The SEAL's Valentine - Laura Marie Altom (HAR #1435 - Jan 2013)

Series: Operation Family (Book 3)

Is He SEAL Enough For The Job?

The moment off-duty navy SEAL Tristan Bartoni meets feisty yet vulnerable Brynn Langtoine, he's a goner. He sure didn't have plans to be attracted to a recently widowed pregnant woman who is already mother to a troubled, grieving young son. Nope, the struggling SEAL came home to Ruin Bayou, Louisiana, to finally deal with his haunting past decisions-not to start a new relationship.

Brynn has enough problems without her hormones going crazy whenever Tristan is near. Her son, Cayden, constantly lashes out at her. Her baby will be fatherless. So...what does Tristan think he's doing, making her life even more topsy-turvy than it already is?

But when it comes to putting her heart on the line, who could be more trustworthy than a Navy SEAL? 

Very good book with lots of emotion.  Both Tristan and Brynn had some hard issues to deal with in their lives.  Brynn had been widowed when her pro baseball player was gunned down because of his illegal activities.  She's living in his childhood home awaiting the birth of her second child and trying to deal with her son's heartbreak.  The last thing she wants is to get involved with another man.  She can't help her attraction to him though she fights it all the way.  She knows he isn't going to stay around.  But he is very good with her son who is starting to return to normal under Tristan's friendship. Her biggest issue besides not wanting to depend on a man again was her fear of losing another loved one. Tristan came home to try to come to terms with his own past.  His marriage ended because his wife couldn't handle his job.  She has remarried and taken their son to California where he hardly ever gets to see the boy.  He blames himself completely and it has caused him to lose focus on his missions.  He finds himself drawn to Brynn and her son and starts helping out with things she needs and helping Cayden with baseball stuff.  He makes it clear to her that he won't be there for long and is bad relationship material anyway.  I really liked the way that Tristan kept helping Brynn and how good he was to Cayden.  He didn't see the boy as just a replacement for his own son but as his own person.  His biggest issue was the guilt he felt over the breakup of his marriage and how he blamed himself.  I didn't like the way that he never held her responsible for part of the problems.  I could see how much he wanted Brynn and the kids to be part of his life but that he was afraid of messing up again.   I really enjoyed the way that their relationship grew over time and how they had to learn to compromise.  I loved Tristan's solution to his dilemma.
 
 

The SEAL's Stolen Child - Laura Marie Altom (HAR #1430 - Dec 2012)

Series: Operation Family (Book 2) 

A Man On A Mission
He's defended his country and upheld the code of the navy SEALs, but Garrett Solomon has never faced a mission quite like this. As teenagers, he and Eve Barnesworth were passionately in love. Eve's unplanned pregnancy only deepened his commitment to her. But Eve's powerful father, fearing a scandal, whisked her away. As far as Garrett and Eve knew, their baby had died-and with it, their love. Years later, the loss and betrayal still pain Garrett deeply.

Then comes shocking news: the child is still alive. Determined to find their stolen son, Garrett and Eve join forces. Working together is strictly business...until it isn't. Because it seems their powerful attraction-like the child they once thought was gone forever-is still very much alive. 

Good book.  Garrett was home for the holiday and stunned when Eve's dying father dropped that bombshell on them.  Garrett had spent the last eight years trying to forget his feelings for Eve and cope with the loss of the son he'd never had a chance to see. Now he and Eve have to work together to find out what happened to him. Being this close to Eve brings back the feelings of powerful attraction, but also the sense of betrayal he felt because she'd never contacted him after she left.  Now he doesn't trust that, if they do get involved, she won't disappear on him again.  He has to decide if he's willing to take the risk.  Eve had grown up idolizing her father who had always been good to her.  She was horrified by his revelation, and more so as she and Garrett found out more about him in their search for their son.  In spite of their still strong physical attraction she feels there is no future in a relationship between them.  She doesn't think he loves her, plus the distance between their homes would make it impossible.  It takes a life changing event for them to realize that they can have the future they both want.
 

A SEAL's Secret Baby - Laura Marie Altom (HAR #1415 - Aug 2012)

Series:  Operation Family (Book 1) 

Boot Camp Didn't Prepare Him For This!

Navy SEAL Deacon Murphy's tryst with Ellie Hilliard was white-hot, but quickly forgotten when she met her husband, his best friend, Tom. That was fine by Deacon. As a rule, he avoided making commitments, at least to anything other than the navy.

But when Tom died, Deacon promised that he'd watch over Ellie and her daughter, Pia -- not knowing that Pia was actually his, and never expecting that he'd fall for them both in the process.

Ellie is terrified of getting too close to Deacon, and not just because of his high-risk career. Losing Tom was hard enough. If Tom's parents knew the truth about Pia, she could lose them, too -- and they're the only family she has left. 

Wow.  This was an incredibly emotional book, with so many things going on.  Ellie was trying to cope with her husband's death.  She had loved him deeply and missed him very much.  She was also coping with a terrible amount of guilt.  She had had a one-night tryst with her husband's friend Deacon before she met Tom, and ended up pregnant with his child.  Neither he nor Tom knew the truth.  With Tom's death, she knows she needs to tell Deacon the truth, but she is afraid of what the consequences will be.  Tom's parents are the only family she has left, and she's afraid if they know the truth she will lose them too.  When she tells Deacon he is stunned and has to deal with the idea of being a father.  He had had a terrible childhood and had no idea if he knew how to be a good father.  He also had to deal with the guilty feelings of knowing his best friend's child was actually his.  As he got to know Pia, the love he felt for her was overwhelming.  He also found himself developing feelings for Ellie, and she for him.  Neither of them could deal with the guilty feelings this caused and found themselves constantly getting close then pulling away.  Thanks to his missions as a SEAL, they also spent a fair amount of time separated, so this story took more than a year.  This actually made the book feel even more realistic to me.  There were some fun parts in the book, including Deacon's first attempt at diapering.