Review: Call to Honor by Tawny Weber (SEAL Brotherhood #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I can’t believe it took me this long to read my first ever Tawny Weber book, but I’m glad that my introduction to her writing is via Call to Honor, the first full-length novel in her new romantic suspense SEAL Brotherhood series published by Harlequin’s HQN Books. This was a great story about, obviously, the brotherhood that a group of SEALs share, each of them belonging to an elite group known as Poseidon. This edition includes a bonus story—the prequel novella, Night Maneuvers, but I’ll get more into that one after I’m done sharing my thoughts on Call to Honor.
For the past decade, Lieutenant Diego Torres has found purpose and brotherhood as a SEAL. Being part of Poseidon wasn’t a privilege bestowed on every SEAL, but Diego shared it with eleven others, each of them brothers bound together by trust and honor. It’s been twelve years since Diego entered boot camp, and he wouldn’t change a single thing about being a SEAL or serving his country and beside the men he considers family. When that trust and honor is threatened by a possible betrayal, Diego is tasked to get answers by getting close to a dead man’s ex and his son.
Harper Maclean’s pride and joy is her eight-year-old son, Nathan. She’s struggled to give him the best life possible and now, with a business of her own, she’s finally making inroads. Nathan’s father didn’t want to have anything to do with them from the moment Harper informed him of her pregnancy. When she’s informed of Brandon Ramsey’s death while serving as a SEAL, the only thing Harper feels is bewilderment that he was even aware of their son’s existence or their location. She hasn’t been with anyone since Brandon, but her new neighbor definitely tempts her.
There’s something about a well-written romantic suspense novel that makes me all giddy. Maybe it’s the anticipation and it appears that Tawny Weber knows how to keep her readers waiting and then richly rewarding them in return. I absolutely loved both main elements in this book. The romance between Diego and Harper was flirty and fun, belying just how dire the consequences would be should treason be proven and how badly hearts are going to end up broken once the truth about Diego comes out and whether Harper is actually involved or absolutely has no clue.
You know who the bad guys are soon enough, but not everything that needs to be resolved is resolved in this series starter, proving that the series arc does have to do with the selling of classified information to hostile groups. This is where the supporting cast of characters play their roles and they do it well. I was intrigued by Commander Nic Savino, leader of the Poseidon team, and Lieutenant Elijah Prescott and Chief Petty Officer Jared Lansky, both teammates of Diego’s, as well as Andrianna Stamos, Harper’s best friend, so I’m excited for more SEAL Brotherhood.
The scene-stealer in this first in a series had to be Nathan Maclean. He was precocious and adorable, and the boy’s curiosity and maturity were winsome. He was also the bridge of sorts that allowed Diego and Harper to connect. He saw and understood beyond what adults thought he was capable of, and because of that, he holds his own at a crucial point in the story, but he remains an innocent child who only wants his mother to find happiness and for him to have a hero to believe in and look up to. Call to Honor was a fantastic five-starred beginning to an already good series.
As I mentioned earlier, this book does include Night Maneuvers, which is the story of Poseidon team member Chief Petty Officer Aaron Ward and the U.S. Navy’s new civilian PR specialist, Bryanna Raddison. Aaron’s the poor sap who gets the short straw and has no choice but to be the Bryanna’s interviewee. The last thing he wants to do is to provide information to some clueless journalist, but Bryanna is anything but clueless. When one night together ends with accusations of ulterior motives, finding a middle ground may mean the difference between love and a PR war.
I liked Aaron and totally got why he—along with the rest of the Poseidon team—were apprehensive about being made available for interview. In the case of Bryanna, well, I didn’t quite like her all that much. I can’t pinpoint what it was exactly about her that didn’t call to me, but I honestly didn’t get Aaron’s attraction to her. Then there was the whole “love at first sight” thing she was such a believer of, and I just couldn’t fathom how they connected and then felt what they had after one hookup was forever. Maybe I was just in a cynical mood. Night Maneuvers gets three stars. ♥
Date Read: 09 February 2017
Learn more about Tawny Weber.
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