Shelter in a Soldier's Arms (Silhouette Special Edition, No 1400)

Rating:
Summary: A Favourite!
Review: " 'That's right. I've had natural childbirth. I know about suffering.' " p. 198

It's not often you can find quote-worthy stuff in the little Silhouettes, but that made me giggle. This is one of my favourite stories from this line, and I just recently re-read it. It's everything a romance should be with true to life characters.

Jeff is a former Special ops soldier turned high-power security agent. He goes into his office building early one morning to find Ashley, the nighttime cleaner, semi-concious on the floor with flu and fever, along with her four year old daughter, Maggie. Through a series of events (slightly complicated) Jeff ends up coercing Ashley to stay at his home until she gets better, and she never ends up leaving!

The conflict mainly deals with Jeff's very dangerous job and how he feels about what it has made him into. Ashley accepts him, mostly, the way he is. She does have her unreasonable moments, but always takes a minute to see how she really feels, then makes it right. I figure Jeff can take her.

The best part, though, is Maggie. She is so sweet, and Jeff's akward interaction with her is enduring. It was a sweet, down-to-earth story line with equally enjoyable characters. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Favourite!
Review: " 'That's right. I've had natural childbirth. I know about suffering.' " p. 198

It's not often you can find quote-worthy stuff in the little Silhouettes, but that made me giggle. This is one of my favourite stories from this line, and I just recently re-read it. It's everything a romance should be with true to life characters.

Jeff is a former Special ops soldier turned high-power security agent. He goes into his office building early one morning to find Ashley, the nighttime cleaner, semi-concious on the floor with flu and fever, along with her four year old daughter, Maggie. Through a series of events (slightly complicated) Jeff ends up coercing Ashley to stay at his home until she gets better, and she never ends up leaving!

The conflict mainly deals with Jeff's very dangerous job and how he feels about what it has made him into. Ashley accepts him, mostly, the way he is. She does have her unreasonable moments, but always takes a minute to see how she really feels, then makes it right. I figure Jeff can take her.

The best part, though, is Maggie. She is so sweet, and Jeff's akward interaction with her is enduring. It was a sweet, down-to-earth story line with equally enjoyable characters. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Favourite!
Review: " 'That's right. I've had natural childbirth. I know about suffering.' " p. 198

It's not often you can find quote-worthy stuff in the little Silhouettes, but that made me giggle. This is one of my favourite stories from this line, and I just recently re-read it. It's everything a romance should be with true to life characters.

Jeff is a former Special ops soldier turned high-power security agent. He goes into his office building early one morning to find Ashley, the nighttime cleaner, semi-concious on the floor with flu and fever, along with her four year old daughter, Maggie. Through a series of events (slightly complicated) Jeff ends up coercing Ashley to stay at his home until she gets better, and she never ends up leaving!

The conflict mainly deals with Jeff's very dangerous job and how he feels about what it has made him into. Ashley accepts him, mostly, the way he is. She does have her unreasonable moments, but always takes a minute to see how she really feels, then makes it right. I figure Jeff can take her.

The best part, though, is Maggie. She is so sweet, and Jeff's akward interaction with her is enduring. It was a sweet, down-to-earth story line with equally enjoyable characters. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: Back Cover description: When Jeff Ritter offered Ashley Churchill shelter, the struggling single mom longed to lean on his broad shoulder. And though she accepted a job as his housekeeper, Ashley was determined to make her own happiness, without the heartbreak of loving a man. No matter how tempting that man was...It was Jeff's nature to protect, but his heart was off-limits--even to the woman and child he came home to each night. For life had made Jeff a hardened soldier, not a man to love. And despite the hope he saw shining in Ashley's eyes, Jeff didn't dare dream she could truly be his...

This book reminded somewhat of the SHEIK'S SECRET BRIDE. It has the strong hero, who stands alone, beautifully behaved child and attractive single mom. I liked this story, just not enough to give it any more stars. Also, both characters talked too much about how they had to overcome their pasts. Neither of these two showed much hope, let alone any joy that they had survived life's problems. The ending was good, but you would expect that in a romance novel.

Rating:
Summary: A strong woman; an extraordinary love story
Review: Shelter in a Soldier's Arms by Susan Mallery

After reading and enjoying Ms. Mallery's single-title debut, SWEET SUCCESS, I looked forward to trying out her latest category and I wasn't at all disappointed. Ashley Churchill, a widow and single mom, suddenly finds herself very ill and homeless (thanks to a broken water pipe that destroys her apartment). When the owner of the business she cleans offers her and her daughter a place to stay and a job, she accepts with the intention of it being only until she can get back on her feet. But by the time she regains her health, she finds herself falling for her virile, secretive employer

Jeff Ritter has seen the worst life has to offer. The take-charge former soldier, now top-notch security expert, possesses a cool, aloof demeanor that is essential to his job. Never did he figure that one little girl and her mother would melt his heart and show him the meaning of love. But the hazards of his job and the nightmares that haunt his nights threaten to keep Ashley from him forever unless he can find a way to reconcile the two very different parts of his life.

The author gives the readers multi-faceted characters in a story that has humor, gut-wrenching emotion, and sizzling passion. This is a great book for a reader looking to really get involved in a reading experience. The main secondary character, Zane Rankin, is pure delight and deserves his own book. I do hope Ms. Mallery can conjure up a heroine worthy of him.

Rating:
Summary: A definate keeper! Very highly recommended
Review: When life conspires to present Ashley Churchill more challenges than she can handle, help comes from a surprising corner. Fear of loosing her job, extreme illness and her apartment building's flooding leaves this young mother without the resources or the means to provide for herself and her child. So when security specialist Jeff Ritter steps in with assistance, Ashley finds herself accepting his aid despite her protestations. Although she accepts the position as Jeff's housekeeper, Ashley's determined to not become involved with this man, no matter how wildly attractive he is.

Considering himself more machine than human, Jeff never intended to give his heart to anyone. But Ashely's indomitable spirit and her daughter's remarkable trust touch a heart he's long since forgotten. As zoo outings and surprise dinners reach beyond the hardened exterior of the soldier into the interior heart of the man, Jeff rediscovers his connection to others and the joys of living. As his feelings awaken and passion builds, Jeff fears for the young mother and child he's brought into his life, at once determined to drive them away for their own protection and equally determined to keep them close and safe.

An unusually powerful, emotionally demanding read, Susan Mallery's SHELTER IN A SOLDIER'S ARMS challenges issues of self-image and self-identity. As the characters overcome the secrets of the past, their characters grow to embrace their love for one another. Such tremendous growth allows for a richness and depth of characterization that marks the novel as extraordinary. Further, Mallery succeeds at one of the most difficult elements of writing; that is, fully integrating a young child into the flow the narrative, making Maggie a vital and central figure who not only moves the plot along but also provides her own sparkle and depth.

In addition, the powerful heroine faces the challenges of single parenting and working as a janitor to earn her way through college in exactly the believable manner I have come to expect in Mallery's work. Having faced similar life circumstances, I'm impressed with Ashley's character and the realistic nature in which her challenges are portrayed. Indeed, SHELTER IN A SOLDER'S ARMS doesn't back away from the emotional challenges of rising above a soldier's past, a mother's pain, or a young child's desires, leaving the reader with a remarkably complex, emotionally satisfying read by a master. Very highly recommended.