I mostly liked this. I liked Nate and Jack. I'm not a huge fan of Megan - letting her brother take the fall for her crime irritated me. In this novel she was alright, but my dislike of her carried over a bit. There wasn't really much action this was mainly romance. It was okay. The best bit was the bonus story at the end - Marc and Julian Make a Beer Run. ( )

Listened to audio narrated by Kaleo Griffith.

Nate was a marine injured by an IED that left part of his face, body, and one of his hands scarred. Coming back home to heal, his fiancé couldn't handle it and left him. He's kept to himself the last four years working on his father's cattle farm.

Megan made bad choices that ended with up with her in juvenile detention where she was raped by the guards, when the blame was placed on her after she reported it, and the lack of support from her adopted parents she turned to drugs. Megan is clean now and is trying to be a good mother and do all the right things but her ex is stalking her.

Megan comes under Nate's protective wing after he saves her from an attack from her ex. It's both sad and sweet as these two find their way together and work through her residual fears of men and sexual situations and his body disfigurement issues.

There's also a bonus short included 'Mark and Julian Make a Beer Run' although it was more than Mark and Julian, I won't say any more and give the story away but it was a fun read.

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Both Megan Hunter and Nathaniel West had been through hell in their lives.
Megan being bounced around the system that didn’t protect her that got her thrown in juvie at such a young age only to be raped repeatedly over and over. After surviving that she finally meets her brother but one of the guards that had been part of her rape turns out to be someone her brother works with and she shoots him. After running and her brother taking the rap for her she ends up addicted to heroin and pregnant and in jail where she has her baby. After a lot more drama Megan now has custody of her daughter and a job and the love and support of her brother and sister in law. But she has never forgiving herself for her past and doesn’t think she will ever be able to let a man touch her without remembering the past.

Nate was in the Marines and stationed in Afghanistan when his team was on their way back was hit by an IED. The right side of his body from his ear to his leg had sustained second and third degree burns. He lost many good friends in the blast and even the ones that did manage to survive some took their own lives after due to the horrific damage to their bodies. His fiancé left him due to not being to handle the way he looked now. Nate ended up going back to live with his father and working with horses and living a sheltered life away from others so they wouldn’t be disgusted with the way he looked.

Both Megan and Nat had the same views about themselves. Neither could imagine anyone loving them the way they were. Megan had the hardest time dealing with this strange attraction to a man. I loved how Pamela compared it to the intense longing for heroin but instead of it being something dark and desperate is was something pure and clean. Many addicts are surprised in there sobriety that they can actually feel emotions like that and it not be for something bad. Nate couldn’t image a woman looking at him and not cringing at all of his scars. Our hero wore his scars and the outside and our heroine wore hers on the inside. It was very touching to see that the two of them were like the antibiotic the other needed to heal.

I have to also say that I loved the wedding epilogue was sooo touching that it brought tears to my eyes and I wasn’t even actually here.

Now to Marc and Julian Make a Beer Run – LOVED IT. We have everyone from the iTeam (husbands, wives and children) at Zack’s house for a BBQ to welcome back Megan and Nate from their honeymoon. This little short story is why I feel in love with these guys. The humor and teasing when they are all together (that and they are all so damn sexy). And even though it was a short story it was still full of action and all the great lines these guys come up with while they in stressful situations . “This shit just got real”


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I listened to the Audible version. First book for this author and this narrator form.
That means I wasn't really familiar with the background. I don't know that that hindered the story for me.

I know this was to be an angsty story, the setup, the background given, all lead to angst. But the narrator, gee, he just seemed too, too angst ridden. I just generally did not like his performance. His child voice made me want to disconnect my auditory nerve. It was just horrible. And yeah, "she" didn't have many lines, but what "she" did have would take me totally out of a story I wasn't really into in the first place.

Yes, long series and I should start at the beginning. But seeing a Kindle/Audible special made me decide to jump in and see if I liked it enough to start at the beginning. Based on this, I would have to say no, I won't be investing.

The writing was fine, competent from what I could tell, just not for me. I like a lot less angst and narrators who can voice the characters in the story in a semi-realistic way.

I know that the narrator is a favorite of many. Based on this narration, though, I will be very careful about buying any more of his performances.
I will say I enjoyed the bonus story a lot more than the main story. The only reason I even listened to it was because I was driving and disconnecting was more of an issue than letting it run. ( )

We met Megan in [b:Unlawful Contact|2771105|Unlawful Contact (I-Team, #3)|Pamela Clare|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311279848s/2771105.jpg|2796834], Marc's little sister. Her circumstances were so tragic and heart-wrenching that it was a joy to see her get her own story and to see how she's doing now. She is finally surrounded by family and trying to move on from the horrors of her past. Being around men still scares her, and she thinks she'll never experience what her brother has – love, companionship, a family. In her words, who would want to be with a woman who doesn't want and can't enjoy being touched, kissed or even having sex?

When she's attacked and her daughter Emily's life is threatened, she's saved at the last minute by Nate West. She feels safe around him, and inexplicably she feels something stir to life inside her whenever he's around. He senses the sadness and fear inside her and decides to extend an olive branch towards her and invites her and Emily to visit his horse ranch whenever they want. When there's a renewed threat to her and Emily, she doesn't think twice about it and takes Nate up on his offer. Aside from feeling comfortable in his presence, he seems trustworthy. He's a former Marine, a war hero, and most importantly, he's not a cop.

Former Marine, Nate West returned home a changed man. Not only did he get severely burned in an IED attack that left half of his face and body badly scarred, but while he was recovering from his injuries, his then fiance broke things off with him, claiming she couldn't handle it. Disillusioned with women and a love life, he's become a recluse. What woman would want to look at much less touch a scarred monster like him? Mostly he works on his father's ranch breeding and training horses. He notices a pretty volunteer, Megan, during one of his visits to the homeless shelter while making a food delivery. She's the first woman in a long time who has offered him a kind smile and no hint of revulsion. When she's attacked in the parking lot, he doesn't hesitate to jump in. After the ordeal he can't seem to get her out of his mind. Having her wallet gives him the perfect excuse to see her again. Before long he's extending her an invitation to visit his ranch, and in one of her most desperate moments she calls him and accepts. What they discover is something neither of them ever expected to find again – acceptance and love.

”I could kiss you again just like I did last night –soft and easy-- and since we're not going to be interrupted this time, you'll be able to see whether that sense of revulsion kicks in. If it does, we stop.”
“And if it doesn't?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. We'll know you just needed to kiss the right man.”

I LOVED this story. I'm still a snotty mess because of how touching and beautifully written this novella was.



Pamela Clare writes wonderful heroines – they're compassionate, driven, loyal, courageous and tough. Megan, despite or maybe because of her horrible past, was no exception. Even though she's still weary of men, I couldn't help but admire her quiet compassion and acceptance of Nate, scars and all. Then when she began to slowly let him in, she did it with determination, not willing to let her fears dig their heels into her life. Finding out what could be was more tempting then never knowing.

Nate …. sigh … where do I begin with Nate? He was just as wonderful as the rest of the I-Team males, but with a little extra something. He may have felt unlovable and unattractive, but he never let it get out of hand when Megan tried to show him that she could see beyond the physical imperfections. That was such a beautiful moment between them. He was the perfect hero, and a wonderful addition to the group.

The best moment of this story was the ending. All the men gathered together, Zack, Jack and Nate in military uniform – be still my heart!



Bonus read – Marc and Julian Make a Beer Run

This little treat was hilarious, especially when the beer run turned into a military operation complete with teams and strategy. Of course all those gorgeous heroes can't go anywhere without trouble finding them ......... or maybe it's the other way around. Anyway, it delivered a deeper insight into the core of them and why they do the things they do. ( )