Review: Cute Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2014
Technical Sergeant Chase Carver had not just lost a man during this para-rescue, but his best friend. Ritchie died protecting a Green Beret called Bowman. Months later, Abigail Bowman – the six year old daughter of the Green Beret – starts sending Chase regular letters and care packages. Abigail and her “Mommy Melanie” helped save his sanity not just with their caring and thoughtful gifts, but with their regular – and wonderfully normal – letters. Finally discharged, Chase decides to say thank you in person.There’s a gradual progression as Melanie and Chase get to know each other though Chase’s letters with Abigail. It took me a while to warm up to Melanie. She’s been in a very long, quite unhealthy relationship. While it’s true she’s finally seen the light about how poorly her ex has treated her – while she admits she’s known this for ages but stuck her head in the sand – had me not feeling very sympathetic toward her plight at all. This is countered, though, by the fact Melanie clearly dotes on Abigail, and can see Chase for the wonderful gentleman he is.For most of the book I wasn’t at all sure it was an erotic romance. Not something I’d share with my granny, this still doesn’t quite make it for an erotic romance to my mind. There’s one very steamy necking scene in the middle and a very descriptive sex scene right at the end. Certainly not your sweet style of romance, this also isn’t hot and heavy enough for me to personally label it “erotic”. The set-up and beginnings are very sweet. Letters to a man seeing military action, and the addition of sweetness Abigail brought with her childish enthusiasm and optimism had me initially wondering if there’d ever be some steam. But when Chase and Melanie come face to face the heat is slowly turned up. Their attraction is mutual and instant. I could believe this speedy attraction as there had been many months of letters exchanged between them, so they all knew a lot about each other before actually meeting. While they’re both seriously attracted, the lack of follow through on their chemistry had me eagerly wanting more between them. When that final scene finally came through – it was worth the wait!I also found much of the plot to be over-the top. Chase’s family welcomed Melanie and Abigail with enthusiasm and open arms – which I found lovely – but they also promptly went about solving every problem the heroine had. While a part of me was charmed by this, I also found it to be quite improbable. Families help each other, yes, but not to the extent of getting new housing, new jobs *and* a new car all in the space of a few short days. The modern woman in me also felt a bit upset that Melanie not only didn’t solve a single issue on her own, but she also couldn’t manage her clingy and abusive ex-boyfriend. I don’t mind reading about strong alpha males and heroines who let them muscle in on their lives – but I do want to read about heroines who can maintain some control over their own lives and deal with at least a few of their own problems.I feel this book really might not suit some readers. For myself while I was disappointed with some of the issues, the characters were interesting and kept my attention. I thought the primary characters Chase, Abigail and Melanie were well drawn, three dimensional, complex and interesting. They all had great interactions with each other and with Chase’s wider family. I’m not sure everyone would be satisfied with this story – but I enjoyed myself while reading it.originally posted at long and short reviews