All American Bad Boy
by Weston Parker
My review:
“All American Bad Boy” is the third ‘Military Man Romance Novel’ from Weston Parker. Each story in the series is a complete standalone. In this one, the leading man is Mitch, a hotshot Top Gun pilot and member of the elite Blue Angels. He meets his match in top tier aviation inspector and fighter jet expert Samantha, who prefers to be known as Sam.
Mitch is 35 years old and has enjoyed living the single, playboy life since he joined the Navy right out of high school. His ‘family’ are the people he works with, and he’s never had an actual relationship that was more than a one-night thing. His one true love is flying and taking chances in the sky. Sam is 30 and convinced that she’ll never find the ‘right’ man with whom she can have a lifelong connection. She has a great relationship with her dad and is dedicated to her successful career as an aviation systems and safety expert. As a civilian when she gets offered a contract as an inspector for the Blue Angels, it’s a dream come true and an incredible opportunity. Her life and her career is all about following the rules and not taking risks. When attraction flares between Mitch and Sam, and they are not supposed to fraternize, each initially reacts as expected – he’s willing to take a chance and go for it, and she wants to abide by the rules and resist. Obviously, she changes her mind, otherwise we wouldn’t have a story! Even very smart people can make mistakes, and when that mistake involves birth control, big little surprises can be the result.
This is a fun and entertaining story, but the emotions run surprisingly deep. The chemistry between Mitch and Sam starts off hot but gets even hotter as the story goes on. Both characters make mistakes in how they handle certain things, but the more you get to know them, the more understandable – and forgivable – their errors are. Each of them is very likable. There are some interesting secondary characters playing important roles in the story, including Sam’s father, pilots nicknamed Medusa and Watch Dog, and Mitch’s commanding officer, Honcho. The ending of the story is excellent, and the epilogue is perfect. This book was released just in time for the 4th of July, but it will be a great read any time of year.