Customer Reviews

Next to Die (Navy SEALs, Book 4)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lt. Penny Price is a physical therapist in the Navy. Her hunky next door neighbor, Joe Montgomery, is a Navy SEAL Lt. Commander recovering from injuries he suffered in a mission that went so horribly wrong that he was the only survivor. Joe is dealing with a lot of survivor's guilt and blames himself for the loss of his teammates and takes to the booze.

His neighbor Penny (who has a long standing crush on him and who he has never really paid much attention to) coincidentally becomes his physical therapist (giving great massages!), then his friend, and eventually, his lover. But Penny doesn't expect much from Joe, because she's witnessed his love 'em and leave 'em lifestyle and she doesn't really expect a commitment from him.

Penny's somewhat irresponsible younger sister Lia comes to live with her due to the threats she receives from the person who she believes to be their father's killer. (Their father worked at a bio tech weapons lab where the deadly chemical ricin was a toxic by-product and some mysteriously disappeared and was sold. They believe that he was run off the road in a car accident because of what he knew.) Both Penny and Lia are now in danger and Joe decides to help protect them.

Penny and Joe's romance develops slowly and believably and becomes passionate, and when Penny's life is directly threatened, Joe questions just what she means to him and what he really wants out of life.

Lia (a bit reluctantly at first) has a romance of her own with a very sweet younger-than-her Navy SEAL. Even though he's younger, Vinny's much more mature, and helps Lia to grow and be more responsible.

Whew...this one really got to me. Two great romances in one book! I was dabbing at my eyes the whole way through! I especially loved that characters from the previous three books made appearances, too. Some, like Hannah Lindstrom working with the FBI on Penny's case, had significant roles. By the end of the book you will find out the latest with Gabe & Helen, Luther & Hannah, Sebastian & Lela, and Westy & Sara. The touching finale is like a scene from a movie.

If you enjoy reading Suzanne Brockmann, I can almost guarantee that you'll enjoy Marliss Melton's books, and I think that this may be her best one yet!

Navy commander Joe Montgomery returns to the US after a disastrous Navy SEAL operation that left his entire team and a rescue crew dead in Afghanistan. Resigned to bury himself in a bottle, his perky neighbor Penny Price, a physical therapist assigned to nurse his wounds won't let him stay there long. Despite her crush, she knows that Joe is a womanizer, and has seen first hand just how adept since his hot tub is just below her window. As his therapy comes to an end, Joe has found something in Penny that he's never had with another woman; a true friend. She is there for him when he breaks down and expresses his fears that he is responsible for the deaths of his crew. But his feelings are put to the test when he attempts to introduce her to other men in his new squad, and realizes that he doesn't want her seeing anyone else.

Penny's sister Lia is a wild child. After their father was killed in a car accident (and both Pen and Lia believe it was murder), Penny became a second mother to Lia, losing her fiance in the process. Lia is now finding herself in the wary position of being attracted to a younger man whose car she crashed into. That Vinny is on Joe's squad is just a coincidence. As Pen and Lia look into their father's death, as well as the theft of ricin from the lab where he worked, they soon find themselves in jeopardy as their father's business partner is a man on edge, and turn to their SEALs for help.

Melton's fourth SEAL Team 12 tale is not quite as good as her other efforts (particularly the incredible "Forget Me Not"). All the old characters are back in supplemental (and often unnecessary) roles, but the story is a little overpopulated, with just too much to do in such a short time. The detour to visit with Vinny's family makes them out to be a stereotypical Italian family. But even with flaws, Melton's gift for storytelling and writing still make it a pretty darned good novel.

Marliss Melton returns to the stories of Seal Team 12. I have loved the first three books and this one is good. This story takes place during the same time as TIME TO RUN and tells the story of the new commander of Seal Team 12.

Penny Price is a physicial therapist at the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va. She lives next to Lt. Commander Joe Montgomery, they are not friends but she has looked after his cat while he was away and one of his many girlfriends did not take care of the animal. Penny and her sister Ophelia have found an e-mail from her father's partner that may prove he had a part in her father's murder. Now they are getting threatening phone calls.

Lt Commander Joe Montgomery is a Seal when working and a playboy when at home. He has numerous girl friends and a hot tub that gets quite a workout. On the last mission he took the place of his Senior Chief, who was sick, the mission went terribly wrong and he is the only survivor. Suddenly his priorities are changing, did he cause the death of his men, can he face the possibility.

Joe was seriously hurt in the mission and finds that Penny is his Physical Therapist. When funny things start to happen in their neighborhood he comes to her rescue.

I enjoyed the book but it is not as good as TIME TO RUN. I was disappointed in the playboy aspect of Joe, but that is probably a very accurate discription of most SEALS. While I did enjoy the book and will buy her next one I hope it will be better.

Next To Die

So far, this is my favorite book in this series about SEAL Team Twelve. It has sexual attraction, suspense, and action. And some great love scenes. The suspense and action don't stop until the end of the book, which has a really nice wrap up--not too corny as a lot of romance novel's endings are.

Penny Price is an awesome heroine. Sweet, compassionate and brave. Her little sister, Lia, appears to be an annoying loser at first, but proves to be another interesting character.

Penny is a nurse, and a Lt. in the Navy. She's had a crush on her neighbor, Lt. Commander Joe Montgomery, for years. When he comes home injured, she suspects he is the only survivor of the worst SEAL disaster in history. Despite his attempts to shove her away, Penny refuses to let him wallow in his misery. They become friends, and she asks him for help with a problem her and her sister are having.

Penny and Lia have evidence that their father's death was not an accident, and are attempting to get the FBI to investigate. Someone really doesn't want an investigation, and the sisters end up with a lot more trouble than they saw coming. But they have help; neighbor Joe and Hannah Lindstrom, now with the FBI, and a character from earlier books in this series. Also on their side is Vinny DeInnocentis, who has been introduced earlier in this series, and is fleshed out in this installment. He's definitely a character worth expanding on.

Joe Montgomery is a solid hero. He has serious issues in the beginning of this tale, but he gets over them before the end of the story. That's rare, and I enjoyed him being strong enough to move forward.

I want to thank Ms. Melton for the entertainment this series has provided. If you haven't read any of these books, you should start doing so now. Begin with FORGET ME NOT.

Shelley Dawn, author of Sweet, Sweet Jessie and Dark Nights

NEXT TO DIE

MARLISS MELTON

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Penelope Price, or Penny as her family and friends call her, is a Lieutenant and Physical Therapist in the Navy. Penny and her sister Lia have had a hard time of it lately and Penny has been taking care of Lia for a very long time. Penny is almost ready to say no the next time Lia calls but the fear in her voice convinces Penny to take her in again. It seems that Lia called the man both girls suspected of foul play in their father's death and told him he should be ashamed. Lia is definitely the more outgoing of the two and this time Lia may have gone to far.

After a few threatening calls, Penny and Lia decide to go to the FBI and ask for their help. Penny goes one step farther and calls on her neighbor, the sexy, hot, and a little disturbed Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Joe Montgomery. Joe has a few demons of his own, since his last mission went fatally wrong. However, Joe somewhat grudgingly respects his neighbor and decides to help her out.

Penny has had a thing for Joe for a long time, and with some pushing and prodding from Lia, she decides to make the first move. The only problem is that Joe doesn't want to trust anyone with his problems or Penny. Joe makes this problem even worse by trying to push her into the arms of other SEALS. One in particular shows a great interest and now Joe wonders what he was thinking when the Shark began circling his prey.

Can Penny and Lia stay alive long enough to find happiness, will the FBI catch the Killer before its to late, and will Joe finally realize what has been in front of his face all along?

The secondary characters in this story are unbelievably real, Ophelia or Lia and Vinny though secondary to Joe and Penny have their own love triangle and you find yourself not sure who you want to read about next, Penny and Joe, or Vinny and Lia.

What a wonderful and insightful treat in the world of Navy SEALS, Ms. Melton has captivated this reviewer and I personally cannot wait to find out more about her and her Navy SEAL series.

BrandyWine

ENCHANTING REVIEWS

September 2007

Read "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell to see where Ms. Melton gets her heros. Having read all books in this series, she does a good job portraying the "hardness" of these men and the unconditional love given by the heroines.

Joe and Penny's relationship shows how love sneaks up and works it's way into peoples lives when least expected but most needed. To watch the story unfold gives hope that love does indeed help heal.

May Ms. Melton's series continue to show heros as flawed but worthy of love and kindness that touches the heart.

I loved this book, it was non-stop romance and action. Marliss Melton never disappoints.

Lt Cmdr Joe Montgomery had lead his team into the worse SaEL defeat ever, this book is actually based on this real life event. Joe was the only one to survive it. He comess home damaged, both in body and mind. His next door neighbor Helen, has had a crush on him forever, but he is a playboy and doesn't know that she exsists. But Helen is a physicaltherepist, and ends up being his. She doesn't give him any leeway for self-pity and when he given his own command she encourages him.

Now, Helen is in danger, her younger sister has gone and stired up their father's murder, putting the two of them in danger. Joe was there for her, helping to protect her. They became lovers - a no strings kind of thing. After they caught the Admiral that was behind Helen's father's murder Helen took an overseas assignment for the holiday season, letting soldiers with famtily come home. Her sister was off with a SeAL to his family's for the holiday, one she had met and fallen for. Vinny DeInnocentis was the youngest member of the SeAL teams, and was went after the older woman he wanted. Ophealia was 24 to his 20 and he decided that she was the woman for him. When Ophelia ment his family, Vinny through out that went his tour was up, he was going to retire and go back to medschool to become a doctor... this was the only part that didn't sit right to me. A young man that had joined the SeALs, fought his way through BUD/S to be one of the youngest SeALs, knowing what he wanted that much would give it all up after just three years. Just didn't sit right.... But in the end Helen came home and Joe met her with a huge sign being held up by two men under his command, Gabe and Luther, asking her to marry him. Wonderfully written book.

I was eager for the publication of Melton's latest book as her earlier efforts were excellent, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I found this one weak, shallow (how can one exchange of sympathetic words between two people make the hero overcome the guilt and trauma over the loss of 16 men?), and very predictable. I didn't feel the characters were fully developed and the the answers to the murder of her father seem to materialize out of nowhere (the agent who tied the deaths of other service personnel to the ricin just seemed to pick that out of thin air or I missed something!). Perhaps the focus should have been on one sister--in any event, I just wasn't impressed with this book.

Another good addition to the SEAL Team 12 series. Why did I give it a four?

1. Editing which is a problem with 90% of the books I've read in the last few years. I need to apply for a job as a proof reader since no one else seems to be doing it.

2. Too much was made of the age difference between Vinny and Ophelia. She was FOUR years older than him, not fourteen!

3. Ophelia used her sexual appeal to get a job.

4. Not enough mystery.

But am looking forward to the next book!

Second Marliss Melton book I have read and loved this one.

Joe is such a guy but really needs some help and he gets it from the very understanding no nonsense Penny.

Moves a long at a good pace, plenty of action and lucky Penny to have sexy Joe on the job.