Forget Me Not (Navy SEALs, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Marliss Melton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2004

A Hero's Nightmare Gabe Renault doesn't know why he was in a prison camp. He has no memory of the past three years or of the Navy Seal mission that went wrong. Only two things kept him going: thoughts of his wife and the certainty that he must escape. A Sudden Homecoming After Gabe is presumed dead, Helen Renault pulls the tattered pieces of her and her daughter's lives back together. Married young and for all the wrong reasons, she's standing on her own two feet at last-and proud of it. Then comes the biggest shock of all-Gabe returns home. Gone is the distant, secretive husband he once was. This new Gabe is a man she could easily, finally, lose her heart to. But his memory is slowly returning, exposing a trail of government treachery...and jeopardizing his and Helen's second chance at love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a departure from her customary historical and inspirational romance fiction, Melton, who also writes as Marliss Moon (By Starlight, etc.), offers a refreshing contemporary tale of love and memory. Helen Renault, a Navy SEAL wife, has come to terms with the loss of her husband, Gabe, who disappeared a year earlier while on a mission in North Korea. When Helen learns that he's alive but has no recollection of their two-year marriage or his dangerous mission, Helen should be happy; instead, she's stunned and disappointed. She'd been wildly attracted to Gabe when they first wed, before he'd grown into a moody, career-driven, emotionally distant man. Now all she wants is her freedom. Sharing a home once again, Helen slowly comes to realize the "new" Gabe is nothing like the man she remembers, and she begins to fall in love with him all over again. So what happens when he regains his memory and becomes the man he used to be? While the story focuses largely on Helen and Gabe's relationship, Melton adds a dash of suspense in the form of a traitorous member of his SEAL squad, who will go to any lengths to make sure Gabe remains silent. Fine writing, likable characters (one being their teenage daughter Mallory) and realistic emotions make this a satisfying read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Navy SEAL lieutenant Gabe Renault was a man driven to succeed in his chosen career. He was so driven that he shut out his family in the mistaken belief that emotions would weaken his effectiveness. But then a covert mission results in his capture by the North Koreans. A year later, just one week after being declared officially dead, he returns home to his wife, Helen, but his memory of the past three years--including crucial details about the high-level corruption that caused his ordeal--is gone. And even though he now wants to do better by his family, Helen has resolved on divorce. Exemplifying a new trend in romantic suspense, Melton's riveting second-chance military romance, the first in her SEAL Team Twelve trilogy (In The Dark will be released in 2005 and Speak No Evil in 2006), focuses on the sacrifices demanded of the family as well as the warrior. Melton's experiences as a military dependent stand her in good stead, enabling her to invest her compellingly eventful romance with realistic emotions and relationships. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever (December 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446614823
• ISBN-13: 978-0446614825
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was fortunate to enjoy an exotic childhood growing up overseas. Entertainment came in the form of reading, riding on elephants in Laos, Sunday visits to museums in Paris, and tracking tigers in northern Thailand. With the world my home, I excelled in language, music, and, above all, story-telling. Language is my thing, which is why I've taught Spanish, ESL, and linguistic at various insitutions, including the College of William and Mary, my alma mater. Because I'm the wife of a retired Navy veteran, writing military romantic suspense suits me best. I live with my husband and many children near Virginia Beach, where I'm inspired by real-life stories of Navy SEALs' sacrifices and their struggles to combat terrorism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you like Suzanne Brockman's novels, you'll hate this, July 10, 2007

By 

Ellen Hanson "avid reader" (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Forget Me Not (Navy SEALs, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wanting a light read to help pass the time on 5 hour airplane flight, I picked up Melton's FORGET ME NOT because a reviewer here compared it to Suzanne Brockman's navy SEALs books. Melton's plot is interesting: A navy SEAL escapes captivity and returns home with PTSD-induced amnesia after a year-long bout of brutal torture, but the SEAL's amnesia renders him vulnerable to the treasonous military who sold him out in the first place. Meanwhile, the SEAL's relationship with a wife he doesn't remember is turned upside-down when this once macho and emotionally distant man returns home emotionally vulnerable and in touch with what really matters in life. The problem with FORGET ME NOT, unfortunatley, is shoddy writing and unforgiveably poor research. Melton spends the entire book telling the reader how her characters feel, rather than showing us with action and dialogue. Also, Melton's phobic-like avoidance of the word "said" became annoying quite quickly. For example, in the span of
2 pages, her characters
"drawled," "muttered," "inquired," "interrupted," "encouraged," "asked, "prompted," "gasped," "agreed" - rather than "said." And her lack of research was way beyond lazy. For example, one character is introduced as a psychologist, then for a few chapters he's referred to as a psychiatrist, then he's referred to as a psychologist again. Does the author really not know the two professions are entirely different?

Where was Melton's editor???

Which brings me to another point: Why is it so difficult to find a well-written romance novel? It's books like this, published in draft form (by major publishing houses!), that give the romance genre a bad name. This is entirely the fault of the publishers. Rather than churning out a glut of unpolished, unedited novels, I wish they'd get themselves back into the business of publishing quality fiction.

That said, if it's a well-written romance with a military backdrop you're after, stick with Suzanne Brockman. (She probably edits her own work!)

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Story Of A Hero!!!, May 13, 2005

By 

Kristi Ahlers (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forget Me Not (Navy SEALs, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love military romances. I think it's because they truly capture the nuances of what truly a hero is to many. Ms. Melton has done a fine...no brilliant job creating a hero that many would not even want to bother with but can't help loving in the end.

Gabe Renault is a SEAL and he is married to his job. Oh, and married to a real life flesh and blood woman named Helen. Problem though is Gabe gives a 100% to work but less than that at home. Than he is sent on a mission from which he doesn't return. Helen is told at first that he is MIA and than a year later that he is dead. No sooner does she receive that word than her husband comes back from the dead. He's alive but he can't remember the last three years. Trouble with that...those were the years that he was married to Helen. Now Helen wants nothing more to do with her wounded husband. He has hurt her bad and her heart won't stand the pain anymore. But she just can't turn her back on this "new" Gabe. He's attentive, loving, and supportive. Will he change once he get his memory back?

Gabe has lived through a nightmare and it's not over yet. He can't remember his last mission, the last three years of his life. Now his memories are returning and they are dis-jointed and fragmented. But one thing remains. He can't remember what happened but someone thinks he can. This results in him fearing not only for his life but his families as well. Is he paranoid or are his fears real? Just how far up the chain of command is involved in what took place one year earlier?

This was a very fast-paced read that will take the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. You will alternate between upset and joy with Helen and truly feel the frustration of Gabe. The repair of their romance is...romantic and one of the better examples of why we read romance. This is one read I have no trouble recommending. I look forward to the next book in this series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story of a Man and a Hero,, August 30, 2007

By 

D.M. (Lover of all things Heart) "laugh a lot... (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Forget Me Not (Navy SEALs, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

After one year of being announced "missing in action" Gabe Renault, a navy Seal, returns alive from the jaws of hell, after having been double crossed on enemy territory, in which one of his own team betrayed him. Gabe has endured a terrible year of torture. He has lost his memory, and does not remember the mission, or his wife and step daughter of 3 years. Upon his return Gabe begins to discover the kind of husband and father he was before his disappearance. He had always ignored Helen his wife, refusing to give her his love, or open up to her. He was always distant. He had even refused to legally adopt Helen's daughter Mallory, and been absent from Mallory's life for most of the time.

Helen Troy, is ready to rebuild her life. After one year of being MIA, her husband Gabe Renault was announced dead, just the week before. So it was with no small amount of shock that Helen learned that Gabe had just returned from the dead. She is wary of him, and she is bitter because of his mistreatment of her. While she had given him her love, he had ignored her and abandoned her, hence breaking her heart and shattering all the beautiful feelings she had harbored for him. Now she just wants to help him get better, and regain his memories, then they would get a divorce. He'll return to his life and work as a Seal, and she'll return to bask in her new gained independence. Helen is honest with Gabe, informing him that once he is better they will get a divorce.

And so the story starts, as Gabe struggles to come to terms with who he had been, and why. While this new "real" Gabe is not distant from his wife or daughter. He shows love, care and compassion towards them. Helen retains her wariness of him, as Gabe sets out to regain his family and prove to Helen that he really loves her. He just wants a second chance to prove to her how wrong he was. He had always assumed that allowing himself to feel and care would weaken him, but it was only his love for Helen that had sustained him through the terrible torture and imprisonment in the past year. Gabe loves his wife and his step daughter, they are the most important in his life, and nothing comes before them.

And we the readers get to see how Gabe and Helen get together, as they heal each other and have a chance at a new start. While Helen may seem a bit cold and distant through a good portion of the book, it was understandable due to her past experience with Gabe. And her fear that once Gabe regains his memories he would return to that distant man who had so callously broken her heart.

Gabe also has no memory of his last mission, leaving him vulnerable to the attacks of those who do not want him to remember. For someone is still out there waiting for the right moment to silence Gabe forever, before he can remember the truth and reveal it. This is the story of a hero and a man, who upon return from the jaws of hell, after one year, starts to rebuild his life on a journey of self discovery and love, while trying to stay alive and protect his family from a danger and an enemy he does not know. For only Gabe's memories can save him... if they do not kill him first...

A great romantic suspense read.