Matt and Shane are in training to be SEALs. The first meeting wasn’t an easy one but they still sparked off each other. Their interactions got more intimate even though they weren’t. They realized that the other person brought a sense of right to their lives.

I know nothing about SEAL training other than movies I’ve seen so I can’t address the realism of the book. However I know SEALs have to be the best of the best and I think that was portrayed very well.

This was a very slow burn story. I liked how they slowly fell for each other, no Insta-love here. They had a HFN ending. Not real happy about that. The author has a second book in the series coming out. Maybe they will get their HEA in it.

Sexy, sweet, and evocative!

Loving a Warrior is a passionate, military romance that delves into the rigorous physical, emotional, and psychological demands involved in becoming a Navy Seal, and touches on the patience, understanding, support, and trust required to maintain a relationship under those conditions.

The writing is informative and authentic. The characters are rugged, single-minded, and encouraging. And the plot is a slow-burning tale full of explosive chemistry, undeniable attraction, grit, determination, perseverance, sacrifice, competition, and love.

Overall, even though I didn't find Loving a Warrior as raw and emotional as Hansen's previous novel, Point of Contact, it is still an intense, enjoyable, enlightening read that showcases her exceptional knowledge into the expectations, pressures, and challenges of Navy life.

LOVING A WARRIOR by Melanie Hansen is an interesting story with the focus on seal training (BUD/S). The mindset was fascinating, as was the training. I loved the brotherhood and teamwork. The relationship between Shane and Matt was very real. The way they worked together, to help each other when they needed it was inspiring. I enjoyed the story, finished it at 2am!

3 Stars - The second half was better than the first! The first half was overshadowed by the SEAL stuff and that got me bored! I know it’s a slow burn story but still I needed to see more romance! But it was just "get wet and sandy"! I didn’t need that much wet and sandy but a bit more romance! Told in dual POV, 3rd person. overall, it was an okay read for me and hope you like it!
Thanks to Melanie Hansen, Netgalley and HARLEQUIN-Carina Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange an honest review.

This one is full of all the things I love. Angst, secret love and a whole lot of heat.
I couldn't get enough of these characters! I fell for them from the start and couldn't help but hope for them to find their HEA.. I mean you just can't go wrong with some sexy Seals! You definitely want to pick this one up!

Sexy Marines going through BUD/S. Shane and Matt need to concentrate to get through six months of hellish training. Do they want to be SEAL's or be together? Can they do both? Great story and hot characters. Can't wait for book teo in this series.

I'm a fan of military themes. Throw in some super hot alpha SEALS and I dive in. (they're good at rescuing people right? ;-)

Matt & Shane give us a delicious slow burn romance during their BUD/S training.

Since I've (obviously) never been to BUD/S training, I can't tell you if what I just read is realistic or not. What I CAN tell you is that it felt completely realistic.

This is no "mushy little love story." These men are tough.
These men are strong.
These men are committed.
These men are gorgeous inside and out - or they would be if they weren't "wet and sandy" all the time. ;-)

I loved how Melanie Hansen portrayed the men in this novel. They are solidly alpha males. That doesn't mean they don't have big hearts with a capacity to care and caretake. It means that this is a M/M romance novel between two very male leads. ---and I just ate it up. They play sports, they roughhouse, they get loud and rowdy, and they work to the limits of their physical and mental abilities to become Navy SEALs.

It's an action filled slow-burn with loads of UST. These men, at 23 and 27 years old, are just beginning their lives and careers. I loved reading the start of their journey.

I want more stories like this one. :-)

Matt literally runs into Shane the week before he begins his training. When they see one another next, it is under high pressure conditions. He cannot help that he is attracted to his buddy. He just has to be a big boy and control it.

Shane is equally attracted to Matt. Which will break and act on it first? Being a SEAL is what these men want. That means giving to their country, more than to themselves. Shane is not sure he can choose that anymore.

I was truly impressed with both the characters and the information given about the scenario. This was a really well written story and I could not put it down! I loved the banter, and the humor. I especially loved how real the book felt. Like I was with them in the moment.


***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publishers.

3.5 STARS I did enjoy this book, the slow burn is one of my things- I want that connection with the M/C's. Matt & Shane's relationship felt honest and real with a getting to know you understanding, that part I did enjoy. As much as I enjoy a good Military story this one felt too technical for me, way too much terminology talk, too repetitive of the wet & sandy, grueling challenges. I would not have minded 2 times but it was almost the whole book and I found myself skimming. Additionally IMO the M/C's personalities flip/flopped from the beginning of the book right in the middle - I felt like they completely changed who they were-relationship wise. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the book, but I could have left out 1/3 .

**** I received this ARC for NETGALLEY***

**I received a copy of Loving a Warrior from HARLEQUIN - Carina Press and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Loving a Warrior by Melanie Hansen is my first book that I have read by the author and I wasn't disappointed. In fact I loved it and can't wait for the next one in the series that was hinted at the end. The research that she did on BUD/S was fantastic (Either she knows someone who has gone through the training or knows a former SEAL. Thank you Ms. Hansen for taking the time to give us a look inside BUD/S.

Matt has always had a goal in life to be accepted into BUD/S and earn his Trident just like his Uncle Rick who fought during Mogadishu. So when he bumps into Shane while training on the beach there is an instant attraction felt but knowing that as classmates they can't act on those feelings will be hard. Both men will have their own weakness points but when Shane has to drop when a family emergency happens Matt will realize how much he cares for him.

Shane who was a Marine has decided to go thru one of the hardest trainings there is BUD/S because his best friend Jon had been one when an IED explodes taking his life. He knows that it will be harder than boot camp but when he runs into Matt he'll have to put whatever feelings that he has to the side to get through the training. There is angst with both men however when it all comes down to how they feel about each other it will be there friendship that will get them through to the end.

Finding love in the middle of SEAL training was nowhere near Matt's plan. His head has to be in the game if he's going to secure a spot on any of the elite team's and follow his uncle's footsteps. What he didn't expect was Shane.

Shane's reasons for entering the program are all together different than Matt's, but no less personal. If he's going to survive it, if they're both going to survive it, they'll need each other. They'll need to balance on that fine line between fellow soldier, teammate and undeniable attraction.

I've read a fair share of M/M romance and I can say this one had a different feel from most. Why? Because Hansen let the friendship and romance develop at a much more organic pace. Much of the story focuses on their training and the struggles that brings. Which allowed the reader to get to know the characters but also allowed time for the characters to learn each other. While there was plenty of sexy attraction moments, they didn't overpower the overall story.

Which is two gay men trying to navigate a growing love in the middle of the hardest training of their lives. In the middle of figuring out what makes them and breaks them, of overcoming old fears and facing down new ones.

My only real issue, and it's such a small thing but distracted me all too much, is that sometimes these guys were all too male. I can't count how many times they belched. (<--see, small thing) It just took me out of all my little sexy happy feelings. Silly, I know, but hey - we all have our issues, I guess this is one of mine.

I took me a few weeks to get through Loving a Warrior. It then took me another couple of weeks to sit down and write the review. I never got interested in this book. Matt nor Shane grasped my interest. I can't really put my finger on any specific reasons for why they didn't win me over but they didn't. I hate that too. This is the third book I've read by Melanie Hansen. I LOVED the other two. I can still name the men from those two couples.

Matt and Shane meet due to BUD/S. They both have a dream of one day becoming a Navy SEAL. The desire to do this stems from different things for both men, the end result is still the same. The attraction is there for both men from the beginning. They also have the drive to get through BUD/S and they both know that any distraction will cost them their chance at this.

That is essentially what I got from Loving a Warrior. This is a military romance. I feel that Hansen did an excellent job in painting the picture of what Matt and Shane went through in regards to BUD/S. I never grew to like Matt or Shane. I never connected to them in any way. The lack of connection to them left me not caring whether they got a happily ever after or not.

In the end I was left feeling like I got a happy for now. I'm okay with those. The career choices that Matt and Shane have made make the happy for now seem more plausible. I'm thinking that Keeping a Warrior the next book in this series will be a continuation for Matt and Shane's relationship. I had many how are they going to make this relationship work questions. I'm curious to see if that's how the next book is going to go. I am not curious enough about their relationship to read it though.

Lately I can't get enough of military m/m romances and Hansen's Loving a Warrior filled that craving! A solid plot, well-developed characters, and realistic action, make this a good read. Definitely adding this author to my "must read" list.

Love or Country? What is the best way for someone to honor the nation they love? For Matt, that question has always been simple. After growing up around Navy Seals his entire life, the decision to serve his country was first and foremost.

When it’s time for his BUD/s training, he knows that nothing will stop him from achieving his dream. Then he literally runs into a distraction on the street. Tall, blonde, fit as hell and a smile that could melt butter, the last thing that Matt needed in his life was for Sean to enter it. He was a walking distraction that promised only trouble. When this gorgeous hottie appeared again during seal training, Matt believed he was cursed.

Sean had already done his service. Joining the Marines had shown him what this life was like. The decision to go after something bigger and more intense came along with a connection to his past. He saw the honor and brotherhood that came with this exclusive group of men and felt like there was something missing in his life. How he managed to anger the one guy in the world that he shouldn’t , Sean might never know. But, he couldn’t get past how intrigued he was by Matt. As the pair gets closer and realize the desire within them wasn’t going away, they begin to tempt their resolve. They both understand how much they need each other, but the question is, in what capacity? How do you choose between your lifelong dream and the dream guy that you never expected to walk into your life?

Melanie Hansen does a fantastic job at balancing the macho-ness that comes along with being a member of the military and the sensitive nature of two people who have been hurt before and take caution with their heart. It was refreshing to have such an emotional portrayal of a gay couple, with both Matt and Sean, and see the mental, physical and emotional turmoil these two go through. I loved seeing two characters who are undergoing some of the hardest training known to mankind suddenly transition to such raw and open human beings. It offers a sense of humanity to the military world. The character development of these two characters was breathtaking and superb.

Loving A Warrior took my breath away as I was reading it. Initially I was skeptical about the story line because it offered the potential to bring in a lot of homophobia and shaming. Instead, I was given an astounding story about two men who realize they need each other and defying the odds to not only be together but achieve their dreams. Loving A Warrior brings to light a whole new side of military men that you never knew but can’t help but love.

**ARC provided for an honest review**

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

BUD/S: six months of the most intense training there is. It’s survival of the toughest, and Matt Knytych is determined to come out the other side a navy SEAL.

Distraction is life or death. And just the sight of former marine Shane Hovland is enough to shake Matt’s concentration.

Shane came to BUD/S training ready to prove himself—again. Semper Fi is forever, but he needs a new start. Not this dangerous heat with a man he barely knows.

Everything they’ve ever wanted is riding on a thin, punishing line. And they’ll have to fight for more than just each other if they want to make it through intact.

After all, the only easy day was yesterday.



I started in with Melanie Hanson on her strong military story, Point of Contact.  Reviewed by both Barb, our Zany Old Lady and myself, each of us found it to be a moving, beautifully written 5 star novel. And each for very different reasons.  Now comes Loving a Warrior, the second in what feels like a series of SEALS themed novels and I'm just as caught up in her characters and storytelling as I was in the first.

Unlike the first novel where the men were out, well, one was at the start.  The men here are on a totally different journey.  Several of them in fact.  Both are first of all on that most intensive and exclusive of all paths...the one that might lead to getting their Trident and being a member of the SEALS.  That's BUD/S training.  Hansen brings us directly into probably something the majority of us will never experience and can never imagine, what those men and now some women go through in their attempts to become SEALS. Only a tiny few make it.  As Shane and Matt are run through the hellish rigors of BUD/S, we are right there, sweating,  straining, even bleeding and almost breaking along with them.  It's vivid, and so realistic that it makes you think about all the real soldiers going through training at this moment, doing everything they can to reach that almost unreachable goal.  Your heart is with them all.  Those that make it as well as those that don't.

Along with the unrelenting stress, mental, emotional, and physical of BUD/S, there's Matt and Shane trying to figure out their magnetic attraction to each other, one that threatens to become more and derail their  focus on their SEAL training which they can't afford.

Matt and Shane are complex characters, Matt especially so because he's got a hard veneer and laser focus on his goal to become a SEAL.  So for Shane to start to get under some of the barriers that Matt has erected takes time.  He seeks to understand   Matt and as he does, we do as well.  It works  both ways. Shane also has a background that makes his appear all too shallow when he's anything but.  Matt makes certain assumptions about Shane that he also needs to overcome and a narrow view of the  future for himself that needs enlarging if they are to have a future.

This is not a HEA, but a realistic HFN as it should be for two soldiers.  I would love to see Melanie Hanson revisit them down the line in a sequel, perhaps as they both go off on assignments.

Loving A Warrior by Melanie Hansen is a beautifully written novel that is full of complex characters and a gripping plot that kept me connected from beginning to end. It is also a wonderful  complement to the first story Point of Contact.  I absolutely recommend this story as well as Point of Contact.  Both are just amazing and I can't wait for another in this military series to be released.

Cover art is strong and has the characters well defined.  I like it although not as much as the first one.

Another fabulous military romance from Melanie Hansen, Loving A Warrior carries the same exacting attention to detail as her other works, and has a wonderful couple at the heart of the narrative.

I know other reviewers have mentioned the amount of background work which focuses on the training the SEALs go through in BUD/s but, for me anyway, it was a vitally important part of the story.

Without that deep seated intensity and the high failure attrition rate, the impact of Matt and Shane falling for each other would have been seriously subdued.

These guys are more than just teammates, in any Special Forces unit, no matter which branch of the Military it is, the bond is forged in hardship and suffering and I felt everything they were going through vicariously.

Melanie's characters are always so beautifully crafted, the intimacy and trust the two men develop, while knowing their careers will get in the way, was so well done.

I adored prickly Matt and wanted to wrap Shane up to protect his sometimes too open heart. I was also glad a certain cast member is pre-deceased as I wanted to cause them serious harm

Two moments stood out for me, the "I'm Spartacus" incident outside the club, and in the Epilogue, when Shane finds the two by four.

For me, they summed up everything :)

Can't wait for book two, which I'm hoping is going to be turning the exceptionally strong HFN into the HEA it really is.

4.5 stars.

I'm shook. This was a really good read!

Also is there a second book with the same couple? The way it ended it felt like there is. Almost like a HFN.

When I picked up "Loving A Warrior" I was not quite sure what to expect since the cover is a bit porn-y and in the first few pages Matt jogs along and ogles at each male butt. Suddenly Shane crashes into him. The awkwardness from horny Matt soon levels out and you are present with a Matt who is desperately trying to ignore this crush he has on a seemingly straight bloke.

As the story goes on, Matt and Shane learn from each other and get to know one another. It is such a pleasant progress to read about because as the reader you just know that both are into each other and you start to root for them. At the same time you just can't help but be a bit frustrated at how dumb they are when they are unable to see the mutual attraction!

When they finally kissed - and then did more than kissing - it was one of the happiest moments for me. This is so because the chemistry between Matt and Shane is simply irresistible. It consists of light - sometimes not so light - adorable banter, and support. Over the course of the book they start to genuinely care for each other and you can tell that they would go through hell and beyond for one another.

On top of this, Hansen could have easy chosen to make this oddly porn-y or a cheap romance. However, "Loving A Warrior" empathizes on more than just sex. Matt and Shane discuss their priorities, putting SEAL training on top, followed by their friendship and sex as last. Even though, they do make jokes about wanting to shag each other in this very moment, nobody is ever pressured or "seduced" into such a situation.

As the story continues, their relationship starts to change as well. It begins with flirty banter, then they're at a weird stage when they're not really sure if they are dating and in the end it turns into deep love. This development does not feel rushed but due to a comfortable pace it felt natural.

In addition, I enjoyed how the LGBT aspect had been handled. While "Loving A Warrior" is LGBT fiction, it does not use the age-old coming of age trope. Matt and Shane are already comfortable with their sexualities and it is debated as much as being straight would be in a novel. This makes it into a love story in which the two protagonists are, well, two clowns who are in love and happen to be gay.

"Loving A Warrior" has positively surprised me in every way. It is a heartfelt, light and funny story that goes deeper than a conventional romance novel would. Furthermore, the chemistry between Matt and Shane is irresistible and I felt for them during every single page.

ARC Review: Loving a Warrior by Melanie Hanson

Matt Knytych and Shane Hovland are facing the toughest training of their lives: BUD/S. Getting through this physical and mental hell means achieving their dreams of becoming Navy SEALs. The last thing they need is any kind of distraction. Unfortunately, their heads, their hearts, and body parts farther south are not listening to the No Distractions policy. As they begin to fall for one another, their struggles become harder and accomplishing their career goals could mean denying what their hearts need.

I enjoyed Loving a Warrior because I thought the author did a good job of portraying two very different men who are both total alpha males in an environment that demands complete physical and mental toughness. Their dialogue was believable, and the relationship between them started slowly and bloomed into something that was realistic with the difficulties and challenges they faced. I would have liked to have known more about Shawn’s prior deployments and the things he saw that affected him so much, but not knowing didn’t take away from the overall plot. That’s just my own selfish little wish.

I found the training and military aspects of the plot to be realistic and to coincide with many of the SEAL biographies I have read, which was so important to this book, and set this story apart from many other military M/M books that never really delve into the details of military life.

I was honestly hesitant to read this because I read Point of Contact (see review here: boysonlybookclub.wordpress.com), and while I thought that story was beautiful, I also felt that it went on way too long and that Hanson lost sight of who the characters were for a while, which kind of ruined the story for me. I am happy to say that Loving a Warrior ends just when it should, and Shawn and Matt remain true to who they are.

All the books I've read by this author so far rocked my world, so of course I had to get my greedy little hands on this one as well ;)

I can happily say, that I was not disappointed !!

Matt and Shane meet in BUD/S training. I am gonna be honest here, I had to look some of that shit up :P For instance... BUD/S stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/Seal. I didn't know this and I also didn't know it is a 6-month SEAL training course which is held at the Naval Special Warfare Training Center. It is a very extreme training and the first part is the hardest.... Gotta love Google :P

All this googling made me a very happy camper, because I love books about militairy trained men !! Marines, Seals, Rangers... I love em all, and Matt and Shane are no exception.

I absolutely loved reading about how hard their training was... I was holding my breath right along with them...not quite as long as them though :P

Now even though I really loved this story, it wasn't very romantic. Their relationship is a very slow build one. Sure Matt and Shane are very attracted to one another, right from the start, but it takes them a really long time to actually get together. And once they do...both of them have the same rule : training comes first and no is to know.

Matt is especially driven to finish at the top.

Now even though I loved reading every single page of this book, it felt unfinished to me. For me, this end more on an HFN than a HEA. At the end of the book it states that this book is the first in a series, and that there will be a second one "Keeping a Warrior". I myself figured it would be about the same couple, but I got some responses on my review by people stating that the next book will be about a different couple.... So my guess is as good as yours so far.

Wether this couple will get a second book or not, does effect my rating a bit. Because I do feel that things are left a bit....unfinished... It's still some time away until the release-date though, so I will keep my rating at 4-4,5 stars, rounded down for now ;)

An ARC was kindly provided to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.