Review: Operator (First to Fight #8) by Nicole Blanchard

Operator (First to Fight #8) by Nicole Blanchard is LIVE!

Get it in #KindleUnlimited ➛ http://mybook.to/Operator

These U.S. Marines are always the first to fight when it comes to their country…or the women they love.

He’s the one man she never wanted to see again.

It’s been five years since Gwen Winston laid eyes on the man who took her virginity–and broke her heart. Five years since he told her he could never see her again–right after she married his brother. Now he’s back, almost a year after her husband’s death to pay his respects. The cause of death was suicide–but Gwen isn’t so sure.

Once her life is threatened, she begins to doubt everything she thought was true…including how wrong it would be to get close to Callum.

She’s the one woman he can’t have.

Callum “Cal” Reece is at loose ends after losing the only family he had left and leaving the Marines. When he sees Gwen again all he can think about is how much he missed her while he’d been gone, even if she’s his brother’s widow. Wanting her is wrong. Needing her is worse…but losing her is unthinkable.

Sometimes the forbidden is a dangerous temptation.

When they give into a passion they can’t deny and uncover secrets determined to tear them apart, Gwen and Cal realize it will take learning to forgive to survive.

Operator is book eight in the First to Fight series. While it may be read as a standalone your reading experience will be enhanced if you read the series in order.

MY REVIEW

Callum's come home. He hasn't wanted to do this, but a phone call gets him moving. Now he's about to come face to face with the only woman he's ever loved - his brother's widow. Yeah...

Gwen knows seeing her first love again will be hard, but she'll face Callum knowing he can't hurt her anymore because her heart is already broken, first from Callum's own abandonment of her, and second, from Ian taking his own life and leaving her pregnant, alone and worried about the circumstances of Ian's death. Will she be able to take Callum's word that he won't leave again? Can she trust he'll protect her, her heart and her baby?

Operator is the kind of romantic suspense I like best - with action and suspense that weaves seamlessly with the relationship. Callum and Gwen are both so tortured, by circumstances and expectations of others. Callum was so used to his parents' disappointment that it completely colored his world and guided his behavior, even to the point of hurting Gwen when he left her. Thankfully the two of them had a love that eventually could not be denied. Though I don't normally like it when siblings have feelings for the same person, it was done well here, with sensitivity, and both brothers are likable characters. Though I haven't read all the previous installments of this series, it was easy to pick things back up here, and now I'm impatiently awaiting the next story in this wonderful series.

ARC provided by author for an honest review.
Graphics from author's Facebook page.