Review: Seal of Honor by Tonya Burrows

Title: Seal of Honor (HORNET 1)

Author: Tonya Burrows
Date of publication: 28 May 2013
Genre: Romantic suspense
Author's links: Goodreads / Website / Facebook 

My rating: 3 stars

ARC provided by Entangled Select via NetGalley 

Goodreads Blurb

It’s a good thing Gabe Bristow lives and breathes the Navy SEAL credo, “the only easy day was yesterday,” because today, his life is unrecognizable. When his prestigious career comes to a crashing halt, he’s left with a bum leg and few prospects for employment that don’t include a desk.

That is, until he’s offered the chance to command a private hostage rescue team and free a wealthy American businessman from Colombian paramilitary rebels. It seems like a good deal—until he meets his new team: a drunk Cajun linguist, a boy-genius CIA threat analyst, an FBI negotiator with mob ties, a cowboy medic, and an EOD expert as volatile as the bombs he defuses. Oh, and who could forget the sexy, frustratingly impulsive Audrey Van Amee? She’s determined to help rescue her brother—or drive Gabe crazy. Whichever comes first.

As the death toll rises, Gabe’s team of delinquents must figure out how to work together long enough to save the day. Or, at least, not get themselves killed. Because Gabe’s finally found something worth living for, and God help him if he can’t bring her brother back alive.

My Review

I was a bit surprised that this book is romantic suspense rather than true romance like the blurb suggests. I enjoyed some aspects of it not as many as I would have liked. 

The suspense or action/adventure element was interesting and held my attention. I am not a big fan of this type of books, I prefer action movies instead, so I cannot judge how realistic the whole hostage rescue situation was, still I enjoyed it. 

The best thing in this book for me were the interactions in the HORNET team and the whole process of coming together as a team. The character portrayal definitely sets the stage for future novels, as this looks like it is going to be a series. I am particularly curious about Quinn's story. 

While I enjoyed the supporting characters and the little snippets into their lives which we were given, I was rather disappointed with the Hero and the Heroine. I really couldn't connect with either of them. Their love affair seemed completely out of place and unrealistic. Neither Gabe, nor Audrey were presented as players but they met and instantly fell for one another. They were placed under some pretty intense circumstances, yet all they could think about was sex. I can honestly say that the whole romantic aspect of this book didn't work for me. 

I was not particularly impressed with this book and since romantic suspense is not my favourite genre, it is unlikely that I will continue with this series, except maybe to check out Quinn's book.