CAUTION: Reading this book may induce you to a state where you speak in a Russian accent and develop a fondness for vodka shots.

CIA analyst Julie Severin gets the shock of her life when her boss singles her out for a mission on a Russian sub. She’s not exactly field material and her expertise lies with Chinese intelligence. To make matters worse she despises Russia, everyone and everything, as her father was killed on the streets of Moscow when she was a little girl. Regardless of her fears and resentments, Julie has no choice but to complete the mission. Matters get even worse when she find herself hopelessly attracted to the Captain of the sub and in world of awkwardness when her suitcase is lost to the sea before the voyage even begins.

Nikolai Romanov hates the idea of spies on his sub, and he especially hates the idea of attractive CIA spies trying to seduce him even more. One look at Julie and Nikolai finds himself slamming against a wall of lust, desire, and suspicious thoughts. He desperately needs to know what her mission is, not just for the safety of his own mind, but to ensure the future of his career in the Russian Navy.

Individual goals are hastily thrown aside when an additional enemy spy appears to be in their mist with a goal of killing everyone. Both Nikolai and Julie are unprepared for the electrifying passion between them transforming the pair of enemies into lovers. The new situation that threatens everyone will put this desire and growing love for each other at risk, plus the state of their countries involvement in this underwater endeavor.

Red Heat is the first in Nina Bruhns Men in Uniform series. This book is romantic suspense to the core, and beyond the growing attraction between Julie and Nikolai you’re kept wondering to the last minute who the true bad guy is. The submarine lingo and knowledge of tactics is brilliant, and made me feel like I was actually on the boat coasting through the arctic seas. The secondary characters and subplots also enhance the story and give readers a chance to see potential a multitude of potential suspects.

One of my favorite parts of the story is where Julie enters the stateroom to stumble upon a surprised Nikolai: Nikolai was standing in the middle of the tiny compartment, a towel draped around his neck. Other than that, he was completely, delectably, mouthwateringly naked. Oh. My. God.

Let’s just say it only gets better from there. A few explosions, chases, and some ingenious war games give readers a chance to feel the thrill of high stakes on the open seas and a rumble of passion beneath the waves.

Now I will say that I had a couple of minor things with this story. The biggest for me was the idea that a CIA analyst, who is horrible at lying and has difficulty handling a weapon, gets sent on a top secret retrieval mission. I find this aspect of the story a little hard to believe, and some of the obvious actions that Julie takes would easily put her in a position to be overpowered in my opinion, though I am not saying that my rifts with Julie’s character would hit everyone hard in the chest. The conflict at times seems a little forced but it’s still enjoyable because of the writing style.

Overall the story flows from beginning to finish and it took a little more than the first 4 pages to get into, but driving through the initial hump was well worth it.

~ Landra