Author: MELISSA SCHROEDER
Genre: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Published: November 2011
Series: A Little Harmless Military Romance #1 (upcoming series)
Source: Author, no other compensation given for an honest review
Francis McKade is a man in lust. He’s had a crush on his best friend’s little sister for years but he has never acted on it. Besides that fact that she’s Malachi’s sister, he’s a Seal and he learned his lesson with his ex-fiancé. Women do not like being left alone for long months at a time. Still, at a wedding in Hawaii anything can happen—and does. Unfortunately, after the best night of his life, he and Mal are called away to one of their most dangerous missions.
Shannon is blown over by Kade. She’s always had a crush on him and after their night together, it starts to feel a little like love. But, after the mission, Kade never calls or writes and she starts to wonder if it was all a dream. Until one night, her brother Mal drags him into her bar and grill and Shannon gets the shock of her life.
Kade isn’t the man Shannon knew in Hawaii, or even the last few years. Losing a friend and being injured changes a man, especially one who had never felt so vulnerable. He still can’t shake the terror that keeps him up at night. Worse, he is realizing that the career he loves just might be over.
Shannon is still mad, but she can’t help but hurt for the man she loves. He is darker, a bit more dangerous, but beneath that, he is the Kade she's known for so many years. When he pushes her to her limits in the bedroom, Shannon refuses to back down. One way or another, this military man is going to learn there is no walking away from love—not while she still has breath in her body.
My Review:
INFATUATION is a new addition to the very popular HARMLESS series by Melissa Schroeder. However, this novel about Francis “Kade” and Shannon starts off a new series that involves military romance. I’ve enjoyed many of the HARMLESS series novels, so I was very happy to get a chance to share my thoughts on this one. Schroeder keeps up all of the elements that made me buy her previous works with INFATUATION.
There is a great relationship here with Kade and Shannon. Great banter in the dialog. Great writing over all. And, one of the things that I really like, is that Schroeder incorporates friendships and romantic relationships that were explored in previous books without letting them over power the main plot, or pull focus from the two people who are in the spotlight.
I’ve always enjoyed reading about friends that become more. Sometimes this trope goes wrong because the couple is too much in the “friend zone” for me. Other times, when the female is the one who is secretly in love with her male friend, I can become exasperated by the many chances she has to express her feelings, but never goes for it. Instead of having superficial reasons for Kade pulling away from Shannon, I thought that Schroeder created the type of situation (Kade’s military service and Shannon being the sister of Kade's good friend) that real relationships have to encounter. That realness resonated with me, and made the book that much more good.
This is, in fact, one of the things that I sometimes find lacking in all of the fantasy and paranormal romance books that I read. They are not in a real world situation. I look to contemporary romance to be as real as possible, because if not in contemporary romance, then where will I find it? INFATUATION has a hot military male, a sensual and self-assured (not simpering) female, a smoking romance, but ultimately a plot that extends beyond just a couple of sexual encounters.
4.5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language
My Rating: 14/15 (5 stars) Must Read
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