Monday, June 23, 2014

Review Tour for Seal my Destiny by Sharon Hamilton. Book 6 in the Seal Brotherhood Series. Great prizes to be won.

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – SEAL My Destiny SERIES – SEAL Brotherhood #6 AUTHOR – Sharon Hamilton GENRE – Romantic Suspense PUBLICATION DATE – June, 1, 2014 LENTH (Pages/# Words) – Full Length Novel PUBLISHER – Al Publishing

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TOUR-ABOUTBOOK

Navy SEAL Luke Paulsen, on the verge of PTSD stemming from the death of his fiancée and a brutal tour overseas, knows he is damaged goods and unsuitable for relationships. While paying respects to a fallen comrade, he is unprepared for the chemical attraction he feels for the carefree dark-haired beauty playing in the surf one evening.

Julie Christensen befriends the troubled SEAL, motivated by her yearning to soothe the young man’s troubled soul. Fueled by intense mutual desire, they succumb to one night of mind-numbing passion. Afterwards, he is unable to shed the memory of his lost love and disappears.

When they meet again at a wedding that will forever bring their two families together, their passion and longing for one another forces them to confront their pasts in order to find a future together. But soon the trauma of his service separates them. Julie goes back to teaching and Luke deploys for North Africa with SEAL Team 3. Upon his return, he receives a frantic call that Julie's life is in danger. Will he make it in time to save the woman he now knows he wants to marry and spend the rest of his life with?


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TOUR-EXCERPT

He wanted to say something but suddenly became hesitant. Everything had gone so fast, he didn’t want to spook her. He was unafraid to show her how much he loved being with her, especially since she’d promised to visit him in Coronado and they’d see where things went from there. It would have been like the cart before the horse, but he wanted to ask her to marry him at that impulsive moment, but he held himself back. Being the wife of a SEAL was a special assignment and there was no training for that, except the school of hard knocks. There was a community of wives that looked out for each other. And not all the stories from overseas made it home to them. The smart wives knew this. He knew it was a lot to ask of someone. He didn’t want to fall for a lady who didn’t really understand what she’d be getting herself into. But that was a completely crazy thought, because he’d already fallen for her. He decided he’d just put it out of his mind, and not discuss anything future-related, to keep the pressure off them both. Nothing wrong with having a little bit of—well, a lot of—fun in the next few days before his deployment. He held her under the starlight. Feeling eyes on him, he saw Julie’s parents eyeing him from their kitchen window, smiling. He couldn’t keep up the eye contact because odds weren’t in his favor. He wasn’t prince charming, or Sir Galahad riding in on his white horse. He was just a guy other guys sent in to blow stuff up, grab people and hopefully get out before getting shot or caught. And his intentions, although he liked to think of them as honorable, were merely to do everything in his power to be as irresistible as possible to her so that when he left, he’d be the one hard to miss. And then maybe she’d wait for him. Maybe she’d wait until he got fully well. It was a lot of ifs. The music stopped while he was kissing her ear through her hair, while he was holding her tighter as she melted into him. He liked that they were dancing because their thighs made soft caresses and the dress, that yummy dress, made all that noise. He just knew every time he heard the sound of layers of chiffon, he’d get hard. It was going to be something he’d have for the rest of his life.

My 4 Star Review

I have received this book from the touring host for an honest review.

PTSD is the main focus in this book, with Navy Seal Luke Paulsen suffering from it for two years; trying to cope in his work; making the best of his situation.
When he met Julie on the beach, sparks flew immediately. The passionate, erotic kind that caused them not to say much but pass all civil conversation and get right to it. Their passion drew them closer and they had a great time, but it seemed that it was all it would be, just that. But as time passed we learn about their heartache, missing each other on a deeper level than just the physical. Not knowing how to communicate their heart to each other.
This yo-yo relationship had you guessing and you wonder if the two would ever work it out and it be more than just good sex. And believe me, it was good sex. Toe curling, sheet warming, sweaty sex.

With a good supportive system, Luke learned to control the night sweats, being out of control in given situations, nightmares that haunted him, struggling to sleep; all symptoms that tried to break him down. He showed that he could take orders and work with the psychiatrist to get a better handle on his life and the decisions he had to make. A strong character that shows his vulnerability and determination through his struggles. His relationships with his team was interesting to read, and you could feel the camaraderie.

Julie's career was in jeopardy when faced with the father of an abused child, who clearly meant her harm. Hoping she could work it out with him, her plans back fired and she was abducted. I liked her disclosure statement in the beginning of the book, using it as a barometer in her relationship with Luke, if you could call what they had a relationship. She was a smart, tentative young woman with a love for her young pupils.

A good story, but I felt at times that some of the scenes were choppy, lacking flow as you moved from one scene to another. Although the focus was primarily on the PTSD and their relationship, I felt that the story could use more suspense in the specific scenes; like for instance when he and his team had to race into the house to save a young bride about to be raped by this evil man. It was only glanced over and you couldn't really connect with the seriousness of the issue.
Even during the time that Julie was abducted not much was mentioned as if it were skimmed over and the death of the other woman didn't effect her, even if they knew each other well. No aftershock or even a mention of the ordeal as we plunged right into the next scene. Surely Julie had to have thoughts about that? Especially in the light of the topic. However, nothing was mentioned.
Overall a good story with enough passion and romance to keep turning over the pages. 




TOUR-MEETAUTHOR

SEAL My Destiny - Author Photo

Sharon’s award-winning almost-erotic Navy SEAL stories of the SEAL Brotherhood, have consistently made best sellers lists and review sites. Her characters follow a spicy road to redemption through passion and true love. She has been an Amazon top 100 author in Romantic Suspense since last fall.

Her Golden Vampires of Tuscany are not like any vamps you’ve read before, since they don’t have to go to ground and can walk around in the full light of the sun. Honeymoon Bite, Book 1 of the Golden Vampires of Tuscany Series was recently named the #1 Gothic Romance by Amazon. It is now available on Audible.

Her Guardian Angels struggle with the human charges they are sent to save, often escaping their vanilla world of Heaven for the brief human one. You won’t find any of these beings in any Sunday school class.

Sharon lives in Sonoma County, California with her husband, and two Dobermans. A lifelong organic gardener, when she’s not writing, she’s getting vera vera dirty in the mud, or wandering Farmer’s Markets looking for new Heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers.

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TOUR-GIVEAWAY

Prizes:

1) Signed set of print books 1-5 and a signed cover posted featuring Jimmy Thomas 

2) Winners choice of audiobook (choose from book 1-5 in the SEAL Brotherhood series) (or an ebook of their choice if they don't read audio) 

3) One $50 Giftcard

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Organized By:
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6 comments:

  1. i really enjoyed Luke & Julie's story and pleased they had a good HEA

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by Julie. Hope you will read the rest of the books in the series.

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  2. Thanks for hosting me today and for the review. Appreciate it and hope you'll read more of my series.

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    Replies
    1. Great pleasure Sharon. Thanks for the follow. Wish you all the best.

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  3. Thanks so much for being part of the tour and for your great review.

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  4. Great review, I love your honesty! Have a great day :)

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