Search and Seduce by Sara Jane Stone

 

                I wish the star scale went above a five because this book would get a ten in my opinion. This is the first Blaze I have ever read let alone one of Sara’s and I was not disappointed. Sara writes with passion and lets us connect emotionally to what her characters are feeling. Search and Seduce is a military romance that gives us a glimpse into the harder side of being involved with a military man. They are dedicated to their country and need a strong woman to stand beside them, willing to make it work.

 Our heroine Amy has lost her SEAL husband on duty and her world is turned upside down. His best friend and a man that Amy has known her whole life steps up to help her grieve. Mark is a PJ (Pararescue Jumper), he and his team go into hot zones to get the injured to safety. He has always kept people at arm’s length, never forming lasting connections because he sees on a daily basis the grief that destroys families. He doesn’t want anyone to be left behind if he dies. This works out until he and Amy grow closer as friends, she counts on him and somehow he let her become important to him as well. When his leave comes up Amy asks that he come help her get ready for the grand opening for her  breeding and training military war dogs kennel. He goes and is surprised to realize their friendship has started to sizzle into something more, something neither of them wanted. Amy doesn’t want anything to do with being a military wife or girlfriend ever again, it was just to hard. She never knew if her husband was alive or safe, and the secrets that he kept damaged the trust. Amy and Mark fight the attraction as long as possible but heat like theirs can only become a raging inferno if tampered too long.

                I enjoyed this book because the flow was natural and didn’t rush into intimacy, Mark never pressures Amy. He gives her space to figure out what she wants and leans that friendship is not something that can go away even when passion is involved. Sara Jane Stone wrote a book that encompasses he real live struggle we face. That it is a choice we all have to make to follow our hearts and except the person for who they are or let love be stolen by fear.