Guest Review: Executive Officer’s Wife by Lila Munro

Judith‘s review of Executive Officer’s Wife by Lila Munro

This is a novel that takes seriously the culture and ethos of the Marine Corp as it follows the experiences of Libby Calhoun, only daughter of the senior NCO on a recon Marine base and who has lived half of her life apart from her dad due to his recon deployments through his 30 year career. Her mother died shortly after her birth due to breast cancer, so Libby’s only maternal figure is a Hispanic woman from New Mexico who has been a part of her life from nearly the very beginning.

Now her father is once again deployed–probably his last before his 30 year retirement, and he has been taken prisoner by terrorists. Libby’s life is also in danger as a possible hostage so she has been given a security detail, driver, and a personal bodyguard–Chase Wayland, a former recon Marine himself. Now he has his own very prosperous security company and as one who knows the ins and outs of the Marine Corp, is in charge of Libby’s safety. Unbeknownst to each of them, they meet when Libby is working behind the bar at her godfather’s bar (as a volunteer and just “staying busy”) and they “hook up” in a very intimate way–a weekend fling even to the point of not sharing their names. When Chase learns that his one-night-stand is in reality his client, he goes into “professional mode” and their hanky panky ceases abruptly. It has only been a way to “work out the knots” for him anyway. Yet neither of them are able to move past that initial night, and eventually they resume their affair. The condom breaks, and Libby become pregnant. By this time they each have come to realize that they love the other, but as is so often the case, they fail to make their true feelings known and so the conflict continues, fueled by insecurity, fear of commitment, or being vulnerable to someone else. Libby refuses to marry Chase, yet he has determined to make Libby a permanent part of his life, even to the point that he re-enlists in the Marine Corp, now becoming Major Wayland and the new executive officer of the recon base. Libby finds out she is having twins, wants desperately to marry Chase, but refuses to do so unless it is because he loves her and not just to “give the babies a name.”

There is lots to like about this novel. There is suspense as Libby is put in danger. There is Libby’s own struggle with having her life taken over by the necessity of the security around her–she has always been very independent and in control of her life. She has been married briefly and now divorced for four years. She knows how to live on her own, so Chase’s constant presence, the pressure and worry every time she tries to carry on her normal routine, and her fear for her father’s life, force Libby to re-evaluate her priorities and how important this “control” is. She is slowly introduced to Chase’s humumgous family and she finds that his sisters, brothers, and extended family fill a hole that she didn’t want to admit was in her life. And this novel also is an educating experience about the life of dependent families in the Marine Corp–their loyalty to one another, their availability to one another when they are in need or hurt, their jockeying for position and rank–all are a part of this unique way of living and thinking.

As a former military wife I was thrown back in time and found myself re-living some of my own experiences–life on a military base, the loneliness when hubby had to be away for many months, and discovering the bond that exists between military families. But the real core of this novel is the journey that Libby must take away from her loneliness–an emotional isolation which had become so much a part of her that she just thought it was normal. She had to learn, possibly for the first time, what it was to share her life, her thoughts, her feelings and her future. It was a journey that Chase had to experience so that he could let go of his first marriage–a relationship that had been filled with lies and betrayal and rejection of him as a man and as a Marine. He was a man of substance and had “made his way in the world.” He was financially set and his future was secure. But he had to learn to let the irascible Libby thaw his heart and help him to become alive again. This is a gentle and engaging love story and while it is not “over the top” erotic, it lives and breathes the connection between these two characters and their affair.

This is a new author for me, but I am impressed with the quality of the writing, the consistent story line development, the interesting and captivating characters, and the evident research that went into this project. It will be a very satisfying experience for romantic fiction fans, and for those who like a story set in the military world, this certainly has lots to offer. I think it is a worthy use of the reader’s time.

I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.