COWBOY SEAL HOMECOMING (NAVY SEAL COWBOYS#1)

Three former Navy SEALs
Injured in the line of duty
Desperate for a new beginning...
Searching for a place to call their own.

Alex Maguire never thought he'd go home again. The perfect soldier, the perfect leader, he's spent his whole life running away from Blue Valley, Montana―but when a tragic accident bounces him and two of his men out of the SEALs, there's nowhere left to turn but the ranch he used to call his own...and the confusing, innocently beguiling woman who now lives there.

Becca Denton's like nothing he could have imagined. She's far too tempting for her own good, but when she offers to help turn the ranch into a haven for injured veterans, he can't exactly say no. He'll just need to keep his distance. But something in her big green eyes makes Alex want to set aside the mantle of the perfect soldier and discover the man he could have been...safe and whole within the shelter of her arms.

The Prodigal SEAL has come home.

Release Date: January 2, 2018

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Navy SEAL Cowyboys #1

Contemporary Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

I somehow had missed out on reading Nicole Helm until Cowboy SEAL Homecoming. I have to say I adore finding new-to-me authors, especially ones with an extensive backlist. I did think Cowboy SEAL Homecoming did start out a little bit slow, once it picked up, I couldn't put it down.

Alex and Becca are basically polar opposites, yet I really liked how they each helped the other step outside their comfort zones. Alex is list maker and planner while Becca pretty much goes with the flow and makes decisions on the fly. As Becca had been really sheltered by her mother her entire life, she was super hesitant in standing up to Alex and the other guys when they first arrived. I loved that the more time she was around Alex, the stronger and more determined Becca became. I think her hesitancy in the beginning was what made the book move slowly at first. I love a strong heroine, and Becca took a bit to find her strength and path, but once she did, she was pretty much unstoppable.

I really liked the slow build to the romance between Alex and Becca. Honestly as they were technically stepsiblings, it could have been weird, but as they had never lived together as stepsiblings, it worked for me for them to have a relationship. I liked that Becca was the one to make the first move and Alex wanted to move at a slower pace since Becca had really never dated in the past. I loved that there was a sweetness to their relationship. Yes they had great chemistry, but there was an underlying sweetness between them that made me buy their relationship so much faster. Not that their relationship was without issues, between Alex's PTSD, that he didn't believe he had, and Becca pushing him to admit to his issues, could have put an end to their relationship. I loved that the fact that Becca had pushed to have a therapist for the equine therapy portion of the ranch was a big part of the reason Alex finally had someone to take to about his issues he couldn't or wasn't ready to share with Becca.

I also liked getting a bit more insight into both Gabe and Jack as Becca spent more time with Alex's friends. I found myself wanting to know even more about them both and can't wait to get each of their stories in the next 2 books in the series. 

Rating: 4 Stars (B)