Steffi Grantham is a famous actress who has been on the run for three months after the murder of her brother. She has settled in the small town of Stillwater and is working for a transport company run by Bryce Delaney. When she doesn't report for work, Bryce finds her sick with stomach flu. He looks after her for a couple of days, so he winds up getting caught in Steffi's troubles when thugs break into her home.

Steffi's parents were part of a Russian mob, and were murdered when she was just a child. Their murderer, Walter Sullivan, the man she called Uncle Waltz, has reappeared in her life because her brother had evidence that could finally put Walter in jail. Now that her brother is dead, Walter thinks that Steffi now has that evidence. But she has no idea where it is! In order to prolong her life, Steffi accepts Bryce's help in finding the evidence.

Technically proficient romantic suspense tale, but it never really pulled me in. It took me several days to read. The plot manages to stay on the move throughout, but it gets a little bogged down with Bryce's and Steffi's internal thoughts, as opposed to actual dialogue between them to better convince me of the connection between them. There was one too many instances in which Bryce or Steffi would internally speculate about what Steffi's brother did with his secret recording. The word count is also padded out with several sex scenes.

I appreciate that this delivered a well-paced romantic thriller. It wasn't boring. Steffi and Bryce were well-developed characters. It just never grabbed me. Maybe it's one too many trips to tropeland involving a wounded war vet hero cured by a magic vagina. (Bryce is still haunted by his time in the war.) Maybe I'm a little maxed out on the Romantic Suspense line and need another palatte refresher already. Maybe it's just me! Otherwise, there's not a lot wrong this. It delivers what you would expect for its genre.

Good book. Bryce has returned from the war a changed man. He still goes to work each day and does his job, but he's haunted by the things that happened. When one of his new employees blows off another meeting, he's had enough. Steffi has challenged him from day one, but it's that odd connection that has been helping him get through each day. When he arrives at her home to fire her, he discovers her weak and sick instead of purposely defying him. His inner protector is stirred, and he stays to take care of her and is there when someone attempts to kidnap her.

Steffi is more than just Bryce's newest driver. She is a famous Hollywood actress who is wanted for questioning in a murder investigation and is hiding out in Wyoming while she tries to figure out how to clear her name. She is wary of trusting anyone, least of all her boss. But she can't deny that he was there for her when she needed him most.

This book was a good mix of action and romance from the beginning. There is a definite connection between Bryce and Steffi, an attraction that simmers beneath the antagonism. When Bryce finds her and cares for her while she's sick, she has an unexpected feeling of safety with him. There's also something about her that won't let Bryce walk away from helping her. Things get very intense, very fast, when Steffi and Bryce are attacked and kidnapped. Steffi has discovered a connection between the murder she is wanted for and the murder of her parents. The man responsible desperately wants to get his hands on her.

It was an intense time as Bryce and Steffi play cat and mouse with the murderer. A brief encounter as they are captured reveals what the man wants before they can make their escape. Their attempts to find the proof they need have them barely one step ahead of the bad guy in several heart-stopping close encounters. Each new piece of information strengthens their knowledge of what they have to do. The final confrontation is beautifully planned and executed with the help of Bryce's brothers, though there are a couple of unexpected twists.

I enjoyed the development of Bryce and Steffi's relationship. The attraction is strong and pulls hard at them both, though each has reason to resist. Bryce's war related issues have him avoiding any kind of emotional entanglements. He limits himself to brief no-strings affairs, cutting ties when anyone seems to get too close. For Steffi, witnessing the deaths of her parents, then Greg has reduced her already limited ability to trust to nothing. I liked how the situations they found themselves in drew them closer together and encouraged them to share their fears. I especially liked Bryce's patience as Steffi learned that she could believe in him. Bryce's willingness to finally share what happened to him went a long way to getting him to see the possibility of a future with Steffi. The scene in the hospital, post confrontation, was romantic with just enough amusement to make it perfect. I liked the ending, and how, though love was declared quickly, they still took the time to get to know each other better.

The Solider's Seduction was my first book by Jane Godman, and the second book in the Sons of Stillwater series. It worked okay as a standalone--the main characters of book one ([b:Covert Kisses|32336086|Covert Kisses (Sons of Stillwater #1)|Jane Godman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482769589s/32336086.jpg|52973319]) play a role here, but the details you might need to know about that story are briefly told here so you're not at a loss. 

I liked the characters here: Bryce and Steffi are interesting, and easy to root for. Their story is full of action and virtually non-stop twists and turns. Their romance feels a bit rushed, however--even though they've known each other for a while, their relationship has been boss/employee and rather antagonistic, and I didn't quite feel the sparks here that I wanted to. The antagonist is sufficiently evil and his actions plenty dire, but overall the suspense plot required some suspension of belief to go along with it.

Overall, though, this was an enjoyable read, and enough clues are given about Vincente's (the oldest brother of the trio) story to make me keep an eye out for it.

Rating: 3 stars / C

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.