Deep Blue (Survival Instincts)

Deep Blue
by Adriana Anders
Release Date: March 5, 2019
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book #0.5 in the Survival Instincts series
Number of pages:  approx. 110 pages
Kindle edition
Source: Amazon purchase*
Romantic Suspense M/F
Rating: R
Read 2/6/21

Adriana Anders plunges readers into a thrilling tale of survival (and steamy romance) as a deep sea diver and a former SEAL escape a derelict oil rig overrun with men who have a secret worth killing for.

Hoo boy. If I had read this short story back when I purchased the compilation it is part of back in 2019, I would have read the next story in this series much sooner.  If you read my review of Whiteout recently, you know that I purchased the compilation book Turn the Tide for the Katie Ruggle story. Only after I read Whiteout did I realize that compilation also included an introductory story to the Survival Instincts series. I couldn’t wait to get reading!

This story has so much chemistry it’s unreal. There were times I think my pulse was racing more than Zoe’s! I could feel the connection she has with Eric. Adriana Anders played the sexual tension so flawlessly, I swear I was holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next.

On top of the sparks between Eric and Zoe, there was a pretty intense situation happening around them. While the story doesn’t give the reader many answers, it really sets this series up in a perfectly. As a .5 short story, it did its job. There is a definite HEA for the main characters, an introduction to characters I can only imagine will be key to the series, and a bit of intrigue at the end without making it too annoying of a cliff-hanger type scenario.

While I’m one to usually like reading a series in order (or at least in the order the books are published), I’m going to veer away from that in my recommendation. There is something that happens during this story that made me think I wouldn’t have wanted to know that tidbit when reading Whiteout. Don’t get me wrong, if you read them in order I think you’ll still enjoy both immensely. It’s just a feeling I have that, in this case, reading book #1 before book #0.5 will make the experience that much better.

5 stars

*As of the date of this post, the Kindle edition of Turning the Tide is free! I also got this book for free over a year ago, so it may be it’s normal “price”. But don’t take the chance, I suggest going to swoop it up asap.

Goodreads description of the book Turn the Tide as a whole:

Whether you’re diving into treacherous waters, racing the clock against global annihilation, or delving deep into an untamed wilderness, these thrilling tales of love and suspense will leave you breathless.

Any Means Necessary by Katie Ruggle
Katie Ruggle brings trademark wit and warmth to her introduction of a family of five bounty hunter sisters making the Rocky Mountains a safer place—finding love and sowing chaos along the way.

Deep Blue by Adriana Anders
Adriana Anders plunges readers into a thrilling tale of survival (and steamy romance) as a deep sea diver and a former SEAL escape a derelict oil rig overrun with men who have a secret worth killing for.

No Way Out by Juno Rushdan
Juno Rushdan turns up the pressure in a high-octane, non-stop thriller where one woman’s defiance—and her fierce love for the man she could never forget—may be all that’s standing in the way of a new bioterror threat.

Beyond Home by Connie Mann
Connie Mann shows that in central Florida’s untamed wilderness, paradise has a dark side, and the heroes of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are trained to face the worst that man—and nature—can dish out.

Turn the Tide is a pulse-pounding collection of novellas by some of the brightest names in the genre.