Customer Reviews

Men of Courage

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Wow. I bought this book because I really enjoy the work of all three of the authors featured. This was obviously not their best work.

In "Trapped" by Lori Foster, the too stupid to live heroine finally decides to let the too stupid to live hero know that she's in love with him and has been forever. The TSTL hero, of course, realizes that he's in love with her (even though he's never had any romantic feelings about her before). There is no heroic rescue anywhere in this story, and as far as I can tell, no one is trapped anywhere.

In "Buried" by Donna Kauffman, the TSTL heroine disregards the fact that the area near her home is unstable after an earthquake and goes to rescue her dog (Hello!! It's a dog!) from her house which may have crumbled. The hero (who had a crush on the heroine years ago when his brother was dating her and is still in love with her) realizes that she's on her way to try to find her dog, and goes after her. Of course, he gets hurt after rescuing the dog, and the heroine moves in with him to help him while he recovers. While she's living with him, she of course decides that she's in love with him, which wraps this boring little story up.

In "Stranded" by Jill Shalvis, the cold-hearted hero who has no time for love rescues the TSTL heroine from a flood after she finds herself trapped because she was too stupid to go in out of the heavy rain. They stay in the cellar of the hero's beautiful but dilapidated home (which he inherited from his grandparents, and hates) and since they have nothing better to do, they decide to have sex. By the time the storm is over, they've realized that life ain't so bad, the hero loves his house and they love each other.

I think I'll skip the AMERICAN HEROES miniseries from Harlequin Temptation if this is what I have to look forward to.

I am stunned.
I like Lori Foster and read this purposely because of her. Her story 'Trapped' was definately not her best work by a mile. Contrived and moved so fast I thought I was missing chapters, it had no spice or drama usual to a Foster novel. It lacked character development and story development.
Advertised as a firefighter named Ethan Winters bursting into a burning building to save his oldest friend Rose and realizing he loves her madly isn't what it really is. There is no 'trapped', there isn't even Ethan bursting into anyting remotely burning. The fire happens in the very end and is over in two pages. I repeat, NO one is trapped. Except maybe this story. Sorry Ms. Foster, you can do better...

Second in this book is 'Buried' by Donna Kauffman. Another yawn here. Who's buried? No one is buried in this story! The entire story is about an earthquake in San Francisco and a rescue worker who supposedly saves a woman 'buried' in the rubble. She was? Apparently I missed that entire section because it wasn't in my copy. Her DOG is buried somewhere and they work together to find it. What I'm wondering is when rescue workers are assigned to find pets in the rubble during disasters when these things first happen? Aren't they sent to rescue people first??? Bury this one in the rubble...

And third is Jill Shalvis's 'Stranded'. The only story where the title actually fits the storyline. But then, they are 'stranded' in the basement, so, go figure. A storm drives two characters into the basement and they are stuck there until someone can find them. There solution? Sex. If we have sex, we'll be okay. Okay....brilliant.

Men of Courage? Where? And there is another book coming out, July 2003! Skip this and save your money. The blurb on the back hypes it out to be this exciting and dramatic collection of stories aimed at some of the everyday heroes in our country, the firefighters, rescue workers and doctors. What we get is a contrived waste of time and money. You can find more drama watching the news...

Tracy Talley~@

The newest anthology by Lori Foster, Donna Kauffman and Jill Shalvis gives us three great reads.

In Trapped by Lori Foster, firefighter Ethan Winters gets a rude awakening when he wakes up in bed with his best friend Rosie Carrington. Rosie was there for him when he was dumped at the alter by her brother. Ethan values his friendship with Rosie but he is beginning to see what he has always wanted in a lover and more has been right in front of him all along. Rosie helps Ethan to realize that she is the only one for him. Trapped has a great friends to lovers story and is a hot and sexy read. Plus you can really feel the suspense when Rosie is in danger. Ethan is a great hero and he has some amazing friends that hopefully we will get to read their sizzling stories soon.

Buried by Donna Kauffman takes Haley Brubaker the heroine through a terrible earthquake. All Haley cares about is finding out if her dog Digger is OK. She runs into rescue worker, Brett Gannon, who is the younger brother of Haley's former boyfriend. Brett always had a crush on Haley, now he has a chance to make Haley is and he is going to take that chance. Haley and Brett's story leaps off the page with steam.

In Jill Shalvis story called Stranded, ER Doctor Matt Walker is enjoying a rare day off when a vicious storm hits. He spots a woman, Professor Molly Stanton in danger. Molly isn't sure if her rescuer is real or not. Does she ever find out that he is real.... Molly decides to change her life and take some chances, starting with Matt. Molly teaches Matt that he needs to let people in, especially her.

All three stories are wonderful. You will not be sorry to get this book.

Really enjoyed this book. Although short they are 3 great stories. So glad there are other books to follow-on from these. I'm 2 chapters from the end of "Riley", Lori's follow-on. Can't wait to read Sean & Luke. Lori's story reminds me of "The private eyes" & "Men to the rescue" series of books (Beguiled, Wanton, Caught in the act, Treat her right & Mr. November).

I just finished reading "Trapped" by Lori Foster and all I can think is...There's 2 hours I'll NEVER get back! I certainly have to agree with the reader from Bloomington about the TSTL hero & heroine, (I don't care how good looking Ms. Foster has made them out to be). Oh Please! This guy (shallow as he is) has known her (conceited as she is) all his life more or less and within a couple hours he's "discovered" that he loves her AND wants her to be the mother of his children. Maybe, and that's a big MAYBE, if this story could have been more in-depth, developed the characters, the history, and the storyline more it might have had a chance at mediocre. I read romance books occasionally in between some of the murder/mystery/thriller books I mostly read, to give my brain a rest from the serial killers. I'm hesitant to read the other stories in this book, not sure I want to escape a serial killer that badly. Think I'll stick to Nora Roberts from here on out.

Usually I look forward to Lori Foster's work but this book was an exception. This anthology is the start of the American Heroes series in HT. It introduces us to Ethan, Brett and Matt- 3 bachelors who jobs forces them to risk their lives.

*Trapped features Ethan- a firefighter who was publically humiliated by his former fiance. This makes him gunshy when it comes to relationships but his lifelong friend is determined to melt his heart

*Buried is the story of Brett and Haley who are brought together in the aftermath of an Earthquake. Brett is a search and rescue worker who helps Haley find her pet.

*Stranded is the last book about Matt (a doctor) who rescues Molly from a flooded river.

These stories were average and not your typical Lori Foster book. The plots were too contrived and resolved too quickly. There is not much drama or tension to the plot lines either. Having said that, they do introduce Riley, Sean and Luke- their characters (esp Riley) seem much more interesting and I cannot wait for their stories. My advice would be to pass on this collection- pick it up at a used book story if you must..it is not worth the full price

We have Ethan, the fireman, Brett, the rescue worker, and Matt, the doctor. These men, and the women they love, all show courage by demonstrating that life is too short not to take a chance on love.

TRAPPED! by Lori Foster
She knows she's in love with him. His fiancee ran away with her brother. What's a girl to do? Well, Rosie Carrington decides it is high time to declare her feelings of love for firefighter Ethan Winters. One morning, Ethan wakes up to find Rosie in his bed. What happened? Well, that's for Rosie to know and for Ethan to find out. For now, this just makes Rosie's job of catching this hot fireman that much easier.

BURIED! by Donna Kauffman
There's been an earthquake. As Haley Brubaker is trying to find help to get to her home in the hills, where she hopes her dog is safe, she spots a rescue worker, Brett Gannon. Haley knows Brett, as she dated his older brother Sean while in college. She pleads for him to help her locate her dog. This search and rescue not only finds Haley's dog, but finds love for Haley and Brett as well.

STRANDED! by Jill Shalvis
He saved her. Emergency room doctor Matt Walker saw a sight in blue in the midst of a raging storm. Was it fate that brought this big, gorgeous, sensitive, strong-minded man to save scientist Molly Stanton's life? Well, if it was, Molly certainly wasn't going to mess up her second chance in life. What about Matt? Would he act on his feelings and desires? Would he let Molly in? Read STRANDED and see who really saved whom.

These wonderful novellas make MEN OF COURAGE very enjoyable reading. The heroes are exciting and the heroines all have just the right flair. This book is most definitely a keeper. The AMERICAN HEROES miniseries follows MEN OF COURAGE. We can look forward to RILEY, by Lori Foster in June; SEAN, by Donna Kauffman in July; and LUKE, by Jill Shalvis in August. These will be published by Harlequin Temptation.

I bought this book for a vacation where I didn't feel like carrying multiple volumes with me. Because it's three stories in one, it seemed like a good idea. And it wasn't atrocious... But I do feel like I may have lost a few brain cells while getting through all the sap. Take this collection for what it is, a beach read that is not meant to be analyzed or thought of in any realistic way and then you'll be fine.

The three stories in Men of Courage are great. I read the entire book in less than a day. The three heroes are sexy as sin and the heroines are strong, independent women.

In Lori Foster's Trapped, Rosie Carrington has loved her close friend Ethan Winters forever. Ethan, on the other hand, thinks of Rosie as one of the guys until he wakes up with her in his bed after way to much to drink the night before. While he's trying to sort out what, if anything happened between him and Rosie, Ethan's three best buddies show up at his door for a planned fishing trip. After getting rid of the other guys, Rosie confesses to Ethan that she loves him and gives him one week to decide he loves her too. Rosie's confession makes Ethan think and at that point, the sparks really start to fly between the two. This story has the camaraderie between Ethan and his buddies that Ms. Foster has had in the Winston Brothers and Buckhorn Brothers series. There are moments when I laughed out loud.

In Donna Kauffman's Buried, Haley Brubaker is estranged from her rich Boston family. Although she has many possessions, the only thing she really values is her dog, Digger. When an earthquake hits her California hometown while she is flying back from a business trip, Haley is determined to get to her house and rescue Digger. After renting a car at the airport her flight is diverted to, Haley drives as close to home as she can get before the roads are blocked. Trying to find someone among the rescue workers who will help her get to Digger, Haley runs into Search and Rescue worker, Brett Gannon and his search dog. Three years her junior, Brett has had a crush on Haley ever since Haley dated his brother during college. She has filled many of his late night fantasies. While Brett goes to see if he can get info on the condition of Haley's house, Haley slips off to climb the side of the mountain to her home. Luckily, Brett sees Haley right as she sneaks off and follows. Brett prevents Haley from going into her home but he goes in and rescues her dog. When an aftershock hits, Brett is injured. While waiting for help to get them off the mountain, Brett confesses his crush to Haley and convinces her to stay with him until she can find another place since her house is not sound enough for her to live in. Brett is funny and sexy. Haley has worked hard to build her business and is a very strong woman. They make a great couple.

In Jill Shalvis' Stranded, spacey university professor, Molly Stanton, is caught in a terrible Texas storm clinging to a tree by a swollen creek bed. She promises herself that if she survives the storm, she will change her life and start living rather than being so focused on her job. Doctor Matt Walker catches a glimpse of Molly's shirt through the rain and risks his life to save hers. Matt carries Molly back to the house he inherited from his grandfather. Unable to leave due to the storm, they seek shelter in the storm cellar and each other's arms. The storm is not the only thing raging.

This book introduces the American Heroes series and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. This promises to be a good one.

TRAPPED! (Lori Foster)...Ethan Winters has dealt with being stood up at the altar the only way he knows how, by showing everyone that he is over his almost wife. Going out with a different girl on the nights he's not pulling people out of burning buildings, Ethan thinks he's doing a great job...until he wakes up and finds Rosie Carrington in his bed. Rosie has been in love with Ethan for years, and has decided the time has come to seduce him. With hot sex and emotions running high, Lori Foster delivers in Trapped!

BURIED! (Donna Kauffman)...Having no luck with men, Haley Brubaker has her Jack Russell terrier, Digger. Digger is the only being that she can count on in her life. Which is why she is so frantic when an earthquake hits the bay area town where she lives. Racing home, she finds the road to her house closed off, surrounded by emergency personnel. Approaching the first worker she sees, she is stunned to see the now gorgeous younger brother of her ex-boyfriend, Brett Gannon. Brett has always had a crush on Haley, ever since he was sixteen and she was nineteen. All he has to do is convince her that what they have going between them is worth fighting for.

STRANDED! (Jill Shavlis)...Dr. Matt Walker never has emotional entanglements with his patients, or with anyone else for that matter. When a huge storm hits the Texas town he lives in, Matt heads to his car for the drive to the hospital emergency room where he'll be needed. Then he sees a woman clinging to a tree on his property and goes after her. Molly Stanton thought he was the angel of Death when he swooped her out of the storm. Now, in the basement of his plantation house, Molly vows to herself that she'll change herself from the absentminded professor to someone that enjoys life...and sex. And she'll start with Dr. Walker. Shalvis brings a fast read that is packed with emotion without being unbelieveable.

If you want a fast read, pick this up. I read it in less than four hours!