Posts Tagged ‘Adventure’
There is nothing sexier and lovable than a man who protects his country but those in the elite services have a special place in our hearts. SEAL of My Dreams is a collection of 18 short-stories about the elite of the elite, Navy SEALs. SEAL of My Dreams is a heartwarming collection that showcases the love, devotion and sacrifices made by these brave soldiers and their families. From soldiers returning home after spending years putting their personal lives on hold and missing out on key family events while they protect their country to running special ops to save the ones they love, this anthology has it all.
A couple of the stories had me tearing up, especially Dog Heart by Barbara Samuel. Marcus Stone finds himself returning to the woman who broke his heart after he is injured while on a mission. Marcus had sworn never to return but when his team’s combat dog shows signs of PTSD after a blast kills three team members and injuries five others, he realizes that Jessie is the only one who can help Sgt. Thor. The scars, both physical and emotional, that Marcus and Thor suffer just touched my heart, causing me to tear up several times when I stopped to think about the real men, women and animals who put themselves on the front line all the time and end up living with the scars of their sacrifice for the rest of their life.
I highly recommend SEAL of My Dreams because besides being a great fundraiser, the authors do a fabulous job of showing the heart, devotion and sacrifice of these elite soldiers. Be aware that there is some use of the f* word in several of the stories and it definitely rates as a five flaming hearts on the sex content scale but it is a great collection of authors.
All proceeds from sales of SEAL of My Dreams goes to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit fundraiser for veterans’ medical research. So not only are you getting some great stories, you are helping raise money for a good cause.
You can read an excerpt from each of the stories here.
The Anthology includes the following:
A foreword by Robyn Carr
Coming Home by Jami Alden
Baby, I’m Back by Stephanie Bond
SEALed Fates by Kylie Brant
Going Dark by Helen Brenna
Finding Home by HelenKay Dimon
SEALed With a Kiss (A Black Ops, Inc story) by Cindy Gerard
Panama Jack by Tara Janzen
Wrapped and SEALed by Leslie Kelly
Worth the Risk by Elle Kennedy
Twenty-One Hours by Alison Kent
Not Waving But Drowning by Jo Leigh
Her Secret Pirate by Gennita Low
SEALed by Fate by Marliss Melton
Signed, SEALed, Delivered…I’m Yours by Christie Ridgway
Dog Heart by Barbara Samuel
Whirlwind by Roxanne St. Claire
Holding On by Stephanie Tyler
Letters to Ellie by Loreth Anne White
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Title: SEAL of My Dreams
Author: Large collection (see above)
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 396
ISBN: 978-1611940510
Publisher: Belle Bridge Books
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Max Wright is out of the Navy SEALs forever after almost being killed by a bomb. In Fatal Heat by Lisa Marie Rice, Max has beat the odds by learning to walk again but he will never get rid of the limp nor be able to be active duty again. Having lost the one thing most important to him Max has retreated to the semi-seclusion of his CO’s beach house to heal his body. But Max’s solitude is interrupted by the antics of his next-door neighbor’s dog and the distracting presence of the dog’s owner Paige.
Paige, a plant geneticist, does not have a good track record with men but something about the rugged Max calls to her and she finds herself reaching out to the injured soldier. As Max and Paige get closer, Paige’s job puts her at risk and it is going to take all Max has to rescue her.
Max’s story was heartbreaking, with the loss of his role in the SEALs he has loss his sense of identity. Fatal Heat has a bit of a slow start, although I was intrigued by the fact that the first time Max and Paige meet Max is laying on the floor after collapsing from a work out and refuses to talk to Paige. Paige’s dog is also named Max, which could have been confusing but Rice does a good job keeping the characters separate. Like I said, the story was bit slow beginning before the true conflict begins but once it starts I was glued to the story and couldn’t put it down. Because of the slow start I gave the story a 3 star, I also felt like the descriptive nature of some of the scenes were a little drawn out. Overall I liked Fatal Heat well enough but the sneak peak of Nightfire that was included in my copy of the book has me really looking forward to it.
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Title: Fatal Heat
Author: Lisa Marie Rice
Format: (Paperback, Hardbound, eBook)
Page Nos.: 208
ISBN: 978-0062127549
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: November 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Tobias Richard Vandeveld wakes up in a hospital with no memory of being found naked in the dingo pit at the zoo. The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks is about Toby who thinks that he must have some kind of disorder to cause his memory loss and he refuses to believe the mysterious Reuben that he is a werewolf.
Toby is torn by the information he is given, on the one hand he realizes that not everything is okay with himself but on the other he just wants to be a normal teenager and allows his friends to convince him that Reuben is just messing with him. Toby agrees to attend a meeting with Reuben where others like him will be but it isn’t until Toby is kidnapped that he really starts to believe that not everything is as it appears.
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group is a new take on the werewolf mythology. The novel is geared more towards a young YA as Toby is just entering his teens and there is no female love interest in the story. That being said, it was an interesting read that takes place in Australia. Because of the situation that Toby finds himself in, he is forced to grow up quickly and really start to think about the person he wants to become. Reading about Toby’s change from a thoughtless teen into a serious youth who goes out of his way to save a stranger was entertaining and unique. The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group has a bunch of characters from The Reformed Vampire Support Group so fans of the first book should enjoy the appearance of the characters.
You can read an excerpt here.
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Title: The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group
Author: Catherine Jinks
Format: Hardbound
Page Nos.: 416
ISBN: 978-0152066154
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Release Date: April 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
As Dom listens to his father’s deathbed confession, he soon finds out that he knows nothing about his father. In Altar of Bones by Philip Carter, Michael O’Malley tells his son that he needs to find Katya Orlova and get a film from her, or he and his brother will be killed. Dom tries to contact his brother Ry, but gets the answering machine. Dom is scared for his life and for his brother’s life. He’s not sure what the film is, or even where he could find it and he knows that his brother has the knowledge to help him out.
At the time of the confession, a homeless woman, Rosie, is murdered in the park. She knew they were coming for her and she’d been waiting. She hopes that her granddaughter, Zoe Dimtroff, can get the message she really needs.
The Altar of Bones is a riveting story taking the reader back decades as you try to find out what the Altar is, and what it does. So many people are trying to find it, and many are willing to kill for it. Even Zoe’s own mother is trying to get her hands on it. As Zoe runs through Paris, she finds herself caught up with Ry O’Malley. The two work together to find the Altar of Bones to see if they can stop all those trying to get it for the wrong reasons. Can they find it in time and save it from those who want to kill them?
I find that Philip Carter does an amazing job of drawing you into the story in just the first chapter and continues to keep you glued to the book. I really enjoyed the story and how far back in time he takes you, the reader, in time. There is a lot of swearing and the use of the F* word and some graphic sex scenes. I would recommend this to readers, as long as they aren’t bothered by the swearing and sex. It really is a good story behind all of that.
You can read an excerpt here.
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Title: Altar of Bones
Author: Philip Carter
Format: Hardbound
Page Nos.: 464
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9908-4
Publisher: Gallery
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jocee
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way
