A SEAL's Temptation - Tawny Weber (HB #859 - Sept 2015)

Series: Sexy SEALs (Book 9)
           Uniformly Hot (Book 56)

Subject: Navy SEAL Shane "Scavenger" O'Brian

Mission: Seduce and satisfy Lark Sommers!

Lark Sommers's dry spell is officially a sex-starved desert. Since taking over her mom's quirky coffee shop in Nowhere, Idaho -- putting her own career on permanent hold -- Lark's been, well, miserable. But her friends have a plan…one that starts with a superhot guy with a rockin' hard bod.

US Navy SEAL Shane O'Brian has no clue he's being set up. All he knows is that Lark does incredible things to his libido. Still, Shane can't quite bring himself to tell her what he does for a living. After all, their risqué business is temporary -- no strings, no falling in love. Especially when there's no way this SEAL would ever be tempted into anything more than a sexy little fling…

Very good book, with heat, family, secrets, and pain. Lark came to Idaho when her mom was sick, giving up her own promising career as an artist. Since her mom's death, she has stayed in Idaho, running her mom's coffee shop. Relationships have been non-existent and it doesn't look like anything is going to change. Then her friend Sara asks Lark to let her brother use the apartment over the shop while he's in town. Shane didn't really want to come home, but his sister asked, so he did. He's not sorry now that he's met Lark. The attraction between them is hot, and for the few days he'll be in town they can have a lot of fun. 

I really liked Shane because he was a little different. He is definitely the typical hot SEAL, who has women falling all over him. But he is also a little shy, and doesn't have the smooth talk that his friends do. He also has a strained relationship with his family. His mother hates the fact that he's a SEAL and constantly tries to get him to quit. But he loves what he does, so they don't talk much. None of his family talks about what he does, which is hurtful to him. Shane also has five sisters, and having grown up with that many females, he avoids emotions whenever he can.

I loved the immediate connection between Shane and Lark. The attraction was intense, but there was more to it than that. Shane sees Lark's pain over her mother's death, and sees the life she has in Idaho. He can also see that it isn't really what she wants, but that her loyalty to her mother's memory is what is keeping her there. He wants to help her see what she is doing, but that puts some strain between them. He gets called away and only leaves a note to say goodbye. Lark is hurt and angry, and wonders if he felt the same connection she did.

Then she finds out what he does in the worst way, I loved seeing the way she was there for him and his reaction to her being there. There's a terrific scene with Shane and his teammates as he's staking his claim on Lark. I loved seeing him ask her to stay a few extra days, and how he tried so hard to show her his world. The longer she was there, the more he wanted her to stay. Lark loved everything about it, and realized what her feelings for Shane are, but her own issues create a conflict for her. A surprise from Shane sends her running, and Shane wondering what went wrong. I loved the intervention staged by his friends, and how Shane realized what he had done. Lark gets her own lecture and has to decide if it's worth the risk.  I loved the ending and Shane's big moment was sweet and emotional. 

A SEAL's Secret - Tawny Weber (HB #831 - Feb 2015)

Series: Sexy SEALs (Book 7)

Subject: Lt. Commander Mitch "Irish" Donovan

His Mission: Babysit a fitness queen with a hands-on approach!

Navy SEAL Mitch Donovan always plays to win. The push-up contest at the Halloween party should have been a piece of cake. Except that the cake in question is a hot woman dressed as a delicious dessert. Now the only exercise on Mitch's mind is restraint…

Livi Kane may be The Body Babe, but she has zero confidence. This hunky SEAL, however, makes her forget everything -- except for a workout involving his hot, naked bod and a whole lot of sexy, sweaty delight. But Mitch has his secrets -- and Livi certainly has hers. All it will take is one unexpected encounter to turn this steamy attraction into an even bigger secret that will start showing any day now…

Good book. I really liked both Livi and Mitch and enjoyed seeing how their relationship progressed. Livi is a fitness guru known as the Body Babe. She has a successful career that she rebuilt from the ashes of her old one after her ex-husband ruined it all. She projects great confidence when she's working, but outside of work she is very shy and tries to avoid notice. Though she isn't interested in marrying again, she'd really like to spend some quality time with a sexy guy. Mitch certainly fits the bill.

Mitch is a Navy SEAL who is dedicated to his career. He's worked very hard and has moved up in the ranks quickly by avoiding distractions. That ability to focus goes out the window when he meets Livi. From the moment they start their push-up contest he is fascinated by her. I loved the contest itself and the mind games that Livi used. When it ends in a tie, Mitch gets to claim and kiss and owes Livi a date.

I really enjoyed the way the relationship built. As an active duty SEAL, Mitch's life is not his own and relationships can be hard to maintain. After that steamy kiss they exchanged, Mitch was off and away and unable to pay up on the date right away. However, he does manage to get in a few phone calls that really build the heat between them. By the time he gets back to California  it's almost Christmas and the anticipation is off the charts. Livi is well aware of what his career demands and accepts the restrictions it causes. Though neither one had anything permanent in mind when  it started, feelings start to grow and change. But both have obstacles to overcome. Mitch's career has progressed as it has because he's focused on it to the exclusion of all else. There were a couple great scenes showing just how big a distraction Livi is. Suddenly he's got a conflict for his attention and he's getting pressure from outside to dump Livi and return to his old ways. But where does he really want his career to go, and is it possible to have both? Meanwhile, Livi's manager/mother has made all kinds of plans for a new direction for Livi's business without listening to Livi's requirements. And Livi has one big one that is really going to change things. Has Livi finally gained the confidence to stand up to her mom and go after what she wants?

Both Livi and Mitch undergo some real changes during the course of the book. Although Livi still has to deal with her fears of being center stage, when she's with Mitch she feels like a different person. I liked the way that she was working to overcome her shyness, and that it's Mitch's confidence in her that helps her do it. I got a bit irritated with Mitch toward the end of the book when it looked like he was going to cave in to his grandfather's demands. For all the confidence that he appears to have, he spent a lot of time worrying about what other people thought of him and his actions. I loved the conversation he had with his father and the difference it made to his whole way of thinking. There were some blunt truths in that conversation, but also a couple funny bits. 

There are some secondary characters that have great influence over Mitch and Livi. First are their two best friends, Gabriel (aka "Romeo") and Tessa. Those two strike sparks from the start and Mitch and Livi are the ones who get caught in the crossfire. I'm really looking forward to reading more about them. Mitch's family has a lot of influence over him and it's something he has to deal with. His mother's efforts to marry him off were pretty amusing, but it was his grandfather who was really the one who leaned on him the most. I completely agreed with Mitch's father's description of the man. And finally there was Livi's mother. She really bugged me with her steamroller tactics and attitude toward Livi. However, she really did step up and the end and was there when Livi needed her.