ARC received for review

It was just blah. I really didn't enjoy it. I just didn't care for either of them.

3.75stars—-ETHAN is the first instalment in Katie Knight’s contemporary, adult SEAL Protectors erotic, romantic suspense series. This is US Navy SEAL Ethan Lee, and museum education director Helen Lee’s story line.


Told from dual omniscient third person perspectives (Ethan and Helen) ETHAN follows the break down of a marriage in the wake of Ethan’s long absences from home. Served with divorce papers while on assignment, Ethan is granted some time off in an effort to save his struggling marriage, a marriage he believed was better than ever but Ethan’s return is met with more anxiety and conflict when he discovers his wife is pregnant, and she is the target of a man desperate enough to take revenge at all costs. On the run together, Ethan and Helen continue to battle about the future, a future in which Ethan has no desire to change the direction of his life. What ensues is the ongoing, embattled marriage between our story line couple, and the potential fall-out as Ethan and Helen’s issues of trust and a lack of communication threaten the life of our story line heroine.


The world building sets the tone for the series as the issues of the drugs and the people involved continues to be a part of the ongoing conflict. With each secret revealed, Helen, and journalist Sophie find themselves facing more complications, and threats by the people involved.


The relationship between Helen and Ethan is one of a crumbling marriage. Helen wants Ethan to settle down, and with the news of their surprise pregnancy, she needs her husband more than ever but Ethan is first married to his job: a Navy SEAL forever, a part of who he is not just what he does. Ethan refuses to step back even though his marriage is threatened, and in doing so, finds himself, looking towards the future alone. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.


We are introduced to Ethan’s friend and fellow SEAL Owen McCormick, journalist Sophie Carter, as well as Helen’s boss’ former sister in law Julie Hart; security guard Mason, and museum curator Benjamin Wilson.


ETHAN is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, the break down of a marriage, forgiveness and love. The premise is compelling and heart breaking; the romance is subtle; the characters are desperate, determined and broken. ETHAN ends on a bit of a cliff hanger-the overarching conflict has yet to be resolved.




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Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a marriage-in-trouble romance and Ethan definitely delivered. Ethan and Helen are facing trouble in their marriage. Helen wants a divorce - she's tired of her husband constantly leaving because of the Navy - and she wants to be his first choice. With a baby on the way, Helen and Ethan face trouble when her life comes under threat.

This was a relatively quick read and kept me entertained from beginning to end. If you want some romantic suspense, I would definitely recommend picking this up. I don't particularly love the cover, but the content was decent!

Was an OK book but for me the beginning of it seemed too forced I don't know how to describe it exactly but as the book went on the story line seemed to flow more easily from there...

"Ethan" by Katie Knight is a gripping SEAL story that follows Ethan Lee during his home leave. However, his plans for reconciling with his wife, Helen, take an unexpected turn when her apartment is ransacked. Ethan becomes entangled in a dangerous situation as Helen reveals her suspicions about drug smuggling at her workplace. Amidst the challenges, their communication issues and conflicting opinions add tension to their relationship. With the threat escalating, they must decide between divorce or reconciliation while working to expose the drug smugglers.

Although the black cover didn't match the story's essence, the characters were well-portrayed by Knight. Ethan, an alpha male, struggled with communication but possessed other talents. Helen, initially needy, discovered her strength in standing up for herself. The book kept a fast pace, and the uncertainty of whom to trust heightened the suspense. As Ethan's leave neared its end, the choices of divorce, reconciliation, and capturing the drug smugglers loomed.

Ethan has come home from a mission and is wanting to talk to his wife about why she wants a divorce. Helen loves Ethan but he never talks to her and when he re-upped and then turned down a training position each time with no words to her she knew it was time to let him go. Now she knows she's pregnant and she never knows if he is going to come home or not, he also never talks to her when he is gone as well. Now wanting to talk to her he finds himself protecting her because someone is after her and while he is trying to protect her he is trying to talk to her as well. This goes on for most of the book which is good and finally, they begin to talk instead of him talking in his head and to an old Seal. this book works and all of the characters make this book really flow a good story.

<b><i><u>please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers</b></i></u>
<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>
<b>MMC:</b> Ethan- a NAVY SEAL who feels he owes dues to continue enlisting and staying away from his wife and the life he claims to want. Will the threat of divorce change his perspective?
<b>FMC:</b> Helen- a museum curator who stumbled onto a drug smuggling oration happening under her nose. Her and her friends go into hiding until they can find the evidence to find the head of the operation. All is going well until her husband comes home and puts himself in the middle of her investigation. Will he help or hinder?
<b>POV:</b> 2nd person, dual POV
<b>HEA:</b> yes
<b>spice:</b> a few open-door spicy scenes
<b>TWs:</b> cheating (small kiss recounted), death of parents (recounted), drugs, war/missions (recounted), divorce, accidental (wanted) pregnancy
<b>standalone:</b> Book 1 in the SEAL Protectors series
<b>final thoughts</b>: SEALS? Yes please! A good plot, a fun mystery, good side characters. I was suspicious of everyone and overall I think it was fairly easy to figure out whodunnit but I don’t think this was written to be a deep dive mystery so I didn’t mind. The miscommunication was KILLING ME though. Glad they were able to work it out but dannnnng.

read this book if you love

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
🤐 miscommunication
😬 angst
🏝️ forced proximity
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance
🏫 high school sweethearts
❓ mystery

I realy enjoyed this book. It was a swcond chance romance in my opinion where they finally got their happy ending. Helen and Ethan ogether were combustable. There was alot of drama and violence in this book that keeps you on edge. Great read cannot wait for the next one!

I really liked this book. They had hit a rough patch in their marriage but they were both trying to make things better. They didn't want to give up but things weren't easy. Loving each other it's the most important part and they had that. It was the communication part that they had to work on. They were in a back and forth but they did communicate. It some serious work and some sacrifice but they finally got their HEA. Sometimes in life we have to make choices and choose what really makes us happy and gives our life meaning, and that's exactly what they did. Helen had her problems yes and Ethan did too. They were both wrong and right at the same time. But their love deserved another chance

I so wanted to like this one more. The story was interesting but there were a few bits that I felt weren't realistic with how they were hiding from the bad guys (especially if it was as big of a network as they suggested). But the part that really frustrated me was the hot & cold interactions between Ethan and Helen. I get where the author was going but I felt like it didn't quite play out right.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. The characters were great but the story did drag at times and I skipped some pages that I found a bit dull.

Ethan was a good read. I loved the slow burn but at one point it drove me nuts. I wanted to get resolution for the characters and see where their story would end up. While the back and forth was enjoyable in the beginning of the story it seemed repetitive towards the middle of the story an I felt like this made the book less enjoyable for me.

Overall I did enjoy the book itself and the character development. I felt invested and it definitely kept me reading for quite a but as previously mentioned it started to drag for a bit.

Ethan (SEAL Protectors #1) by Katie Knight
Publisher: Relay Publishing
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Romance
Published: March 20, 2023

Ethan is the first book in the new SEAL Protectors series by Katie Knight and I am so excited!

I loved Ethan and Helen! High school sweethearts, struggling for connection after 10 years of marriage, learning that communication is key. Ethan comes home on leave to try to repair his marriage and Helen is missing. Their apartment is trashed and the police take HIM in for questioning...WOW! This book kicks off right away and just keeps going.

What has Helen gotten herself into? There's something going on at work and Helen is determined to figure it out. She knows it bad and can destroy the museum. She goes into hiding and keeps in touch with people she can trust. Ethan arrives and things get amped up quickly.

Together, they will get to the bottom of things, with the help of close friends and they learn a lot about each other. I loved their interactions together. They have great chemistry and an intense love! I was rooting for them the whole time!

I loved this book! I can't wait for the next one because I want to see how things will unravel!!!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Navy Seal Ethan Lee is rushing home after receiving divorce papers from his wife. When he gets there she is missing. He needs to find her and protect her. Good romance thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

This is my first read by this author and I have to say I struggled with it. Partly because I didn't overly care for either of the main characters and was frustrated with their lack of communication. At times I felt like I wanted to bang their heads together and shout talk to each other!! I think the story itself is ok, although it did feel overly long and a little too descriptive at times and I found myself skimming pages in some parts. I liked the mystery element of the story, which in my opinion gave the story more depth. Overall an easy read which unfortunately lacked the wow factor for me.

3 stars

This is a well written book, with action, romance and realistic and strong characters. The author describes moments, scenes and feelings very well that you are able to connect and understand the characters a little bit more. It is a story full of drama and moments that make you pause for a moment, the danger is always there and that makes the plot more thrilling.

Ethan and Helen had me hooked from the beginning. It was just the quick light book I needed. I loved that the marriage aspect was relatable. The only thing I could have wished for was more closure on the investigation, but did enjoy the closure we received on their love story. I look forward to reading book two which may have the answers I am looking for.

Katie Knight is at it again with her super sexy alpha Navy SEALs. These SEALs are who you most definitely want to watch your back and being your soulmates. This is the 1st book her Katie’s new series “Seal Protectors”. Helen and Ethan been together for 10 years. Helen doesn’t seem to be happy anymore with Ethan coming and going on his missions as a Navy SEAL. She has had enough and wants a divorce. Ethan had no idea that his marriage was in trouble; but granting Helen a divorce is not happening. He is going to do whatever it takes to mend his marriage. Helen loves Ethan and doesn’t really want a divorce, but something has to give. Helen is in need of her Navy SEAL husband Ethan’s protection when she learns that her drug smuggling boss is trying kill her.

Why is Helen’s drug smuggling boss trying to kill her, what does she know, with Ethan protecting Helen which he has no problem with; will it be enough to keep her alive and save their marriage?

I received an ARC and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

So many emotions in this book! I loved the story building and character development throughout. It was a nice change to have a couple already together and looking at the relationship dynamic further down the line. Ethan and Helen had a lot of things to work through in their marriage and I liked the development of their thoughts and communication for this. Throw in lots of drama and suspense with Helen finding out there has been drugs smuggled in at work and now she’s in danger and it made for a great story. Overall a brill start to this series and I’m eager to read more!

Pretty easy book to read! Helen and Ethan frustrated the crap out of me with their communication issues but I really appreciated the self awareness they had. I’m glad Helen realized how her lack of saying anything was also a major issue. I straight up laughed though when she finally had her heart to heart and Ethan started texting. That was comedic genius😂😂 poor girl, I think I would have had a stroke if that was me and just went bat shit crazy especially if I was pregnant

I got an ARC of this off NetGalley and plan to read book 2 when it comes out. I was curious how the plot would progress, and I like the direction it was going. I wish there was more background information in the beginning of the book. It felt like we hit the ground running and I wanted more info on who the characters were and more background on the ten year marriage and how it was before the split. Most of my questions were answered later in the book, which made me happy. I would have been disappointed to not know how Helen and Ethan met.