Courage Under Fire (Arabesque)

Rating:
Summary: Can Love Conquer All?
Review: Arlene Taft is grieving. She is having a hard time discerning which was worst: the fact that Ronald died or that he was discovered with his mistress. On September 11th, Lieutenant Colonel Arlene Taft reluctantly reports to work at Walter Reed Hospital as a registered nurse while she figures out what to do with her life. Her assignment was to care for Lieutenant Colonel Neal Allen who was severely injured in the bombing of the Pentagon. Allen coincidently happens to be her military brat next-door neighbor from grade school. Taft tends to his every need, reassures his family during his recovery and develops a friendship with Neal's niece, April.  Neal cannot believe Arlene takes the time to talk with April during his long-term stay at the hospital. Under the circumstances he thought she would be acting as a woman scorned.

Fast-forward eighteen months, Taft and Allen meet again in Germany.  Quickly they rekindle a romantic relationship. Neal decides to disclose what he knows about Ronald and risk losing Arlene forever.  Now Arlene must face the demons of her past in order to find love.  Will Arlene, Neal and April come together as a family?

There are too many sub-plots in this romance to make it a good read. Arlene is a woman that has been burnt in love once and is scared to trust again. Neal is dealing with the death of his sister while raising her daughter as a single man. April is an adolescent dealing with life never knowing her father's love. Then there are issues with the family - Ronald's mother is dying from grief and the Allen family can't get over the deception of their daughter's lover. The only part of this romance that deals with the military is the setting. Poarch could have dealt more with the trials of military service after 9/11. This was another predictable romance novel. If you plan on reading this one, get ready for a sleeper.

Reviewed by Monique Bruner for Loose Leaves Book Review

Rating:
Summary: Fighting for Love
Review: Colonel Neal Allen as they fight the unthinkable fight of their lives the fight of love and fight the war of `Enduring Freedom' after a great deal of time a part they come face to face after an event changes the life of everyone for ever the event of September 11.

Arlene Taft never thought she could love a man again after her husband unexpected death left her dealing with the fact that he had a mistress but when she cares for her child nemesis after he has been injured in a accident she finds herself falling in love and isn't sure she can deal with it.

Neal Allen is seriously injured when trying to save people from the burning Pentagon when he his seriously injured he is taken to Walter Reed where Arlene gets assigned to take care of him. April is Neal's niece whom Arlene falls in love with while she is tending to Neal but all of the factors where effecting her feels and when she starts to feel attraction that he feels for her they both have to take the feeling to a new level that neither is quite sure of.

Arlene had requested overseas orders to get away from the infidelity of her husband, but a year in the half later when Arlene and Neal meet again they are hoping to win a secret battle. With a secret of great depths hidden, but he wants to believe that Arlene will accept what he has to tell her without breaking off what they have.

Arlene and Neal go on a world wind journey to overcome the past and begin their plan for their future.

Candice takes Courage Under Fire and shows the love of a couple that go to the extreme to find he love that they deserve.


Rating:
Summary: To live again
Review: COURAGE UNDER FIRE, from Arabesque's At Your Service series, has
again captured the essence of the dedication and commitment our
armed services have in maintaining 'Enduring Freedom'. It spotlights
nurse, Lt. Colonel Arlene Taft and Airborne Ranger, Lt. Colonel Neal
Allen.

Arlene and Neal have been adversaries since they were in the ninth
grade, she remembers him as a pain in the butt, but he remembers her
as a pain somewhere else. They have not seen each other in twenty
years and their meeting is not joyful. It is days after September 11,
2001. Arlene is responsible for the care of Neal who was almost fatally
injured as he rushed repeatedly into the burning Pentagon building. As
she cares for his medical needs, Neal's feelings are rekindled, but he
does not have the opportunity to pursue them. Arlene has requested
orders for Germany, fleeing the betrayal of an unfaithful husband
who was killed in a boating accident while on vacation with another
woman.

Fast forward eighteen months, Arlene and Neal meet again, they are both
stationed in Germany. Neal is now guardian of his ten-year old niece,
April, her mother who was Neal's sister, and her father were also killed
in a boating accident while on vacation. As Neal and April try
desperately to win Arlene's heart, Neal struggles with secrets about
April, his sister and Arlene's husband.

Candace Poarch has written a warm, penetrating tale of two people
struggling to discharge their past and enlist in their future. COURAGE
UNDER FIRE is a lesson in how people endure the consequences of someone
else's indiscretions and a wonderful portrayal of duty to self and
country.(...)

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I thought this book was great. The way Candance placed the characters were great and she explain all the military terms to you. Great in sight on how far we would actually go for love.

Rating:
Summary: second dud for At Your Service
Review: They aren't kidding when they put in that disclaimer:

"Courage Under Fire ... is not intended to provide an exact of military life."

In a book written post-9/11 about men and women in the military it is necessary to at least address the changes in the military community. And it's nice to see someone acknowledge that New York was not the only city attacked. Yes, the attack on the Pentagon is just as much in our servicemen and women's minds. But if you're going to tackle the 9/11 attacks, let's deal fully and respectfully with it.

Lieutenant Colonel Neal Allen was a hero who rushed back into the Pentagon, injured in the line of duty. And yet, rather than focusing on the psychological baggage of that, Poarch instead throws in the clutter of a history with his nurse, a childhood friend. And some family secrets that if she finds out will destroy any relationship he might have with her.

Puh-leeze. That's too much plot for a 224 page book. One of these plots is gonna get short-changed. I'd rather not have had it the cliché and tired out husband-cheated-and-now-she-has-trust-issues-with-men-but-her-new-man-is-keeping-secrets-from-her plot than the far more interesting 9/11 heroism. Alas, Poarch went for the tried and true rather than taking a chance on an issue too often not addressed in the ranks of military romance.