Harvard's Education

Tall, Dark & Dangerous #5

by Suzanne Brockmann

FInCOM agent P.J. Richards is given access to the no-women-allowed world of the Navy SEALs from the inside, so she can't afford any distractions--especially not toughened SEAL Senior Chief Harvard Becker. Reissue.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Military Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, Fiction

249 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling, and explored brave new worlds as a bestselling romance author.

Over the past thirty years she has written sixty-three novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts. Her personal favorite is the one where her most popular character, gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, wins his happily-ever-after and marries the man of his dreams. Called All Through the Night, this mainstream romance novel with a hero and a hero hit the New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list. In 2007, Suz donated all of her earnings from this book, in perpetuity, to MassEquality, to help win and preserve equal marriage rights in Massachusetts.

In addition to writing books, Suz writes and produces indie movies and TV including the award-winning romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding. Her recent feature, Out of Body, is streaming on Amazon Prime.

In 2018, Suz was given the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. Her latest projects are Blame It on Rio (Tall, Dark & Dangerous # 14), available in print and e-book from Suzanne Brockmann Books, and Marriage of Inconvenience, a six-episode LBGTQ rom-com TV series, streaming on Dekkoo in April 2023.

Reviews

[Floripiquita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvard's Education es el quinto libro de la serie "Altos, oscuros y peligrosos" y un buen ejemplo de ese dicho tan español que reza “no hay quinto malo”. A diferencia de lo que ocurría en el libro anterior, esta historia tarda en arrancar, pero cuando lo hace es un no parar. He echado en falta algo más de desarrollo de la parte romántica, pero me han gustado mucho sus protagonistas, Harvard y PJ, pues los he sentido muy reales, con sus ideas preconcebidas, sus tiras y aflojas y sus encuentros y desencuentros. También que en el libro se hable de sus experiencias, personales y profesionales, como personas de color, de las dificultades a las que se enfrenta la prota por ser mujer en un mundo donde la testosterona y los músculos mandan y de su lucha por no ser tratada de manera diferente.

#RetoSusi #RetoRita3

[Buggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening Line: "This was wrong. It was all wrong."

Ack this was so good. Although I will admit a bit slow to get started, by the end however I really felt like I knew our heroes and was completely wrapped up in their lives, especially during their last so called “training” mission together. Jeez talk about suspense and romance in the jungle.

“Harvard” Becker is the 5th SEAL from Brockmann’s Tall Dark and Dangerous series to have his story told. And while I somehow missed this fantastic series the first time around I’m sure enjoying the hell out of it now with the re-issues. These well written, quickie romances are impossible to put down, with delicious alpha male heroes, sweet romances and just the right amount of action, suspense and melodrama to keep you coming back for more. And except for Brockman’s tendency to make up imaginary countries I just love her style of writing; using real military jargon she gives us larger then life Navy Seal heroes and exciting yet plausible storylines. Her romantic dialogue and love scenes are always amazing and our big, bad hero *sigh* usually even sheds a few tears.

Harvard and the rest of SEAL team 10 are running training exercises during an 8 week experiment wherein they are to train members of FInCOM in all things Navy SEAL. With the type of life and death situations they face this is an exclusive boys club and that’s just the way Harvard likes it. Enter PJ Richards, sharpshooter, most capable recruit, Harvard’s perfect intellectual match and of course all woman. With his sexist attitude these two have problems from the start. Harvard just doesn’t believe women belong in a combat zone, it’s too dangerous, too brutal and she would be far too distracting.

A great deal of HARVARD’S EDUCATION takes place within the relative downtime of training, so we really get to know our couple. Watching their relationship ebb and flow at times felt like a character study without the usual benefit of firefights, tangos and explosions. Another great aspect here was getting reacquainted with past team members in particular Joe Catalanotto from book #1 (Prince Joe) We are also introduced to new grey group member ‘Crash’ and I can’t wait for his story in(Hawken's Heart)

The ending chapters here were fantastic as a planned out of country “training” mission goes horribly wrong. Leaving me hanging for quite a while as to whether the mission (and fatalities) were in fact real or a training op. Pinned down by hostiles, armed only with paint ball guns, and with their leader Captain Joe severely injured and taken hostage it’s going to be up to PJ and Harvard to save the day. Will he be able to set his prejudices aside long enough to let PJ do her job and help rescue their team mates? Will they make sweet love while awaiting nightfall, save their commander and maybe fall in love? Sorry my description makes this sound super cheesy when in fact this is actually suspenseful, exciting and really well done. Cheers Brockmann, another great read.

[peachygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as exciting as the Troubleshooter series.

[Lady Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I'm going to say is that Harvard and P.J.'s story made the top of my "this is how to lose your virginity" list!




An excellent addition to the "Tall, Dark, and Dangerous" series.




Enjoy!

[So · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parece que los que diseñaron la portada no se dieron cuenta de que los protagonistas son afroamericanos...

[Bona Caballero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brockmann escribió en los noventa (principalmente) la que a mi me parece una de las mejores series de suspense romántico que te puedes encontrar dentro de lo que son novelitas genéricas: los Tall, Dark and Dangerous. Cortos, sexis y con acción. Nadie da más por menos.
La n.º 5 es Harvard’s education (1998), y, ¡oh, chicas!, aquí más que nunca me doy cuenta de lo anodinos que son los títulos en español de estos libros, cuando los originales dicen tanto sobre el protagonista. Aquí, «Una educación de Harvard» alude a la formación específica que tiene el protagonista, el jefe senior Daryl «Harvard» Becker (36), un caballero de refinado acento bostoniano y con una formación universitaria. Pero que dejó la vida intelectual y se metió en el ejército tras ser víctima de un episodio racista. En un ejercicio conjunto con FInCom entrará en contacto con la agente P. J. Richards (25), de origen bien opuesto: padre desconocido, madre adolescente drogadicta. Una tía dura que dispara mejor que nadie y tiene auténtica resistencia corriendo. El entrenamiento conjunto de SEAL / FInCom se tuerce un poquito cuando por medio se meten unos narcotraficantes.
Aunque cualquiera lo diría por la portada española, lo cierto es que fue el primer libro de Brockmann protagonizado por personajes afroamericanos. En su momento, esto fue rompedor. ¿Qué creéis que pasó? ¿Vendió más, menos, igual que los otros...? En mi blog lo conté, tal como lo recordaba la propia Suzanne Brockmann.

[Jeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. I've been looking forward to this character's story, and Suzanne Brockmann did not disappoint, giving a story with characters so real you feel you could sit down and have a chat with them.

Navy SEAL Daryl Becker, nicknamed Harvard, does not see any place in combat training for a woman, particularly 5'2" PJ Rogers. (I guess he's not a fan of G.I. JANE. ) "But the fact is, you're a woman. Having you on my team, out in the field, in a combat situation, would be a serious distraction."

Boy, has he got a lot to learn. PJ is part of the FInCOM team training with the SEALS for a combined antiterrorist team, and she is determined to succeed. Harvard is strongly attracted to PJ, as she is to him, but he's going to have to learn to deal with her as a person before she is willing to deal with him on a man-woman level. She's a strong, talented, and above all, practical, woman and it isn't long before Harvard realizes that those very qualities are a large part of what he's is falling in love with. The two of them make a formidable pair and it was a delight to watch them get to know each other.

BTW, I loved the way PJ handled herself and the male prejudice that she met. I imagine some readers are going to think she takes too hard a line, but she's got my respect and admiration. Not bad for a fictional character, wouldn't you say?

[Marta Luján · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado todo de esta historia: la trama, los personajes, la problemática...

En esta ocasión, la ambientación nos permite ver a los Seals en acción, especialmente en la última parte de la historia. La autora nos deja ver cómo se entrenan estos soldados, cómo se preparan para lucha por salvar vidas, y lo hace mientras los miembros del Escuadrón Alfa entrena a agentes de la FInCom (Comisión Federal de Inteligencia), solo para demostrarles que, en caso de ataque terrorista, es mejor que dejen trabajar solos a los Seals.

La trama está muy bien llevada y entrelazada a la perfección con el desarrollo de la acción, de tal manera que tanto la historia de amor como la tensión en la acción van en un continuo "in crescendo" que atrapa al lector mientras va repitiendo como un mantra "esto no es posible", "es un truco", "no puede morir"... Sí, se sufre hasta el final, pero ¡qué final!

Los personajes son fabulosos, no solo por sus cualidades humanas, sino por la carga ideológica que traen consigo. Harvard, al contrario que los otros miembros de los Seals conocidos hasta el momento, tiene una situación familiar maravillosa, con unos padres estupendos que lo quieren y están orgullosos de él. Como su apodo indica, se ha graduado en Harvard. Es alto, apuesto, inteligente, tierno... y negro. Y, según parece, no vivimos en una sociedad tan tolerante como parece. Y aunque al principio él también parece un poco intolerante, es lo suficientemente inteligente para darse cuenta de que ser mujer no es ninguna limitación. Me ha parecido precioso cuando, al final, acepta los motivos por los que se ha enamorado de PJ, precisamente por ser quien es y por ser como es, y verlo apoyándola en todo hace que te enamores de este personaje.

PJ, la protagonista femenina, me ha encantado, no solo por su férrea voluntad, su carácter fuerte y decisivo, su orgullo y su chispa de humor, sino porque, además, es la mejor agente de la FInCom, la mejor tiradora y la mejor estratega. Ella no solo tiene el problema de ser de color, además, es mujer. Toda la novela es una defensa sobre la mujer, sobre su capacidad para desempeñar los mismos roles masculinos, a pesar de tener menos fuerza física. Una defensa que PJ demuestra en la acción, convirtiéndose en la fuerza clave para salvar a su equipo.

La chispa de atracción entre ellos surge desde el principio, pero ambos la esquivan. El amor, sin embargo, surge despacio, de forma silenciosa: "-Sé que es amor. Es más grande que cualquier cosa que haya sentido antes. -No, no lo es. Es más pequeño. Lo suficientemente pequeño para llenar todas las grietas de mi corazón. Lo suficientemente pequeño para colarse cuando yo no miraba. Lo suficientemente pequeño para metérseme bajo la piel y en la sangre." Un amor que se llega a apreciar cuando los protagonistas creen que es lo último que van a tener: unos minutos de amor valen para toda la eternidad.

La he disfrutado de principio a fin, y aunque la historia queda con algún que otro cabo suelto, al final no importa. Me ha encantado ver a los viejos conocidos de las otras novelas de los Seals y descubrir a los nuevos, que esperemos que tengan también su propia historia, como Crash.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puis-je commencer par dire que j'aime Suzanne Brockmann ? Harvard's Education me conforte dans mon opinion ; je dirais même que c'est l'un des meilleurs romans que j'ai lus d'elle à date (The Defiant Hero était particulièrement faible, par comparaison).

J'ai connu cette auteure avec sa série Troubleshooters, qui met en scène des Navy SEALs et d'autres personnages gravitant autour de leurs opérations. Harvard's Education appartient à une série antérieure : Tall, Dark & Dangerous, qui est cependant basée sur la même idée. Les similarités entre les deux séries sont notables, à commencer par l'origine italienne des commandants (Joe Catalanotto dans TDD, Tom Paoletti dans Troubleshooters), qui sont aussi les héros des premiers livres de leurs sagas respectives. Si vous aimez une série, vous aimerez sans doute l'autre.

C'est une drôle de coïncidence que l'autre jour justement, je publiais un article sur La romance : entre misogynie et féminisme. Parce que Harvard's Education est l'une des romances les plus féministes que j'ai lues. Notre héros, Daryl "Harvard" Becker (parce qu'il a gradué avec les honneurs à Harvard), est l'un des SEALs à qui l'on assigné la mission de créer une équipe anti-terroriste conjointe avec des agents FInCOM. L'un de ces agents est une femme, P. J. Richards.

La relation entre nos deux héros prend un très mauvais départ lorsque Harvard exprime l'opinion que les femmes n'ont pas leur place sur un champ de bataille. Durant tout le roman, P. J. n'aura de cesse de le convaincre du contraire. Le conflit entre un héros un peu macho et une héroïne un peu féministe n'est ni nouveau ni rare en romance. Ce qui est plus rare en revanche, c'est qu'il soit bien traité, plutôt qu'utilisé comme un simple raccourci ou prétexte, et complètement oublié aussitôt que fond l'inimitié première entre les protagonistes. Comme si les différends entre un homme et une femme au sujet du statut de la femme perdaient leur importance, voire disparaissaient dans le magma de la passion… Si l'expérience du couple m'a appris une chose, c'est bien que ce n'est pas le cas.

Et dans Harvard's Education, Dieu merci, ce n'est pas le cas non plus. Lorsque Harvard fait l'effort de vaincre l'hostilité de P. J. et qu'ils deviennent amis, puis amoureux/amants, leur "problème" initial ne cesse pas de faire question, au contraire. Autant P. J. ne peut pas s'empêcher de s'attacher à Daryl, malgré ce qu'il pense et ce qu'il a dit, autant cela reste une épine dans leur relation tant qu'il n'a pas changé d'avis. L'amour et la vision du monde sont deux choses à la fois distinctes (l'une ne peut résoudre l'autre) et inséparables (on ne peut pas faire abstraction de l'une ou de l'autre).


Par ailleurs, j'ajoute que le personnage de Harvard n'est pas moitié aussi anti-féministe que le héros de Julie James dans Practice Makes Perfect, par exemple (quel imbécile, celui-là ! eurk). Non seulement, comme on le découvre peu à peu, Harvard est en réalité à peu près parfait, mais son côté macho ne concerne d'emblée qu'un domaine limite, celui de la ligne de front. Je ne précise pas cela pour l'excuser, mais parce que c'est réaliste. La plupart des hommes dans notre entourage ne sont pas misogynes, ni ouvertement sexistes ou anti-féministes (du moins je vous le souhaite). Or, malgré même parfois un soutien à la cause féministe, on s'aperçoit que dans des cas limites, où la culture, la tradition, l'habitude est trop forte, ils n'arrivent plus à penser hors du genre…

C'est ce qui arrive à notre héros. Il n'y a rien de misogyne ni de sexiste dans sa pensée consciente, mais l'idée d'une femme au front, surtout une femme comme P. J., tellement plus petite et plus faible que lui, ça réveille quelque chose d'irrationnel en lui… Et non, cet "instinct" de protection n'est pas "normal". Pour Brockmann, pas de "boys will be boys". Une femme va lui montrer la lumière.

Une autre chose pour laquelle j'apprécie Brockmann est qu'elle écrit des personnages qui ne sont pas des Blancs. Ici, les deux héros sont noirs… un cas de figure que l'on voit trop rarement dans la romance mainstream, surtout si elle n'est pas écrite pas une auteure elle-même noire. Brockmann, au contraire, aime mettre en scène des héros d'origine indienne (Max Bhagat), cubaine (Ric Alvarado), vietnamienne (Vinh Murphy), etc. Ça rafraîchit et surtout, c'est réaliste ! Je ne sais pas pour vous, mais il m'arrive plus souvent d'être à des soirées où il n'y a pas de Blancs qu'à des soirées "toutes blanches". De même, la série Troubleshooters inclut des personnages qui ne sont pas hétéro, et qui sont pour autant davantage que les clichés sans vie amoureuse de Lady Be Good (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) ou de la série In the Garden (Nora Roberts).

Jusqu'à présent, mon roman préféré de l'auteure était Force of Nature. Ma seule réserve, c'était que le livre m'avait semblé manquer d'humour. Certes, c'est du romantic suspense, il se passe des choses graves, mais why so serious? Je n'ai pas eu cette impression avec Harvard's Education, qui m'a fréquemment fait rire et sourire. D'un autre côté, il joue aussi moins la carte du suspense, puisque durant 70 % du livre environ, le contexte est celui d'un entraînement et non d'une réelle opération militaire.

Ici, si je devais indiquer à tout prix un défaut, je dirais que les répliques manquent parfois de naturel tant elles sont parfaitement exprimées. Je ne sais pas si c'est un défaut d'époque ou de style, mais le langage parlé des romances paranormales m'a manqué à certaines occasions.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful romance, terrific action-adventure

FInCOM agent P.J. Richards is a small woman, but extremely fit, strong, intelligent, and with shooting abilities that are off the chart. She demands no special consideration as she and several other FInCOM agents team up for eight weeks with the legendary U.S. Navy SEALs for a joint exercise. P.J. is on a roll with her career, and she has no intention of being thrown off course by romance, but Senior Chief "Harvard" Becker puts every man she's ever known in the shade. He's huge, gorgeous, and as smart as she is, but he doesn't think that she, as a woman, should be on this mission. Not that he holds much respect either for the male "Finks," as the SEALs so insultingly call them, because they're careless, lazy, and out of shape. Only P.J. stands as a contradiction to the SEALs' belief that any real joint mission with FInCOM agents would be a disaster because it would drastically slow down the SEALs.

Brockmann does a wonderful job of portraying two appealing African-American characters, from opposite sides of the proverbial tracks. Harvard is the child of a privileged upbringing as the son of a college professor, and P.J. hales from a difficult upbringing in the inner city. In reaction to her mother's promiscuity, though P.J. is in her mid-20s, she is still a virgin, and the most unusual virgin heroine in a short-contemporary romance I've ever read. P.J. is anything but naive or innocent. She simply respects her body and her future and knows exactly what she wants--and does not want--from life.

The passion between these two attractive protagonists is immense, and the action in the final act of the story is riveting. P.J. and Harvard make a fantastic team, and the rescue they take on together would be captivating on the big screen.

I originally read this book when it was released in 1998. I have reread it multiple times since then, and it is just as exciting every time. Tragically, given the world we live in, the terrorist themes of this series never go out of date.

It's not essential to read the (currently, as of 2022) 13 books in Brockmann's Tall, Dark and Dangerous series in order, but it greatly adds to one's enjoyment to do so. Each book sets up the book that immediately follows it, introducing the SEAL who will be the hero of the next book, along with pertinent backstory, for the first 11 books. The last two books in the series, written many years after #11 are slightly different in that regard. In particular, the hero of #13 King’s Ransom is an important subcharacter in #3 Frisco’s Kid. This is the order in which this series was originally released:

1) Prince Joe, June 1996
2) Forever Blue, October 1996
3) Frisco's Kid, January 1997
4) Everyday, Average Jones, August 1998
5) Harvard's Education, October 1998
6) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, December 1998 (Note: the 2010 audiobook is titled Hawken's Heart)
7) The Admiral's Bride, November 1999
8) Identity: Unknown, January 2000
9) Get Lucky, March 2000
10) Taylor's Temptation, July 2001
11) Night Watch, September 2003
12) SEAL Camp, May, 2018
13) King’s Ransom, December, 2020

I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK. I have to admit that I gave up on this one. I couldn't even get half-way through the previous book, and although I got 75% of the way through this one, it just stopped working for me. The biggest problem I had with this one was that the heroine was so one-dimensional. She was a gun-toting, wrong-side-of-the-tracks, virgin, man-wannabe, determined to show that she's as much of a man as the next man. I have a few problems with this, so here goes.

1. The portrayal of the heroine is so stereotypical. The woman-wanting-to-be-a-man thing just annoys the hell out of me. It's totally dated (let's say c. 1980), and just gets my back up. I actually have had experience as working as the only woman in a man's world (as an engineer on an oil refinery), and it's not as one-dimensional as this implies that it is. The era when women were willing to essentially become men has long since gone, and this book misses a great opportunity to show this. OK, so this was set in the military, but, I mean, come on!

2. The heroine is herself one-dimensional, and absolutely no match for the hero. The hero is sensitive, balanced, smart, experienced, and, well, just plain great. The heroine appears desperate by comparison, and I just can't believe that the hero would be attracted to her for any other purpose than a notch on the bedpost (except that he isn't the kind of guy who's interest in notches). The heroine's character totally lets down both the hero and the plot, which is actually great (training course with ulterior motives, and training exercise that goes wrong).

And finally, and the big killer for me, she's not so much a spitfire sticking up for herself, with the intelligence that her life experiences and intellectual capabilities would imply, than a punchy, aggressive harridan. You would have thought that after her extensive experience of being the only woman in her situation, she would have learned to use her difference subtley to her advantage - not to go for the jugular with every complaint, but to persuade and to demonstrate through action. I've never been in the military, but I've never seen such an aggressive approach work in a work situation where you're the only woman. She would have been made the butt of jokes and not taken seriously at all.

There. Rant over. I'm going to look for some fun, sexy fluff to read now..

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. In the read-through I just finished, what stood out for me was the themes of racism and sexism in the plot.

'Harvard' got his nickname because as a black man who actually graduated at the top of his class there and became a Navy SEAL, he is both an example of reasons not to stereotype and also of tokenism in institutions. P.J. is a woman whose race is not given, but she has escaped her inner city upbringing by a single mother drug addict in determination not to repeat her mother's mistakes. She has become a federal agent and the plot revolves around a joint counterterrorism training operation between her agency and the Navy SEALS.

I think there are parts of these characters that the author used for Alyssa and Sam in the Troubleshooters series. (Arch, do you agree?)

Anyhow, in order for the operation to succeed (to save the boss when a training operation goes SNAFU goatstyle), our hero has to swallow his urge to protect. He has to learn to admit that the woman with whom he fell in love is a warrior, and also that he would not have fallen in love with anyone who needed the protection his instincts are pushing him to insist upon. This is the education to which I believe the title refers.

P.J. has other issues with which to deal. They stem from her upbringing and from the sexism she encounters in her work. If there is a weakness in this work, it is that I don't see much of Harvard's influence in her triumph over these issues, she just seems to be growing.

Well-written, well thought through, with lighter moments to provide a bit of leaven. My favorite is when P.J. gets away with leading a non-sexual conversation revolving around H's penis.

I will be reading this series over and over again.

[Anja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I like an alpha male and I like a strong woman as counterpart to make it interessting, but it's easy to cross the line where I get annoyed. If a male is too alpha I don't like and if a woman is too strong I don't like. For some reason the author chose another very strong and very independed woman again.

In the book before about Cowboy, his woman was borderline. I get that getting someone pregnant isn't a reason to get married or base a marriage on, but resting all the help is stupid. In this book P.J. took this whole independent, strong woman thing another step furhter. I get as a tiny, black woman in a mainly mens job you have to be twice as tough as everybody else, but after the 5th repetition that she can do whatever they can do, I kind of had enough and it touched the line of being annoyed when she threw it in Havards face whenever he made a command. At least that was my impression throughout the story.

The story itself wasn't really my thing. I liked Havard as supporting character in all the other books, but he failed to win me over completely as a main character. Maybe the reason was P.J. as I didn't really warm to her.

[Kitzya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que puedo decir?
Me ha encantado los personajes.
Lo que no sabia y no me di cuenta hasta la mitad del libro que eran de color los protagonistas haaaha
Es el primer libro que leo que los protagonistas son de color.
Bueno también he comenzado por el último libro. Tendré que ponerme con los anteriores.

[Pauline Destinugrainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvard dan anggota team Navy SEAL Alpha Squad diminta untuk melakukan pelatihan bersama dengan tim FinCOM. Salah satu dari empat anggota FinCOM adalah P.J. Richards, seorang perempuan dengan kemampuan yang setara dengan anghota SEAL. Meski demikian Harvard dan sebagian besar peserta pelatihan menganggap PJ tidak layak berada di posisinya. Hanya karena dia perempuan.

PJ menyadari itu dan dia berusaha meningkatkan performanya sambil meyakinkan orang lain bahwa meski dia seorang perempuan, dia adalah individu yang terlatih dan tangguh. Dan Joe Cat selaku kapten Alpha Squad menyadari ketangguhan dan kecerdasan PJ. Dia ingin menjadikan PJ sebagai "penyambung lidah" kepada pimpinan FinCOM bahwa tim gabungan FinCOM/SEAL tidak berhasil. Apalagi untuk menghadapi teroris. PJ sebenarnya menyadari hal itu. Tapi dia adalah prajurit yang patuh. Dia menjalani seluruh porsi latihan dengan penuh tanggung jawab.

Kisah cinta antara Harvard dan PJ sendiri tidak bisa dibilang mulus. Harvard ingin mendekati PJ, namun PJ hanya mau apabila Harvard sudah bisa menerimanya hanya sebagai rekan yang setara. PJ memiliki sesuatu yang ingin diperjuangkannya. Saya suka dengan karakter PJ. Ketangguhannya, caranya menghadapi superioritas pria, dan percaya dirinya. Di sisi lain, Harvard juga sosok yang realistis. Meski dia mengakui keunggulan PJ, rasa sayangnya pada PJ membuatnya ingin melindungi wanita yang dicintainya itu.

Dan saat mereka terlibat dalam pelatihan yang tiba-tiba berubah menjadi ajang peperangan sungguhan, kisah cinta Harvard dan PJ benar-benar diuji.

[Cruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Suzanne Brockmann
First published: 1998
Length: ~4340 kindle locations, 248 pages
Setting: Contemporary.
Sex: At the end. Reasonably explicit.
Hero: SEAL.
Heroine: FInCom agent.

A lot of time spent discussing the role of women in the military, the casual sexism of otherwise strong, educated, respectful men, and how gender roles influence our expectations.

And done very well, too.

Eg. Discussing her physical attributes rather than skills.
“’Exactly how many members of your team were hit tonight, Mr. Hawken?’
‘Six.’ He smiled slightly. ‘Four of whom you were responsible for.’
‘Four out of six.’ She shook her head, exhaling in a short burst of disbelief as she glared at the SEALs. ‘I beat you at your own game, and yet you’re not talking about my skills as a shooter. You’re discussing my butt. Don’t you think there’s something really wrong with this picture?’” loc.4840

Or women excluded from combat roles on principle.
“She snorted. ‘Sorry. From where I stand, you’re the enemy.’
‘I’m what?’
‘You heard me. You want me gone from this training op on pure principle. You think women have no place out in the field, in the line of fire. You’re judging me not as an individual, but based only on the fact that I don’t have a penis. What’s the deal with that? Do you use your penis to aim your rifle better? Does it help you dodge bullets or run faster?’” loc.5517

And it, overall, works. Brockton walks a path between strong, independent woman in a man’s world who must prove herself over and over and the needs of a romance - sex with an Alpha male. A difficult path but she succeeds. Harvard and PJ don’t jump into bed at the first opportunity. She isn’t side-lined on his say-so. PJ is no TSTL heroine forcing her way into positions requiring rescuing. She’s intelligent, disciplined, strong. And Harvard learns to appreciate her.

A very solid, enjoyable story.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Tall, Dark & Dangerous:
Book 1 Prince Joe - Veronica St John and Lieutenant Joe Catalonotto
Book 2 Forever Blue - Blue McCoy and Lucy Tait
Book 3 Frisco's Kid - Alan Francisco and Mia Appleton
Book 4 Everyday, Average Jones - Harlan "Cowboy” Jones and Melody Evans
Book 5 Harvard's Education - Senior Chief "Harvard” Becker and PJ Richards
Book 6 It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - William "Crash” Hawken and Nell Burns
Book 7 The Admiral's Bride - Zoe Lange and Admiral Jack Robinson
Book 8 Identity: Unknown - Mitchell Shaw and Becca Keyes
Book 9 Get Lucky - Lucky O’Donlon and Sydney Jameson
Book 10 Taylor's Temptation - Bobby Taylor and Colleen Skelly
Book 11 Night Watch - Wes Skelly and Brittany Evans

References:
Author's website: http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/books...

(Read in Tall, Dark & Dangerous Vol 2 Books 3-5 ISBN 9780857996336)

-CR-

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read in March 2014
It's not among my favorites in the series. I downgraded from 4 to 3 stars. It might be more of a 3.5.
Harvard was an interesting character, though I was expecting more brilliant dialogues when he was involved, considering what I read about him in the previous books, and his many first missed interactions with PJ definitely were missing. I absolutely loved it when she called him "bigot" and Joe Cat did not contradict.
PJ's whole character was very extreme and thus did not seem totally realistic or humane, her childhood, her lifestyle. I often thought she was too young to behave as she was, but some other things her absence of any relationship and subsequent virginity might have seemed even more strange, had she been around 30 rather than the 25 announced.
From my first reading, I remember a big disappointment that the Black from the team should hook up and end up married with a Black girl as well.
In this second reading, I was not so enthralled by the plot, rather slow with not much suspense until the last 30 pages or so, as everything takes place during a safe and almost boring training program. I would also have liked the other 3 Fincom candidates, in addition to PJ, to be less dumb and caricature.
It's however useful to have read this one, and especially the end of this one, before the next (which I'm already almost through)...

[Shelita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It's one if 4 in the Tall Dark & Dangerous Part 2 anthology. I liked PJ. She was a woman in a man's world who had a tough upbringing and had to work hard to prove herself. Plus she was a black woman in a man's world. While Ms. Brockmann didn't touch upon the racial aspect of PJ's life, she did an in-depth look at being a woman in the military or military like organization. I've never had a desire to be in that type of organization but I can only imagine how hard it is. Plus PJ is a little thing so it was probably hard for her to get them to take her seriously. And being a black woman is going to cause some issues with a lot of people. Other than her not really touching on that and the hut interlude which was a little far fetched, I loved this story. I didn't think Harvard would get his own story and I was pleasantly surprised. I've been telling my friends who might not have previously read one of her books to pick this one up.
Now I'm reading Crash's story and already they made me cry.
I'm enjoying this series and would recommend it.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I my quest to read all of the Tall, Dark & Dangerous books within a short span of time, this was a reread for me. I always expect great thing from Suzanne Brockmann and she rarely disappoints. In reading through the series, this book is #5, I have noticed that some of the characters have similarities with some characters from the Troubleshooter series. One really striking similarity is between P.J. and Alyssa Locke.

P.J. is a balls to the wall, black woman who is out to prove she is just as good as any man, and better than most. She is a FInCOM (FBI) agent and has been chosen to take part in a joint training operation with SEAL Team 10 Alpha Squad to combat terrorism. The CSF team is P.J. and 3 other men and the 7 member Alpha Squad. Master Chief Daryl Becker, Harvard, finds it lust at first sight when he meets P.J. and she goes on to not only make him fall in love with her , but to earn his respect while she does it. When they throw out the training "book" the team gets into a very dangerous situation Harvard is forced to make decisions that put P.J. in danger.

[Gramedia Pustaka Utama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiap cerita Suzanne Brockmann yang diterbitkan GPU, pasti bagus-bagus semua. Apalagi ini bagian dari serial Navy Seal. Secara overall, ceritanya khas Navy Seal SzB, dengan adegan perang yang melibatkan anggota Navy Seal. Hanya saja di novel ini, tiap anggota tidak terlalu terlibat saat perang di Korea Selatan. Bahkan hanya PJ Richards yang terlibat pertempuran... Jadi berasa ada yang kurang, terutama karena para personel Navy Seal terluka sehingga tidak ada yang bisa ikut bertempur.

Chemistry antara PJ & Harvard? Salut sama mereka berdua yang bisa nahan emosi dan gairah.

[Mirella Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tiap cerita Suzanne Brockmann yang diterbitkan GPU, pasti bagus-bagus semua. Apalagi ini bagian dari serial Navy Seal. Secara overall, ceritanya khas Navy Seal SzB, dengan adegan perang yang melibatkan anggota Navy Seal ikutan perang. Hanya saja di novel ini, tiap anggota tidak terlalu terlibat saat perang di Korea Selatan. Bahkan hanya PJ Richards yang terlibat pertempuran...

[Ere Johan · Rating 5 out of 5]

aq suka buku ini..karena ceweknya tegu bgt pendiriannya, dia gak mw di ajak uhuk2 sebelum menikah ya ampunnn so sweeettt dan cowoknya si havard bs ngerti dan bahagia bgt karna pengantinya masih perawan....top bgt buku ini...

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been devouring this series and loved Harvard in the first 4 books. I was really looking forward to his story. I still really like Harvard's character, but this book just fell flat for me. It was okay and entertaining, but somehow left me wanting more...

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how hard PJ had to work to make it working with the Navy SEALs. It really showed how hard it can be for a woman in a man's occupation.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two-haiku review:

She's training with SEALs
He's against female combat
But strong attraction

Another good one
Again liked both characters
Enjoying series

[Ushmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so at last this author write about a strong woman who can compete with men but guess what she is virgin... 😒
I don't know if i should laugh or cry !
I like the story. Even I like H. He is trying to get over his alpha complex. h is strong brave and everything i would want in a kick ass woman. But writer wanted her(h) to be different. So she(author) gives her(h) a twisted background. I want to know badly why can't a normal woman from a normal background be the h? So everyone from plain background want to be chick in high-heels? cheerleader in highschool? Pretty posh button up woman? Nobody from normal woman want to be a fighter? Why? Is that a man thing? Is there really something called man thing(exclude penis) ? I really badly want a normal bg girl who become a badass fighter. Not because she experienced something bad but because she just wants to be a fighter and help others.

Whatever, i like the story .if i kinda ignore the virgin part story was good.

It's a 3.5 🌟

[Alie Gauslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.4 for me. I read this romance novel for my women and sexuality class. I'm very surprised how much I liked it and appreciated that it didn't feel like a chore. However, the heroine is super scrutinized about her abilities as an agent by her male peers, who objectify her. Luckily, the man who she's paired up with to be her One, undergoes serious character development and by the end respects her, her body, and her abilities. But it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth about how much the heroine was objectified in the beginning, even by her lover. I was also nervous about Brockmann, a white woman, writing about two people of color characters and whitewashing them or eroticize their race or weaving in streotypes, but she didn't. So I guess that's something.

[Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent military romance. It’s funny that some books in this series I didn’t like while others I really enjoy and even love. This had good dialogue, sometimes I laughed out loud. PJ, our heroine was tough, feminine and funny. She was honest and strong. Harvard who we’ve met in earlier books is this tall, quiet capable Navy SEAL. But what you don’t realize but might guess are his archaic views about women in the military. He’s pretty blunt to PJ and I remember at one point I cried ou, oh no he didn’t! Lol. Their relationship was fun and in the end she gets to prove she is an asset and the SEAL team shows why they are so successful.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that the Navy SEALS is a male dominated arena, but her feminism feels over the top. She is very abrasive at the beginning, and takes offence at EVERYTHING. I do love Harvard, but just found I could not warm up to PJ.
We finally get to some action at the end, and I was so bored I could barely finish. I swear we read about them in real time, with every word spoken and every body part touched told in excruciating detail.

[ChristiLovesBooks_smut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvard’s Education

Harvard's Education, book 5 of the Tall, Dark & Dangerous series by Suzanne Brockman @suzbrockman. I read this series when it was originally released & I am rereading it because it's been so long & I don't remember anything about it! Lol

What a great book about book about Harvard & PJ! Tropes: Contemporary, Male/Female, Military, Slow Burn, Training Op Turned Unexpectedly Real, No 3rd Act Break Up & HEA!