I’ve loved each and every book in Gail Chainese’s Changing Tides series mainly because all of the couples have been interesting and the relationship challenges so diverse. A man whose life has been turned upside down following a mission gone badly and a single mom who is tasked with helping him in his recovery made Disarmed by Love a highly entertaining romance.

I enjoyed the push and pull of the relationship between Dante and Fiona especially since Dante wasn’t sure he believed in all of Fiona’s “New Age Crap.” Despite Dante’s feelings on Fiona’s job as a yoga instructor and trainer, the attraction between them was undeniable from the start. Dante’s issues were severe even though he tried to downplay them and it was interesting watching him come to terms with his new normal with the support and help from Fiona. I appreciated that Ms. Chainese explored the severity of Dante’s injuries and that there was no miraculous cure for him, but he worked to understand and live with them.

Fiona was a hard worker and a great mom and it was evident that she believed in her methods to help her clients through their depression, anxiety, and chronic pain issues. I loved that she was a bit enamored by Dante and kind of lost her head around him a few times, but it was sweet because her previous relationship didn’t produce many happy memories. The fact that her son, Dylan, enjoyed Dante’s company and that Dante took the time to help Dylan with a problem showed that while he was enamored with Fiona, he knew Dylan was a part of their growing relationship. Fiona’s ex-husband was a bit of a distraction and I could have done without that part of the story with the exception of the fact that Fiona realized she was stronger than she realized.

Disarmed by Love was one of those books that was easy to get swept up in and impossible to put down until it was over. Sweet and sexy, don’t miss this one!

Lieutenant Dante Torres excelled at disarming explosives in his Navy career until the moment when one wrong move cost him. Now struggling to get back to the career he loves, he works as hard as he can, even if it means enduring Fiona Sinclair's yoga and meditation classes. However, helping her troubled young son is the biggest challenge he's ever faced and he will do anything to make the kid's life better. But when Fiona's ex begins to cause problems, will he stand by her or will he walk away because he may be the reason her ex wants custody of their child?

This is only the second book I've read by Ms. Chianese, but it's a captivating read that I absolutely loved from start to finish because of the bond the hero shares with the heroine's troubled son that proves he's a better man than the kid's father; and dialogue that was compelling and had me loving this couple's growing relationship, as Dante has quite a challenge on his hands to win the heroine over, especially after everything she's been through with her ex that should put her off men. However, it was from the moment the hero and heroine met where this story really gets interesting, as there's plenty of chemistry between the pair, and the heroine isn't afraid to get a little feisty and flirty after their little incident.

As for the dialogue, it was a wonderful combination of intense moments due to the main characters back stories and teasing banter that had me loving this couple together, as Dante and Fiona get to know each other. Moreover, the main characters have very interesting back stories, which had me sympathizing with them both, as the heroine's ex is a real piece of work that isn't much of a father to his son. It seems he's always criticizing Fiona or her son's actions and it was about time the heroine stood up to the her ex. While Dante is going through a tough time because of what happened to him, but I liked his determination to get back to being fully fit. Will he ever fully recover? I also liked the hero's determination to win the heroine over, because not only is he good for her, but he's also a good influence on her son no matter what her ex-husband believes. Yet, what I liked most of all was how altruistic the hero was and that he would do anything to make her custody battle easier. Will his sacrifice work? Will he be able to win the heroine back when their relationship goes awry?

Overall, Ms. Chianese has delivered a fantastic read in this book where the ending had me loving the way the heroine finally stands up for herself against her ex and also had me enjoying what the hero does to win back the heroine. Then again, there's more than just Fiona he has to make things right with. Luckily, the heroine's son is a big fan of Dante's. I would recommend Disarmed by Love by Gail Chianese, if you enjoy the opposites attract trope, the friends to lovers trope, or books by authors Roxanne St. Claire, Melanie Shawn, Julia London and Jeannie Moon.

Fiona, a Yoga instructor, is assigned to get Dante, who has been injured in the military, back in shape. She is also raising her son by herself. There is an immediate connection between the three. A wonderfully warm, sexy read.

5 - Sometimes the heart knows... Stars!

Book three in the Changing Tides series gives us single mother Fiona Sinclair’s story. I have been itching to get my hands on this book ever since meeting Fee, and her douche bag ex-husband in the last book, and to sum it up in two words, the author ‘Nailed-It!’

There was something about Fiona Sinclair that bought out the Zen in him-and the fact he even used a word like Zen blew his mind…

It’s no secret I am not a huge fan of ex-drama, but it was inevitable with Disarmed by Love if you have read A Hero to Love you will already know that the only good thing that came out of Fee’s marriage to Sal Rossi was their son Dylan, the consummate bully, this is a guy who you find easy to dislike from the first meeting.

Dante Torres was the type of person who never left a man behind, always rooted for the underdog, and had a heart as soft as a marshmallow…

It made it even easier to hate the ex, upon the introduction of Lieutenant Dante Torres, an alpha male, dealing with his own demons, but finds a semblance of peace with Fiona and Dylan, that is until Sal starts shooting his mouth off and threatening to challenge for custody of his son.

"Some things shouldn’t be rushed."

And it attests to how well this book is written that even with the ex, I loved every word, page and paragraph of this story, I literally didn’t want it to end, and finished it up in one sitting. The author gave me a sassy, confident woman, with a cute kid, and a sailor I fell in love with from the get-go, you get to see the story from both sides with dual POV, which I think added extra depth to what was going on as you experienced it with them both.

The man was a warrior, with a heroes heart.

I enjoyed book two, am blown away by book three, so have gone back to read book one. It made me all sorts of happy to also discover that Dante’s siblings’ stories are told in the West Side Romance series, which incidentally is silly cheap on Amazon at the moment, so I snapped them up too!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: PTSD

Fiona is a strong woman who is just trying to raise her son in a manner that will make him into a good man. Her ex is anything but good and despite her trying to make sure that her son always can spend time with his dad, the ex is both trying and mean. I really enjoyed watching Fiona figure out that she carries a strength in her that nobody can take away from her.

Dante is finding out that even though he can no longer do what he loves, he will find other things in this life that make it an excellent life. While he's teaching on base, he starts a "granola" program to help him gather his brain function and work on his anxiety. When he sees Fiona, he knows that he's attracted to her personality and looks. When he gets to know her and her son, he sees that he can have a large role in their lives, if he's only brave enough to take it.

When Fiona's life becomes more complex due to her ex and his demands, she leans on Dante. For the first time in a long time, she's allowing herself to feel something and see where it goes. What Fiona and Dante have to figure out together is whether or not their relationship is something they both want to fight for, or if they are both too tired to fight another battle.

Overall, the development of this story was nice. I felt that the relationships had time to grow and the conflict was well thought out. I wish that we were given more of a conclusion – further into time.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
Every hero has a past, something that makes him or her believe that they are not worthy of the title of ‘hero.’

Dante is biding his time, working the program in an effort to get back to his former unit and back to his life. He knows that his medical issues prevent him from being on the front-line but what he can't make himself believe is that the job he has now been assigned is just as important as defusing bombs.

Fiona is a single mom trying to raise her son with limited input from her ex-husband. She works two jobs and does her best to make sure he's not missing out too much not having a full-time father.

When Dante is assigned to one of Fiona's classes to help with his triggers, sparks fly. Fiona is hesitant to take it to the next level, but Dante's personality wins her over.

As Dante and Fiona's relationship heats up, so does the tension between Fiona and her ex. When things come to a head, Dante makes a tough decision, then a medical intervention keeps him from Fiona while she has to come grips with her ex wanting full custody.

Lots of realism and heroism on all sides.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
A wounded warrior falling hard for his physical therapist is a brilliant premise for a romance. And Dante is a pretty perfect leading man. When we first meet him, he’s a military hero struggling with a traumatic brain injury. His future in the Navy is uncertain and so is his sense of self. I loved him from the start.

As Dante’s physical therapist, Fiona is formidable. But the fierce ‘Mistress of Pain’ has a personal life that starts to crumble when her ex-husband reappears. Like Dante, Fiona is a mix of fragility and strength and the two of them work very well together.

While I always really enjoy Gail Chianese’s writing, I did prefer the first book in this series. This is very much a family drama and much of the focus is on Fiona’s son and Dante and Fiona’s extended families. The stressed-mum-cute kid-perfect-stepfather combination is a little bit too predictable and way too domestic for me. I enjoyed both Fiona and Dante as characters – both of their jobs are interesting and both of them have fascinating back stories. I just found the happy family scenes a bit tedious.

Oddly, this story just stops. We don’t get to know if any of Fiona’s problems resolve and we don’t get to know about Dante’s future. I really cared about Fiona, Dante, and Dylan by the end of the story and I was frustrated not to get a glimpse into their future.

Fiona was such a strong woman and a good mother. Her relationship with Dante was organic and natural and his relationship with her son was perfect. Her plot-line with ex was bizarre and didn't make a lot of sense; if a woman had been the sole provider for her child for years and years, how would the judge take custody away? Watching Dante slowly heal and learn to trust himself was great.

I can’t vouch for the (not) PTSD in this book.

I also have not read the first two books.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had me crying and laughing all at the same time. My heart was full the entire time.

There were some issues that hopefully were fixed in proofreading but overall it was a good book.

That being said, WHAT KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT?!?!

3.5 stars.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first. In fact, Fiona’s behaviour when she first meets Dante just gave me a headache. I think it was supposed to be funny and heavily flirtatious, but really, she just overreacted and was a bit weird. The same stuff continued through their next meeting and I really wasn’t sure I was going to make it through to the end.

I’m glad I did, though, because once these two get together they’re adorably good. Admittedly, I’m not quite sure how they got together. Fiona originally thinks that hooking up with someone she’s treating would be a big no-no, but then never thinks about it again, while Dante is definitely not the kind of guy looking for a relationship – and then takes Fiona and her son Dylan home to meet his family. It came completely out of nowhere and suddenly both of them are fully into a relationship… which, actually, was the best thing for this book, even if it was kind of baffling.

Dante is great. The way he treats Fiona and the bond he forms with Dylan is lovely. He’s a good guy struggling with the possibility of losing his career. He’s not good at asking for help and he definitely has stubbornness issues, but his heart is in the right place. I liked Fiona too, mostly, when her heavy-handed humour wasn’t in force. I really felt for her whenever she had to deal with her awful ex, so it was great seeing how easy she was with Dante. Their romance, once it got going, is great and made the second half of this book a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Plus, if you’re a long time fan of this author and have read her previous West Side series, you’ll also get glimpses of familiar faces. There are quite a lot of them, and even though I knew them all, I found it a bit overwhelming at times, but it was a cute link between the two series and it was nice to catch up with old characters again.

So, overall, this was good. The romance was enjoyable and the characters really won me over. There were a few moments where they were a few too many people crashing around and the humour didn’t always work for me, but the end left me with a smile (even if it could have had a few more details) and that’s what really counts.

the changing tides series continues with disarmed by love. fiona is a single mom with a jerk of an ex. a yoga instructor who offers a form of meditative physical therapy to navy officers who have suffered injury in the line of duty.

dante torres has a traumatic brain injury that makes it unlikely he'll ever go back to the sandbox. he's struggling with his next steps, and trying to get back to normal. fiona is recommended to him by his doctors and from the moment they meet there is a spark.

soon they find themselves entangled in each other's lives. with dante, fiona finds a man who is good with her kid, who cares for her, and who understands the importance of family. and with fiona, dante finds someone who understands his limitations and who will help him overcome the moments when his past hurts haunt him.

**disarmed by love will publish on february 20, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (lyrical shine) in exchange for my honest review.

I adore this series by Gail because the characters are so well-written and you can't help but empathize with them, all the while falling a little in love with the heroes!

Dante Torres was an EOD (explosives ordnance disposal) tech in the Navy and suffered a TBI after an IED that he was attempting to disarm exploded.  The experience left him with the side effects of the brain injury (headaches, blackouts and shaking) but also PTSD that has threatened his ability to return to the duty he loved.  He is assigned for what he hopes is TAD as an instructor at the Officer Training Command until he recovers and can return to EOD duty.  His doctor recommends yoga and meditation in an effort to help his symptoms, so he reluctantly agrees to an appointment with the trainer at the base gym, otherwise as the Mistress of Pain. 

Fiona is a single mom who is employed as a trainer and yogini on base.  Her ex-husband Sal has returned to stir up trouble for her and is threatening to try and get custody of their son Dylan.  In addition to that stress, Dylan has been having issues with a bully at daycare because he has never learned how to swim, partially because Fee was held under water by Sal at one point during their marriage.  In return for her help, Dante offers to teach Dylan how to swim and they start to spend more time together which allows their mutual attraction to grow into a relationship.

For me, I think Dante is probably the most sympathetic hero in a book I've read recently.  His fear of not being able to return to the job he loved and the overwhelming physical and mental symptoms would be so difficult for anyone to deal with, but especially a highly trained SPEC OPS warrior.  There are a couple of points in the story where as a reader I couldn't help but tear up because his anguish is so palpable.  He may have just overtaken Jax ('A Hero to Love') in my book boyfriend status, just because I totally love angst and there's a LOT more for Dante!

Part of what draws me to this particular series by Gail is the amount of military details included, and the fact that they ring true.  I read a lot of military or romantic suspense novels, and while I'm in no way an expert I can tell when authors don't have a lot of knowledge and are writing how they think the military runs.  Gail's husband is a Naval officer so she has the background and access so everything about the story rings true and it adds depth to the storyline. 

However I'm obviously not the only reader out there so for those that aren't interested in the military aspect, you will definitely have strong characters and a great romance to look forward to, so I definitely recommend this book (and series!) for all romance fans!
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Lyrical Shine for the chance to read this early!

I loved this book right up until the end; then it just sort of stopped. No epilogue, no follow up....just a stop. The story felt unfinished; there were many questions that I felt were left unanswered. What happened with the court case? Did the husband cause more issues when he learned the news? How did the families react?

This was the only reason the book didn't get a higher rating from me.

Disarmed by Love was a good story for the most part. Had a few minor issues but didn't take away from the story.

Fiona's son Dylan, was a good addition. I like a good single mom story. And Dante is worthy of the both of them.

Fiona is always keeping Dante on his toes, “mm-hmm. We’ll need to run to the lumber store to get supplies. But first, you might want to get dressed… right after…” She laughed and pulled the towel wrapped around his waist off." I loved this book, I liked Dante the man was family orientated and treated his girl like a queen.

An entertaining story about a “broken man, a damaged sailor” (after his injury, Dante, the hero, sees himself as “damaged goods”) trying to redirect his life, and a single mom (Fiona) of a clever ten-year-old boy.
The attraction is instantaneous and the romance develops and flourishes amongst family, friends and a selfish and unnecessarily evil ex-husband.
Both main characters are realistic and well rounded and the boy, Dylan, is wonderful to read.
I really liked the way the author, Gail Chianese, portrayed Dante’s struggle with the lingering debilitating effects of his injury, not visible to others, yet so severe. The details are realistic and seem well researched and there’s no miraculous cure at the end. Dante’s anxiety and depressive feelings have their counterpoint in his resilience and will to heal (and Sinclair, the cat, has a role in this process too).
Sometimes Fiona’s admiring Dante’s muscles became a bit repetitive, but, of course, besides being gorgeous, Dante is a great hero, honorable, kind, compassionate, who cares for Fiona and Dylan and even pampers them with delicious cooking...

My kind of kid. Reading is more fun.

I would have told on Chris so fast...

What the hell?!

Saying you're fine twenty times in one breath usually indicates you're not.

Small world.

Wait, she was changing in front of the camera, and could have been seen naked by her best friend's husband at any time?

He cooks!

Geez, he's the girl in this relationship.

He's a better father figure than Sal could ever be.

I'm glad that she didn't blame him for the accident.

If she had just reported Sal for attempted murder, custody wouldn't be an issue.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.