Award-winning author Karina Bliss launches her Special Forces series with a sweet, funny, growing-from-tragedy, kind of steamy friends-to-lovers romance.Love heals all wounds…Special Forces soldier Dan Jansen has come home from Afghanistan with one objective: to marry Josephine Swann. First he has to convince his childhood friend that their marriage ‘agreement,’ a tipsy scrawl on a beer coaster … their marriage ‘agreement,’ a tipsy scrawl on a beer coaster three years ago, is binding. And that platonic love is enough to build a passionate future on.
Protect those you love…
Jo has only thought of Dan ‘that way’ once; the night before a surgery that changed her life forever. Friendship is all she has to offer as she struggles to care for her grandmother and resurrect her business.
Both have wounds only the other can heal. But that requires surrendering their secrets. Can two best friends create a love story for the ages?
Previously titled: Here Comes The Groom
“Karina Bliss is an excellent writer whose plots are so complex and her characters so realistic that readers are given much more than cookie cutter rehashes of classic stories. Also, her solutions to the problems are unique…” Desert Isle Keeper. www.likesbooks.com.
“I’ve announced the next book club pick: Karina Bliss’ Here Comes the Groom, and it’s lovely fun reading. I would venture to say it causes one to be washed on the warm baking sands of love’s splendid shores of good reading bliss…” Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books.
“If I had to summarize what I think the skill of a good romance author is, then it is this ability. To use what everyone loves about the romance genre, without letting those conventions take over. And you do this really well.” Dear Author.
The Special Forces series
The Soldier’s Wedding
The Rescue Mission
Bring Him Home
A Prior Engagement
more
My Review
No wonder this is on my re-read shelf!
There are so many great things I could say about this book, I don’t know where to start.
SAS Special Forces soldier Dan Jansen returns home from Afghanistan carrying a ton of guilt and almost desperately focuses on the one good thing in his life- his best friend, Swannie. He decides now is the time to enforce the pledge they made to marry each other by the time they turn thirty-three.
Except, his bride-to-be is surprisingly reluctant.
Jo Swann is fighting demons of her own and doesn’t have time to put up with her best friend’s shenanigans. He’s booked the wedding, sent out invitations, and even ordered the flowers! It’s beginning not to feel much like a joke anymore…
While there are many laugh-out-loud moments in this story, it’s so much more than that. Jo’s grandmother has dementia, the newspaper she’s inherited is in danger of a hostile takeover, and oh yeah, she’s recovering from a mastectomy.
At the same time, Dan learns his parents are separating, and his cousin’s wife and son (the SAS soldier who died in battle) are having a hard time accepting the loss. Hell, so is he.
These two are going through the worst of times and deserve a chance at true happiness.
My favorite lines:
The weather had been moody all day, trying on all four seasons like a teenage girl who couldn’t decide what to wear.
Bliss, Karina. The Soldier’s Wedding: Special Forces #1 (Kindle Location 1558). Karina Bliss. Kindle Edition.
He kissed her. With so much yearning, so much need and persuasion that she had no choice but to kiss him back. With a groan, Jo wrenched her mouth away. “The fear’s always going to be there,” she warned.
“In the SAS they teach you that it’s how you dance with it that makes the difference.”
She closed her eyes.
Sliding one hand behind her nape, Dan nuzzled her neck. “Dance with me,” he murmured against her skin, felt her responsive shiver.
Bliss, Karina. The Soldier’s Wedding: Special Forces #1 (Kindle Locations 1655-1659). Karina Bliss. Kindle Edition.
If you’re looking for a book that will tug at your heartstrings and make you believe in love- this is the one.
I give The Soldier’s Wedding 5 lovely kisses!
I love this series! In this book in particular, Dan is a hero you just fall in love with. And Jo is my favorite kind of heroine–tough on the outside, trying to protect all those hurts on the inside. A great, emotional read.
Loved the characters! Both of the main characters struggled with their own demons and had to process through them in order to come together to develop an honest fulfilling relationship. Great plot to get them to that point.
Loved It
This is a really great story. They made a past to marry if neither was when they were 33. He’s back and making plans for the wedding. She is fighting it. Can they make it work.
Great read with unexpected twists and turns.
It’s a well written story with interesting characters but I think I had a hard time connecting to Josephine, because the was no hint of her motivation until half way through the story. But the end was very satisfying!
Really good until the end. Touch unnecessary chaos at the end.
Wow! What can I say? I laughed my way through this novel and cried some. It was truly inspiring and thought provoking, I couldn’t put the book down.
THANK YOU for this beautiful story of hope.
Terribly unrealistic, but humorous.
In this unusual love story, Dan Jansen falls back on a contract written on a beer coaster three years before. He is keeping secrets but so too is Jo. Both Dan and Jo have more problems to deal with besides the wedding he wants but she does not. The reader is swept up into their lives and one’s compassion for the stubborn characters is aroused. There are object lessons to be learned and in particular the necessity for communication and compromises that need to be made. I really enjoyed this book and the author’s writing style is easy to read. However, I did find the last few chapters difficult to believe and was disappointed in them, despite the happy ending.
A love story about Jo and Dan with all the twists and turns of a romance that began as the best friends discover what their life together can be.
I loved that the H had to work so hard. Their back and forth about the wedding was hilarious! However, for such close friends I found it unrealistic and selfish of the h not to share her health issues. While I didn’t like that aspect of the plot, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this book.
Very enjoyable read
Great romantic read.
Great
Written from a very different but appealing point of view. More mature character plot. I liked it. And the ending was very unexpected but satisfying. It was really a great book and I hope to see more of them!
Funny
Loved this story and looking forward to reading the next after Christmas and my Christmas reads
“Delta Force Defender” Cam Sutton is a man on a mission–he’s out to prove that his commander, Major Rex Denver, is innocent of charges accusing him of being involved in a terrorist plot. CIA translator Martha Drake discovered the emails implicating the major and turned them over to the authorities. However, she had a feeling of unease about the communications, so she made copies of them. Cam needs to investigate those emails, so he heads for the best source–translator Martha. Someone else also wants to make contact with Martha–someone who wants to silence her for good. Cam soon finds himself protecting Martha while trying to clear his commander’s name. The attraction between Martha and Cam won’t stand a chance of growing into future happiness if they can’t keep each other alive. Author Carol Ericson’s thrilling romantic suspense tales feature strong characterizations, intriguing story lines, and involving romances. I very much enjoyed “Delta Force Defender”, and I look forward to reading other entries in the “Red, White and Built: Pumped Up” series.
Book Copy Gratis Author
He basically plans the wedding and tells her not to show if she doesn’t want to marry him. His points take on my most fervently expressed issues with the reluctance in friends-to-lovers, coupled with modern day pragmatism and a bunch of crazy real-world problems for these two besties. The heroine,Jo, is incredible: direct, ambitious, loving, and loyal. There’s a lot to love here, from interactions with family and friends to how deeply and deftly this book deals with tricky grief, medical, and mental health issues. When we finally get to know Ross a little bit (the hero’s, Dan’s, best man) I’m salivating. He’s…icy. I want. Dan is equally appealing: strong and steady. The question is how is he going to breech their friendship and convince her they can build a life together.