George Monteverdi always had one goal, to become a navy SEAL. Now both a SEAL and a K-9 handler, saving lives is his priority. When tragedy touches his own life, he handles it–with the help of his crew and his dog Bosch. Having those guys by his side means he’ll never be alone…though any sort of romance feels like a far away dream. Heartbroken after her fiancé falls in love with another … another woman, Lani Abuel seeks comfort in the arms of a stranger, only to find herself pregnant and alone. She’ll do whatever it takes to be a good mother, which means finally facing the trauma in her past. The last thing she expected was a warrior with wounds all too similar to hers finding his way into her heart and loving her child as his own.
As their worlds entwine, Lani and Geo find the joy and redemption they’ve been seeking. But despite the sanctuary they’ve created, a forever love seems impossible. A K-9 handler who spends most of his time deployed with his SEAL team, staring danger in the eye, is far from what Lani–or her baby–needs, and Geo can’t imagine a future doing anything else.
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Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 3 in the Loving A Warrior, and I STRONGLY suggest you read both books one, Loving A Warrior, and book 2, Keeping A Warrior, before you read this one. There is much referenced here that is not fully recapped. And you know, cos I said so! Both are 5 star reads.
As is this one!
Lani meets Geo on possibly the worst day of her life. Geo’s ain’t much better. Together they begin to navigate a relationship, while dealing with a huge amount of grief at the death of their loved ones.
Hansen has a knack of roping you in, pulling you close, and not letting you go. She can grab you, by the heart strings, and drag you kicking and screaming through every single emotion known to man, and then expect you to write a coherent review after!
I mean, I loved this book, I really did. It carries some difficult story lines, but again, Ms Hansen delivers them in a way that you cannot fault. Grief is a fickle thing, and everyone deals with that differently. I know, my sister and I dealt with my mother and father’s death very different, but there is no right or wrong way. Here, Lani’s grief is a decade old, but she still suffers. Geo’s is much fresher, and it’s HIS pain that hit me the most.
I have no personal experience of war, or those who serve. I can only imagine the horrors that are presented on a daily basis. It’s to be expected that some will struggle with that, but put on a “brave face” The way Hansen describes Geo’s grief and his own spiral downwards is heartbreaking, it really is. Only his relationship with Lani saves him.
I loved how the others in this series; Matt and Shane and Rhys and Devon, play a huge part here. I loved that Devon and Lani become such good friends, even if Lani is Rhys’ ex.
What I want to know now, Ms Hansen, is this! Will we be privvy to want happened in Keeping A Warrior, and here, to Matt and Shane?? Cos let me tell ya, I does NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to know! We get an inkling of what Matt suffers here, but not enough. So, please, write a followup!
Love, love LOVED the epilogue! And I loved Bosch, Geo’s military dog.
I can’t, in any honesty, give this book any less than. . .
5 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Well this is not the kind of book I usuallly read M/M I mean. But Geo is bi and a Navy Seal. He’s going thru a lot of inner turmoil about the death of a mentor and friend. He meets Lani at this bar she bartends at. Of course their meeting isn’t perfect. The book is more detailed to what the military face in wartime and how they deal with and the K-9’s who do their job. But in the end it’s a HEA for Geo and Lani.
Having read and enjoyed Melanie Hansen’s novel, Keeping a Warrior, I was eager to read the next novel in her Loving a Warrior series, and she didn’t disappoint. With great sensitivity and skill, Ms. Hansen has written an excellent novel with many deeply emotional triggers, including PTSD, suicide, wounded warriors, survivor’s guilt, bisexuality, homosexuality, pregnancy with an unknown father, parental abuse, and loneliness. If any of these are triggers for you, you may want to read something else, but although I was able to relate to some of these issues, the delicacy and inherent decency with which this author handled them made this a 5-star read for me.
The main characters in this novel are George (Geo), a K9 handler with the Navy Seals, and Lani, an unwed, pregnant woman, who had a one night stand and doesn’t know who the father of her child is. She also was dumped by her friend turned lover, turned fiance after a decade-long relationship, Rhys, also a Navy SEAL, who was gone on deployments more than he was present, and who then met and fell in love with someone else. Pregnant and alone, Lani is working as a bartender when she meets Geo, also a Navy SEAL, drinking alone and staring at a second drink he ordered but hasn’t touched. Both of these characters have experienced major trauma in their lives. For Lani, the suicide of her beloved brother, and her inability to deal with it, and for Geo, the loss of his closest friend and mentor, Cade, who also chose to end his own life, and the guilt Geo feels for not seeing it coming, and that’s just for starters.
When Lani and Geo first meet they each seem to sense each other’s pain and brokenness, and find in each other a good listener, as they slowly form a friendship. As you begin to learn their individual stories, you’ll be going through an emotional wringer of guilt and loss along with them, especially if you have dealt with similar experiences in your own life, but you’ll also see how simply having someone else to talk to, someone who understands your grief without judging you, and shares your feelings of pain and loss, and the way in which two broken souls can help heal each other.
At the very least, Geo, who has been consumed by guilt and grief, has found his K9 partner, Bosch, to help him function and find purpose in his work with the SEALs, but his growing inability to deal with his feelings in an environment where men are supposed to be able to compartmentalize and never show weakness is slowly but surely affecting his performance. When Lani becomes his friend and sounding board, it helps, but she has as many emotional scars as he does, and is also attempting to deal with her own issues. While I’m not entirely sure why the author needed to make Geo bisexual, it certainly didn’t bother me, and we do get a chance to see a wonderful and loving gay couple who we met in the previous novel get their HEA ending in this one. While not essential to the plot of this novel, their happiness was a nice change from the much of the sadness the two primary characters are dealing with.
There was absolutely nothing about this book or its characters that didn’t resonate with me. My marriage to a man whose military service left him with PTSD certainly gave me insight into the emotional issues that these characters need to face and come to terms with, and having lost more than one friend to suicide helped me to understand the why of it, and the tendency to blame oneself for not seeing the warning signs. I very much liked the fact that the author understood that healing from grief and guilt is an ongoing and long-time process, and she offered excellent advice on how to deal with it and how to help those in your life who may be experiencing it too.
While this novel doesn’t offer much in the way of a complicated or ultra-suspenseful plot, what it did extremely well was delve deeply into the human psyche, into feelings that are hard to express or share, and did it brilliantly. It was a heartfelt read I’m happy to recommend with one warning–make sure to keep your tissues handy.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.
George and Lani will make you feel all the “feels”. They’ll put you through the wringer, give you a breather and then do it again. These two lost and slightly broken souls are just what each other need.
Lani can’t handle the guilt of being a soon-to-be-mum. She had a fiance but they were together for all the wrong reasons; missing the brother and friend they had lost, guilt at not helping him more, survivors guilt. She almost wrecked his new relationship with her stupid attempt to get back together. To commiserate she had a desperate rebound fling and now she is pregnant. Bio-dad has left her high and dry and now it’s her and peanut against the world.
Enter Geo. He has his own hurt to deal with. He and his K9 partner function well enough but the scars he carries make him feel he’ll never be whole again. Meeting Lani helps soothe the ragged edges. But can they make a real go of this relationship or are they doomed before they ever really take off?
These two very much grow from friendship. With the complication of Lani being pregnant and actually still being friends with her ex-fiance, their experiences with grief and trust issues. I did enjoy the emotion-filled ride. They certainly don’t have an easy road to their HEA.
I was caught up in the odd but very happy friendship that Lani and her ex and his new partner find together. The author doesn’t shy away from showing different loving relationships with a brilliantly written same-sex couple who are just accepted by their rough, tough, gruff comrades. Sure there is teasing but the teams just see them for them, not as something odd or to be feared or hidden. Absolutely loved that.
Bosch is a brilliant character on his own. I’m a sucker for dogs and K9’s in particular. He was very much a working dog and not a pet but I still missed him in the 2nd half of the book.
Great writing and I’d say this is most definitely a read you need tissues handy for. More romance and feels than romantic suspense.
#Triggers: suicide, suicide survivors
4.5 stars
Lani is a bartender, her boyfriend leaves her after fallen for another woman, and she has a one night stand and ends up pregnant. Geo is a Navy SEAL and K-9 handler. He wanders into Lani’s bar just as she feels like her world is falling apart. Both have had the death of a loved one almost destroy them. Lani finally decides to get her life on track so she can be a good mom. Geo and Lani both know a relationship wont work, Lani has abandonment issues and a SEAL is definitely not the way to go. Geo lives to be a SEAL and nothing is going to get in the way. The more time they get to know each other, the harder they fall. But will Lani tear down the walls around her heart and find happiness?
Be prepared to cry. Keep the Kleenex’s handy. This story deals with suicide and the people who are left behind. Steamy sex scenes.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *