"He was wearing reading glasses, half glasses that made him look completely paradoxical—the intellectual warrior, or the thug librarian."

Okay, Navy SEAL Lieutenant Tom Paoletti is a delight. He's 36, used to have a ponytail but is now balding, is ripped, and can save you from pretty much any disaster, but he'll let you help along the way. Total beta-cinnamon roll wrapped in a SEALs exterior. I thoroughly enjoyed his struggles with his head injury that caused him to doubt his mind, his sanity, and his life choices as he tries to decide if he's actually seeing an infamous international terrorist in his hometown or if he's imagining the whole thing.

This was my first Brockmann and I had a great time reading this story. Her style is a little different than I'm used to. There are THREE love stories to follow, and a huge cast of supporting characters, so I felt a little cheated as I wanted more from all of the stories. Tom's niece Mallory's character ARC was especially great, and I really would have just liked a whole book about her finding her place and her HEA with the comic book drawing "nerd" she falls in love with. Maybe they'll show up again in future novels?

I could have done with less of the flashback scenes about Charles, Joe, and their torrid, emotionally unstable love for the French resistance fighter. At first I was kind of hoping Charles and Joe, WWII vets and heroes, would actually be in love with each other.

Also, spoiler alert,

Spoiler

I felt Kate got over the "heroic" death of her cancer-riddled father by making sure he was the only one blown up by the terrorist bomb a little too quickly

.