Month: June 2012

I really enjoyed this book because the action makes sense. In this novel, you have Liz Fairchild who is an American reporter in Beirut and Sergeant John Cooper in Special Forces. They dated in the states until one day he essentially disappeared (he had a mission to go to). Liz is in Beirut when she sees him, but has no idea he is undercover. Then Liz goes to help a family and once again gets thrown right in the Special Forces way. I appreciated this book because Liz wasn’t one of those annoying reporters who must get the story. She was just trying to enjoy Beirut (at first). John Cooper is your all around American boy and his team is really fun and likeable. Spiritually, you have Liz and the Team who need all kinds of prayer as they run through Beirut and then there’s Liz’s sister who married a nice guy, but a muslim and has to learn to deal with it. Don’t be unequally yoked folks!

Team Hope is a group of men and women who were at some point in the military but now run Search and Rescue. Yet, that doesn’t stop them from getting involved in many international plots. The series is fun, exciting, and romantic. A part of me wishes she had given everyone in the Team their own story, but she choose to highlight three. You can’t go wrong with any of them. Most of the characters already have a relationship with God, but for some it’s more distant than others. They all have to work through their own problems, shames, hurts but eventually they learn to heal. Any favorites?

Dee Henderson has written some fabulous military books. I say fabulous because she does her research and you can learn so much about the jobs that these men have. My favorite one is True Devotion. I mean there’s an “I love you” at the end of the first chapter. So good. This is the book that led me to her other books. In this book, you have Kelly, a Navy Seal widow and Joe, her husband’s best friend. When Nick died, Joe stepped in to take care of Kelly just because. But, they have discovered that they just might have feelings for each other? Throw in a little mystery and some Navy Seals missions and you have a great book. It’s not too heavy on the details that you’re lost and for me, the pages fly by. Spiritually, Kelly and Joe have to learn to trust God as they embrace new roles in life. A keeper!

This book takes every cliche about military men and romance and flips it on its head. Giselle is the daughter of a Vice Admiral and lives with him in Italy. After a thwarted kidnapping where she is rescued by Raz Chayil, a Marine first lieutenant, her father signs her up for self-defense classes with Chayil. Thus begins the start of what you may assume is a classic romance. Let’s just say things get really tense and by the middle of the book Giselle doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Giselle is great character. She is both a woman of strength and vulnerable. I usually get irritated with heroines who don’t trust, but Giselle has got some good reasons to act the way she does.  It makes for a fun, surprising book and eventually leads her character to the Lord.

So I’m the daughter of two vets and I love books that involve the military or an American war (American involvement) of some kind. Those in the military (past and present) have done so much and made all kinds of sacrifices and should be honored in some way. Thus, in honor of memorial day and the upcoming July 4th, I will spend the next week reviewing my favorite military books and then follow that up with one weeks of my favorite war time romance novels. These two weeks are in no way reflective of all the great authors who write on these topics. I will have a part two at some point, but I’m going to share some of my favorites. Should be fun!