Review: Another hot soldier!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
Plot / character development 5.0Writing / Pacing 4.5Emotions / Storyline 5.0Swoon / Romance 5.0Steam / Sex 4.5This third installment of the Explosive series bring us the story of Kale Montgomery and Lucy Dawson. Both characters were introduced briefly in the previous book when it alludes to Kale and Lucy having a secret physical relationship which results into an unexpected pregnancy.Lucy is a 2nd grade teacher who falls, literally, for Kale when he comes to her class as a guest of his goddaughter. The to have an instant chemistry that leads to fun flirting. When Lucy tells Kale she’s not in this for a relationship beyond the bedroom, it’s music to Kale’s ears. Yet slowly, we witness Kale and Lucy’s relationship begin as friends with benefits, grow into best friends, mature into “I more than like you”, and eventually emerge as a true, everlasting love.What I find so refreshing about this book was the fact that BOTH male and female characters were written with equal strength. Long gone was the stereotypical (in books) soldier being a total man-whore changing his ways thanks to the virginal innocence of the heroine. Kale is a true gentleman who goes above and beyond for those he cares about. I think I feel a bit in love with Kale when he talks about his devotion for his goddaughter. When I read about the past he was keeping hidden, my heart shattered for him.  And Lucy...she is strong and determined and is never one to play games. The two truly were a perfect match, as lovers, friends, and a family.The love scenes were sensual and passionate. The banter between Lucy and Kale - whether is was Kale’s corny vegetation references or Lucy naughty teacher innuendos, I was often laughing out loud at them. It’s been a long time since I have read a novel that felt real - like these two characters could be real people and these are their real issues. My only issue with the book is this - the span of the book takes place over the nine months of Lucy’s pregnancy and at times, it felt like it was taking 9 months to read. I think perhaps because there wasn’t such strong angst or drama, I wasn’t brought to that “OMG I have to stay up all night to see what the hell is going happen” phase.Overall, this is a great addition to the series. I cannot wait to read more from this author as I have quickly become a fan. I was lucky enough to actually meet Tessa back at an authors even in Cleveland. Even with all the buzz of readers and authors all around, she took time to start a conversation with me. I was having a fan-girl moment and had no idea what to say to the authors. Perhaps she recognized my awkwardness and took pity on me. Either way, she was super friendly and was super happy I had a chance to talk with her about the characters of her previous books. Tessa Teevan is definitely an author to watch and one-click!