Lovers of military romance will be thrilled with Code of Honor. It has an exciting plot, and a pair of lovers with chemistry to spare.

Joe Greco and Cooper Scott have been best friends since boyhood. A Croation, Joe was rescued by American soldiers and later adopted. Cooper was the only child of a wealthy woman who didn’t have time for him. When they grew up, Joe became an Air Force pilot and Cooper joined the Special Forces. During a mission in Iraq, Joe dropped Cooper and his men into an area where a terrorist leader had been spotted. When Joe heard on the radio that the men had walked into a trap, he attempted to rescue them, but was shot and wounded.

Brigid Wheeler, a photojournalist and Cooper’s lover, was along on the mission and saw it all. Joe and Brigid have been best friends ever since, but Joe is in love with her…and has been all along. Joe has never revealed his feelings to Bridget because he and Cooper had a code that they would never make a move on each other’s lovers.

On her 30th birthday, Brigid tells Joe she wants them to become sex buddies and Joe is floored. Of course he want to – he loves her, but the shadow of Cooper is still there. Their decision has to be postponed since Joe has been assigned to a mission in a small South American country. The U.S. government has given the country some heliocopters to help fight drug trafficking. The brass wants Brigid to go along to photograph the trip. When Joe tells Brigid the terrorist leader of the cell that killed Cooper has been traced to the South American country where they are going, she agrees to make the trip.

To tell more would be spoilers, so I’ll let you discover this book by yourself. Code of Honor is one of the best military romances I’ve read in some time and it is mostly because of the lead characters. I’ve seldom seen a hero and heroine with such great chemistry.

Joe is good man, decent, and honorable as can be. Brigid is good too, capable, brave, and strong. There isn’t a trace of silliness or stock romance character posturing about either of them. Their fears and hesitations about becoming involved are realistic and understandable, and when they finally do become lovers, it is hot and sensual and emotionally satisfying.

The plot is exciting, but it drags a bit in the middle. There’s a secondary romance that is nice enough, but not all that well developed. I think it would have been better if the characters in that romance had gotten their own book. Incidently, the blurb on the back of my ARC gave away a big spoiler. So if you want this book to be a surprise, don’t read the back cover.

I’ve read several of Catherine Mann’s military romances and she certainly knows her way around the genre. Her characters feel real, her romances are satisfying and she always delivers an exciting and satisfying read. If you enjoy military romances as much as I do, check out her book. I highly recommend it.