2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Implausible Hero, January 22, 2010
This review is from: Her Last Line of Defense (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)
From the beginning chapters it was difficult to really like the characters in Her Last Line of Defense, the hero more so than the heroine who at least has noble intentions. A big problem for me was the absolute unprofessionalism of the soldiers in this novel and the implausible storyline.
Hero Luc Boudreau is a Green Beret sergeant, those elite men who are trained to handle most any situation, they are usually multi-lingual and they are smart and intuitive. Luc is brash, bold and way too familiar with his commanding officer whom he calls by his first name, oh really? Luc finds out that his leave (that's vacation time) is not his own because a Congressman has basically ordered his commanding officer to cancel Luc's R and R to his Louisiana home and to send him to Fort Bragg so he can teach his adult daughter jungle survival skills. I cannot even fathom a soldier being forced to do this, especially on his own free time but if you can get past this then the story makes some sense.
Heroine Claire Cook wants to do something important with her life and escape under the thumb of her controlling father so she has decided to go to a small war torn country in South America and teach the young children and assist with a health clinic. She is affronted when her father forces her to go to Fort Bragg and spend time with Luc in a jungle environment. When she meets Luc and his commanding officer she is unimpressed as they show up with their beards, untrimmed hair and out of uniform to a VIP event. I cannot imagine any respectable officer and NCO doing this but hey, Luc gets all kind of passes in this novel. He even gets a pass on assaulting an officer. He is rude to Claire, calling here Bebe (a Cajun endearment) when they initially meet in front of his commanding officer and a Colonel and not the proper Ma'am or Ms. Cook. Again I do not know one soldier who would be this rude.
Claire longs to find her worth the same way her mother did, by living in a remote section of the Amazon and helping to better the lives of the various people groups. Claire is stubborn and very naïve about South American life, a dangerous combination when there is tribal warfare, drug running and all kinds of dangerous animal and insect life in the jungle. Luc sure has his work cut out for him.
Luc whisks Claire to some swampy land in the middle of South Carolina and she must learn all about camping and wilderness survival. These portions of the story are actually interesting. Claire learns to clean fish, hunt mammals, and how to read a compass. Luc stops being pompous and really does try to be honorable around Claire, which translates to not engaging in any intimacies with her. Well, Claire has every intention of changing his mind and sets about to entice him. They have some steamy bouts in the tent with a little dialogue thrown in here and there which reveals Luc's insecurities and Claire's deep desire to make a difference in the world. Their revelations are really the best parts of this novel. I wish they had more dialogue.
This novel rates 2 stars. The heroine, although nobly minded was way too stubborn and almost flighty (she looked for her car for hours at the mall forgetting that she had not driven herself there). The hero was so unlike any soldier I have ever known (I live on a military base so I see them everyday) that it was hard to admire him.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
This was bad, the other reviews were right, December 10, 2011
I have most of Marie Donovan's books and really enjoy them. But the other reviewers were right about this book, it was definitely a miss. I found the lack of hygiene to be the most disturbing part of the story. Sex, without showering or bathing, in the woods is just not sexy. I was frankly a little grossed out and couldn't finish the book. But do read some of her other books from her other series. In particular, I enjoyed Sex by Numbers and Bare Necessities.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm Not a Prude... But..., September 16, 2009
This review is from: Her Last Line of Defense (Harlequin Blaze) (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm not. Really. I swear! If I was, I wouldn't be reading Harlequin Blaze books (and loving most of them). I'm not opposed to "dirty" language, fantasy, bedroom games, or any combination there of. But. I just couldn't like this story. There's nothing wrong with the setup or the characters. Luc has demons and so does Claire. But I've never been a fan of the instant-attraction/desire leads to sex (really great sex) and then suddenly they're in love. So the guy can give her a great orgasm. So he speaks to her in Cajun French. So he spanks her.
Yes. You read that right. He spanks her.
Again, not a prude but...
I guess, given the description of the story, I was expecting more training of the survival kind, not the "lets do it among the weeds so you can teach me everything about sex" kind, so the two characters could spend some time together and get to know each other. I just felt like things were rushed, that the characters didn't really develop a loving relationship and that Hot Sex/Good Sex was sort of all they shared. I missed the romance aspect that makes the hot sex *loving* hot sex.
This definitely is a sexy read. There's lot of sex. It's explicit, so be warned. If you're not into THAT kind of language or THAT kind of sexual act, then this might be a book to avoid.
I was just disappointed, so two stars from me.
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