The Heist (Team Zulu 3) by Julie Weaver-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 28, 2023

♥ A morally grey ex-navy SEAL,
♥ A heroine on the run and in need of protection, and
♥ Touch her and you die vibes.

Freya

I’ll do anything to escape the controlling monster who’s tormented me for years, even if it means putting my life at the mercy of a criminal. When Kane Daniels breaks into my gilded cage, he doesn’t realize his loot will include more than gold and diamonds—it’ll include me.

Bearded, built, and covered in tats, Kane looks like a sexy Viking warrior wrapped in biker gear, embodying every filthy fantasy I never knew I had. It’s been a long time since I could choose anything for myself, and I’m choosing him.

But the devil I fled has dangerous men hunting me, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate anyone who stands in their way. I’m tougher than I look and have faced unimaginable suffering many times in my life, but losing Kane could be the first thing to break me.

Kane

After getting out of Team Zulu, my life is exactly the way I want it. No commitments. No responsibilities. No killing. And then a brazen blond forces her way into my world, turning it upside down.

Freya Palmer is exactly the kind of trouble I should avoid, but when I learn of the nightmare she’s endured, my protective instincts kick in, and the black ops skills I never wanted to use again suddenly seem mighty useful. Because the man who hurt her badly wants her back, and I’m going to be the one to stop him.

Our arrangement is temporary. She’s living with me until she’s safe, but what if my heart wants something more permanent? How can I ask Freya to stay with me when all she dreams of is being free?

••••••

REVIEW:THE HEIST is the third instalment in Julie Weaver’s contemporary, adult TEAM ZULU erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the members of an under cover Black Ops Unit known as Team Zulu. This is thirty-two year old, former US Navy SEAL Kane Daniels, and twenty-five year old Freya Palmer’s story line. THE HEIST can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.Any important information from the previous storylines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Freya and Kane) THE HEIST follows in the wake of a contract to secure Kane’s brother Wyatt enough money to retire but Wyatt needs Kane’s help, help to drive the targeted and getaway car, a car that is about have a desperate and unwanted passenger. Freya Palmer has been a prisoner of French National, billionaire arms dealer Andre Matisse for close to seven years, never having anticipated the cruelty and abuse at the hands of the man who offered her family financial security but Andre’s manipulations placed Freya at a disadvantage, meant to destroy Freya’s freedom by threatening the safety of the people she loves. The break-in and robbery at Andre’s mansion gave Freya a chance at an escape but she never expected to come face to face with her future in the guise of former US Navy SEAL Kane Daniels. Keeping Freya Palmer safe means not only hiding from Andre Matisse but both the Mexican and Colombian Cartels but Team Zulu underestimated Andre’s reach, when Freya is recaptured and imprisoned by the man she is hoping to take down. What ensues is the building but forbidden relationship between Freya and Kane, and the potential fall-out as Team Zulu warn Kane away from Freya, as Freya becomes collateral damage in a war that was never hers to begin.

Wyatt Daniels is desperate to complete one final job, a heist meant to net the team a small fortune but his brother Kane has struggled since an assignment that went horribly wrong, preferring to live his life alone, on a boat that has seen better days. Knowing he owes his brother one final favor, Kane never anticipated a volunteer hostage, a woman desperate to escape the cruelty of the man Team Zulu was sent to rob. Kane doesn’t do relationships, and Freya has plans to return to her family, so an affair based on proximity means one or the other is about to break their heart.

The relationship between Freya and Kane begins when Freya begs Kane to help her escape. Freya has been used and abused by her captor but making her escape could place her family in the direct line of fire. Kane never expected a volunteer hostage but his need to protect outweighs the direct orders of the people in charge. The $ex scenes are intimate, passionate and erotic but I dislike the use of a certain four-letter word, although only used once, more for shock value than anything else.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters. Kane’s brother Wyatt and his wife Maggie who have issues with our story line hero-Kane has struggled since the last assignment, and prefers to remain in solitude, away from family and friends; Elias Shepherd (The Hit #1), Brandon and Sage (The Payback 2), and well as brothers Vaughn and Owen, and Freya’s sister Lena. The requisite evil has many faces.

THE HEIST is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, family and relationships, acceptance, forgiveness and love. The fast paced premise is intriguing and compelling; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are desperate, determined and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Hit
The Payback

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy