Wednesday, May 15, 2019

"Special Forces Series"--from author Karina Bliss--compelling contemporary military romance--the lives and loves of four friends and comrades from the special forces unit of the Australian Army


The Soldier's Wedding (Special Forces, #1) 



Award-winning author Karina Bliss launches her Special Forces series with a sweet, funny, growing-from-tragedy, kind of steamy friends-to-lovers romance.
 
Love heals all wounds...

Special Forces soldier Dan Jansen has come home from Afghanistan with one objective: to marry Josephine Swann. First he has to convince his childhood friend that their marriage 'agreement'--a tipsy scrawl on a beer coaster three years ago, is binding. And that platonic love is enough to build a passionate future on.

Protect those you love...

Jo has only thought of Dan 'that way' once; the night before a surgery that changed her life forever. Friendship is all she has to offer as she struggles to care for her grandmother and resurrect her business. 


Both have wounds only the other can heal. But that requires surrendering their secrets. Can two best friends create a love story for the ages?

*Previously titled Here Comes The Groom"



MY REVIEW: Author Karina Bliss begins her "Special Forces Series" with "The Soldier's Wedding". Longtime best friends Josephine Swann and Dan Jansen have always been there for each other--never as lovers, but more like sister and brother. However, some things are just too deep and personal to share, even with your best friend. Through a twist of Fate, Dan is not out on the mission when his Special Forces unit in Afghanistan is attacked and his friends and comrades are either grievously wounded or killed. He blames their losses on himself and struggles with doubt and guilt. Jo never told Dan that she had been seriously ill and had to undergo a life-altering surgery. When Dan returns from Afghanistan, he is determined to hold Jo to a promise they made in jest years ago to marry each other if they were not already married to someone else by a certain age. While Jo is relieved and happy that Dan has made it home, she has no intentions of marrying him. As he proceeds to try to convince her that their friendship will be a great starting point for a happy marriage, he goes forward with plans for the wedding ceremony. Each of them is dealing with family issues--Jo's beloved grandmother is suffering from increasing symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, and Dan's parents are becoming more estranged from each other with separation looking more possible each day. As Dan and Jo begin to look at each other with a new awareness, there may be more between them than friendship, but they both have to find an honest healing for themselves before their love can grow and come into full bloom, I really enjoyed "The Soldier's Wedding", and I look forward to reading the three other books in the series.



The Rescue Mission (Special Forces, #2) 



Playing with dynamite, a guy could get burned...

Given his aversion to love and marriage, Ross Coltrane—an elite soldier and demolitions expert—has no idea how he ended up playing middleman to his kid brother and the estranged wife.


More terrifying is suddenly noticing how sexy his sister-in-law is. He's never been attracted to his brother's wife that way before...


...But he's always had a spark with her twin.


Turns out the identical sisters have pulled a swap and duped everyone around them. Furious much? About to rain down retribution, Ross hesitates. Something about Vivienne Jansen's gutsiness and misplaced do-gooding gets to him. Except, he's not a guy who has feelings.

Enemies become lovers...


Vivienne Jansen's creative solutions work well as an international costume designer, not so well as her family's black sheep. But she's going to save the day, if only her brother's best friend will move his disapproving Alpha-ness out of the way. Chaos theory has always been her modus operandi but falling for the enemy—a guy whose friends call him Iceman—could be the most dangerous thing she's ever done.

"Previously titled Stand-In Wife"
 



Bring Him Home (Special Forces, #3) 



A medal doesn't make you a hero...

Former soldier Nathan Wyatt had no choice but to leave his army buddy to die, a secret that's still tearing him apart.

Two years on, he's in Hollywood prostituting his war medal for work as a bodyguard to the stars when his best friend's widow drags him home to fulfil his neglected responsibilities to her family trust. When he discovers Claire can't forgive her late husband for breaking a crucial promise, Nate sees his path to salvation. He'll be his buddy's advocate, secure Steve's place in his wife's memory. The last thing he intends is to find himself in a love triangle with his dead best friend.

Will admitting the truth - all of it - set him free, or alienate the woman he's come to passionately love?



A Prior Engagement (Special Forces, #4)

 

“I can’t let you get over me...because I’m never going to get over you.”
 
After eighteen months as a POW presumed dead, SAS soldier Lee Davis is finally going home. Back to his family, friends and...fiancée? Except the night before his last deployment Juliet Browne rejected his proposal. Which makes the sight of her playing the grieving almost-wife beyond infuriating. Feigning amnesia, Lee puts Jules's commitment to the test.

Yet tormenting her conscience isn't as easy as he thought it would be. She's still the woman whose memory got him through the worst of his captivity and her actions now prove she caresa lot. And despite her betrayal, he needs her more than ever. Because Lee is beginning to realize that for him, Jules is home.

First published in 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises.
 
RUBY Finalist (Romantic Book of the Year Australia) 2014.

Talking Karina’s Books…


“Four stars for good writing, great characterizations, and my favorite gut-punch.” ~ Karen Knows Best

“I loved this series and was thoroughly entertained by this latest Blissful entry.” ~ Dear Author

“I’ve said before that Karina Bliss is one of the best current Contemporary Romance authors, and this book is yet another proof of that. As is the case with all her novels, A Prior Engagement was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and I’m happy to say that it lived up to all my expectations. ” ~ Romance Around the Corner

“An emotionally moving story of two people torn apart by tragedy fighting their way back to each other…Gripping, psychologically captivating and so real, I can’t help but be pulled into the lives of Karina Bliss’s characters” ~ Tome Tender

“Some fans of contemporary romance avoid category romances. Trust me, some of the best writing in the subgenre is being written by SuperRomance authors, and Karina Bliss is among the most gifted. I highly recommend the Special Forces series, but if you only read one of the quartet, make it A Prior Engagement.” ~ The Romance Dish

“In this heartwarming tale of learning to live again, Lee’s PTSD seems quite realistic and the tension between the couple is wonderfully depicted.”~ 4 1/2 stars (top grade) from RT Book Reviews Magazine

“In the end this is an enjoyable, emotionally gutting read with oodles of angst and characters both real and frustrating all at the same time.  If you love damaged military heroes and romances where you’re convinced the author is trying to rip your heart out?  Look no further.” ~ The Good, the Bad and the Unread

“If you’re looking for realistic drama with a dose of humor, Karina Bliss is the way to go!” ~ Dirty Girls, Good Books



Karina Bliss



New Zealander Karina Bliss has written a biography for a rock star, swapped identities with her twin, raised three orphaned children with her ex husband, worn a cow costume to a Bachelor and Spinster ball, considered marriage for the sake of a baby, and been mayor of a small town.

Oh wait, that’s her characters.

Outside her imagination, she’s always been a professional writer, first as a travel journalist and then as a romance author. Her deeply held convictions include: love conquers all; yoga pants are daywear; and what a woman really wants is a man who cleans. Unfortunately, she does not live with one, (nor indeed has raised one). Please buy her books so she can pay for one.

She has also swum with sharks. They were very small. Babies, really. But still count.

Career highlights have included being the first Australasian to win a Golden Heart from the Romance Writers of America. Her debut, Mr Imperfect, won a Romantic Book of the Year Award in Australia, and her first self-published title, RISE, a rock star romance also finaled. 


Other books in the Rock Solid series are FALL, PLAY and (coming soon), RESURRECTION.

Find out more and sign up to her newsletter at www.karinabliss.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarinaBlissA...
Twitter @BlissKarina
Email: karina@karinabliss.com

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