The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann
Genre: Romantic Suspense (Navy Seals, several sex scenes, sweet romance, reunited, tragedy)
Series: Book one on the Troubleshooters series
Original Language: English
Publisher: Ivy Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2000
ISBN: 080411952X
Page Count: 416
My Rating: ★★★★

Summary

After a near-fatal head injury, navy SEAL lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls for help, the navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly war veterans, a couple of misfit teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton-the sweet "girl next door" who has grown into a remarkable woman. The town's infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance to save the day . .

REVIEW

My first glimpse at the Navy Seal team 16 I've been hearing so much about.

This book started out at quite a slow burn. There were three distinct strands to the story and I preferred two of them over the third one which was told in retrospect. Probably because I knew from the present day accounts that it didn't end well. The other two stories at least had a glimmer of hope to them.

I really enjoyed the romance of the main couple, Kelly and Tom. I don't usually like my characters to have too much past history together, I'm not a fan of the lovers reunited plot device where everything is all bitter with loads of baggage and resentment, but this wasn't like that at all. What they'd had was more of a "near miss" as teenagers and they had never quite forgotten it or each other. This provided a very strong foundation for them as a couple and made it more emotive for me.

The second storyline was a kind of Beauty and the Geek thing. I have a massive soft spot for a geek with a heart of gold (as my nickname might suggest) so I absolutely LOVED this part. It might have even been my favourite bit.

The third romance we learned about was more of a tragedy and as I said, these parts were the slowest for me. It was just so bleak.

The plot regarding the possible terrorist attack was more in the background than I was expecting- this was definitely more of a character driven novel than anticipated. But I really enjoyed it once it found its legs.

I give it 3.5 stars.