DNF at 19%

This one just didn't work for me. I can't decide if I didn't believe the romance, or the suspense, or the characters...but together it just didn't work for me.

Gia is a Medusa, a secret all female team whose training is equivalent to, if not better than, the Navy SEALS. After witnessing something she shouldn't during a mission and subsequently becoming a risk for her team, she goes into hiding. However, if she wants to survive, she won't be able to do it alone. If she wants to take down the bad guys, she is going to need help.

I love how Gia's team, along with their male counterparts, ultimately kick some serious butt. Talk about some strong women! However, I disliked that Marcus, the romantic male lead, continually underestimated her because she was a woman, even after she had proven that she was actually better trained and more capable.

Overall, it's a quick read and has some finer points compared with other romance novels.

Gia witness something while on a mission and now believes her life is in danger after a few attempts that seem like coincidences when she knows they are not. While staying in hiding until she can catch the person behind what she witnessed Marcus Tate has his eyes on her as a navy seal knowing clearly she's hiding from something

I really enjoyed this book. If your a fan of mystery suspense with a bit of romance you'll enjoy this book. I liked getting to know the characters. I loved the whole idea of the similar to seals group Gia was apart of called Medusa. Loved the whole idea of Medusa. I thought it was interesting seeing how everyone worked together to see who was after her and why. Plus the added effect of wondering who can they trust because the people behind what happened could be apart of the military and now to wonder who could be dirty. Then there was a bit of romance going on and seeing at attraction between the two. Overall great book I enjoyed it.

Keeps you on your toes! After witnessing a mission gone rogue, Gia finds herself on the run, hiding from unknown assailants who want to silence her.

While in hiding, she crosses paths with Marcus, a Navy SEAL who can tell when someone is running from something.

After his protective instincts kick in, Marcus is determined to help Gia stay safe and find out the truth behind the attacks.

This story kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I also enjoyed the group of ragtag friends they encounter along the way. A wonderful mystery from start to finish!

This is a Romantic Suspense, and this is the third book in the Runaway Ranch series. I have not read and reviewed the other books in this series, but I think this book can be read as a standalone without any problems. I love Gia's character in this book. Gia is a strong well woman, and I love that she can hold her own without running to a man. There is a ton of suspense and action in this book. I did also enjoy the romance in this book. I loved the ending so much, and I did not see that twist totally coming. This book kept me guessing. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) or author (Cindy Dees) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Terrific book that sucked me in from the first page and kept me hooked to the end. The story opens as Gia provides surveillance support to a special operations team on the ground in the Middle East. As the op concludes, she witnesses some suspicious behavior, but before she can report it to the team, her secure location is breached, her computer stolen, and her life threatened.

When next we see her, she is hiding in a small Montana town while her boss tries to figure out what is happening after she barely escaped two attempts on her life. She works as a manicurist at the local salon and takes fly-fishing lessons. Her enthusiasm exceeds her skill, and she hooks another fisherman instead of a fish. Marcus, her "giant trout," turns out to be a Navy SEAL, staying with a friend and recuperating from an injury. Marcus is intrigued and attracted to the unusually fit woman, even more so when he senses a hint of fear and wariness. With his protective instincts aroused, he follows her and notices that he's not the only one doing so. Her evasion skills pique his curiosity, as do her non-answers to his attempts to get to know her.

Gia is initially leery of Marcus, unsure if he is one of the men trying to kill her. I liked seeing how she figured out he was okay and her tentative trust when she needed help. In the face of Marcus's probing questions, she struggles to keep secret her identity as a member of the Medusas, an all-woman, top-secret special operations unit. When they decide to look for the man following her, it's all she can do to keep quiet during Marcus's somewhat condescending instructions. I laughed out loud as she more than kept up with him.

The action and suspense heat up as Gia and Marcus, along with his friends, come together to lay a trap for her pursuer. There were some tense moments as things didn't go entirely to plan. I ached for the person they caught and the reasons for his presence. The intensity ramped up as Gia, and the others realized they needed help to carry out the next step. Some lighter moments relieved the tension as Marcus's SEAL friends were introduced to Gia's Medusa teammates and learned their capabilities the hard way. The team they built was fantastic. The final confrontation was intense, though the outcome was never in doubt. There were a couple of threads left hanging that I hope will be addressed in the next book.

I loved watching the development of the relationship between Gia and Marcus. I loved some of the scenes between them, as Gia gives as good as she gets in their interactions. Marcus isn't used to women who push back, and he loves it. The sparks between them were instant and intense, but both tried to resist them. They are aware of the dangers of being emotionally involved with someone you work with and the distractions it can cause. Despite their initial unwillingness to take that step, the results are explosive when they do. With their determination to continue their careers, I wondered how they would make it work. I hope to see them in future books.

Though this is the third book in the Runaway Ranch series and related to the two Medusa series, it worked fine as a standalone. It did, however, make me want to read those books as soon as I get a chance.

Her Seal Bodyguard by Cindy Dees was a fabulous story. This was my first book in the series of the women soldiers; Medusa even though it is the third book in the series. It read well as a stand alone and I didnt realize it was part of a series until her teammates showed up. I will be going back to read the other stories. I loved how strong the women were. I enjoyed her job and the skill set she developed from it. Such attention to detail and visual awareness.

Rachel/Gia and Markus were perfectly matched. Cindy created some great scenes between them.

The story opens with Gia working an an assignment from a secure facility. She is supporting the team on the ground with surveillance. She sees some suspicious activity. The next scene, Gia is now going by Rachel to hide out as people have been trying to kill her. Fun scene as to how Rachel hooks Markus. Markus is a Seal, healing from an injury.

Lots of action and a slow building steamy romance. If you like bada$$ women, you will enjoy this story.

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.

As has become my custom, I am starting Cindy Dees' Runaway Ranch series with her third novel in that series, but, quite frankly, she had me at SEAL, and thankfully, there wasn't a moment where I felt lost, so Her SEAL Bodyguard worked just fine as a standalone, and it was a a very good, 4-star, romantic suspense read.

We first meet the heroine, Gia, as she is surveilling a Special Ops mission using night vision technology in a secure facility, the footage coming to her computer from a high-flying drone. It's her job to report suspicious movement to the operatives on the ground to keep them from being ambushed and killed. All is well until she spots 4 operatives she's not seen before carrying a large, heavy crate to a Humvee, which is guarding the exit route for the other operatives. They are in heavy tactical gear, and she cannot identify them, nor has she any information about who they are or what they're carrying, but suddenly, without any alarms going off, she's temporarily blinded by a bright light, followed by the click of a gun being cocked. The intruder steals her hard drive and flees, and Gia attempts to follow him, but not only is the intruder gone, there's no surveillance footage of him entering or leaving her supposedly secure location. Quite a way to kick off this story.

We next see Gia, now calling herself Rachel, learning how to fly-fish in a Montana creek, where her inept fly casting embeds her hook in the back of Marcus, who is fishing nearby. As it turns out, he's a SEAL, staying with a former SEAL teammate at Runaway Ranch, recuperating from an injury to his right shoulder, and from the outset, Marcus is impressed and attracted to her, but picks up on the fact that she's more than just a gal fly fishing--she's a whole lot more, and it's highly classified. He's more than curious about her level of fitness, and her evasive answers as he tries to get to know her. When Marcus becomes curious enough to surveil her comings and goings from her job at a beauty salon, he notices her professional attempts to evade him, and also notices that she's being followed, and it's at this point in the novel, things heat up, and so does the action and suspense.

I loved the fact that Ms. Dees has created a highly classified and secret team of women, the Medusas, whose training is identical to the BUD/S training Navy SEALS endure, and I also loved the fact that their skills and talents are usually underestimated by the few male operatives who, until they try to best them, underestimate just how good at their jobs they are.

In addition to the action and suspense in this novel, there's the slow building, steamy romance between Marcus and Rachel/Gia, both of whom know how hard would be to get involved when they will often be deployed on missions elsewhere in the world. I liked both of these characters and their commitment to keep their chosen careers going, and their initial unwillingness to get involved, but when they do, wow!

I found Her SEAL Bodyguard a tense, exciting, and sexy thriller of a read, but with an HEA ending that just seemed too abrupt and last-minute, and was disappointed that Ms. Dees kept the reader hanging on the contents of that heavy crate, which I'm hoping will be revealed in later additions to this series. I am also planning to read this author's earlier novels about the formation of the Medusas, and will backtrack to those novels. All in all, this novel was a solid, well-written, thriller/romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

Book was a quick read, I didn’t feel like there was a lot of depth to the plot and would have liked less heroine and way more hero! I also thought the ending was way too happily ever after for two people who had 1 date and knew each other for such a short time.

Hiding from those after her, Gia finds herself on the Runaway ranch with one Marcus Tate. Marcus is the type I love, strong and ready to protect Gia. Gia who is leary of all especially of Marcus and is doubtful he says he is. As their story unfolded, I admired Gia as she began to trust but once again danger is around the corner for her and Marcus. With twists and surprises for the reader, this is one book I will not forget soon.
While this is the third book in the series, and I read this one first, I had to go back and read the first two and enjoyed them as much as I did this one.

Good book! This book has suspense, intrigue, and some crazy navy seal action! There were definitely some high intense moments! I definitely recommend reading this book and series! They're well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!