Foolproof (Waterproof SEALs #8) by Jo Chambliss is the second book I've read in this series, and the second book I've read by this author, but it reads just fine as a standalone. While it featured my two favorite romance tropes, wounded warriors and romantic suspense, it fell somewhat short of excellent for this reader, and it gets 3.5 stars.
The two primary characters, Leo and Mira, meet in a bar, where Mira is the only woman there not put off at all by the burn scars Leo received during an ambushed op and an explosion. His scars cover a good part of his left face and side. He's seriously depressed and rightly so, but after a chat and a one-night-stand with Mira, he goes out and gets his scars covered by tattoos, and is totally over his depression. Way too pat, way too easy, and way too simple for this reader, when compared to the many other wounded warrior novels I've read in the past.
Six weeks later, Mira discovers that her one-night stand has resulted in a pregnancy, and if that isn't trouble enough, her overbearing mogul of a father decides to sell her to another, much older mogul to unite their two companies, although Mira, who has worked for her father for years and thought that she'd be the one eventually running his empire, when she admits to being pregnant is then told that they'll arrange to have the fetus aborted. She manages to escape their clutches and goes in search of Leo while hiding out in seedy motels, using only cash and a false name--but, of course, when she finally finds Leo, he's thrilled about the pregnancy news, the two decide to marry so that marrying the chosen mogul is off the table, and Mira's father and his soon-to-be partner decide that killing Leo will bring Mira to her senses. From that point on, Leo's fellow SEALs and their wives, who, I'm assuming were featured in the first seven novels in this series, get involved, and the suspense ratchets up in what I can only call exactly what I expected, which was nothing new, the expected HEA ending and a leading clue at the end to whet your appetite for the next book in the series.
Ms. Chambliss is not a bad writer, and I did like the dual narration in this novel, but I don't think she brought anything new to this trope. I also felt that ridding Leo of his scars at the outset of the novel was the wrong move dramatically. Since his scars didn't bother Mira, or this reader, I thought that Mira loving him despite his scars, which I've always considered to be badges of honor, would have been a tad more effective. Foolproof isn't a bad read, but for this reader, it wasn't an exceptional one either.
I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.