RETRO REVIEW: SEALed with a Kiss by Jill Monroe

Sammy’s review of SEALed with a Kiss by Jill Monroe
Contemporary Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 01 Jan 11

I just came off a reading high. While I love when I read a book that stays with me, it does some serious damage to my reading mojo. I have been picking up books, reading a few chapters and putting my kindle down. Lucky for me I was on twitter and I noticed that Harlequin was having a huge $1.99 sale. Sometimes when I am in a reading slump, I tend to re-read oldies but goodies. This time I decided I would pick a Harlequin off my huge TBR pile. I’m glad I did.

Rachel has left her marketing job in St. Louis to head back home to help her sister put the family B&B back to rights. Her sister, Hailey, is married to Navy SEAL Nate Peterson from SEALed and Delivered. Hailey plans to welcome him home and wants Rachel to go with her, otherwise their friend Riley won’t have any family waiting for him at the pier. Mind you, Rachel has been watching Riley from afar during their speed dating with a SEAL at their bed and breakfast. She knows he’s a player, and she has formed her opinion.

When Riley sees her waiting there eating a box of cookies – which should be for him – he is instantly intrigued. When their eyes meet and he drops his bag, a hot-and-heavy kiss turns into a weekend of hot-and-heavy sex. Rachel decides it’s going to be a fling and nothing more. It’s Riley. The same guy who speed dates faster than a speeding bullet. In the meantime, the B&B is pretty much finished and Rachel is looking to use her marketing degree to help other failing B & Bs.

Rachel invites Riley on her trips. They definitely have heat, but communication between the two is almost zilch. You, the reader, know how Riley feels about Rachel and how Rachel feels about Riley. This is where the book pissed me off a tad bit. Riley is being honest about how he was feeling. He would tell Rachel and she would shut him down or disappear for a while, only to call him and start the sex all over again. By this point Riley is very hurt and Rachel is starting to get on my last nerve. I mean, she is sharing her time and her body, yet she refuses to take a chance on Riley because he went out with a lot of women. Judge-y McJudge face.

One night when Rachel is feeling angsty, she decides to knock down a wall in her room to make way for a new closet. When the dust settles, she finds letters. These letters are written by her ancestor about love lost and love found. By the very last letter, Rachel sees the light. Honestly, by this time I thought she’s going to need an additional hundred pages to make things right. Since it is a chapter and an epilogue, I’m still a little miffed by her. With that said, I love Riley. This is a book that is saved solely by the hero in the story. Then again, if it wasn’t well written, I wouldn’t still be slightly mad at Rachel.

Jill Monroe writes some hot books with tremendous chemistry. Hello? Navy SEAL! You can’t go wrong. Now I am off to read the first book, which, lucky for me, is on sale!

Grade: B-

Summary:

Thanks to her distracted sister, hotel owner Rachel Sutherland is now alone to greet an uberhot Navy SEAL Riley Wilkes as he disembarks. But when Riley scoops Rachel into his arms for a hot, combustible kiss, Rachel wonders if she owes her sister a big favor….

Now Rachel is reconsidering her stance on bad boys…especially those of the Riley Wilkes variety. In fact, a naughty little fling could be just what the doctor ordered. Because the only thing better than a SEAL in his uniform, is a SEAL out of his uniform….

Read an excerpt.