The Soul of a SEAL

October 1, 2016
When a Navy SEAL is sent undercover to find out whos sabotaging a top-secret project, he hopes the mission will fulfill a lifelong ambition to get to space but is surprised to discover it may lead him to the woman of his dreams as well. Capt. Bennett Sheraton is the best of the best, especially respected for thinking on his feet and solving problems on the go. So when a supersecret space shuttle program is being sabotaged by an insider, Sheraton is sent in as a possible pilot for the flight but is also asked to quietly find out whos behind the treachery. Sheraton isnt prepared for his attraction to the lead scientist on the project, engineer Dr. Kimberly Warren, or his protectiveness toward her when he realizes how complicated the situation is and the danger shes in physically and professionally. Also, since the project is an international collaboration, its hard to ascertain whether the menace is a personal vendetta or something more global. As Sheraton and Warren close in on the culprit, their personal relationship causes more problems for Warrens leadership status and may threaten Sheratons selection to pilot the shuttle. Every corner leads to another threat, to them and to the project, so the stakes are high on every level. Author Elizabeth introduces us to a fascinating historical aspect of the SEAL team's work on the space program, and the first third of the book sets up the framework of the mystery and the worldbuilding in a compelling way, with obvious fireworks between Sheraton and Warren and an intriguing Star Treklike computer system that helps the couple overcome their adversaries and solve the mystery. Unfortunately, too many plot details require a suspension of disbelief, and the twists and turns are often either too abruptly explained or so poorly motivated that by the end, the reader feels disappointed by the promising start. An interesting idea that doesnt fulfill its possibilities.

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November 1, 2016
In the fourth title in the West Coast Navy SEALs series, Elizabeth (A SEAL Forever, 2015), who is married to a retired SEAL, tells the love story of two brilliant misfits who find each other amid the stress of a space launch being sabotaged from within. U.S. Navy captain Bennett Sheraton, a pilot, is infiltrating the mission undercover to find the culprit. Dr. Kimberly Warren, designer of the spacecraft, is fighting to keep control of the project. Both are exceptionally talented workaholics who have had little time for real relationships until they meet and fall hard for each other. Since Kimberly is technically Bennett's boss and will choose whether he pilots or not, this situation is dicey, and it gets more problematic as more things go wrong, but, ultimately, SEAL ingenuity prevails. The juxtaposition of sex scenes, suspense, and slices of history about the SEAL involvement in the space program isn't always smooth, yet SEAL expert Elizabeth succeeds in providing a highly interesting romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)