I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: NetGalley
Christmas with a SEAL
by
Tawny Weber
contemporary romance that was published by Harlequin Blaze on November 1, 2014 and has 224 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Sixth in the Uniformly Hot SEALs romance series and revolving around the men of a Navy SEALs team. The couple focus is on Frankie Silvera and Lieutenant Phillip Banks and set in Maryland.
My Take
I love it! Frankie has been in lust with Phillip for the past ten years but with whom she hasn’t exchanged more than ten words.
I love how Weber slides background information in; she’s an excellent example for authors on how to avoid the dreaded info dump. From slipping in last names to family history to ??? I also love Frankie taking her heart in hand and pursuing Phillip. The flirting prelude was lovely.
It only goes to show that dysfunction crosses all social levels from the lowest to the highest, for Phillip and Lara’s extremely wealthy parents did not ensure idyllic childhoods for their children, preferring duty and abstention while Frankie, the granddaughter of the Bankses’ housekeeper, had a great childhood full of warmth and loving.
There’s also the setting, and I like how Weber refers to it: fantasy Phillip where anything is possible and real-life Phillip who was in total control and didn’t understand Frankie. That I’m-not-good-enough trope…the first part had just enough of a twist to give it interest, but then she descends into the straightforward variety. Oh, it does make me cry, and Frankie is declining with total love in her heart, but it was too expected.
Shayla has some excellent advice for Frankie regarding that hot leather dress, and it’s interesting how she ties its choice into Frankie’s loss of mojo. Definitely something to think about in our own lives, see how we apply the same pattern to everything we do.
It’s a sweet, fun story using the Christmas holidays to bring two people back to life. Yes, it has its tropes — including the ending, but we (and they) deserve it.
The Story
All those smokin’ hot bods at this wild wedding, and there was only one Frankie wanted. She knew she wasn’t in the same class, but all she wanted was one hot night.
A hot night she thought had refueled her creativity.
The Characters
Francesca “Frankie” Silvera was a celebrated silversmith. Nana, Josephine O’Brian, is her grandmother, the Banks’ housekeeper. Aunt Isabelle. Shayla is a colorful friend of Frankie’s.
Lieutenant Phillip Banks, a Navy SEAL whose call sign is “Sir”, is Lara’s estranged brother and the object of Frankie’s lust and fantasies.
Lara Banks, the daughter of high-society snobs, is a friend of Frankie’s and has been gone for the past eight years, dancing. Their mother, Ellen, was fancy.
Dominic Castillo, part of Phillip’s SEAL team, is Lara’s new husband. Lieutenant Commander Blake Landon is their CO. Alexia is Blake’s wife. Petty Officer Lane. Lieutenant Commander Mitch Donovan is a legend and the admiral’s grandson; he’ll take the mission Banks so desperately wants. Evan Exner, a friend of Phillip’s, has joined his father-in-law’s real estate firm. Commander Roberts is another CO.
Valdero, code name “Candy Man”, is a drug kingpin.
Millicent, Olivia, and Deirdre are some of Josephine’s friends at the seniors’ center. Margie is a friend of Shayla’s in retail.
The Cover and Title
The cover is definitely a big girl’s Christmas present with a bare chested hunk crouched under a Christmas tree and wearing a Santa hat. The publisher is promoted in a blaze of red and black ribbon across the top while the author’s name is white and large just below the center and the book title is in a smaller font below.
The title is a sharing by Frankie with Phillip, celebrating Christmas with a SEAL who’s never truly experienced the holiday as it should be.
