Whipped Cream Erotic Romance Reviews

Model Soldier by Cat Johnson
Linden Bay Romance
Action Adventure, Contemporary
Full Length, M/F
Review by Viscaria

“Out of every 100 men, 10 shouldn’t even be there, 80 are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.” ~Heraclitus, 500 B.C.

Meet the one, the model soldier, Army Staff Sergeant David “Hawk” Hawkins

Marketing executive Emily Price is accustomed to dealing with glamorous models, men and women who are polished to perfection. When she’s offered an assignment featuring one of Uncle Sam’s finest soldiers, she jumps at the challenge. Who better to turn a war-hardened alpha male into a too-good-to-be-true poster boy?

Staff Sergeant David “Hawk” Hawkins is a model soldier on active duty in the Middle East. Dedicated and disciplined, he’d never imagined wanting to refuse a command or decline an assignment. Until he was ordered to work with Emily Price in the middle of a war zone on the new Army recruitment campaign featuring… him.

Packed with sexual tension, passionate love scenes, heart-stopping action, and an appearance by the men of Task Force Zeta, this long-awaited sequel to Cat Johnson’s award-winning A Few Good Men will take you on a memorable, fast-paced journey that is sure to leave you wanting more.

♥ ♥ ♥

As I took this book for review--snatched it up actually--I was told that there was a lot of good buzz about it going around… which worried me! I never know if I’m going to like something that other loved and I feel pressured if I don’t like it as much as others have. I needn’t have worried where Model Soldier was concerned! This book more than measured up to the hype and I have nothing but good things to say about it!

Emily is determined to do a such a fantastic job on her first solo outing as a marketing guru. She heads off into the fray to dazzle and astound her boss and her boss’s bosses, and if she happens to find the man of her dreams along the way… well then that wouldn’t be a problem either. Imagine her surprise when the soldier she’s been sent to work with wants nothing to do with her or her marketing campaign! Throw in his gruff, no-nonsense, downright condescending attitude and she’s ready to spit nails. What in the world is she supposed to do with a surly, albeit hot, soldier who isn’t at all helpful? Emily does her best to work with what she’s got and hope for the best!

Emily was so much fun to get to know! She was that friend that we all have who seems to have her head in the clouds, but at the same time knows when she needs to be grounded. A woman who has seen her best friend and boss fall in love with an amazing man and who wants the same amazing love for herself, Emily reminded me of so many women… and yet she was unique! She was sassy and straightforward, and at the same time she had her shy moments. A thoroughly entertaining heroine!

Hawk is every man’s soldier, and a good one at that! When he’s pushed into an assignment that he never would have volunteered for on his own, he’s determined to do his duty… begrudgingly. When the hot and feisty Emily steps into his strict military world with her references to his “camouflage outfits” he’s at a loss as to how to deal with her. When his strong and surly act only makes her irritable in return… will he come to his senses and behave himself? Or will he set out to breach Emily’s defenses?

OH, wow… I just adored Hawk. His he-man personality was so fun and appealing. What made him even more so was the fact that he was completely honest about the kind of man he was and what he wanted from Emily. Well, what he thought he wanted anyway. When she throws him for a bit of a loop it’s interesting to see how he struggles through and comes up with what he feels is a workable solution. He was also such an honorable man, and I admired him when he made a decision that may not have made any sense to Emily, but was really the best one he could make considering his options.

This was a wonderful and wonderfully hot book that will definitely go onto my reread list. The fast-paced dialogue and verbal combat between Hawk and Emily kept me grinning and turning the pages on more than one occasion, if for no other reason than to see what they would say next. I also felt that the military situations and dialogue were spot-on, coming from a Military Brat and all… I felt right at home! The camaraderie and good-natured ribbing between the men as well as the competitive nature they are cursed… I mean blessed with, was so realistic and made me laugh out loud more than once. Cat Johnson writes gripping, three-dimensional characters that had me running a gamut of emotions from laughter and fondness to frustration and pain to love and pure happiness. There’s not much more I could say to endorse a wonderful author. I find that I am so looking forward to reading the previous book in this intense and intensely sexy series. Way to go, Ms. Johnson!

Comments:

Sat, Aug 9, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Your Name: Cat Johnson
Your Comment: I just wanted to pop in and say thank you, thank you, thank you to the reviewer for the incredible and thorough review of my Task Force Zeta novel Model Soldier.

This book was indeed a labor of love, one I could not have written without the support and vast contributions of my military muses who provide the facts and real life missions that I spin into my fictional tales.

I also wanted to give everyone a heads up that the story that leads up to Model Soldier, the tale of Emily\'s boss Katie and her finding her love, BB Dalton, can be found in \"Under the Covers\" which is currently a FREE read and can be downloaded at www.lindenbayromance.com (find it under either the FREE READ tab or the TASK FORCE ZETA tab).

Thanks again to Whipped Cream Reviews and Viscaria!
Cat