Reviewed by
Robyn Lidstone

N/A

Reviewer Rating: * * * *
Title: Always A Warrior
Category: Romance
Author: Patricia Bruening
Publisher: Bookmice.com
Release date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-930364-91-1

This book sucked me in, kept me enthralled, and took me on a fast-paced ride from page one to the end. Danger, fear, action, suspense, drama, pathos and mystery combined with sizzling sexual tension and a strong, realistic romance made Always a Warrior a great read.

Successful romance writer, Laurie Crawford ,and her young daughter Stacey are caught up in an unexpected, sinister campaign of terror. Navy SEAL, Lieutenant Damian MacAllister, is assigned to protect them. Patricia Bruening’s characters come alive as they face physical danger.

From the moment they meet, Laurie and Damian share a strong, physical awareness of each other. It’s one thing to trust a perfect stranger with your life. But when Laurie trusts Damian with her heart, she knows she’s walking on dangerous ground.

Bruening builds on this attraction with a mixture of blatancy and subtlety that shows intelligent control of the romantic element of this story. She drives the plot with passion and excitement. Just when you think everything is going well, another crisis erupts, and she’s clever enough to keep you guessing all the time.

The author’s skill in offering up character vulnerability is quite startling. The emotional intensity in this story is superb. It makes you feel the anguish and torment her characters are feeling.

I admire this author’s ability to paint a vivid picture of every scene. I could hear the gunshots in the terrorist attacks, and feel the bullets whizzing past my head.

The author's skill with plot, characterisation and the elements that made this novel a great read overshadowed her need to check the manuscript more carefully for spelling and word usage mistakes. Some repetitive clichés were also a slight distraction, and I felt the use of more contractions could have smoothed the way in places.

This is a memorable book that will stay in my consciousness forever. One I will think back on as a "best book I’ve read in a long time".

Congratulations Patricia Bruening. You did it for me!!

Copyright © 2000 by Robyn Lidstone, Publishing Director, Livewire Publishing (Australia)