Final Siege had everything I love in a romantic suspense! There was, indeed a lot of suspense, a bit of anguish, some romance, and a lot of past hurt to resolve. The characters were very well fleshed out, and I loved getting to know them through their trials and hope.

I hate to write this but this is another romantic suspense military romance story that fall in the its ok but I don't think I will read it again.
The characters were not well developed and many times it felt like the author was writing a story around sex scenes.
I loved the idea of a report and former seal but this story has been done many times over and much better.
The female lead Delaney did what I hate and did the opposite of everything her hero\love interest asked her not to do many times. Leaving this reader wanting to yell at my ebook.
There was some editing that could clean up a little confusion but all in all it was a so so Romantic Suspense book.
Thank you to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy

With the intense start of a run for a rescue of an old girlfriend half across the world, at the beginning of the story, I jumped in the series by a new author to me with high hopes and great expectations. I liked the idea of the story, the plot of the young lovers separated 14 years ago by a tragic death of a brother and a best friend and all the trouble they run into because of their professions as a journalist and a former SEAL now security expert.
I thought that the team of best friends and military brothers were fun and entertaining, their teamwork seamless, and the support they gave to each other priceless.

I liked Mac, he was attractive, kind, protective, loyal, and smart. He was easy to be around with, and he genuinely cared about people around him. He was an alpha military man, tough and rough, yet his heart's desire was to have a family, a loving wife and children, a home.
He once thought he was going to have it all with Delaney Shapiro but she tore them apart accusing Mac of her brother's death.
I tried to like Delaney, I tried to be as forgiving as Mac and keep giving her second chances. But she just rubbed me the wrong way with her selfish, stubborn act that was rather immature, as well. Her ideologies and judgments made me see red, there were a lot of details with her that I struggled with through the story.
The push and pull between Mac and Delaney didn't stop them from having steamy love scenes. The big secret that Mac was holding out of loyalty to his dead best friend was the key that kept me reading, I wanted to see how Delaney reacted to the reveal, hoping she would redeem herself.

The majority of the story deals with the back and forth between the reuniting Mac and Delaney. It is towards the end where the action starts, where the investigation jumps forward leaps and bounds, that the adrenaline starts pumping, and things start happening with hair-raising speed and vigor.

Like I mentioned at the beginning I liked the plot and idea of the storyline, but the eARC I received must have been a really raw and rough copy of the book since there were issues with timing - did it happen three days ago, a day ago, or that morning - type of guessing. When you have to go back and check what was it, and the timeline confusing the natural flow, it did make an impact on the enjoyment of the tale.
Another thing was the jumping from scene to another without any warning or indication of the change of the different place, time, or the characters altering. This would just happen in the next sentence. Sometimes what was in a middle of a scene, in my mind. Either there were big junks of the story cut off without smoothing the edges or there was a considerate amount of editing still needed before the book is released.

Despite all the issues I personally faced with the story and its flow, I hope the final copy that ends up in the reader's hands has been smoothed out of all the kinks. For the tight brotherhood, for the action and pressure towards the end, for Mac and his patience, loyalty, and love of family
~ Two Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

This is book 2 of Ms Cole’s appropriately titled, Love Over Duty. But if like me , you have not read book one, rest assure it’s a stand alone and the author gives you enough background information that you get the gist of book one.
Mac’s and Delaney’s story is a second chance story filled with a suspenseful, intriguing , but a plot that is at times faced paced and at other times slow paced. That is , when it wasn’t inconsistent and hard to follow.
The characters were interesting.
An example of the inconsistency is when Delaney refers to an incident that happened the day before, then says it happened 3 days before and back to one day prior.
When the author jumps abruptly from one scene to another it distracts the reader.
This all became distracting and took away from the two main plots of the book, the story of a second chance, and the reason why Delaney was kidnapped.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley and St Martin’s Publishing. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

In the second entry of the Love Over Duty series, the reader is introduced to Delaney Shapiro the heroine of this tale. Delaney is smart, independent and a real go-getter and this is what makes her an excellent investigative journalist. Unfortunately, I really couldn’t get into her character, at least I will not be apart of the Delaney fan club. The character's backstory has affected her personality and Delaney seems really selfish and maybe way too stubborn. As the reader, it is always a goal of mine to find books that highlight strong female leads. Female leads who kick butt and take names with some flying kicks here and a couple of roundhouses for good measure. Delaney holds her own when her in this story but her interactions with her male lead (Mac) leaves a bit of a sour taste. It seems that her character didn’t contribute much to balance the relationship.

Malachai “Mac” MacCarrick is the overly considered hero of Final Siege and he is what all heroes are chalked up to be. Mac is dashing, handsome and an all around good/protective guy. Like so many of these stories the hero is easily twisted around the small finger of the heroine and does whatever it takes to get into her good graces. Where’s the balance? Mac spent a lot of time securing the heroine’s safety without much appreciation. Honestly, I thought that these two characters would part ways towards the end of the book in order to save the hero his dignity or just to give him some of his dignity back. Now, I must say that grief is a hard thing to deal with (even for us regular folks) and people cope with their grief differently. I just needed a little more balance between the characters.

A sign of a really good author is his/her ability to draw the reader into the story. Scarlett Cole was able to draw this reader into the book and into her characters. Though I did not care for the heroine, the male lead and the secondary characters were really great. The action sequences we're fascinating and a setting/background were well-thought-out and well-planned.

As the series progresses it will be interesting to see the different types of female leads introduced. Not only that, it will be equally as interesting to see how the stories of future female leads connect with established heroines.

This is the 4th book I've read by this author and she never disappoints!

On a day always burned into his memory, Mac lost his best friend and the girl he loved. The girl he saw his future with. The girl who meant everything to him. He lost everything that day and there was no coming back.

We're led to believe we know what happened that day on the cliff, but the truth doesn't come out until much later into the story. My heart broke for Delaney and what she went through; her anger towards Mac even so many years later was understandable.

Some parts of the book could be confusing as there is a LOT going on with the story that Delaney is trying to break. That's the only thing that stopped me from giving this 5 stars.

My first read by author Scarlett Cole & I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. The drama & suspense was amazing, as was the strength of the characters. The storyline seemed to be connected to the previous book but I had no problem following it. I was impressed with the authors descriptive narrative both internally & externally. She did a wonderful job on the back history of the main characters & the lead up to their story. I found myself rooting for Mac constantly & couldn’t believe how strong & resilient that Delaney was. I definitely want to read the first book in this series & look forward to more. Definitely recommend.

This book is so exciting. Fun sexy everything you could expect from scarlett cole. second chance at love with some scary russian arms dealers thrown in the middle. Loved it

3 stars... I am not really a romance/suspense person. I gave to a go, and it was good. Just not my thing.

Will one act define your life? Delaney, Mac & Brock were friends growing up, they did everything together but that all changed when Brock was killed. And Delaney believed that it was Mac's fault she never gave him a chance to explain. She is in trouble and Mac is the only one that can help but it needs to be on her terms. Mac has loved her all this time and he will make sure that she is safe even though she is fighting him all the way. Will Delaney back away from the story that almost got her killed? Mac knows that her work is important to her but it is going to get her killed one day soon. Mac will use whatever skills he has to try help her find the truth about the weapon but she has to follow his rules which doesn't go down so well. How can they ever move forward from the past and have a future when the past is always hanging over them? Will Delaney ever forgive Mac for her brother's death and can she give in to his love? Some smoking men, spunky women and a whole lot of guns. What isn't there to like? I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.

Delaney is an Investigative Journalist and she does what she needs to when pursuing her story. Mac was Delaney's first love, she thought they would be "forever" but when her brother died that changed because Mac was responsible.

Mac is ex-military and is partnered with his ex-military "brothers" in their own company: Eagle Securities. He also grew up with Delaney and was best friends with her brother: it was their dream to go into the military together but his death stopped that.

One day Mac receives a call from Overseas, Delaney has been hurt and is asking for him...he doesn't hesitate to go to her. When Delaney regains consciousness she doesn't recall asking for Mac and is angry he is there. In the course of her investigation, Delaney was kidnapped and beaten and Mac has sworn to protect her, which is just what she doesn't want.

This book was awesome!! I loved it! First you have the anger and confusion Delaney feels over the death of her brother and Mac's part in it, then the fact that she has never loved anyone like she did him. She finds that once she returns back to the US there is still danger for her but that doesn't stop her from working on her story!

Mac made a promise to Delaney's brother and he has kept that promise even if it has made him a pariah to the family that he was part of. Now Delaney is back in his life, full of anger towards him and in danger. He will do whatever he has to keep her safe.

Can Mac protect Delaney? Will Delaney ever understand Mac's promise to her brother?

Awesome, awesome story...looking forward to more!

I really enjoy this author's romantic suspense titles! I LOVED book 1 of this series, and this one was great too, though I didn't love it quite as much. Totally a personal issue, as I have a serious love/hate relationship with second chance romance stories, and how they make me feel. And the angst between them in this story, and the reason for it, was a doozy!

Malachai "Mac" MacCarrick is a former Navy SEAL, who now runs his own private security company with his 2 best friends. There used to be 4 of them growing up, but their other best friend, Brock, died when they were teenagers, and Mac has always blamed himself. Their friend had dreamed of becoming a Navy SEAL, so the three of them decided to pursue that dream on his behalf. They all excelled at it, but especially Mac. He always felt the need to be better, stronger, faster, than everyone, in order to live up to Brock's memory. Then, there's the other giant hole in his heart from his past: his high school sweetheart, Delaney. She's Brock's younger sister, and she never forgave Mac for his part in Brock's death. But, when she's hurt badly while out on assignment and asks for him, there's nothing that could keep him away.

Delaney Shapiro is an investigative journalist. She uses her position to try to make things better in the world. She mostly does it to honor her big brother, Brock, who always wanted to do the same thing, in his own way. She's never really had a great relationship in her life since Mac, because no one ever measured up to him. But, she knows she could never be with him again, because it would only remind her of everything she's lost. They haven't seen each other in 14 years, but when she's hurt while in the middle east on assignment, in her drugged up haze, she asks for him, and is shocked when he actually shows up. As her head clears, she's torn on being happy to see him again, and how painful it actually is seeing him again. They clearly have unfinished business.

Mac and Delaney's chemistry was off the charts, but then, that was never their issue. There is A TON of emotional baggage, things unsaid, assumptions made, and more, that have kept them apart over the years, and unpacking all that was quite the angsty journey. Here is where my love/hate of this type of story comes in. Usually, that serious angst is a little more than I enjoy in my stories. It was very relatable here though, and they were still so young when things fell apart, that it was more understandable too. I really liked the slow burn of them coming back to each other, and their journey to understanding each other, and their past actions, better.

The suspense plot in this one was intriguing, and all had to do with Delaney's investigation and how it followed her back to the U.S. There were some interesting twists and turns with that and it kept me excited the entire way through. I really liked how they both handled the differences in their perspectives when it came to dealing with the bad guys, and how that could affect their relationship. It was an interesting angle that I'd never considered before in this type of story.

As in the prior book, I loved all the side characters, especially the other guys that work for the security company. Also, seeing the heroine from book 1, Louisa, again was fun too, and the relationship Delaney built with her was very enjoyable as well. I love seeing positive relationships between women in my books, and they are both spectacular women, so I'm thrilled at how they got along.

I really enjoyed this entry to the series, and I'm very excited to read book 3, about the final best friend/co-owner of the company, Cabe. I highly recommend this one!

Great action betweem the sheets and in the battle field. "Mac" has always felt responsible for his best friend's death. Brock jumped from cliff in San Deigo at the wrong time and died before Mac could reach him. Brock felt that he needed to face his fear of heights / diving into water in order to fulfill his dream of being a SEAL.. Mac was the person to egg Brick on - too force him to jump. After Brock's death, Mac was blamed for his death ... the love of his life slapping him at Brock's funeral. Brock's father died within two weeks of Brock's death, and his wife delved her problems in a bottle of Southern Comfrot. Delaney was left to make a life of her own without hleo from her mother. Ten years have past... Mac and his buddies have started their own company with their savings from beomg US Seals. Mac receives a phine call from the US military hospital in Germany stated Delaney was rescued and has been asking for him in her sleep. Mac races to her side to ensure she has protection / and receives the proper medical care. The two still have unfinished busness to take iron out. Delaney is not sure / has not forgiven him for her brother's death. He has kept the reason Brock wanted to jump from the cliff. Pleanty of action takes place between the sheets between them. She learns the turth about the reasoning behind Brock jumping off the cliff. I don't want ot give the story away.

I have never read this particular author, but I really enjoyed this book. The plot was well written and the characters were well defined. The secret between the two was actually a heart breaker. Mac is an alpha male with a real soft and squishy center and loves Delaney with all he has and Delaney pushes him away at every turn yet he takes it and keeps moving in the right direction so sure of his love for her. Delaney on the other hand was a bit wishy/washy for me, but still a likeable heroine. Will continue to read Scarlett Cole novels in the future if they are all this good!

This story is an action packed story,with suspense and romance. Can you forgive and forget and start to have a chance with the love in your life. Mac and Delaney must soon learn, to trust each other before the Russian drug lord is killing them.

I was given this novel from netgalley to give an honest review, and it’s my opinion only about the book.

This book was hard to judge. I really did not like Delany, she was placing too much blame for her brother's death on other people. Even after 14 years she was placing blame. The story line was good, I just could not get past Delaney's attitude

Mal hadn’t seen DeLaney in 14 years, when she slapped him at her brother’s funeral. Yet, he instantly goes to her bedside after receiving a phone call from Landstuhl hospital in Germany that DeLaney was asking for him during her lucid moments.

DeLaney is a journalist, Mac is former black ops. This never quite seems real in the story, Cole does an admirable job in adding lots of exciting scenes and strong dialogue. The story didn’t quite ring true, but it was still enjoyable.

I enjoyed this fast-paced and exciting Love Over Duty story. Scarlett Cole is a new to me author and I like her writing style. Mac is a wonderful strong, brave, loyal and sexy hero. His friends in Eagle Securities are swoon worthy as well.
Delaney was a little harder to get into. She is a strong and brave journalist who is risking a lot to bring out information of a dangerous group. On a personal level, she can't let go of a personal tragedy well over a decade ago which involved her brother and Mac, his best friend. She said she loved Mac, but she cut him loose without ever hearing his side, playing the blame game. And yes, they were young then. Mac is always there for her still. And one time, she asked Mac to hear her explanation for her and her dangerous assignment. Really? Otherwise, it is a good second chance romance, but it may push some buttons for readers like me. Regardless, I will definitely want to read more in this suspenseful series.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. I love that Mac and Delaney found their way back to each other. This book was a great read and promised a HEA ending and it did not disappoint.

If you love action, suspense, and lots of romance this book is for you.