SEALed Forever by Mary Margaret Daughtridge
ISBN: 1402246196
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release: May 2011
Source: Received an ARC from publisher to read and review
He’s got a living, breathing dilemma…
In the midst of running an undercover CIA mission, Navy SEAL Lt. Garth Vale finds an abandoned baby, and his superiors sure don’t want to know about it. The only person who can help him is the beautiful new doctor in town, but she’s got another surprise for him…
She’s got a solution…at a price…
Dr. Bronwyn Whitescarver has left the frenetic pace of big city ER medicine for a small town medical practice. Her bags aren’t even unpacked yet when gorgeous, intense Garth Vale shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with a sick baby…
But his story somehow doesn’t add up, and Bronwyn isn’t quite sure who she’s saving—the baby, or the man…
SEALed Forever combines romance, stubborn characters and strong chemistry to produce a thought provoking page-turner!
Garth Vale is a SEAL recovering from serious injury, stuck looking after an airstrip where nothing really happens. That is, until he discovers a baby on an airplane that no one apparently wants to claim. Wondering if he is being set up or whether this in an honest mistake, Garth tried to decide what to do with the baby. In theory he is working for the CIA, and there are all sorts of explanations of where this baby has come from, none of them pleasant to consider. The baby seems to be sick and he feels that she needs medical attention, so he cooks up a cover story and heads into to town to the newly arrived doctor. He recognizes her when she first opens the door, but hopes that he can get Julia help and get out with her figuring out who he is.
Dr. Bronwyn Whitescarver is escaping from the big city where she has spent years working as an ER doc in a big hospital. A year ago she lost her cop boyfriend when he was shot in the head. She’s sick of what she calls treadmill medicine and doesn’t want another boyfriend. She just wants to set up an old fashioned country doctor practice and settle her life down. She has been given an old, potentially haunted, house by the city, and is in the process of moving in when Garth arrives at her door with baby “Julia”. Although she isn’t prepared to see patients yet, she realizes that Garth doesn’t want to take Julia to the closest ER and the baby needs some help. She also starts to realize that Garth’s story doesn’t make any sense and she needs to not only put Julia’s welfare first, but also get to the bottom of what’s really going on.
I really liked this book! Garth is a SEAL who has been through a near-death experience and is recovering from his wounds while working a questionable “job”. He is uncertain who to trust and is certain that he is being set up. He also starts to realize that he has had his career cut short by someone higher up. He has alot to work through. How he does that, who he relies on for help, and the insights into the bureaucracy of the military adds an interesting dimensions to this story. There are many sides to him – the SEAL, the son, the friend, and the potential lover.
Bronwyn is a woman who has had a bad couple of years. Her parents don’t support her career choice, she’s been run ragged working “treadmill medicine” (love that phrase), and has lost a boyfriend. She just wants to get off the treadmill and heal people. She wants to set up her little small town practice and help people. She has a best friend who keeps prodding her to get on with life, Garth who shows up with a baby of questionable origins, and a potentially haunted, certainly dilapidated house. She’s stubborn, determined to have her practice, yet ultimately a healer that puts people first.
I liked all the various aspects brought into this story. The “inside” information on the military, the issues with modern medicine, even the “who-dunit” aspect to the Julia story. It all combines to produce a great read! I’m going to go and look up this author’s first book, SEALed with a Ring, and I’m looking forward to what this author produces next! This author is now on my must buy list!
Drop back by on Wednesday as I’m interviewing the author – Mary Margaret Daughtridge on the blog. Are you as excited to learn more about this author as I am??
Hey Barb,
Great review. You really have gotten my interest peaked. I haven’t read a book about a SEAL by I have heard of several. I just may have to pick this one up! Garth sounds like an interesting man and the plot sounds like more than just a potential romance. It’s going on my TBR!
Hi Mandy!
Thanks for stopping by! I really liked this book – nothing like men in uniform 🙂
Sounds amazing! I can’t wait to read it!