This Marine is meeting his toughest mission yet…
Tanner Camden knew hooking up with his ex was a bad idea.
But he never thought he'd end up getting a call that he might be a father -- or
that his ex had died, leaving little Poppy in the care of her sister, Addie
Markham. Addie may have always resented him -- and his potential ability to
take away the only family she has left doesn't help -- but with their shared
goal of caring for Poppy, they're willing to set aside their differences. Even
if allowing their new feelings to bloom means both of them could get hurt when
the paternity test results come back…
Good book. Tanner arrived back in town on leave at the
end of the previous book,
The Marine Makes Amends, facing the news that he may
be a father. Eleven months earlier, Tanner made the mistake of hooking up with
his old high school girlfriend. Della was always a little obsessed with him,
and her actions back then nearly caused a disaster in his plans for the future.
The most recent encounter turned out to be more of the same, but she didn't
live to carry out her plans. Instead, Della's sister Addie took over as Poppy's
guardian, loving her like a mother.
I ached for both Addie and Tanner at the beginning.
Tanner's arrival could mean the end of Addie's dream of being Poppy's mom. If
Tanner really is Poppy's father, he'll have the right to take her away and
raise her himself, leaving Addie alone. At the same time, Tanner wants to do
the right thing, but he is terrified of being responsible for a tiny baby. I
liked how Tanner stepped up, determined to learn how to care for Poppy. I had a
little harder time liking Addie at this point because she attempted to
discourage Tanner. I wanted to shake her for her teaching methods and loved it
when he called her out on it.
Tanner and Addie came to an interesting arrangement.
Tanner would help do the repairs on the house she inherited in exchange for
baby care lessons. This entailed Tanner moving into the home with Addie and
Poppy so that he could experience ALL of it. I felt terrible for Tanner because
he was so nervous and tense that the lessons didn't go well. This was very hard
on his confidence. Though Addie's attitude frustrated me initially, I
understood a little of what made her that way. She lost her parents and her sister
in a short period, leaving her with no family except Poppy. Then her fiancé left
her at the altar.
Both Tanner and Addie had past issues that influenced the
way they looked at each other. Addie was a preteen when the high school drama
between Tanner and Della happened and only saw it from Della's perspective. She
saw Tanner as cold and uncaring and didn't want that for Poppy. Meanwhile, we
learn about the hell Della put Tanner through, why he was so ready to leave
town, and why he rarely came home for a visit.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Addie
and Tanner. Once they moved past the initial problem of Addie's sabotaging his
lessons, things got a little easier. Despite the tough Marine reputation, Tanner is a pretty sensitive man. I liked seeing him pitch in to help Addie with the
post-jilting cleanup and how he supported her when she returned wedding
presents. I liked seeing them get to know each other and some of the deep
conversations they had. One night, aided by a bit of wine, Addie learned how
deep an effect Della's actions had on Tanner. I loved Addie's take on the
things he told her and his reaction when she told him. Of course, Addie's
jilting affected her, and Tanner pointed out some things she hadn't considered
either.
Complicating the whole waiting for the paternity results
issue was the attraction that grew between Addie and Tanner. Tanner is wary
because Addie is Della's sister, and how can he be sure that she isn't as
excessively emotional? Poppy resists because of his former relationship with
her sister, plus it being so soon after her breakup. But the attraction
continues to build until they can't help giving in. The experience profoundly
affected Tanner, and I loved his time of introspection the next morning. The
ending was terrific. I loved the thought that Tanner gave to Addie's love for
Poppy, his feelings for both Poppy and Addie, and what he saw as his role.
There were a couple of issues I had with the book. They did not affect my enjoyment of the story. One
very minor, and one that is a consistent problem with Harlequin books. The
minor issue was with the timeline of Tanner's departure for Annapolis. Unlike
civilian colleges, which start at the end of August or the beginning of
September, the Academy does things differently. If you are a Plebe
(freshman), you report in at the beginning of July for Plebe Summer.
"Plebe
Summer is the summer training program which is required of all incoming
freshmen to the United States Naval Academy. The program lasts approximately seven
weeks and consists of rigorous physical and mental training. The stated purpose
of Plebe Summer according to the Academy is to "turn civilians into
midshipmen" (Wikipedia).
The other issue is that Tanner is a Marine, not a marine.
Marine is ALWAYS capitalized when referring to a member of the Marine Corps. Harlequin
nearly always gets it wrong.
P 151, The Associated Press Stylebook, 2004
Marines:
Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces:
the U.S. Marines, the Marines, the Marine
Corps, Marine regulations.
Do not use
the abbreviation USMC.
Capitalize Marine when referring to an individual in a
Marine Corps unit:
He is a Marine.
Do not describe Marines as soldiers, which is generally
associated with the Army.
Use troops if
a generic term is needed.
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