This was a good read with a very interesting storyline. This wasn’t your usual bodyguard type of storyline where he fell head over heels in love with the person that he was protecting from the bad guys. Okay maybe it was but he was not hired to protect her but he took his profession very seriously and when she was kidnapped he knew he needed to rescue her and keep her safe. Navy SEAL Logan never in a million years thought he would be stranded in a deserted island with a beautiful woman that he couldn’t or should I say shouldn’t touch. Then there was Cady a woman that never took risks but that night she decided that she was going have a one-night stand. Only that things didn’t turn out the way she wanted. Now they are alone on an island where they hope to be saved by someone or maybe the kidnappers would come back. They are going to have to find a way to stay alive, find food and be civil to one another.

I totally recommend this read!!

Received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an Honest Review

I LOVE this type of story-the one time she goes against type and BOOM!

The survival part reminds me of the old Linda Howard airplane crash survival book. The push-pull to acceptance of their love was great. I wish I could read more about this couple.

Favorite Quote: Never once had she encountered a stranger’s erection and become weak-kneed with lust. Until now.

How can I resist a book where a cruise ship chef and a Navy SEAL get kidnapped, and then stranded on a deserted island?? This book is fun – although the SEAL did get on my nerves now and again. Let me set it up.

Cady is our chef, and in need to have a quiet and nice night out. She steps out of her comfort zone, dons a very sexy dress, and has a drink at the cruise ship bar once she is off work. It is here she spies our hero, Logan. He injured his knee while overseas a few weeks ago, and is off duty at the moment. He was initially hired to be the former president’s daughter’s bodyguard on this cruise, but she cancelled at the last minute. Logan figures he will keep his ticket and a vacation to Tahiti won’t be a bad way to spend a few days. He eyes Cady at the bar, and they have instant chemistry. They spark up a conversation, which leads to dancing and…boners.

And all of this leads to them making out in the hallway outside her room. But it’s time for the boners to go back into hiding, as Logan gets hit over the head by a few bad men, and thrown overboard! Meanwhile, they put a bag around Cady’s head and put her into a little boat and start to drive away. They think they are kidnapping the president’s daughter because Cady looks similar to her and Cady is terrified.

Logan wakes up underwater, and fights to get to the boat.

He was Logan Nathaniel Starke. He didn’t quit. He didn’t sink. He didn’t die.

A lot happens – long story short, Logan and Cady end up washed up on a deserted island. Not knowing if the bad guys will find them or the good guys will rescue them, Logan and Cady have to find water and food – and deal with the dangers on the island. Oh – and more boners!

I think this author writes well done action scenes. From the attack on the cruise ship, to washing up on the island, to fending off sharks and poisonous things…it’s an exciting book. It allows Logan to show off all of his Navy SEAL survival skills, which definitely helps them. And although Cady feels inadequate at first – since Logan knows how to stay so calm, and all Cady wants to do is cry, her knowing the native food in the area, helps them gather supplies and which food is not good to eat.

These two have good chemistry from the start – but not bathing for days on end and having sand in your no-no places doesn’t really lead to sexy times. But once you have a good cove/waterfall bath – it’s on. I did get a little annoyed with Logan. He feels so protective over Cady and feels it would be ethically wrong to cross the physical relationship boundary with her. Once Cady finally convinces him that he was never hired to protect her – it just sort of fell in his lap, they start something up. But after every kiss or making out session, he starts with the apologies, and how wrong it was etc.. Just give Cady some orgasms and enjoy yourself dude! Goodness.

I wanted Logan to lighten up! Otherwise fun read.

Grade: B-

Title: Stranded with the Navy SEAL
Series: Team Twelve Book #1
Stand Alone Title: yes
Author: Susan Cliff
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Blurb: Working on a cruise ship was supposed to be the perfect distraction for chef Cady Crenshaw. Instead, it made her the perfect target. Abducted and thrown overboard into foreign waters, she has only one shot at survival…and it comes at the hands of an irresistible ally. 

Navy SEAL Logan Starke's protective instincts were locked and loaded the moment he met Cady at the ship's bar. When a violent struggle to take down her captors leaves Logan and Cady stranded on a deserted island, he leaps into rescue mode. But the hot sand and the even hotter attraction between them can't be denied…and temptation could be the deadliest threat yet.
Favorite quote(s)/excerpt(s): “You should take a picture of us and tell him you’re already on top of someone else.”
“It’s like eating vegetables when you really want dessert.”
Her mouth dropped open. He was really laying it all out there. “For me it’s the opposite.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sex with someone else is the vegetable. Without dessert.”
It took him a second to process what she was saying. “Touching yourself is the dessert? The only dessert?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you’ve been choosing the wrong vegetables.”
Thoughts: If you’re looking for a romance with something a little different, Stranded with the Navy SEAL is perfect. The book immediately caught my interest, with sparks galore between the main characters. It doesn’t take long for things to ramp up and the action to start – and that’s where things take a new turn. Our characters wind up trapped on an island and forced to survive on their own. And not just for a day or two – the story really gets in depth as our characters go into survivalist mode. The author obviously did some research along these lines, as our characters are quite ingenious and creative at times. They get to know each other, and their initial attraction takes on more intensity yet at the same times provide a struggle for our characters. Where you thought they would just give in and take advantage of their time together stranded on an island, instead things are much more complicated. I enjoyed the struggle and honestly found myself unable to put this book down. When I say that, I mean I literally stayed up in the middle of the night reading and could not stop.
Intriguing characters, captivating storyline….an ‘A’ all the way!
Rating: A

Cady is looking for a distraction while working as a chef on a cruise ship. She had her hear broken and is working on mending that and after meeting the gorgeous Logan Strake who is a navy seal might be the perfect distraction. Last thing she would've expected was to be kidnapped and saved by Logan only to be stranded on a deserted island.

I will admit as cheesy as the cover looks I really like it. Its pretty much what drawn me to check this book out in the first place. You know what this was a pretty great book. There was plenty going on in this book to keep me until the then. The endless amount of dangers that can happen to this duo was keeping at the edge of my seat wondering whats next for the two what else could possibly go wrong? and what could go wrong did go wrong. If it wasn't that there was that ever present attraction between the two and Logans stubbornness making that distance. It was enjoyable learning more about the two and seeing how they worked together and it was just an overall great book I really enjoyed it.

A riveting survival story where the hero and heroine don't only have to survive the savage kidnappers but also the unforgiving nature of the stranded island out there in the middle of nowhere.
This story took my breath away and had me on the edge with many dangers and threats the main characters faced during their time on the island. The tension is high as time just goes by and there is no way to escape, no way to find their way back to the civilization, no way to avoid each other and the burning attraction building between Cady and Logan.
Chef Cady Crenshaw is a tough and capable heroine who is not afraid to stand up for herself. She has sass and attitude but also sweetness and passion. She can be hard-headed yet there is a tender heart inside her that she guards with the stubborn exterior.
Navy SEAL Logan Starke knows more about survival than most. He is cool and calm under pressure, yet he is a passionate, kind, considerate man who takes care and protects those he cares about or are trusted to his care. His biggest challenge on the island is to stay professional and not to touch Cady like his heart, mind, and body are yearning to do.
The primitive surroundings make the flaming desire burning between Cady and Logan an intensely sensual game that puts them both on the edge. The heat factor is high, the sexual encounters are voluptuous, the hunger they have for each other just growing with each touch, as the devotion and admiration take root in their hearts.
Logan and Cady's fight for survival is a captivating and enthralling story. There are so many elements bringing the intensity to a new level, from the personal conflicts to the physical challenges of the island to the deathly threat of the pirates. I was glued to my kindle as every twist in the story brought a new challenge making it impossible to put the book down. The island and survival enticed me, as well as the budding relationship and the demands the environment put them under. I felt a deep connection to both Logan and Cady, even though I could not comprehend a couple of the tantrums Cady had.
A mesmerizing, intriguing, and intense story of endurance and survival in the most challenging circumstances. The allure of the attraction and desire is irresistible, even as the danger and deadly threat hide behind each and every corner
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

Stranded with the Navy SEAL is an exciting look into being stranded on a deserted island with a hunky Navy SEAL and learning to survive ala Lord of the Flies with echoes of Blue Lagoon mixed in.
I didn't remember the blurb for this book when I started reading it so I was not prepared to be whisked off onto a deserted island where Cady and Logan had to fight for their survival. I'm surprised how exciting and enjoyable Ms Cliff made this story when all the action takes place on the deserted island and what we experience is mostly Cady and Logan battling an inhospitable island to make it habitable for them to survive.
Logan is such a can-do kind of guy. Of course, that's expected since he's a Navy SEAL. I loved that he was tough and resourceful but also fallible at the same time. Sometimes the harsh island and nature got the better of him but he was tenacious and persistent. He never gave up on their survival and a way of escaping the island. While he adapted to his surroundings, he also took great care of Cady and supported her as she came into her own on the island. Logan is also a daredevil and a risk taker. That goes without saying with him being a Navy SEAL and being willing to head into danger to protect Cady.
Cady started the story being somewhat lost and trying to recover from a bad breakup. I liked that she was willing to take a chance with Logan even if it ended up with her being kidnapped. Even while kidnapped and other times in the face of danger, Cady was a fighter. She too, like Logan, was tenacious and persistent and she grew stronger and more confident as she survived the island. One thing though did bother me about Cady. She was very risk averse. You'd think with being thrown into the deep end of being abducted and then stranded on a deserted island she's be more willing to take risks but she wasn't. She wanted to play it safe with everything and that really bothered me when it came to her feelings about Logan. It's a good thing Logan is a persistent man.
I enjoyed this first instalment to Ms Cliff's Team Twelve. I'll definitely read the next one.

This is a fabulous castaways story. Cruise ship chef Cady thought she was just heading for a night of pleasure in the arms of the hot guy she picked up in the bar. The last thing she expected was to be mistaken for the former First Daughter he was supposed to be protecting, and kidnapped on the high seas!

Cady isn’t the woman he was sworn to protect, but it’s his fault she’s been taken. He’s got to go after her - and given that his other choice is drowning in the South Pacific, Logan starts swimming. A twist of fate sees them escape the kidnappers but wind up stranded on a deserted island with no way to know if they’ve even been missed.
What follows is a slightly harrowing story of survival, from shark bites to stonefish stings, as the determined pair try to survive… and try to fight their own attraction to each other at the same time. Nothing about the realities of being stranded in such a situation is glossed over, from injuries and illness to the ever-present dangers of starvation and dehydration, yet somehow the story doesn’t dwell on them too much. It’s a beautifully balanced mix of romance and reality.

This is an interracial romance with Cady being mistaken for a First Daughter named Maya O’Brien, who is pretty clearly a standin for Malia Obama. Cady reacts so realistically to getting stranded on a deserted island, I found myself really wincing along with her as she momentarily despaired. On the other hand, if you’re going to get castaway, you’d definitely want a man like Logan to be stranded with. Tough and capable, he still didn’t insist on doing everything himself, instead challenging Cady to be his partner in every sense of the word. Even though there were moments in the story where I wondered how everything could possibly turn out all right for them in the end, Susan Cliff masterfully wove together threads from the storyline to tie up all the loose ends and give her couple a totally believable happy ending.

If you’ve ever dreamed about being cast away on a deserted island with a sexy Navy SEAL for company, or if you’re a lover of interracial romances, you’ll definitely want to give this one a go.
Five stars.

Risk averse chef by trade Cady Crenshaw does something completely uncharacteristic of herself, she convinces herself that she wants to have a one night stand. After all, the best way to get over someone is to get underneath someone else. And that someone else is named Logan Starke. Thank You Universe! A hot Navy Seal that's been on the radar for many of the single woman on board the cruise ship. They meet and talk and the signals are very clear as in let's take this back to my cabin.

They leave the onboard club together with every intention of slowly getting to know each other better in the biblical sense. Once they arrive at Logan's door they're attacked by unknown masked men. Logan is knocked on the head with a blunt object and thrown overboard and Cady is tied up and tossed into an awaiting raft. What the kidnappers don't count on is a very resilient Navy Seal. In order to save Cady, Logan must first save himself. Though groggy and disoriented, Logan knows his greatest chance of survival is to follow the kidnappers.

Surviving the ambush is just the first step of their arduous journey. Navigating their day-to-day survival is truly the beginning of their adventure together. Each day they survive brings them hope that they can find a way back to civilization without losing their lives or their hearts.

This is my first time reading a novel from Susan Cliff. I was intrigued by the cover and synopsis. I thoroughly enjoyed how the couple worked together to stay alive on a stranded island. Cady's knowledge of food and how to cook provided excellent knowledge to the reader while we were waiting on them to get rescued.

Cady Crenshaw normally does not put herself in risky positions because of childhood issues. She decided to do something against her norm and have a romantic interlude with a stranger just this one time. Unfortunately, she picked the wrong night and the wrong stranger. Logan, originally was supposed to be protecting a VIP daughter but the job was cancelled. The bad guys did not know about the cancellation and abducted Cady thinking that she was the daughter. After this, it was trying to save and be saved. The events were fast-paced in a story that was very believable. I thoroughly enjoyed how the chemistry grew and the partnership to free themselves. I give this book a thumbs up, 4 star review.

A fun and sexy easy weekend read!! Great characters and storyline!!

The plot for this book was much more complex than I thought it was going to be. I really enjoyed it. It was as if the movie Castaway had a love interest and a villain. The characters were interesting and I feel like the author really researched survival skills instead of just making everything up. I would read more of Susan Cliff. .

I really tried to stick with this book, I even jumped ahead to see if my attention could be grabbed-- but it just didn't happen for me.