Eye of the Storm

Gargano-Callahan #1

by Maura Seger

Maggie Lawrence's security as an Army nurse in Manila changed irrevocably after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Aboard a steamer retreating to Corregidor, she met Anthony Gargano, a larger-than-life Marine sergeant. In a world spinning out of control, they found each other and held on tight.

Genres: World War II, Historical Romance, Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1985

About the author

Maura Seger was born in 1951. She and her husband, Michael, met while they were both working for the same company. They married after a whirlwind courtship that might have been taken directly from romance novel. She credits her husband's patient support and good humor for helping her fulfill the lifelong dream of being a writer.

Published since 1982, Maura Seger is a prolific novelist, who also wrote under many pseudonyms over time: Maeve Fitzgerald, Anne MacNeill, Jenny Bates, Sara Jennings, Laurel Winslow, Laura Michaels, Laura Hastings, and Josie Litton. She used different pennames to re-invent herself.

She is happily at work on a new novel, because she finds that writing each romance is and adventure filled with fascinating people who never fail to surprise her. When she isn't writing, she keeps busy homeschooling her two children and thinking of new stories. She lives in New England, USA, with her husband, children and menagerie... mostly.

Reviews

[Floripiquita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relectura de un libro que forma parte de una trilogía sobre la historia de los Estados Unidos, desde la II Guerra Mundial hasta la Guerra de Vietnam, que leí en mi adolescencia y del que guardaba un gratisimo recuerdo. La autora -por desgracia muy poco conocida en España y en la actualidad- narra de forma maravillosa cómo es la vida y el descubrimiento del amor de dos jóvenes estadounidenses, un infante de marina de origen italiano y una enfermera de Virginia, en tiempos de guerra, concretamente durante la II Guerra Mundial. Me ha vuelto a encantar. 4,5 estrellazas.

[Maggie Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maggie Lawrence is an Army nurse in Manila during WWII. Fortunate enough to be given a berth on a last minute evacuation from the island, she is less than thrilled to be travelling with a group of marines. Sgt. Anthony Gargano ticks off all her pet peeves: pushy, bossy, uncouth. Her opinion changes as she gets to know him though. Soon, the two start an illicit relationship, strained because Maggie is an officer while Anthony is non-commissioned. When he gets combat promotions, the nature of their relationship becomes much more open. Separated and reunited by war on numerous occasions, Theirs is an affair to last a lifetime.

The story was intriguing but the author made it all too obvious she was writing a romance novels with sequels; we kept meeting good looking guys whom Maggie would totally fall for if it weren’t for Anthony.

[Jennifer Larmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read this novel many many years ago when I was in my late twenties and remember enjoying her writing style and getting to know the characters. Reading it again forty years later, although I still enjoyed it, the style seemed to be more a cross between Mills and Boon and Nicholas Sparks or Danielle Steele than what I’ve come to prefer with more meatier storylines and complex characters as I’ve matured.
In saying that, the storyline about a young American-Italian Marine and an American Army nurse meeting while serving in the South Pacific during WWII still dragged me in as the situations they found themselves in were true to life and the action was well-paced.
As usual, this vivid imagination of mine soon came into play when the storyline moved to Brisbane, Australia in 1942. My mother’s family owned a cafe/milk bar in Bulimba, an inner suburb of Brisbane, at that exact period of time when Mum was 23 (the same age as Maggie) and newly engaged to my Dad. She used to often remark how American sailors would drop by and order a milkshake, insisting “Make mine thick, Lil” in their distinctive Yankee drawl, and so I started imagining Maggie and Anthony sauntering in one day requesting much the same. At the same time, my father was a young pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force so I could easily relate to their convoluted romance as well as the battle scenes described on its pages over the Philippines and PNG, as Dad’s Flight Log shows he flew lots of missions over many of the Pacific nations under attack by the Japanese where Anthony was based.
Another nice coincidence was the inclusion of a significant portion occurring in Rabaul in PNG as my sister and her husband lived at Kavieng, on the neighbouring island of New Ireland, and their first child was born in Rabaul.
One thing the author obviously didn’t research is that Aussies ALWAYS like their beer cold - we actually often referred to them as ‘coldies’. It’s our British rellies who like warm beer and us Aussie always complain when we’re on holidays over there.
It was lovely getting reacquainted with them again, although the storyline didn’t quite resonate with me as much as that first time, and so I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

[ANGELIA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was great! Having had relatives who lived during the WWII days and fought in the Pacific, this book had special meaning to me. I heard family stories and often wondered what it would have been like to live then live through it. Reading this book, I felt like I did.

I loved both the H and h and was with them every step of the way in all they went through, rooting for them to get their HEA (which doesn't always happen during a war).

The secondary characters were all good, too.

I highly recommend this one!