Review: Another Great Addition To This Wonderful Series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2012
For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please visit Reader's Edyn at:readersedyn (dot) blogpot (dot) comReview:Most of you know by now how much I adore the 1 Night Stand series from Decadent Publishing. And I really do. I mean how can you not enjoy a series with so many talented contributing authors and wonderful books to read? Well, Heather Long just added another great read to the 1 Night Stand repertoire. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the unconventional slant it took in dealing with a harsh reality.Brody is a Marine and is on leave for a bit before returning to Afghanistan. But before leave is over, his friends have a plan to carry out. Under the guise that one of their buddies is having a bad PTSD day, Brody is quickly substituted into a date arranged by 1 Night Stand. Of course he has no idea that he was the planned date the whole time. But he "takes one for the team" as it were and honors the pack he made with the boys to participate in one of these blind dates. There is not much to tell about him except that he is a man of honor, respects women, and has no intention of leaving active duty anytime soon. And of course, he has a body that is drool-worthy.Shannon is a bit of a different case. She is a sculptor and despite the magnificence of her work, she is constantly criticized for lacking emotional components in her art. Wanting to get past a traumatic event from her past, she signs up for a 1 Night Stand hoping that she will be able to break free of the bonds that have held her for far too long. And just maybe her work will take on the emotional depth it has heretofore been deficient in. She wants to have a relationship, but her mistrust of men makes it too hard to take that first step. She needs a guy that can give her the power back, but also be able to catch her if she falls. A difficult combination, but if anyone can find Mr. Right, Madame Eve will do it.I have to say that I really enjoyed this story. Ms. Long broke outside of the box and put a bit of a different spin on the details of Shannon's trauma. While she still suffers the after effects, she also feels guilt at her lack of memory and the details of what actually happened. Not that experiencing something like that would be any less traumatic no matter the specifics, but she definitely suffers the after effects and their symptoms present familiar to Brody's training in PTSD. Because of his compassion and honor, Brody is able to recognize exactly what Shannon needs to overcome. And because of those same traits, he assesses the situation and gives her exactly what she needs to take the power back. *le swoon* Hot Marine, delish bod, and a personal savior to boot? Sign me up!My only complaint, through no one's fault but my own is that I did not realize that this book was not only part of the 1 Night Stand series, but also book 5 in the ALWAYS A MARINE series by Ms. Long. You can bet I will be reading the whole series to be sure. Well, I guess I have one other complaint and that would be that more than one intimate occurrence would have been awesome. Brody had some pretty vivid ideas about what he would like to do with Shannon, but only once did we get to experience their connection. And yet, somehow, the way Ms. Long wrote it, it still worked. So you see both of my complaints could be argued as not really complaint at all. Helpful, that. I know.Those of you who enjoy a strong male lead that can show a tender side, paired with a female lead who is determined to overcome will definitely enjoy this story! Of course it helps that there is a Marine! I mean seriously, do you really need anything else besides a Marine to want to read this story? I think not. While I do not feel that anything lacked because I started this series with book 5, previous characters in the series were mentioned and I would have liked to know more about them and their stories prior. If you are a reader who HAS to read in order, definitely do so. If it doesn't matter to you, then picking up anywhere in the series won't hurt you either. Ms. Long is definitely in my future read pile. At around 40 pages, why not add her to your list too? Did I mention that there are Marines? *grins*(eBook copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.)