Reasons To Act

August 28, 2026 - By Corinne Rodrigues

Can a Marine on a mission handle Hollywood’s hottest star? The sparks on the action movie set are nothing compared to the ones flying between them…

Olivia Quinn succeeds through simplicity and discipline, whether she’s dominating in the gym, or serving as a Marine. But when her director brother unexpectedly makes her the military consultant on his latest action film, her structured plans go out the window and she’s thrown into an unfamiliar and unpredictable world alongside hotshot action star Chris Blackstone. The cocky actor is everything she can’t stand, with his chiseled, self-important abs, condescension, and charm—for to everyone except her.

Chris is determined to make Desert Strike the blockbuster hit his new production company needs. A fake PR romance with his popular co-star keeps the public’s attention on the movie and distracts the media from his messy family drama. The last thing he has time for is clashing with a disturbingly hot, no-nonsense Marine consultant who sees right through his act. And he definitely can’t afford to fall for her.

Staged explosions give way to sizzling chemistry neither of them can ignore. But when Chris’s ghosts and the paparazzi twist their connection into a media firestorm, he faces a brutal choice: Will he protect the career and image he works so hard for—or fight for the woman who makes him feel like a real person? And under the burning spotlight, Olivia must decide if a lifetime of building strength means she’s strong enough to be honest with herself and open her heart to the vulnerability of love.

My Review

There was something so charmingly different about a strong woman character – a serving Marine, who thrives on physical challenges, outspoken with no patience for nonsense! Olivia Quinn, hides her insecurities well, but they come to the fore when she is recultantly dragged into being an expert on the set of her brother’s action movie production.

On the sets of the movie she encounters the hero – Chris Blackstone – a huge star in a relationship with the movie’s heroine. He’s been very happy with the previous military expert and he and Olivia clash at first. But then he begins to realize how good she is at her job and sparks begin to fly. Olivia is reluctant to respond to his overtures, until she’s let in on a secret that he’s in a fake PR relationship.

They begin their relationship secretly and start to become vulnerable to each other. Then Chris’s messy family situation intrudes, followed by a media storm that blows their cover. Olivia goes back to her base, licking her wounds, while Chris has to choose between managing his image and their relationship.

Full of chemistry and the wonderful concept of a heroine that doesn’t need saving, Reasons to Act is good, quick romance read.

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Meet The Author

Jaime got hooked on romance novels at an inappropriately young age. She’s a New England dairy farm kid turned Wyoming cowgirl turned cattle genetics writer, turned romance writer. Jaime lives with her former US Marine husband and spends her days wrangling their four children and numerous farm animals, reading or writing romance novels, binging on romance-related podcasts, and adding more things to her to-do list than she could ever possibly get done.

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