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Citizen Soldier #1
Wyne and Dine: Ben
Lea Gablonski has two dreams: To work at a museum in NYC, and to gain other-than-sisterly attention from her best friend’s brother. So far, she’s 0 for 0. Though her MA in History is just a wall decoration at her family’s diner where she’s working while her dad recovers from surgery, she enjoys her visual encounters with the sexiest man alive—even though he would sooner pat her on the head than take her to bed.
Military born and bred, Battalion Supply Sergeant Benjamin Wyne thrives on order and control in his fulltime career in the PA National Guard, and in his personal life. But when he’s forced to ask his childhood sweetheart’s younger sister to pose as his girlfriend to thwart unwanted advances from his boss’ wife, his world turns chaotic. Lea is sweet and hot and tastes so damn good he’s addicted. When the attraction takes on a new level at his sister’s wedding, his carefully guarded heart begins to thaw.
But he’s seen many relationships go south. If he takes a chance and gives up control, will Lea be like her sister and leave him for a career in the big city? Yet, if he doesn’t, will the best damn thing to ever enter his life become history?
Military born and bred, Battalion Supply Sergeant Benjamin Wyne thrives on order and control in his fulltime career in the PA National Guard, and in his personal life. But when he’s forced to ask his childhood sweetheart’s younger sister to pose as his girlfriend to thwart unwanted advances from his boss’ wife, his world turns chaotic. Lea is sweet and hot and tastes so damn good he’s addicted. When the attraction takes on a new level at his sister’s wedding, his carefully guarded heart begins to thaw.
But he’s seen many relationships go south. If he takes a chance and gives up control, will Lea be like her sister and leave him for a career in the big city? Yet, if he doesn’t, will the best damn thing to ever enter his life become history?
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 19, 2014
645 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
About the author
Donna Michaels
85 books547 followersHi there. Thank you for checking out my profile.
It’s all my mother’s fault. She read to me when I was little and sparked my imagination. Now, my mind is the limit, and believe me, there’s no limit to my mind.
Hello, I’m Donna Michaels, NYT & USA Today Bestselling Award winning author of Romaginative fiction. I write romance through the H’s—Hot, Humorous, Heartwarming, with strong alpha cowboys and military men who are equally matched by their heroines.
With a husband retired from the military and now working at a brewery, four children, 2 granddaughters, 2 grandsons, several rescued cats, and my parents living with us, I never run out of material. From short to epic, my books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, and one has even been hand drawn into a Japanese Translation. Now, if only I could read it…
It’s all my mother’s fault. She read to me when I was little and sparked my imagination. Now, my mind is the limit, and believe me, there’s no limit to my mind.
Hello, I’m Donna Michaels, NYT & USA Today Bestselling Award winning author of Romaginative fiction. I write romance through the H’s—Hot, Humorous, Heartwarming, with strong alpha cowboys and military men who are equally matched by their heroines.
With a husband retired from the military and now working at a brewery, four children, 2 granddaughters, 2 grandsons, several rescued cats, and my parents living with us, I never run out of material. From short to epic, my books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, and one has even been hand drawn into a Japanese Translation. Now, if only I could read it…
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
April 14, 2019
Lovely story.
October 31, 2017
The story is cliche, hero is afraid to commit because all the women in his life always abandoned him or let him down.
Our heroine has always had an interest in him, but he saw her as a little sister.
He needed her to act as his girlfriend to keep the wandering hands of his superior's wife away.
And from there I was immersed in history and I couldn't stop reading until the end.
I will read the rest of the series.
Our heroine has always had an interest in him, but he saw her as a little sister.
He needed her to act as his girlfriend to keep the wandering hands of his superior's wife away.
And from there I was immersed in history and I couldn't stop reading until the end.
I will read the rest of the series.
"I needed a buffer from his wife and wouldn’t have asked you, but Charisse is out of the country, so I needed a substitute and fast.” Oh, swell. She was a substitute. A stand in for his goodtime girlfriend."
"Ryder’s sister, Gwen, had been everything his teenage body had yearned for, a popular, beautiful, blonde cheerleader. Yeah, he’d been in heaven when she’d actually started to flirt with him. And he’d enjoyed Lea’s company, too. The young girl had been a great friend to his new sister."
“You and Ben never had sex? I find that really hard to believe, Gwen. I walked in on you two making out downstairs, remember?”
October 4, 2016
The basic story line of “Wyne and Dine” is a typical scenario – a stoic, but handsome, hero named Ben, who has given up on love because most of the women in his life have abandoned him, is content to have sex as long as there are no feelings or relationships involved until the best friend of his “baby” sister brings him to his knees. The beautiful and curvy heroine named Lea, who has suspended her life to take care of her father and his diner without asking her brother or sister to help (because they have their own successful careers), finally gets a chance for a fling with the object of her childhood crush, her best friend’s older brother. Pretty standard contemporary romance fare. What caught my interest, though, was the setting – the Pocono Mountains in northeastern PA – and the occupation of the hero – full time Guardsman in the PA National Guard. I grew up near Philadelphia and spent a lot of time in the Poconos. I even owned land there with the intention of building a vacation cabin until life took me elsewhere. It’s a beautiful area and while I might not call it “majestic” as the author does (especially since I can look out my office window and see the Rocky Mountains), in the fall the views are stunning. It’s is also not one too often featured in books. Mix in the military element and I was ready to be wowed. Sigh!
I really want to like this book. I mean, it’s about a one of four sons in a National Guard family set in the Poconos. What’s not to love, right? And when I read that the author was married to a military man – a Guardsman, no less – I thought, great she’ll “get” it (the “it” being all those little nuances that ring true about the military). Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I’m retired military and spent the last 18 years of my career as a full time Army Reservist, so I understand and appreciate the wonderful men and women of the Guard and Reserve. And I understand the frustrations of the full time support staff that, more often than not, has to pick up the slack when drilling members don’t do what they should do in preparation for training. Ben’s frustration over that rang so true. But some of the other stuff, not so much. Ben’s a battalion supply sergeant. He might even be the acting battalion logistics officer. But he would not be invited to a weekend getaway at a colonel’s estate with officers and nary another non-commissioned officer to be found. Yes, Guard units are close, but there are still boundaries, and this scene, while vital to set up the premise of the story (Ben needs a fake girlfriend to ward off the colonel’s wife and asks the heroine to fill that role) feels so blatantly contrived, that I had a hard time sinking into the rest of the story. Another detail that grated was the use of the nickname “Serge” when some of the other Guardsmen were addressing Ben. During 26 years in the Army I never heard “Serge.” It was “Sarge,” the nickname used for “sergeant.” Picky, perhaps, but those are the details that resonant with me and will turn me off of a military-theme book faster than the plot. Ah, the plot. It was not overly special. It’s has been done before, with much better success. I never really felt invested in the relationship between Ben and Lea and often wanted to smack both of them upside the head. In fact, I was more interested in the back story of Ben’s sister (and Lea’s best friend), Brandi. And her four other friends were a hoot.
This is the first book I’ve ever read by Ms. Michaels, but it will also be the last. While it was OK, I’m glad I borrowed it from the Kindle lending library, so I don’t feel as if I wasted money.
September 22, 2018
This friends-to-lovers story was a little predictable but I enjoyed seeing Ben squirm as he avoided all his “feelings” LOL. Actually, it’s a little unclear why he’s so adamant about not “having feelings” and his denial goes on a little too long, but his behavior is fairly believable (we all know men are hard-headed!). The way he finally gets to the realization is a bit anti-climactic. Then there’s Lea. Nice girl. Too nice, too understanding, too much do-for-others. I tend to like my heroines a little stronger personality.
The characterization was great, but there were some disconnects/omissions. For example, I *really* wanted to know what Ben saw and experienced right after 9-11 that made him refuse to go to New York ever again. Then there was his “ability” to sense when people are in trouble… that’s sort of the opposite of “not being in touch with his feelings.” I never figured out if he was FT Army Reserve or what… and there were several scenes with so many characters (coming in from another series I guess) that I was pretty thoroughly confused about who was who. I also tend to be distracted by misspellings (“breath” and “breathe” for example).
The characterization was great, but there were some disconnects/omissions. For example, I *really* wanted to know what Ben saw and experienced right after 9-11 that made him refuse to go to New York ever again. Then there was his “ability” to sense when people are in trouble… that’s sort of the opposite of “not being in touch with his feelings.” I never figured out if he was FT Army Reserve or what… and there were several scenes with so many characters (coming in from another series I guess) that I was pretty thoroughly confused about who was who. I also tend to be distracted by misspellings (“breath” and “breathe” for example).
June 5, 2018
I have loved every single book I have read by this author, so I was excited when this was a free book deal on Amazon/BookBub, so I could try this series as well.
I thought the plot was the very tried and true romance story with best friend's sister/brother, fake relationship, childhood crush, commitment-phobic man... And it worked here, to the point.
This is a spin-off series, I understand, and at times I wish I had more background info about previous events and other characters in the story.
I had hard time understanding and liking H with his attitude towards women. But the H and his issues come to clear light at about 70%, a point that came a bit late to me, I already disliked his hot-cold behavior by then a bit too much.
While the H was scared, the h came off desperate in a few cringe-worthy scenes.
Still engaging enough for me to read the whole book, just wishing the plot had a bit more originality in it. I would be interested to read more of the series and get to know the secondary characters better.
I thought the plot was the very tried and true romance story with best friend's sister/brother, fake relationship, childhood crush, commitment-phobic man... And it worked here, to the point.
This is a spin-off series, I understand, and at times I wish I had more background info about previous events and other characters in the story.
I had hard time understanding and liking H with his attitude towards women. But the H and his issues come to clear light at about 70%, a point that came a bit late to me, I already disliked his hot-cold behavior by then a bit too much.
While the H was scared, the h came off desperate in a few cringe-worthy scenes.
Still engaging enough for me to read the whole book, just wishing the plot had a bit more originality in it. I would be interested to read more of the series and get to know the secondary characters better.
July 6, 2019
I found this to be superficial and predictable. I say superficial because the text was overloaded with descriptions of how attractive all the characters were. Lea was constantly described as 'pretty' and sometimes it seemed as if her name had become 'the beauty'. Other examples include: 'Her best friend with sun-kissed brown hair and warm brown eyes reeled back and frowned.' And 'The long haired sheriff.' 'The beautiful redhead'... Blah blah blah.
Ben was an emotionally crippled dumbass. At the start of the story he observes how Lea is always putting other people first and that she needs to do more for herself. Then he immediately goes ahead and takes advantage of her nature by asking her to be his fake girlfriend for a weekend, despite knowing she has feelings for him.
Lea was hard to like. Sure she was helping her family out heaps but I couldn't respect her when no matter how many times Ben hurt her she was happy to accept whatever crumbs he was willing to throw her way.
I noticed quite a few typos too. But despite all that it was easy enough to read.
Ben was an emotionally crippled dumbass. At the start of the story he observes how Lea is always putting other people first and that she needs to do more for herself. Then he immediately goes ahead and takes advantage of her nature by asking her to be his fake girlfriend for a weekend, despite knowing she has feelings for him.
Lea was hard to like. Sure she was helping her family out heaps but I couldn't respect her when no matter how many times Ben hurt her she was happy to accept whatever crumbs he was willing to throw her way.
I noticed quite a few typos too. But despite all that it was easy enough to read.
May 15, 2018
4 stars
I received a free copy of Wyne and Dine: A Citizen Soldier Series:Guarding the Hearts in the Pocono Valley book 1 Ben by Donna Michaels and this review was given freely
A fake girlfriend, good friends, unrequited love,best friend's little sister/best friend's older brother romance. Ben Wyne originally asks his sister's best friend Lea to act as his girlfriend to protect himself from a married woman but what he gets is a steamy but rocky romance as Ben learns to accept his feelings for Lea and Lea learns it is okay to sometimes let her siblings help. A large number of complex characters, humor, interfering but caring families, a wedding, good friends, and a happy ending are easily blended in this full length novel including the PA based Wyne national Guard family.
I received a free copy of Wyne and Dine: A Citizen Soldier Series:Guarding the Hearts in the Pocono Valley book 1 Ben by Donna Michaels and this review was given freely
A fake girlfriend, good friends, unrequited love,best friend's little sister/best friend's older brother romance. Ben Wyne originally asks his sister's best friend Lea to act as his girlfriend to protect himself from a married woman but what he gets is a steamy but rocky romance as Ben learns to accept his feelings for Lea and Lea learns it is okay to sometimes let her siblings help. A large number of complex characters, humor, interfering but caring families, a wedding, good friends, and a happy ending are easily blended in this full length novel including the PA based Wyne national Guard family.
May 26, 2018
I obtained this free e-book from Amazon and I am voluntarily writing a review. Lea has a education with a Masters in History but has put her life on hold to help her father out running the family restaurant after back surgery and let her brother and sister carry on with their careers. She dreams of a job in New York City working at a museum and of course having her best friend's brother Ben fall in love with her since she has been in love with him forever. Like that will ever happen since Ben has a relationship phobia. So she decides when you can't have what you want go for what you can get. Until life gets in the way.
July 22, 2017
Wyne and Dine: Ben by Donna Michaels is another example of her fantastic storytelling abilities. Ms Michaels has delivered an awesome, well-written book. I adore the characters, they are perfect for this story. Lea and Ben's story is full of drama, humor and spice. I enjoyed reading Wyne and Dine: Ben and look forward to reading more from the talented Donna Michaels in the future. Wyne and Dine: Ben is book 1 of the Citizen Soldier Series but can easily be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I purchased a print copy of this book.
I purchased a print copy of this book.
May 30, 2018
I enjoyed Ben and Lea's story. There were times wished Lea would just hit Ben over the head already, but he eventually got there. I liked Lea's gentleness in her interactions with Ben. They grew up together so she knew him well and was mostly content to wait for him to realize he didn't want to live without her. I did wish for a little more at the end; it seemed fast to me and I wanted to see how they were going to work things out with jobs in different cities.
June 3, 2018
Never to late for love
The story was a novel read was interesting ,more like copies from a written letter,enjoyed the chess interesting to see how everyone came together, too explicit sexual acts ,I don't really enjoy read in all that , would have given it a four but was not really something I would recommend reading unless your into rough and sex crazy.
The story was a novel read was interesting ,more like copies from a written letter,enjoyed the chess interesting to see how everyone came together, too explicit sexual acts ,I don't really enjoy read in all that , would have given it a four but was not really something I would recommend reading unless your into rough and sex crazy.
June 22, 2018
The book was page filler from start to finish
I hate books with page filler. What I'm talking about is avoidance & denial to drag a story out. This was page filler from start to finish. Page filler is not a substitute for writing a good story with a good plot an likeable characters. This didn't have either. Don't waist your time.
I hate books with page filler. What I'm talking about is avoidance & denial to drag a story out. This was page filler from start to finish. Page filler is not a substitute for writing a good story with a good plot an likeable characters. This didn't have either. Don't waist your time.
June 30, 2018
Hot story
The storyline and characters are fantastic. The sex is hot. The proofreaders should be fired (or editors) what with all the grammar errors, misspellings, and incorrect words. I expect a few if each, but they continued throughout the book. They were a little hard to overlook. Typically I don't mention mistakes in my reviews but there were that many.
The storyline and characters are fantastic. The sex is hot. The proofreaders should be fired (or editors) what with all the grammar errors, misspellings, and incorrect words. I expect a few if each, but they continued throughout the book. They were a little hard to overlook. Typically I don't mention mistakes in my reviews but there were that many.
July 7, 2018
Lots of typos and incorrect grammar usage. No plot to the story and lack of intelligent vocabulary. I kept thinking the story was going to get better at some point but it doesn't.
Lots of typos and incorrect grammar usage. No plot to the story.
I kept thinking that the story was going to get better, but it doesn't.
Lots of typos and incorrect grammar usage. No plot to the story.
I kept thinking that the story was going to get better, but it doesn't.
September 8, 2018
Hot
Perfect cozy raining outside romance novel to get wrapped up in. Characters were enjoyable and heartwarming. Although I couldn’t keep track of the many cowboys, brothers and friends. Enough steamy-ness ( love a physical romance book) and barely any untoward angst ie: murder / killer on the prowl , no woman beating ex. Romance pure and simple.
Perfect cozy raining outside romance novel to get wrapped up in. Characters were enjoyable and heartwarming. Although I couldn’t keep track of the many cowboys, brothers and friends. Enough steamy-ness ( love a physical romance book) and barely any untoward angst ie: murder / killer on the prowl , no woman beating ex. Romance pure and simple.
October 17, 2018
When and Dine
This was about a long time crush and a chance to full full a dream. It starts with him overheating a conversation that was taken out of context. That lead him to imagine that the one he only thought of as someone more. But he is has issues about relationships. And with that she is planning on leaving. What happens next is the rest of the story.
This was about a long time crush and a chance to full full a dream. It starts with him overheating a conversation that was taken out of context. That lead him to imagine that the one he only thought of as someone more. But he is has issues about relationships. And with that she is planning on leaving. What happens next is the rest of the story.
February 2, 2019
I hate books that are obviously unedited. It detracts from the overall story and I guess I am a spelling and context snob. One of the most glaring in this book was “gave a wide birth” Yikes! Also, she kept talking about Belgium (not Belgian) chocolate which I know is petty, but it just puts me off.
Book itself was not bad, but not very realistic in some parts. A bit forced in spots.
Book itself was not bad, but not very realistic in some parts. A bit forced in spots.
May 26, 2018
Wonderful
This was a great story. Lea had been love with Ben forever, but he looked at her a a kid and his little sisters best friend. Now they are working closely on his sister wedding and they are admitting there feelings.
This was a great story. Lea had been love with Ben forever, but he looked at her a a kid and his little sisters best friend. Now they are working closely on his sister wedding and they are admitting there feelings.
May 28, 2018
The book was decent but I kept getting distracted by misspelled words which is a problem that I have anytime I read. This is the first of the series and while it was enjoyable it doesn't make me want to read the others in the series.
May 28, 2018
Outstanding!!!!!
It had me laughing out loud when Ben and his brothers overhear the phone conversation between Lea and their sister, Brandi. I will never forget how they thought she was enjoying her chocolate. Love, laughter, and family bring this story together.
It had me laughing out loud when Ben and his brothers overhear the phone conversation between Lea and their sister, Brandi. I will never forget how they thought she was enjoying her chocolate. Love, laughter, and family bring this story together.
July 13, 2018
Lots of angst
This book has wonderful characters and a story of love on a winding road. It just has too much angst for me. 3 stars for me but 4 stars for the characters and basic story.
This book has wonderful characters and a story of love on a winding road. It just has too much angst for me. 3 stars for me but 4 stars for the characters and basic story.
November 10, 2018
Okay read
Well written and engaging but oh my Lord did I want to bang their heads together. Plus felt that the female lead should have walked away earlier rather than putting up with the will I won’t I nonsense. Got there in the end but a bit too quickly.
Well written and engaging but oh my Lord did I want to bang their heads together. Plus felt that the female lead should have walked away earlier rather than putting up with the will I won’t I nonsense. Got there in the end but a bit too quickly.
May 26, 2018
Friends
This book was absolutely great and the characters are so likeable you feel like you are right there with them and they keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.
This book was absolutely great and the characters are so likeable you feel like you are right there with them and they keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.
May 26, 2018
3.7 Stars
May 26, 2018
nice little story about unrequited love, that becomes just having fun, and then more.
May 28, 2018
Great story
Good characters working thru life scars. Well developed and easy read. Stand alone but continued from earlier series. More to come
Good characters working thru life scars. Well developed and easy read. Stand alone but continued from earlier series. More to come
May 30, 2018
Flirty & Fun!
Love strong female characters with the moxie to go after what they want! Love the attraction & emotions that you can feel as you read!
Love strong female characters with the moxie to go after what they want! Love the attraction & emotions that you can feel as you read!
May 30, 2018
Kindle-Free-Bookbub
June 1, 2018
Fun
Good 👍Read,I got started and just couldn't put this book down.I read a little bit and I started to laugh.Read a little more and had tears in my eyes.I really enjoyed this one.
Good 👍Read,I got started and just couldn't put this book down.I read a little bit and I started to laugh.Read a little more and had tears in my eyes.I really enjoyed this one.
June 10, 2018
Really enjoyed this story. Fun, characters fun and some laugh out loud moments.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews