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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by Heather Long – Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

GIVEAWAY INFO: It is tour wide for 2 Ebook copies of a backlist Always a Marine series by Heather Long ebook (winners choice) Ends 04/30/2013. Rafflecopter and Tour Schedule links are at the bottom of the post. Good Luck!

 

Title: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Series: Always a Marine #10 | The Challenge Series

Author: Heather Long

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Interracial Romance, Military Romance

Publisher: Decadent Publishing

Format: Ebook

Length: 90 pages \ 25000 words

 

Buy Links: All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookstrand | Decadent Publishing | Kobo |

Book Description:

 

Have you ever woken up every day afraid of everything?

 

For single mom and widow Melody Carter, six months passed since an IED ripped her life apart. Everyone is sympathetic and offers platitudes of comfort and support. Everyone thinks they know why she’s grieving but Melody isn’t mourning her broken heart. She’s ashamed to be grateful her abusive husband won’t hurt her anymore and scared for her child. Born with a mild heart defect, her daughter needs lifesaving surgery and with her funds tight and her emotional scars tighter, she’s running out of options. When she receives an offer for assistance from Mike’s Place, can Melody put her faith in the men her husband called friend?

 

Have you ever woken up, day after day, to discover your body’s betrayal?

 

Marine Captain, Joe Anderson Cooper, received the Silver Star for Valor when he led his unit through heavy fire to rescue fellow Marines. Despite numerous injuries, the Captain refused medical aid, insisting that the medics attend others. A broken back and shattered bones put Captain Cooper in a wheelchair and every day is a battle to keep his recovery on track and his sanity intact. When a single mom moves in to the apartment next door to his and he recognizes a kindred—damaged—soul, can he overcome her fear and be the man she’s always needed?

 

Can these two lonely souls rise to the challenge or will their scars trap them forever?

 

Also be sure to check out the rest of the Always a Marine series!

Once Her Man, Always Her Man

Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here

Tell It To The Marine

Proud To Serve Her

Her Marine

No Regrets, No Surrender

Merry Christmas Marine,
Semper Fi & Good Night

The Marine Cowboy

The Two and The Proud

A Marine and A Gentleman

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Combat Barbie

 

Excerpt:

 

Letting herself out of the apartment, she locked up and turned to find her neighbor locking his door. He caught sight of her and smiled. “Good morning.” His deep baritone hummed over her senses. She appreciated the low voiced greeting.

 

“Good morning.” She wanted to say something more, but her brain locked up around the words. He eased his wheelchair back until nearly off the sidewalk and motioned for her to precede him. Biting her lip, she found another smile for him. “Thank you.” Her heartbeat accelerated and sweat cooled her spine. She didn’t hug the wall, but she couldn’t help widening the distance between them.

 

The wheels made the faintest squeaking noise after she passed, and she glanced back to see him following her down the path toward the parking lot. Maybe she should have offered to push. He wore an olive green t-shirt and a matching pair of slacks, though they were cut up the side of the large cast encasing his right leg from mid-thigh to his toes.

 

He—Joe, he said his name was Joe—met her gaze and gave her another easy smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners and the dimple in his cheek deepened. The sidewalk widened and she slowed to let him catch up.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m not the best company this morning.”

 

“No worries, ma’am. Little ones take a lot out of a body.” The buttery softness of his voice washed over her like a soothing balm—like the night before when he knocked on her door and introduced himself. He scared the hell out of her, but not in the same breath.

 

I must be tired. I have no idea what I’m feeling from one moment to the next. As if summoned by her thought, fatigue wavered through her and she stumbled. The diaper bag swung down her arm. She couldn’t catch it and hold the baby at the same time. Joe stopped the bag’s arc, and gave her a chance to catch her balance.

 

“May I?” He offered, still holding the bag.

 

May he what…? He wanted to carry the bag for her and she winced. It was heavy and he…

 

“I have plenty of room and then you don’t have to worry about it taking you off balance again.” The sound logic quashed her natural objections. She shifted Libby carefully and let the strap fall off her arm. Her internal alarms sounded. Giving him the bag didn’t give him some kind of power over her, but her gut tightened at the surrender of her possession.

 

He settled the bag against his lap and nodded encouragingly. “Just point me to your car…”

 

“Oh, I don’t drive. Well, I do but I’m not driving here. I’m actually just staying here for a few weeks and I’m waiting for the shuttle.” She tacked the last on with a grimace. “And apparently I’m as muddleheaded for real as I feel. Sorry. Thank you. The shuttle is scheduled to pick us up here in about…” She couldn’t look at her watch.

 

“Two minutes.” The captain supplied. “I’m waiting for the same shuttle.” His warm brown gaze turned studious. “Are you okay?”

 

Review:

Okay, I’ve just finished one of the most beautifully written books this year.  And no, I’m just saying that because its Heather Long or a Decadent book.  I’m saying it because it is a beautifully written book.  There is a definite message underlying in the book but it’s not preachy or heavy-handed.

Ms. Long has written a beautiful love story between a man and woman who need each other emotionally, physically, and intellectually.  This is not a “sexy” read that you are accustomed to reading by Ms. Long.  This book deals with more emotional side of a relationship and how one bad, abusive relationship can scar a person so deeply, that you don’t think they will be able to come out on the other side.  Ms. Long deals with the subject matter objectively, thoughtfully and deftly.

Melody isn’t truly mourning her abusive husband that was killed by an IED.  She knows that he can never hurt her or their baby now.  What she can’t help is that her daughter needs live saving surgery and when you are a single parent it’s even tougher.

Joe was injured on his latest tour and hearing a baby cry next door was more than he can handle.  When his neighbor opens the door, he it didn’t expect to be taken in by the fragile woman and her baby in such a way that it seemed like fate had stepped in.  Joe had his own issues to deal with, too.  A broken back and a hurt leg were the least of his worries when he meets Melody.  He realizes what is wrong with her and offers her just a friendship for now.  He knows what she needs, so he calls in the big guns…his mother.

Melody was a strong character but also a wounded soul.  Weary from the years with her husband, any man made her jumpy.  Just getting on the shuttle was an ordeal.  But with Joe, she was never frightened.  In fact, for the first time, she relaxed around a man.  She didn’t want to feel this way about another man but Joe just had a certain calmness to him that drew her.

Joe’s mother is a completely riot in the book but her scenes with Melody are spot on.  Melody needed to know that she wasn’t alone and that were people out there that wanted and would help her get through this and help make her whole again.

I honestly didn’t realize that this was a Challenge book when I started reading it and I’m glad that I didn’t see it.  While both characters had challenges to overcome, the story itself shouldn’t be categorized in any genre.  Ms. Long wrote a book that I will re-read again and again.  It is filled with hope, love and above hope to feel alive again.

I don’t know how Ms. Long does it with her Marines.  All I can say is that I will be reading them as fast as she can write them.  *one warning about the book*  Don’t expect a lot of smexiness between them.  There is one scene at the end…;)

Their relationship is not based on sex but on trust and the power to overcome the challenges that have been put in front of them.  Personally, the story doesn’t need it; the build up is enough for me.  Long live Joe and Melody.  I hope to revisit you soon.  🙂

 

 

 

About the Author:

 

Heather Long lives in Texas with her family and their menagerie of animals. As a child, Heather skipped picture books and enjoyed the Harlequin romance novels by Penny Jordan and Nora Roberts that her grandmother read to her. Heather believes that laughter is as important to life as breathing and that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are very real. In the meanwhile, she is hard at work on her next novel.

 

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4 thoughts on “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by Heather Long – Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

  1. I haven’t read any books from this series yet, but it does look like something I would enjoy a great deal.

  2. Wow…..loved the excerpt & reading your review on this book. It sounds like a great book to read. Thank you…..I look forward to reading it soon.

  3. Thanks for the spotlight and review! This sounds wonderful! I just read my first Heather Long book and I’ll be adding this to my list for this week!

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