. Yet the constant adrenaline highs can’t drown out the numbness seeping into his life as he yearns to find a woman he can trust. While at the airport waiting for a flight to Hawaii he has a vision that he and his two buddies are going to die. Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions. But her recent dream feels too real to ignore: a commercial airliner is hijacked, and a handsome passenger is shot dead. Beth hasn't met the mystery man in her dream; she would never forget a gorgeous face like his. But she can’t deny the bizarre connection she feels. Now awake, and unable to allow for the violence she’s convinced is impending, she races to the airport and comes face to face with the man of her dreams. This was a pretty good read Zane's libido goes into over drive when he comes face to face with his dated mate. This book also had a lot of action in it. I also liked the secondary characters in this book and I am looking forward to reading about Mac. This was my first time reading this Author this book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Well, hell, fire and SEALS! FanFingTastic! Thank you NyQuil for sparking this book!

This book hooks you out of the gate before you even know what hit you!

• Immediate meaningful action that keeps a steady pace throughout the book.

• A group of yumm'o SEALS that are as witty with their banter as they are lethal with their fists.

• A female lead that thinks with her brain, not her vagin*. You know that character you're screaming at 'don't go with the bad guy; scream, bitch, scream?' Yeah, our girl here isn't that TSTL character!!

• A twisty of paranormal good'y'ness to spice it all up!

• A natural, easy reading flow that's engulfed in a writing style that's casual, engaging, and has just the right mixture of complexity and simplicity to sentence structure and phrasing.

So Much To Love

Clearly, I'm immediately in love with the characters & mesmerized by the every facet of the plot!

I loved the multiple POVs and that one of them was the 'bad guy's.' When an author gives the villain a POV, it generally either makes the story predictably boring or is written using such vague and purposefully misleading dialogue that it feels more of a detraction than a bonus. Not the case here. It added a 360 degree view of the plot unfolding without taking any of the suspense away. And, the irony of of the sociopath calling one of his cronies a maniac, freak, and sick bastard...Well, that was just priceless.

I love the paranormal element of psychic flashes and dream and that it wasn't overdone or used to solve everything.

I loved the soul mate plot line and that it veered from the usual insta-love and sparks flying MO.

"A life with her wasn't something he could count on. The visions never flashed to warn of a soul mate's danger, as proved by the fact her almost lost her already. Nor was there any guarantee that the woman you bonded with would want you back."

Having only one character feel the instantaneous pull, need, and want of a soul mate while the other was pessimistic about love in general was a very creative take on a trite plot line! The writing was so well done that it was very easy to forget that over 90% of the book took place in just a couple of days.

Love For Beth

"Give the man a cookie."

I love that the female MC, Beth, doesn't take any sh*t whatsoever.

I'm ecstatic that her dialogue and thoughts are akin to what any rational person would say and think.

I'm thrilled that she reasons stuff out once without endless merry go round musings & then makes logical assessments and decisions.

Thank Gawd she's NOT another TSTL female hell bent on being the dramatic damsel in distress that makes choices no sane person would even consider!

"He was right. She was being selfish and foolish and raining everyone's lives, and for what? Because she wanted to do something? Sometimes the best way to help was by doing nothing at all."

#lovefest

Yeah, yeah, yeah.. I'm thinking about donning a block of cheese and singing "I Will Always Love You" with Whitney.

But, in my defense, I've been in a serious book slump since reading the "Those Callen Boys," by Lucy Edwards. So, I was in desperate need of this book! Those Callen Boys

Complaints

I'd have preferred first person narrative -vs-the 'he/she' perspective, but this was well written enough that I didn't have any problems connecting with the characters or following their thoughts.

I'd have liked to have seen just a tad bit more about Beth's para dream. No reasoning or explanation was ever given. Since it was a one time thing, the lack of explanation may be the explanation - ie sometimes sh*t just happens without rhyme or reason. But, I would've still liked to have at least seen it addressed in dialogue so that it doesn't appear as a plot hole.

Overall

For Military themed action, romance, suspense, and a little touch of para... the author banged out a five star book. Highly recommend to like minds.

Note to readers: there's a break in the story here where the immediate threat is resolved and the romantic angst r/to the two MCs is resolved at the end. However, there are subplots/ threats and the overall puppet masters still at play. It's not a horrible cliffhanger left in the middle of some action sequence or 'gasp' moment, but the story clearly continues into a series. Just an FYI:)

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters and his SEAL Team 7 buddies, Cosky & Rawls, are ninety minutes away from boarding a flight to Hawaii when Zane has a vision of their bloody deaths aboard the aircraft at the hands of hijackers. Zane comes from a long line of men with psychic abilities, but he only gets flashes of the future, not normally enough details to abort tragedy from occurring. As he scans the airport for signs of trouble, his eyes zero in on those of Beth Brown triggering an instant attraction that sears him to the soul, even as warning bells start ringing in his head emphasizing the inconvenient arrival of his soul-mate (Mine!). Beth is at the airport because of a horrible nightmare she can't disregard, and she is looking straight into the eyes of one of the men whose death she dreamed. But why is he looking at her like that? Unlike Zane, Beth knows every gory detail of the hijacking including where the guns are hidden on-board and what the hijackers look like. She has no choice but to tell Zane and his buddies what she knows and hope they believe her. What ensues is an action-packed story in which all hell breaks loose and lives are forever changed.

Forged In Fire is a great start to the series as the action is intense and fast paced. The hunt is on for the mastermind behind the thwarted hijacking, as well as the FBI "insider/s" manipulated into participating. Families are torn apart as women and children are kidnapped and used as leverage against some powerful people - incentive for their continued cooperation. McCallan's attention to detail adds to the suspense as every scene is delivered in an authentic, believable manner, especially the storming of the house where the kidnappers/hijackers are holding their hostages. You can almost hear the gunshots ringing out, smell the blood, and see the gory horror as it unfolds.

In the midst of the suspense, the "romance" between Zane & Beth plays out as he works to convince her that they are "meant to be". Zane has a one track mind when it comes to Beth - quite simply she is his. Beth, who caught her ex-fiance cheating, is not so quick to accept their connection as anything more than lust. I would have liked to see more relationship development, but with a timeline of only 24 hours, the author does a good job of convincing readers that the romance is believable and inevitable.

Forged In Fire is an on the edge of your seat, action-packed suspense story. I actually think it could have worked just as well without the paranormal aspect (instant soul-mate), but the author did a good job of incorporating it into the story line in an "almost realistic" manner. While readers don't get answers to every plot line in this book, they do get a satisfying ending and the promise of some exciting reading in coming books. A Must Read for fans of Romance/Suspense!

*Reviewed at Cross My Heart Writings & Reviews

3.5/5; 4 stars; B+

This book was a pleasant surprise. Trish McCallan is a new to me author and I will be keeping my eye on her.

Although I've seen this book mostly classified as Romantic Suspense I have a hard time putting it on that shelf because the balance was far more toward the action and suspense than the romance. There was a romantic line through the plot but there wasn't much time to indulge it because of the tense race against time to find the hostages and thwart the bad guys. I thought the author did a great job creating the tension and fear at the airport as well as making the scenario believable with respect to the behaviour of the compromised FBI and airline personnel.

I'm not crazy about the super cool, competent, and tough SEAL team members that the story is wound around but maybe that's just because there is too much of that type of character in current offerings of romance/action stories.

I liked that there was a hint of paranormal in this story. Beth had a psychic dream that led her to the airport and into the middle of the drama. Zane had a psychic connection to Beth.

I will definitely read more of this series but not until its completed. I really didn't like the way the story ended because it literally came to a screeching halt. It felt like a much longer story in progress so I am going to wait for the whole thing to unfold.

From what I've been able to determine this is Trish McCallan's first book. It's a winner. Love me a hot, compassionate, alpha hero and a beautiful, smart, brave heroine. Throw is a physic connection between them, emanate danger and you have a wonderful, edge of your seat book. This is the first book in a new series and I'm late reading it, but with the 4th book soon to be published I'm glad I finally started. The overall arc is that a global organization seeks world dominance and the SEAL Team 7 is going to stop them.

Beth Brown hasn't had much rest this past weekend and that is due to the really wild dream that has been running through her subconscious for days. When events from her dream start to actually happen she knows it was more than a dream and people are going to die if she doesn't do something. That the death of a sexy stranger is part of the bloody dream is devastating. What shocks her to her toes is when she actually comes face to face with him at the departure gate in Sea-Tac airport. The instant recognition isn't just her's. He feels it too.

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters is with his SEAL teammates on their way to a wedding in Hawaii when he experiences a "flash", a premonition of what is going to happen on the flight and it's deadly. He has had these physic flashes before and they are always true. When a beautiful blond approaches him he gets a flash of a different physic variety. This is his soul mate. The one he has been waiting 10 years for.

Beth has no idea why, but Zane and his friends believe her and together they foil the hijackers, but that is just the start of it. What they uncover is a plot that goes way beyond the hijacking of a flight to Hawaii and these guys were ruthless and trained. With the FBI compromised the Team is asked to help and they have no idea what will happen. When Beth is faced with an attraction like she has never known, she has to decide to open up to Zane and save lives and possibly live her own HEA romance.

#1 Red-Hot Seals romantic suspense series

I've been putting off reading this book for months and finally decided to listen to the audio version. I'm glad I did since it was very enjoyable--exciting and sexy. The touch of psychic ability held by both Zane and Beth made the results fall into place a little easier, but I didn't find it to be detrimental to the story--the excitement and suspense was still there. After Beth's dream, she became intimately involved in the story, especially when her close friends became a part of the plot. Zane's premonition made him and his buddies predisposed to believe her, and they jumped into the situation with cool efficiency. It was fascinating to watch the Seal team ready themselves for the op. Each character was pretty well built, and I enjoyed them. Beth, as a romance reader, decided that an alpha male was all well and good for a story but didn't translate well to real life (I've often thought that.) But she is strong and intelligent, and I liked her capability. Zane, as lieutenant commander, is the total alpha male, but he's also confident and smart and a great hero. Secondary characters are strong and sure, and they obviously are being set up for future books, and I look forward to reading them. Angela Dawe was fine as a narrator, although I didn't think her inflections were strong enough to build the tension to the heights it could have been.

I picked this up on a fluke. I needed an audiobook because I was on day four of driving around the US w/three kids in the car and I needed to block out all the "Mom, mom, mom MOM's!!" This was free on Kindle Unlimited so I gave it a shot. I'm so glad I did. This was super good. In fact it was so good I switched to the ebook as soon as we got to the hotel so I could read faster and then I binged the entire series.

This is about a unit of Navy SEALs on their way to a wedding. One, Zane, has psychic abilities and foresees something happening to the plane. At the same time, an airline employee, Beth, has a vivid dream of what's going to happen and she rushes off to try to stop it. The two end up thrown together and then on the run in a fast paced, action filled story.

I loved all of the characters in this and while Zane was a bit "alpha" he wasn't over the top. Beth was great. She was filled with common sense and she was calm and reasonable throughout. (giant pet peeve when every day female MC decides she's going to go along on military or police mission and then ends up needing to be rescued cuz she's TSTL). An added bonus was the women in this series are all romance readers and there are some funny moments in relation to this as well as some shout outs to a famous pnr series.

Like I said, I binged the entire series back to back and loved them all.

Good and I liked it but I expected it to be a little steamier. But it was good enough that I plan on continuing the series. I did have one issue at the end Beth actually flipped the f*ck out because Zane did not use a condom when they had sex. Well call me crazy but I feel it is the responsibility of BOTH PARTIES to make sure birth control is used. If she was that concerned about it then maybe just maybe she should have made sure he suited up first. But she didn't so she should be just as mad at herself.

Annoying characters, stupid actions by said characters, steriotypical descriptions and gratuitous violence against women. I hate when I'm not warned about that. So I'll warn you. THere's rape and a lot of referring to said rapes in this. Of course the characters that were raped are perfectly fine.

Stupid book. Don't read it.

I want the next one! Review to come, maybe.

Forged in Fire is a Navy romance but with a touch of fantasy because lo and behold...our MCs have premonitions and there's a fated mate trope. There were many things I liked about this book. It was entertaining, fast paced, had a whole lot of action as well as a good romance, characters ran a tight ship, Zane and Beth's connection was a strong one and the whole hijacking plot was highly intense which made this a full package read. The only issue I had with the whole book was when Amy is kidnapped and the whole video footage scene was being narrated. It was kind of triggering tbh and something I was not expecting from this kind of romance book.

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I LOVED this book, plain & simple! No fancy adjectives or flowery words are needed to describe it, just know that if you read, you’ll love it too. :) The story is intense, action-packed and will keep you on the edge of your seat page after page. The cast of characters is just yummy (SEALs, hello?!) and the set-up for the next books leaves me wanting tons more.

Zane is a member of a SEAL team on their way to a wedding. While waiting in the airport for their flight Zane has a vision of death when he touches two of his platoon members. Then his soul mate, Beth, shows up and tells them about her dream. From there, the action starts and NEVER stops!

The cast of characters that Ms. McCallan introduces us to is amazing. Even though this book is centered around Zane & Beth, the remaining secondary cast plays an equally important role. Their development and involvement are crucial to this book and future ones. They work as a team and you become invested, interested and intrigued by them. You want to know about them, and their future! From Cosky to Mac to Amy – they don’t disappoint.

The story is gritty, sometimes dirty (no not gutter) and the bad guys are really bad. The measures that the SEAL team have to take are not pretty, but you’re doing a fist pump & saying “Hell Yeah” when they do them. If you want a cutesy military story where nobody dies, bleeds or gets hurt (which is not real-life)- then this is not the story for you. I cannot stress enough how much I loved it <3

The book was advertised as paranormal romantic suspense. While it did have mind-reading & communication elements, as well as, a psychic character – that was it. If you’re looking for mythical creatures or supernatural beings, you won’t find any. However, if you are a fan of Romantic Suspense, then you won’t be disappointed.

Kick-Ass story that everyone needs to read and a series that will definitely be on my must read list!

**2.5 stars**

Forged in Fire is a messy mix of PNR and Romantic Suspense that needed the reader to suspend disbelief way too much for it to work out. Am I to believe that post 9/11, some villains will resort to hijacking a plane to get their hands on some people? What happened to old fashioned kidnapping?

Sadly for the villains, their "fool-proof" plan was foiled by the psychic dreams/visions of our hero and heroine who happened to be fated mates. Even though their assertions are pretty crazy, the hero and heroine are believed enough that the plane is grounded. But that doesn't deter our handy villains. Oh no! Almost immediately, they resort to a plan B that revolves around leveraging some hostages. Again I ask myself, if you don't mind kidnapping people, why not kidnap the people you really want to get your hands on? (The excuse given for this was totally crazy.)

The relationship and the action in this book was very bland. The rescue is actually very detailed and sort of made sense but it went on too long. I wasn't crazy about the end which I understand was changed. I think I have the original freebie so I'll check it out to see how it differed.

Angela Dawe was good with the narration and she was the main reason I got the audio. But I'm not sure the book is worth the time.

Definitely not continuing the series.

Fabulous book! I stayed up till 2am last night trying to finish this it was so amazing. Can't wait for more!

Best LOL of the book:
"Look." She didn't stop walking, because she didn't want to have this dialogue face-to-face. Lord knows, the last thing they needed was face-to-face time. "I'm not interested, o.k.? I'm already involved with someone."
He stopped so abruptly she was in mid-stride when he jerked her back.
"Too bad." He caught her chin in an iron grip and forced her gaze up. The face staring back was hard, determined. Lethal. "You can fight what's between us all you want. It won't change a thing. You're mine. And sweetheart, you don't want to bring another guy into this, not unless you want to watch him bleed. I don't share."
"Excuse me?" Beth's jaw would have dropped if he hadn't had hold of her chin.
A wave of intense disorientation swept over her. For a moment she was convinced she was still dreaming. That she'd fallen asleep while reading one of JR Ward's Brotherhood of the Black Dagger romances and had inserted herself into a dream based on the book. Any moment now he was going to start growling Mine Mine Mine and let loose with some spicy bonding scent. Or flash a massive set of fangs.

I don't know what I was expecting when I purchased this book but what I got was one helluva dramatic, suspenseful, heart-stopping journey into the seedy underworld of hijackings and terrorists and the kickass men trained to thwart them. This is the book that defines the genre "romantic suspense" and anyone who enjoys a story that is one huge adrenalin rush from beginning to end will love Forged in Fire. Kudos to Trish McCallan for penning such a powerful debut novel. I'm not even a fan of the genre yet couldn't bring myself to rate it anything less than 5 stars!