DON'T LET GO

Author: Marliss Melton ISBN: 0446618357 4/2008 SUSPENSE Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL

DON'T GIVE UP It's love that keeps teacher Jordan Bliss up at night: the lost love for a Venezuelan orphan named Miguel…and the memory of a Navy SEAL tearing him from her arms. Now in the U.S. and longing for her child, Jordan vows to somehow, some way, bring Miguel home. DON'T LOOK BACK To Navy SEAL Solomon McGuire, orders are orders. But the fierce passion in Jordan's voice and the fire in her eyes when he separated her from her son haunt his dreams. Eager to make amends, Solomon promises to pull every string he can to find Miguel. Only time will tell if Jordan can trust him and forgive him. One thing is certain: His desire for her is relentless and irresistible. And soon their indestructible love will be tested by a terrifying trap of violence... DON'T LET GO

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Marliss Melton's DON'T LET GO is the fifth installment in her popular romantic suspense series starring Navy SEAL Team 12 and its heroic men who always save the day.

Jordan Bliss is in Venezuela during political unrest to adopt a four-year old orphan named Miguel. While hiding from guerrilla soldiers, Jordan is retracted by members of Navy SEAL Team 12, led by Senior Chief Solomon McGuire. But at the landing zone, Miguel is ripped from Jordan's arms by McGuire, an act she cannot forgive because she has already lost a child to miscarriage and subsequently her marriage as well.

But Solomon regrets having had to follow orders, as he too knows the pain that comes with losing a child as his wife Candace stole away with his one-year-old son Silas while he was stationed in Iraq. Solomon eventually gets Silas back, and learning his son cannot read, enlists Jordan's help as a teacher. As the two are put in close quarters together, they find that they have an attraction that is undeniable. Solomon knows he must help Jordan retrieve Miguel before it is too late, but the question is will he be able to do so in time in order for them to stay together?

Melton is an auto buy author for me as her stories always deliver on action, suspense, and lustful romance between the involved characters. Solomon and Jordan are no different. Through the worst of circumstances, these two are able to surmount the odds and fall in love, even as both have major reservations about the emotion from their previous relationships. The action and suspense in the novel were great, as we are taken into the Venezuela as it experiences a turn of government with danger lurking around every corner for those who are not native to the land. In this novel, the secondary romances abound as Melton sets up for stories to come between more members of SEAL Team 12.

But one that was resolved in DON'T LET GO was that of FBI Agent Rafael Valentino and Jillian Saunders (who is Jordan's older, widowed, pregnant sister). The two met in the hospital when Rafe was injured years back and formed a deep friendship then, though at the time Jillian was happily married. After losing her husband in the line of duty, all the pressures of motherhood and providing for her children and earning a living fall solely on Jillian's shoulders, but Rafe is always about to bring a smile to her face and a sense of ease to her heart. As he has been devastated by loss before, he is scared of beginning a new relationship with Jillian. Taking a chance, will he find he can move on with his life with this woman?

It took me just one day to finish this novel, and when that happens, it's a mark that I have just read something that is worth the time to all readers. This novel was great. As the SEAL Team series continues, each novel revisits with characters from prior novels as well as introducing new ones that endear themselves to readers, making us want to know their story as well. And it just gets better and better with each subsequent novel. I honestly hope I will be reading this series for years to come, it is that great!

I truly cannot say enough good things about DON'T LET GO. I recommend this story to lovers of romantic suspense and I cannot wait until the next Marliss Melton novel is released!

Maame Kanbi