{ arc } review || FALL DEEP

I'm a recent Zoe York fan girl.

...and by recent, I mean within the last six months or so. Between her Zoe York titles, and her Ainsley Booth ones... I'm a pretty happy reader. When I signed up for her newsletter, I was ecstatic to see she was doing the whole new-book-in-a-newsletter thing. I had just finished FALL AWAY (review never written, sigh) I was a few chapters behind but weekly when she updated FALL DEEP, I was sure to copy-paste from the newsletter or her website the latest chapter, and print it out to read...

...and I never read it. 

I killed a tree or two :(

When I saw it was finally (I know, I know... agonizing two month wait) in eBook form, I jumped for a chance to read it --

side note: this review blog thing really drove my love for eBooks, let me tell you... When I received a Nook for Christmas four years ago, I wasn't sure I'd be super good about using it; I love books. Holding them, smelling them, turning the pages... But when traveling, I found out that it was easier to pack your books, and easier to buy more on vacation and not have to worry about the added weight and not so much room in your carry-on. And this adventure took off? And I put a Kindle app on my phone (and my Nook is connected to my phone)? My goodness gracious, I have books with me everywhere. Reader's dream, right there. Extra long stop light? Let me read a book. Got to work a bit early? Let me read a book. Downtime at work? Oh, how about I read a book..? 

So finally, finally, I have completed Miles and Piper's story and YAY! I'm so glad that I did.













Fall Deep by Zoe York

Publisher: ZoYo Press (6/23/2015)
Series: SEALS Undone, book 4
Genre: Military Romance
Source: Author
Purchase links || amazon || add to goodreads

Rating: ★★★★★

*special pre-order price, going up to $2.99 after release day* 

Navy SEAL Miles Dumbrowski is on his way back to war. He isn’t supposed to fall in love.

Piper Harrington left San Diego behind, looking for adventure in Europe. The no-strings, easy-breezy kind of adventure.

Now her heart is headed to the Middle East with a man she won’t see for months. But Miles seems intent on proving he's worth the wait for that second date.

{ review } .

For some people, it takes a trip across the world to find that one person who's always been in your backyard.

Needing a change of scenery -- and her family's well-meaning comments about finding herself and a career path (as well as stop mooning over boys) now that's she's twenty-four and nowhere -- she decides to take a backpacking working trip in Europe. Her first stop finds her at a pub. Piper makes friends easily, and one night when an attractive man comes in with an older woman, her new friend Kate urges her to talk to him.

Him turns out to be Miles and he was there with his aunt -- all information Piper was given by Kate beforehand. He, too, is from the states and his... business... had him currently on a break so he took the time to visit with his aunt. Tomorrow, though, he's set to go back to... work.

"This spot?" He tugged her close. "This is the site of our first kiss."

Miles and Piper fall into a quick, easy friendship. Their first few hours together show them both that they can't simple say goodbye when he has to leave. Miles is careful about giving Piper too much information just yet -- being a Navy SEAL, he has to keep a number of things to himself -- but he wants to share things with her.

"I'm going to busy for a few months."

And she'd be long gone, anyway. A few weeks here, then Paris, the Prague, and Greece... "And then?" Maybe they could meet up again.

"More work. I'm sorry."

Her fingers shook and she grabbed the bottom of Miles's t-shirt, wanting to hold on to him even as the delicious heat that had been building in her core disappeared and a cold stiffness filled her body. "So tonight... This was what?"

Miles's fingers moved again between his jacket and Piper's shirt, up and down, his thumbs rubbing from the bottom edge of her rib cage to her hips and back. "I don't know. 

This was the night we met."

I liked Miles in previous books, but dang, did I love the man in this one (so much so that I'm kicking myself for not finding the time to read this in Zoe's newsletter... but then again, I'm the impatient sort and I would have likely been upset to have to wait a week for the next chapter). He's careful with Piper's feelings, and she's the one always on his mind. In the field, she's the one he's worried about -- not himself, not what his family is thinking about (but yes, they do cross his mind)... It's Piper and her reaction, and his hopes to ease her fears as soon as he can. He is a serious man who has realized he's finally grown up (no more partying and staying out when Stateside), but he has a silly side, a side that comes out whenever Piper's around.

"Oh my God."

"Name's Miles, actually." From between her legs, he winked at her, and just like that, all her emotions clicked back into balance.

What I liked particularly about FALL DEEP outside of the romance aspect was the true military 'suit up and wait'. While many books with the military theme talk about the waiting aspect, Zoe paints the picture. She paints the waiting for something to happen... the watching the insurgents coming and waiting for them to make their move... the waiting for the diplomats to say their piece before war can truly continue. It helped make the story more believable. Also, we see the changing of the team. We watch Trick leave this team in the previous book, but we're also watching Nash as he's on his last mission before leaving the teams.

My biggest gripe then with this book was that it was only a novella. I would have loved to see more of Piper and Miles. Zoe did a superb job in writing this short format book in a way that you didn't feel the romance was too quick, that you were missing key aspects, or that it simply wasn't believable. If anything, the time-frame and such made the story more believable.

Oftentimes the breaker in a new military relationship is going to be the deployments -- and Miles and Piper deal with it in the early stages, while they're simply maybe-friends who want to meet up when he comes back home if they can swing it. The more they talk, the more they want to see the other. Everything about their relationship was sweet and cute.

And the proposal. Oh, gosh, the proposal... Don't be me and read ahead, but let me tell you -- it's one of those sweet and easy ones. My heart smiles every time I think of Miles smiling against Piper's shoulder.....