Early Review | Loving a Warrior by Melanie Hansen

Loving a Warrior by Melanie Hansen
Standalone
Military Romance M/M
Carina Press | November 26, 2018

About the Book: BUD/S: six months of the most intense training there is. It’s survival of the toughest, and Matt Knytych is determined to come out the other side a navy SEAL.

Distraction is life or death. And just the sight of former marine Shane Hovland is enough to shake Matt’s concentration.

Shane came to BUD/S training ready to prove himself—again. Semper Fi is forever, but he needs a new start. Not this dangerous heat with a man he barely knows.

Everything they’ve ever wanted is riding on a thin, punishing line. And they’ll have to fight for more than just each other if they want to make it through intact.

After all, the only easy day was yesterday.

I’m officially a super-fan of Melanie Hansen military romances! Hooyah!

Point of Contact made a great first impression, but it is Loving a Warrior that sealed the deal. I fell crazy in love with Shane and Matt both together, and through their battle to become Navy SEALs.

Truthfully, I was sold just reading about BUD/S training. I don’t know why reading about the military in fiction is so fascinating to me. I honestly have no idea if what I’m reading is legitimate or not. It could be completely fabricated and I’m still invested. I immediately feel the passion of the characters, the adrenaline, and the nerves. Basically, I have no personal experience with any of the armed forces. Still, if someone were to comment and tell me everything Melanie Hansen wrote was incorrect I’d be stunned. I believed what Matt and Shane went through in order to receive their Tridents. Her descriptions felt authentic, and it parallel’s what I read in Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series, who know did a ton of research, even receiving assistance from a former SEAL. Call me naive if you want to, but I bought it. The entire book happens during Matt and Shane’s training, and I loved every single brutal second of it.

Plus, with the setting already so intense, it was the perfect backdrop for two driven men to find each other. The slow slide from reluctant training partners, to friends, to romance, was perfectly executed. I was so locked into their relationship I found it hard to put the book down. This was one of those stories I was sneaking to read, looking out the side of my eye for just one more word, then one more, then another, until I’d ingested just one more entire sentence, then paragraph, then chapter. I admit it. I’m shameless for a good book, and Loving a Warrior was a damn good book!

Now I hear there’s a second one coming out. It’s called ‘Keeping a Warrior’, which sounds like it should bring us back to Shane and Matt. Maybe continue with how their relationship fares once they’re out with their Teams. Well, it’s not. It’s a whole new couple. I’m bummed. But, I’ll probably still read it. There’s always a chance for a cameo.