Choose Me (The Archer Brothers #2) by Heidi McLaughlin-a review

CHOOSE ME (The Archer Brothers #2) by Heidi McLaughlin-a review

Choose Me

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

Click HERE to read Sandy’s review of book one -STAY WITH ME

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 1, 2015

Two brothers.

One woman.

One son.

One choice.

Lives ripped apart, shattered and rebuilt.

Evan and Nate Archer: Brothers, best friends, warriors and now enemies. Both in love with the same woman. Both determined to fight for what they want.

Nate Archer promised to protect Ryley Clarke in the event Evan didn’t make it back. It’s a promise between brothers since the early days of basic training. Nate never considered that his feelings, long buried since high school, would resurface and grow stronger.

Evan Archer wants answers. He wants someone to pay. After being gone for an unprecedented amount of time, nothing is making sense now that he’s home. Most of all, he can’t understand how his brother ended up engaged to his fiancée. Evan is determined to uncover the mystery, and win back his family.

The Archers are about to fight dirty.

•••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: CHOOSE ME is the second installment in Heidi McLaughlin’s adult, contemporary The Archer Brothers romance series. The focus of the storyline is on Navy SEALs and twins Nate and Evan Archer, and the woman they love Ryley Clarke.

Some background: Six years earlier, several months into a secret SEAL mission, Evan Archer’s SEAL team was presumably ambushed and killed. Fast forward to present day, where Evan and his team return home to shocked family members and lost loves. Evan’s brother Nate is now engaged to the woman Evan loves, and has been raising Evan’s child as his own. When Nate and Evan begin an investigation into the missing six years, they uncover some disturbing information and a twisted plot.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Nate and Evan) the storyline follows the growing animosity between Nate and Evan. Once beloved brothers, their emotions and pent up frustrations build as both men declare their love for Ryley Clarke. Ryley is caught between the love of two men, and her heart has a difficult time letting go. As Evan watches his only son call his brother ‘Daddy’, he considers walking away before destroying the family that he loves.

CHOOSE ME is a storyline of intrigue, secrets, illegal operations and murder. Evan and his Team have become the pawns in a war they knew nothing about-someone back home was pulling the strings and the government knew nothing about the continuing mission.

Evan’s SEAL Team is present as they continue to uncover to truth behind their original deployment. Families have been destroyed; lovers have gone missing; confusion reigns throughout. Tucker McCoy’s story is the next to be told-his wife and daughter have disappeared and Tucker is lost in a world of grief and hate.

Heidi McLaughlin pulls the reader into a heartbreaking storyline where two brothers have loved the same woman since they were young. Evan is the man who had stolen Ryley’s heart; Nate is the man who continues to put that heart back together. I am NOT a fan of love triangles, but in the case of Nate, Evan and Ryley, the angst and anxiety of the fated YA triangles is absent, and in this the reader is aware that the painful resolution will not be as painful as once thought. Yes, there are moments when the brothers play Ryley against one another but it is to be expected in the grand scheme of things—under the circumstances. I was almost hoping for all three to end up together.

CHOOSE ME is an emotional tale; a storyline of mystery, drama, staggering revelations, and passionate ideals. There is heartbreak and loss; friendships and family; saying good bye and letting go. Each brother will get their happily ever after although each reader will see something different in the conflict resolution and outcome-the wrap up was idealistic and perhaps improbable but comforting-none the less. Heidi McLaughlin invites you in for a roller coaster ride of emotional high and lows.

Reviewed by Sandy

Share

Here With Me (The Archer Brothers #1) by Heidi McLaughlin-a review

HERE WITH ME (The Archer Brothers #1) by Heidi McLaughlin-a review

Here With Me

Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 27, 2014

Ryley Clarke has grown up with the military in her blood, with both parents serving their country. Ryley knows the risks of being married to the military. But when the unthinkable happens, and her future husband is killed in action, Ryley can barely survive… until Evan’s twin brother, Nate, helps her pick up the pieces.

After serving on a special mission with the military for six years, Evan Archer returns home to find the unthinkable – the love of his life, Ryley Clarke – engaged to his brother, Nate. With Nate on deployment, Evan needs to figure out what happened in his absence, and more importantly, how to win Ryley back from the man he once considered his best friend, but now thinks of as his rival.

•••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: HERE WITH ME is the first installment in Heidi McLaughlin’s adult, contemporary The Archer Brothers series focusing on Evan and Nate Archer, and the woman that they love Ryley Clarke.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Evan and Ryley) the premise follows Evan Archer’s return to civilian life. Home, from a six year undercover Navy SEAL mission in Cuba, Evan has no idea that he and three other members of his team had supposedly died and his entire family has grieved his death for over five years. What ensues is a series of mistaken beliefs, a presumed government cover up and a growing hatred between brothers.

Ryley thought Evan was dead. She gave birth to his son; is now engaged to Evan’s brother Nate; but she has never forgotten the man with whom she fell in love. His return has brought with it too many questions and a need to uncover the truth. While Nate has been deployed on his own SEAL mission, Ryley and Evan will begin to rekindle the love that had never died.

A major portion of the storyline alternates between Evan and Ryley’s individual counseling sessions where their emotions and pent up anger are revealed. At this point we are not aware of any wrong doing but the counselor’s concerns about what really happened begin to bring the reality of the situation a little more perspective.

The relationship between Ryley and Evan has already been established but Ryley has moved on. She never stopped loving Evan; they have a son together; and her love for Evan is all encompassing. There are moments of heartbreaking pain, ugly tears and the frightening realization that everything they thought was true has been a lie.

The secondary characters include Evan’s less than compassionate mother and sister; Ryley’s parents who have connections in high places; and Evan’s Navy SEAL Team whose families all believe they have died. There is a cover up of epic proportions and an investigation may never reveal the truth.

HERE WITH ME is a fascinating, heartbreaking and tense storyline about two brothers, one woman and six years of lies and secrets. The premise is addicting; the drama continues to build; the relationship between Evan and Ryley is emotional and intense. The first installment ends on a bit of a cliff hanger-so be forewarned. There is no release date for book 2-Choose Me

Reviewed by Sandy

Share