I became a fan of this author when I read her Black Knights Inc series. A series I absolutely loved and would highly recommend.
Even though I had not read the previous books in this series, I was anxious to get a chance to read it.
The series centers around a group of former military individuals that work as treasure hunters.
Mason McCarthy is one of these men. A former SEAL, he is all about the hunt with no desire of having a relationship. Along comes historian Alexis Merriweather who joins them in the search of the lost treasure of Santa Catalina. She’s inexperienced but enthusiastic and determined to get Mason to notice her. He seems to succeed in ignoring her until his past comes into his present life and puts him and Alexis in danger.
Will the danger make Mason realize that he still has a chance at love? Will it be too late to find HEA?
This was an engaging story with complex and interesting characters. Though at times I have to confess , I wanted Alexis less obvious in her infatuation with Mason.
Still it was a story that leaves me wanting to read the next book in the series.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Sourcebooks Casablanca. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

2.5 stars rounding up...

I’ve always liked Julie Ann Walker’s idea of military veterans running a crew of treasure-seeking men while getting some unexpected thrills along the way, though ‘Ride the Tide’ feels somewhat tangential to that overall theme that Walker’s got going here. The search for the Santa Cristina isn’t what takes centre-stage but rather, a threat in Mason McCarthy’s previous life as a SEAL returning and putting pretty much everyone else in danger.

There are times when I do enjoy the angst of seeing how unrequited-love drama might unfold when it’s written the way I know will be soul-destroying.

Unfortunately, ‘Ride the Tide’ isn’t quite one of them, despite Walker’s fast-paced and pretty good writing that does a solid job of working up the growing tension between Mason and a certain extremely talkative historian who, could either be viewed as admirably dogged or foolishly desperate in her bid to get a man who, for most of the book, pushes her away just as doggedly.

Mason and Alexis Merriweather have always wanted each other, but Mason would never commit to something more after compounding his entire life issues (including PTSD and his failed marriage) into something of a big mess that he couldn’t seem to deal with like the big boy he should be.

On the other hand, Alex’s inability to let nothing but words, words and words fly unfiltered from her mouth made her more like a hormonal teen than a fully-fledged adult, more so because there was so much harping on the issue of her virginity: it was made such a big deal of; it was also implicitly mocked as an entity that she couldn’t wait to shed and that only Mason was the man to do that job.

Having Alex constantly throwing herself at Mason (the pesky virginity issue wasn’t dealt with in a manner I could personally swallow hook, line and sinker as a reader), putting herself out there over and over again despite his rejections was made worse by his inability to do the same up until a reluctant love-confession at the end…all of which left a sour taste in my mouth.

In the end, I vacillated between feeling sorry for Alex and thinking that she could have really done better than to fall in love with a man who needed a huge life-changing, dangerous moment to realise that he actually loved her as well after spending the whole time vigorously avoiding the topic.

The Deep Six crew is one that I’ll continue following but ‘Ride the Tide’ is frankly not a favourite book of mine given how much I was looking forward to this particular instalment. I really wished I enjoyed this one more especially after the huge gap between books, but it just didn't work out that way.

ARC received for review

The search for the lost treasure of Santa Cristina continues. Alex has tried to hook up with Mason for a while but he believes he is tainted and keeps pushing her away. Of course, she finally gets her way after a bad guy pops up. True love wins in the end. I can't wait to see how Chrissy and Wolf finally get together. Plus who knows what waits for Doc and Romeo

And Julie's back! I've been waiting and waiting for the next story in this series and Julie does not disappoint! It is super cool to be on this journey with these treasure hunters and they look for the hidden treasure both in the sean and in their hearts! We met Alex in a previous story and it was so much fun watching her and Mason fall in love. They earned their happy ending! I hope we don't have to wait so long for the next story in the series! I can't wait to see the other fall. A 5 star must read!

OMG, I LOVED this book!!!!!! Mason is the bad-boy SEAL who thinks he's a damaged killer, while Alex is the good girl determined to replace experience with enthusiasm. Together, the sparks fly as Mason struggles to protect Alex from himself. Their romance sizzled so hot that I'm surprised my kindle didn't ignite.... Add in some crazy's from Mason's SEAL days that remain determined to kill him, and you have everything you need for a great story.

I loved the characters in this book. The author made them come to life on the page and make me feel like I was a part of their world. I was totally engrossed in their story and felt invested in their getting a HEA ending.

If you are a fan of the genre, you will love this book. While part of a series, this is a stand alone novel, however, it's so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all. The author is on my must read authors' list.