A Marine thinks a lot about home when serving back to back tours overseas. Home is supposed to be safe, full of love and laughter, but Lt. Col. Boone Ballestra’s care packages stopped coming months ago. The two females Boone loves most sought shelter under his roof when his sister vowed to testify against her murderous husband and moved in with his niece Savannah in tow so, he expects a bit of drama, but not a near kidnapping before he even tosses his duffle to the floor.
AND HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS…
Boone’s relied on long distance help in the form of Savannah’s favorite teacher, Brianna Parrish. Brianna’s had his family’s back when Boone couldn’t, but now that mafia in-law Hadrian Royle is stepping up the heat, she’s put her life on the line for them. ...It's not exactly how Boone planned to impress the woman who helped him while he served his country.
Back home, Boone discovers knowing 100 ways to subdue an adversary is useless when it comes to your basic preschool princess wrangling. Brianna's insights console his traumatized niece, & decode parts of Boone he's kept camouflaged from the world (& himself.) She even teaches the man with a boatload of concerns to 'cast his cares' on God, (which sounds just dandy, until Brianna foils the mob’s plans one time too many & puts herself in their cross-hairs.)
AND THE HEART ENDURES ALL, SACRIFICES ALL…
Brianna's too important to him to risk further, and Boone pushes away the love he’s lacked all his life in order to keep her safe. It's the perfect plan, (if only she were the kind of gal to abandon the people she loves).
When she doesn't, Brianna’s marked for death, and Boone will trade his freedom for hers in a heartbeat---which it just might cost them.
An amazing new author. K.D. Harp is definitely at the top of my favorites list. I've got the library (thousands, literally) of authors to attest to an educated opinion. K.D. is the best thing to hit the book world in a long time. I read Blackmail first, White Lies and then Code Prodigal. This book highlights everyone's favorite: a military man with a heart of gold. Admittedly my favorite character was the not so nice guy purely because of K.D.'s talent of getting to the heart (naughty or nice) of her characters. I was immediately addicted. She draws you in. Her attention to detail, both of landscape and character is phenomenal. If you are an Atlanta native her books will be especially enjoyable with a touch of history, landmarks and true southern tradition. She's a talent to watch and an author to put on your favorites list. I can't wait to see what she has coming up next.
I suspect a dedicated romance reader will LOVE it. As a Squeaky Clean Christian romance, it has a good story and great characters -- though it does slip into melodrama in a few places. It was refreshing to read some hard action scenes with real tough characters, and nobody had to drop f-bombs all over the place to express themselves.