Review: The Seal's Rebel Librarian by Anne Calhoun

Title: The Seal's Rebel Librarian (Alpha Ops #2)
Author: Anne Calhoun
Date of publication: 1 March 2016
Genre: Contemporary romance, novella

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My rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis

The second in the Alpha Ops novella series that features an alpha Navy SEAL and the librarian who brings him to his knees.

Jack Powell never planned on leaving the Navy, but his final mission as a SEAL left him with a tremor and a bad case of nerves. He's home, taking some college classes and trying to figure out what comes next when he meets Erin Kent, a divorced college librarian with an adventurous bucket list and a mission to get her ex-husband's voice out of her head. Jack guides Erin through skydiving and buying the motorcycle of her dreams, blithely accepting Erin's promise that their relationship is purely temporary. But when Jack gets the chance to go back into the shadowy world of security contracting, can he convince Erin to break her word and join him on the adventure of a lifetime?

Review

I'm big fan of Anne Calhoun's writing - profoundly intimate and erotic. I was excited to pick an ARC of this novella since I quite enjoy romances with librarians and a SEAL is never boring either.

I liked this novella a lot but think it would have worked even better if it was made into a full-length novel.

The beginning was very strong and I fell in love with both characters from the start. Erin was recently divorced woman earning to make up for lost time and do all the exciting/scary/thrilling things her husband didn't let her do. I liked her rebel streak and the way she felt a bit at a loss and scared but also determined to try new things, to be open, to live to the fullest.

Jack was also great character, younger than her, a recovering SEAL, at a similar place in life as her - on the brink of something new and unfamiliar.

They had great chemistry and I loved how their affair helped them both move forward in their lives. There was the thrill, the adrenaline, the risk-taking but also the reality of everyday life, of danger of being hurt.

The subplot with Jack's sister was also nice and fitted well into the story.

My greatest disappointment was the rushed ending. It felt forced and didn't fit the natural flow of the story in my opinion. The depth of the characters and the complexity of their relationship - sexual, emotional, was lost towards the end and we were left with a very happy but also unrealistic ending.

Overall, I I'd recommend this novella to romance readers who are looking for a nice, hot story with interesting characters and just some minor flows.

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