In a bit of irony, my first thought upon starting SEALed Forever centered on how nice it was to read a book with a military hero uncomplicated by any negative sentiment toward the government. However, that first impression didn’t hold true as the hero’s last mission got sabotaged by his own country.

The story opens with a bit of woo woo. Navy SEAL Lt. Garth Vale is being drawn to the light after being ambushed while in Afghanistan. Concerned that his fellow team mate David “Doc” Graziano will be left behind to die, he refuses to leave. Having an out of body experience, he finds Doc, who states that he is already dead. Unable to accept that, Garth convinces Doc that he needs his help to survive, thus ensuring that they both live. Later when they are stateside, he is best man at Doc’s wedding where he has an unremarkable first meeting with Dr. Bronwyn Whitescarver. Rather than take limited duty while he waits to fully recover, which wouldn’t do anything to advance his career, Garth accepts a temporary assignment working for counterespionage organization. Instead of a positive career move, he finds himself buried maintaining an airstrip in North Carolina. When a fellow SEAL drops by to pick up a passenger, he gets word on his last mission that gives him cause to wonder if his career will ever get back on track. When he then finds an abandoned lethargic baby on one of the incoming flights, he knows that if this incident is publicized he will never get back to his career.

After her best friend JJ Caruthers’ wedding, Bronwyn realizes that she cannot continue working as an E.R. physician. Treating the symptoms instead of the cause is not how she wants to practice medicine. When a fellow friend of JJ’s offers her the position as a family practitioner along with a house in a Sessoms’ Corners, North Carolina, a town with a history of being unable to keep a doctor, she jumps at the opportunity. Not only will she be closer to her best friend, but she now will be able to make a difference in the lives of her patients. She is disconcerted on the day of her arrival when a man shows up on her doorsteps with a semi-comatose baby. Recognizing Garth from the wedding, she is willing to listen to his story first rather than immediately call the authorities.

Garth, upon seeing Bronwyn, falls in love at second sight. And that is problem one. One minute they are on the porch, with Bronwyn telling him to go to the nearest hospital because she just moved in and doesn’t even have electricity, and the next minute the lights come on and Garth is in love thinking about how much he wants Bronwyn. But of course he wants to change her. He wants her to put aside her goals in Sessoms’ Corner, and become a military wife.

Bronwyn is not a pushover for just any testosterone driven guy, plus she could jeopardize her medical license if she didn’t report the baby to the proper authorities but after hearing his story, and conferring with Doc and JJ, she agrees to help. As Bronwyn and Garth spend time together caring for the baby, their intense attraction grows.

I like this author’s way of writing and setting a scene. The book flows well, there is great sexual attraction, and her characters are appealing. My overall feeling is that the author is very competent in researching her facts and incorporating them within the story. If I didn’t have a problem with some of the plot devices, then this book would be rated much higher. There seem to be too many subplots with the baby, Garth’s sabotaged mission, Bronwyn’s secret, and cameo appearances of characters from previous books with unusual career paths. Most of all I couldn’t accept the instant love scenario. True love, nope, I don’t think so. True lust, now that I can believe. And while the story starts out in Afghanistan and the hero is a SEAL, all the action takes place in rural North Carolina aside from the opening. While I understand that individuals can’t stay on active duty forever, it seems frustrating that the title doesn’t match the storyline.

However, if none of these reasons seem that problematic to you, then you may enjoy this book more than I did. If you looking for more of a military story based on the book’s title, then you may find yourself a little disappointed.