This book as two stories.
First Navy Baby: Riley Murdock is my favorite character in this story. He seems harsh, and emotionally unattached. But he’s had a hard life, and managed to turn his life around by joining the Navy. He didn’t have a loving family that taught him how to handle life, and communicate his feelings and thoughts. He has three big weaknesses, 1st is his temper, he thunders about frequently in the story, but he always feels bad about it, and does his best to be better. 2nd, He’s not good at communicating, especially when it comes to his feelings, but he is still trying to understand them himself the majority of the time. 3rd, his own self-esteem, he doesn’t think very highly of himself, and so he’ll often make mistakes, or say things he shouldn’t because he feels his wife is too good for him. That being said Riley was sweet, protective, kind, sometimes irrational, often frustrated, but very loving.
Hannah finds herself pregnant after one night with Riley. She slept with him being angry with God, and hurting from the loss of her fiancé. She never expected she would get pregnant from that one night, but her father who is a pastor responded to her in the sweetest way, considering the situation.
After the kind way Hannah’s father handles the news he goes behind her back and contacts the army to find Riley. He and The Army chaplain (his friend) feel that Riley needs to “do right by Hannah” and marry her. Riley not understanding his own feelings for her, not wanting his child to grow up without a father like he did, feeling his upcoming promotion is in jeopardy based on his commanders unspoken threat, and Hannah‘s father and the chaplain he decides to marry her.
Hannah is hurting, and angry through a lot of the story, and I felt she treated Riley like he was to blame for everything she was unhappy about. She often would jump to conclusions, yell, or cry instead of communicating in a helpful way. She finally started to mature more and look at Riley’s point of view closer to the end of the story.
I often found myself annoyed at the characters, wanting to smack them and tell them to stop being selfish, and try and see things from the others point of view. If they would’ve just acted more maturely, they could’ve resolved a lot of their problems at the beginning of their marriage. However that would’ve made for an even shorter story than this short story already was.
Their bedroom scenes are way more detailed than I felt necessary, however I did appreciate the kind, and gentle way Riley always treated Hannah. I also felt the author over used the word damn to kind of describe feelings of love and anger.
Over all I did like the story, and I think it’s one I’ll read again.
Book 2 Navy Husband
Shana recently out of a bad relationship, and in a new city, and running a new business she just purchased is terrified to become guardian to her niece Jazmine who she doesn’t have much of a relationship with.
Jazmine can sometimes be really rude, but remembering that she’s only 9 trying to act more mature than she is, that she lost her father two years ago, and then her Mom is now shipping out with the Navy for six months her behaviors are generally understandable.
Adam The family friend, and godfather to Jazmin is funny, kind, and loving, and just who all the women in the story need to help them through their hardships
Allie is my favorite character, sister to Shana and mom to Jazmine. She is wise, caring, and loving. She is a nurse on the navy ship, and after bumping into an officer on board she starts to feel she can love again, and develops feelings for him. He thinking she is unfaithful in her marriage when he thinks she is overly kind to him, and he’s angry at himself for having an attraction to a married woman, so he acts like a complete jerk to her after becoming her patient upon having his appendix removed. Allie remains professional, and confronts him about his horrible behavior, and then leaves him alone. She is hurt from the experience, but she doesn’t act childish or irrational, even when she has to see him later. He finds out about her husbands death, and apologizes. Their relationship blooms from there. Allie’s strength is amazing. I found myself getting teary-eyed thinking of her situation and her feelings, but she remained a good and level headed person through everything.
Over all I felt like this short story was the kind that would make a really cute movie, and I really enjoyed this story and will read it again.