The Pilot (Alpha Cove 3) by Susan Stoker-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 4, 2026

Ex-fighter pilot Lincoln “Linc” Young is a survivor, masking his PTSD and nightmares behind a calm exterior. When his father’s death brings him back to Maine to help his mom, he never expects to cross paths with his former high school tormentor. But the woman who once made his life hell now stirs completely different emotions in Linc, and when he finds Harper in need, he impulsively offers her and her young son a place to stay.

Harper Bates thought she’d hit rock bottom after returning to her childhood home in Rockville, Maine. Then her father begins judging her every move—and worse, her son Kash, when they discover he’s being bullied at school. The last person she expects help from is Linc, the boy Harper herself had bullied years ago. Now a commanding presence who makes her and Kash feel safe, Linc inspires both a growing attraction…and lingering shame over her past actions.

Temporary cohabitation quickly turns into something more as Harper and Linc reveal intimate secrets that put them both on a path to healing. But they’re unaware someone else has a secret. And it’s about to impact the one person the couple can’t live without—Kash.

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REVIEW:THE PILOT is the third instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult ALPHA COVER erotic, romance series focusing on the Young brothers: Linc, Zach, Chad and Knox (all former members of the US armed forces) in Lobster Cover, Maine.. This is forty year old, former US Air Force fighter pilot Lincoln ‘Linc’ Young, and thirty-eight year old, single mother Harper Bates’ story line. THE PILOT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from three omniscient third person perspectives ( Linc, Harper, Kash) THE PILOT follows in the wake of Harper Bates’ return to her home town of Lobster Cove. Having left home at eighteen to make it big in New York, Harper returned twenty years later with her proverbial tail tucked between her legs, and a twelve year old son with no father in the picture. A broken and struggling relationship with her father found Harper living in her car, when former US Air Force pilot Lincoln Young made Harper an offer she could not refuse. Lincoln Young has been struggling since his last mission went all to h*ll. Having recovered, and not on permanent leave, Linc has decided to settle in Lobster Cove, where he will come face to face with his childhood nemesis, the girl turn woman who bullied the younger version of our story line hero. Living together brought Linc and Harper closer together but all is not well in Lobster Cove, and Harper’s son Kash is about to become the victim of a devious mind.

The world building focuses on the past as Linc has yet to come to terms with what happened in the past, and Harper struggles with a life she never wanted for herself or her son. As Lincoln Young’s extended family continues to grown, Harper looks at her own, realizing she had no support and has always been on her own.

The relationship between Harper and Linc is one of former enemies for friends to lovers. Harper was a bully in her teenaged years, and her target is the man with whom she will fall in love but Karma is about to come full circle, and Harper watches as someone she loves is targeted by the same type of people she once was. Becoming one another’s support system, Linc and Harper must work together to take down the people targeting the people they love. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, familiar and sometimes questionable secondary and supporting characters including the return of Linc’s siblings, their significant others and their mother Evelyn. We are introduced to Harper’s son Kash, and her father Victor Rogers. The requisite evil has many faces.

THE PILOT is a story of secret and lies, betrayal and vengeance, bullies and heart break, family and friendships, forgiveness and love. The slow building premise is emotional, dramatic and edgy; the romance is captivating; the characters are desperate, determined and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all-American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

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