She's a tough nut to crack, but he's up for the challenge. Gia is more than just a pretty face. She's an ace in a field that is dominated by men. She doesn't suffer fools or hormone driven alpha's easily. Specifically crude jerks like Beckett. He's a walking stereotype that drives her crazy, but punches her card none the less. There's a place for attraction and it's not on the job, but what happens will the feelings are too strong to ignore? Rhenna Morgan is the standard for heroines. She creates warrior princesses that are not afraid to get their hands dirty and their hearts broken. ( )

The latest from the Haven Brotherhood will have you simply melting. If you've read the previous books you will have noticed something going on between Gia and Beckett. Well, there's a whole lot going on in Stand & Deliver.

Gia has had to fight tooth and nail to establish herself in the male-dominated security business. Beckett has always helped out whenever and wherever he can without getting in her way. He respects her and her work ethic immensely. Which is why he's tried to keep things professional till now.

But once he finds out that Gia has become the target of someone who is trying desperately to sabotage and undermine her as a security expert, he can no longer ignore his feelings for her.

In all honesty, I wish I had a Beckett of my own. Rhenna it is just not fair for you to come up with these guys and not have real ones to giveaway. I'd enter the heck out of those giveaways!

I received an Advanced Reviewers Copy from #NetGalley for voluntary review consideration. ( )

Still excellent, but somehow Beckett and Gia didn't catch me as well as the previous books. Beckett moved way too fast, as soon as he started to move at all. Though the scene at Haven didn't go where I was expecting at all - vulnerability surprised me. The plot against Gia was way too twisted and complex, and stupid and childish - what was the guy expecting when he gave that taunt at the banquet? I mean really.... Also, both of them have real control issues, and Gia is expected to let go but Beckett doesn't have to (he does, now and then, but only on his own terms). It is partly that Gia wants to - wants a safe place - but still. There are also some very good points about consent, particularly right at the beginning. Still a good story, and many fewer editing errors (the theme in this one was past tense instead of present), but not my favorite among the Haven series. ( )

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

I have a new favorite in the series. Maybe it’s the time lapse since the last Men of Haven novel I read, but I don’t think so. Stand & Deliver offers the perfect blend of two people falling in love and a true understanding of family whether connected by blood or choice. Ninette (one of the clan mothers) has a perfect line in the book that defines why I enjoy this series, but the basics are because it’s people supporting those they love without undercutting them. You can be strong and cared for at the same time, but it’s something rarely shown so well in fiction.

As with the others, the book had detailed sex scenes with talk of more risque acts (but no action), swearing, and violence. Some of the last went beyond my lines, specifically in the very end though off-screen, but the reasons were clear and a natural extension of Beckett’s character. This is down-to-earth real, not perfect, people facing real crises. Yes, the Haven men have hard-earned wealth to pad their way, but they don’t use it to make things easy so much as to expedite what’s important… Well, except for when Trevor brings home special Scottish ale for Axel. Which also brings up the element of humor that laces through heavy emotional and sometimes scary story lines.

Each book in the series blends a love thread with some kind of deadly crisis, and how this particular one came together was critical. While all the Haven women are strong in their own ways, Gia is strong in traditionally male ways, or so her father believes. She’s a security professional in her own right, so the muscle Beck has to offer her didn’t come about in the same way even Darya’s story did (Darya being a serious hacker). Sure, Beck makes mistakes in that area, but understandable ones. It’s what the whole crew does at one point that really hammered home their acceptance of Gia as who she really was, though, and I wouldn’t have expected it in a million years.

The “big bad” I figured out in the first third of the book, though I hoped I was wrong. What I didn’t peg was the whole story. When things went south, it was much worse than I’d foreseen by a measure of ten, and worked wonderfully.

Then there was Beck and his sensory processing disorder that gave Gia every opportunity to prove she had what it took to take him on. That’s an odd comment considering it was Beckett who had to convince her and get through her walls, but if you give the book a read, I think you’ll see what I mean.

There are a ton of other aspects I could comment on, but instead, I’ll leave you with this: I started Stand & Deliver because I needed a read I could trust after a few less satisfying ones. Rhenna Morgan repaid my hopes in spades.

P.S. I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. ( )

Beck has had it hot for Gia for a while now, he knows she doesn’t mix business with pleasure, so he’s kept it to himself and watched and waited. Then one night she drunkenly admits to wanting him, Beck is elated and ready, but he wants her sober and ready to take a chance on a relationship and love.
Beck is a wonderful character, very sensitive, and Gia is used to being in control of her life and even has physical strengths to prove it, and was happy to let Beck take control of there loving. But allowing him and the guys to take care of her was hard for her to take at times.
An enjoyable story, with well developed characters. Their romance develops while they deal with personal issues, Beck has SPD and Gia’s family is awful. They made a great team, professionally, and as lovers. A well written story, highly entertaining. I’m looking forward to the next book in this GREAT series! ( )