Still Mine [Paperback]

Mary Wine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

Love is the last line of defense. Jolene Benate has spent six years keeping a vow to herself to never again be that weak woman weeping at her young husband's graveside. Now she's a deputy marshal on the elite warrant squad, as physically and mentally tough as they come. But moving on isn't as easy as it looks. Especially when the husband she thought was dead suddenly reappears. And, even in the face of his betrayal, she still wants him. Paul Benate's gifted mind was groomed from a young age to serve the military and its top-secret projects. His one youthful act of rebellion was to marry Jolene, only to discover a terrorist could use her to force him to give up his classified secrets. For her own safety, he had to let her go. But the safety he thought was assured by his "death" was only an illusion. Secrets have a way of surfacing, and once again Jolene is the perfect target. There's only one thing left to do.reclaim the woman that he has always loved. Even if she's mad as hell at him. Warning: Hot and flammable. Sometimes they just don't make it to the bedroom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605041548
• ISBN-13: 978-1605041544
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Mine, July 8, 2008

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Still Mine (Kindle Edition)

Jolene Benate has had to put her life completely back together over the last six years right after she was told her husband was dead. Now she is a deputy marshal on an elite warrant team. It's not been an easy road and Jo has succeeded, if you don't count the fact she can't move on from the love of her deceased husband.

Paul Benate gave up Jo in a move he thought would prevent her from ever being harmed. Paul has a brain that many would love to control and while he likes working for the military, he missed Jo every day these last six years. When a report shows that Jo has been found and is a target, Paul demands to get back all he lost.

When Jo and Paul meet again, the fireworks are many and pointed. Jo is hurt and angry that she was lead to believe Paul was dead. Paul wants to begin again, but first he has to convince Jo to both forgive him and to understand. Love brought them together and drove them apart. Now when the danger to Jo seems to follow her, will love be enough to give Paul and Jo another chance?

Still Mine has several of my favorite aspects in a story: hot sexy scenes, engaging main characters, and enough suspense that it makes you want to read quickly to find out the ending. Jo has grown up and found a career even while loving the husband she believes is dead. Paul made a decision he thought would save Jo from danger and was given a second chance. From the moment they met face-to-face, I was drawn in and could not flip the pages fast enough. Even before giving in to their passion, I could feel the strength of it. I was quickly reminded that the emotions that give passion can produce equal fear and anger. Watching Jo and Paul try and work out the past to hopefully lead to a new future for them showed me that a true and deep love never really dies. When the danger comes from an unexpected angle, at least for me, I loved seeing the depth of the trust that had been restored between Paul and Jo. Still Mine is equal parts hot romance and suspense, which I found not to be missed. The cliffhanger ending leads me to hope that just maybe Jo and Paul will show up again soon in another book.

Jo
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still Mine, August 7, 2008

By 

Kelly "Reviewer for The Sinfully Sensuous" (Littleton, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Still Mine (Kindle Edition)

Jolene Benate should be on top of the world. She had a very coveted spot on the warrant squad, and was the only female team member. She was damn good at her job, and everyone knew it. There was only one thing missing from her existence, and that was a personal life, and love. Her one true love had been stripped away from her six long years ago, and to this day she still felt the acute pain of losing her husband Paul Benate. Jo knew she should try to move on; give her heart a push to meet someone new, but she just couldn't do it.

Paul wasn't dead as everyone assumed he was. He had cut Jolene out of his life because he was working on classified projects, and he was terrified that someone would use her to get to him, so he had taken that possibility away. He did keep tabs on his beautiful wife, and knew she hadn't moved on with someone else just the same as he hadn't. When he could stand it no longer, he decided to have her brought to the current military complex he was working in. Someone trying to get to him had shot her, and it was time he started protecting what was his.

Jolene was abducted from her protection detail, and was being shipped to someone. She had no idea what was going on, but decided that keeping a cool head would be her best line of defense. She had to pay attention, so she could find an opportunity to escape. Nothing could have shocked her more than coming face to face with the husband she had mourned for years. She almost lost it, but reigned herself in, and took the only course of action she could at the moment. Jo resorted to violence, and punched the husband she thought was lost.

Paul is a man that was forced to live with a decision he wished with his soul he could change. He knew he never should have given up his heart's desire in favor of what he wanted to accomplish professionally. Jolene had existed without Paul for years, but never recovered from his loss. As these two lost lovers try to rekindle the love, and loss of trust, outside enemies try to separate them forever. This is a pretty good story, but in several spots it slows to a crawl, and is even boring at times. Overall it is an interesting read, but not a keeper.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 blue ribbons from Romance Junkies, July 23, 2008

By 

C. Dionne "Chrissy Dionne" (Cloverdale, OREGON USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Still Mine (Kindle Edition)

Jolene Benate was devastated when her husband died leaving her a widow at the age of twenty. That had been six long years ago. Rather than wallow in self pity, Jo used his life insurance to attend a special training program for women interested in law enforcement. She's made a name for herself and is now in one of the highly sought after positions on the elite warrant squad. The only area of her life where she hasn't moved on is her love life. Since her husband's death, not once has Jo taken a lover even though she's had plenty of opportunities.

As a member of the elite warrant squad Jo's used to facing down bad guys and plenty of injuries but the recent attacks against her are troubling. Sure the protection team will do their best to protect her but even they are no match for the men who are after her. Jo realizes that she's pissed off her share of perpetrators but even she's stumped as to who's after her and why.

Paul Benate believed that he was doing the right thing when he allowed Jo to believe he'd died. His position dealing with extremely classified projects makes him a target so he's had to live within the confines of a small base which is extremely difficult to penetrate. When he learns of the attacks on Jo, he realizes that his sorry attempt at protecting her by letting her go has failed miserably. The only option acceptable to him is having her brought to him. The old Jo would have been ecstatic to learn that her husband still lives: the new Jo is beyond furious that Paul allowed her to be deceived for so many years.

Jo's worked long hard hours to gain the respect of her team and make a life for herself - without Paul. So him thinking that he has the right to have her kidnapped and brought to him is simply too much. She may still love Paul but no way is she going to allow him to dictate her life.

Mary Wine tells an amazing tale with STILL MINE! I loved Jo's kick butt attitude and yet she still has this vulnerability that endears her to readers. She's a feisty little woman and even Paul is stunned by the changes that have taken place with her over the past six years. Paul is very much in love with Jo so even though she's furious with him, as a reader I couldn't help but want them to have their happily ever after.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)