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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
When a SEAL can't be a SEAL anymore, what's left?, September 4, 2003
I should never have read this book. With all the books on my TBR shelf, the last thing I needed was to discover this author and her Tall Dark and Dangerous series about sexy, charming and brave Navy SEALs. Sure I had heard of Suzanne Brockmann, but I had never read any of her books. Now I am hooked on the TDD series and have already read (and enjoyed) PRINCE JOE and FOREVER BLUE. This one's a serious story about a man on the edge of despair and the little girl and the woman who help him see that his life is not over just because he can no longer be an active-duty SEAL.Alan "Frisco" Francisco was wounded in Baghdad while trying to extricate a prince (Tedric from PRINCE JOE) from behind enemy lines. His knee is shot and now, so is his career making him feel like a useless nobody. He returns to his condo in San Felipe and wallows in self-pity, drinking himself to sleep at night. When he meets his beautiful neighbor, teacher Mia Summerton, he's not exactly at his best and she decides to keep away from her rude, drunk neighbor. But when Frisco's always-in-trouble alcoholic sister shows up with her daughter and asks him to take care of the little girl while she goes into detox, Frisco has to think about someone other than himself. He's not exactly in the right condition to handle a five-year-old girl, but he's doing the best he can. Mia has noticed this and re-evaluates her original opinion of him. She begins to offer subtle support to Frisco and in his first steps toward healing he begins to accept her help. A friendship grows between them (along with an attraction), but Mia is wary of getting involved with a man with so many issues to resolve. But the more she is with him, she sees that he's kind, intelligent, brave and he clearly loves little Natasha. It's getting harder and harder to keep her distance! Frisco is also becoming more attracted and attached to Mia, but what can he offer her? He's a disabled nobody and she deserves so much more. And when a thug that his sister lived with (and stole from) shows up looking for his money and threatening Natasha and Mia, all his frustration and feelings of helplessness re-emerge full force. Will he ask for help from his SEAL team members or will he try to deal with it by himself and be injured or killed in the process? I loved this story. Frisco is so sadly sweet, proud and brave and Mia is so understanding and supportive. And then there's Natasha whose presence is the catalyst for Frisco's return to the land of the living. For a man who defined himself through being a SEAL, accepting his limitations while acknowledging all the things he still can do was painful and poignant. You felt his humiliation and frustration, but you never pitied him. You knew he'd find his way through - with the help of a good woman, an irrepressible little girl and a few SEALs from Alpha Squad. Highly recommended!
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