Reviewer: Holly SEALed with a Kiss by Mary Margret Daughtridge
Series: SEALed #1
Also in this series: SEALed with a Kiss
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: April 1st 2008
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 432
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Series Rating:
"Daughtridge delivers a well-written romance that is simultaneously tender and sensuous."-Booklist
He can handle just about anything, except this...
Jax Graham is a member of an elite military team, but when it comes to taking care of his four-year-old son after his ex-wife dies, he's completely clueless.
One person can help him, if he'll let her...
Family therapist Pickett Sessoms knows just how to help a rough, tough Navy SEAL deal with a scared and lonely little boy, but not if he insists on going it alone.
When Jax and his young son Tyler get trapped by a hurricane, Pickett takes them in against her better judgment. Jax figures Pickett's high maintenance, just like all the women he knows, and she figures he's not commitment material. But when an outing turns deadly, Pickett discovers what it means to be a SEAL, and Jax discovers that even a hero needs help sometimes...
I’m still working on my review for SEALed with a Kiss by Mary Margret Daughtridge, who has graciously agreed to be here with us on Thursday. To be honest, I’ve kind of lost my reviewing mojo, and even though I know what I want to say about the book, actually putting it down on paper (er, typing it out on screen..whatever) isn’t going so well.
So to tease you until I get around to the review, I’m going to borrow something from Carolyn Jean. While reading, CJ does this wonderful thing called Great Moments from last night’s reading. I love it when she does this. Not only is she terribly brilliant, but she really analyzes the scenes she’s reading and makes me think about them and see things I wouldn’t have noticed before.
Anyway, like I said, I’m going to borrow the idea from her and post my favorite moments from SEALed.
MMD really excels at Imagery. I’m a sucker for good imagery in a novel. There’s nothing I love better than having a scene in novel jump out at me because the author wrote it so well I can actually see it. I don’t want to bombard you, though, so I’ll only list a few here.
The first comes from page 144:
The sun chose that moment to come out again, spilling golden light of late afternoon through the high window on the landing. Like a benediction it gilded the two heads and illuminated the man’s tender expression. The tiny body lay against its father’s broad chest in complete trust.
Isn’t that wonderfully written? I can just picture it. The man holding the child, a look of tenderness on his face, while the little boy rested his head on a strong shoulder. Wonderful. And I think it really speaks of the characters. It’s no secret our hero is struggling with parenthood, and his son is struggling with so many changes in such a short time, but here we see them. And we know, all will be well.
Of course, there’s humor as well. Tyler, the four year old, sees one of the dogs peeing on a bush and decides to try it out himself. From page 146:
“Oh.” Tyler looked thoughtful, then walked over to examine the spot Patterson had favored. He studied it for a minute, then pulled down his elasticized shorts in th front while digging for his own equipment.
Jax, who had been examining the roof for signs of damage, caught the sight of th boy just as his intention became clear. Protest mingled with confusion on Jax’s face as Tyler balanced carefully on one foot while lifting the other.
It said much for Tyler’s coordination that he was able to balance at all on one foot with both hands occupied; however, the lowered shorts restricted his movement. Nor had he reckoned that lifting his leg would cause the shorts to snap back to his waist, clipping everything in between. He gave a little yip, dancing to stay upright.
Jax winced.
Pickett lost it.
Maybe it’s because I’m the mother of a little boy, but I could clearly see this scene in my head. Clearly see it. So much so that even after reading it several times, just typing it out made me bust up laughing again. Ha!
More wonderful imagery can be found on page 191:
Late afternoon sun striped the lawn with deep green and gold. A man, brown and strong, in blue swim trunks, performing a simple domestic task. A child romping and dashing through the spray. Bright arcs of water flying from the dogs’ coats. A large white duck flipping water from his wings, then folding them back with a self-important air. The simple rightness of the scene settled warm and solid in Pickett’s heart. It filled a space she hadn’t known was empty until this moment. It felt like – it felt like coming home.
Isn’t that beautiful?
Alright, enough for now. Look for a more in depth review tomorrow and the guest author day on Thursday.
And in the meantime, go forth and buy.