I freaking LOVE Zoe York books. No silly non-sense, no stupid behavior, just people falling in love in complicated situations and dealing with the issues as they come, like ture, reasonable people.the mature adults they are. And even though novella Fall Deep is short on pages, there’s no shortage of heart OR heat.
Piper is 24 and still trying to figure out what to do with her life. (Sidenote: I could completely relate to this heroine...I’m on my way to sliding into 50, and I still don’t know what I want to do with my life!). After saving for years, she’s now embarked on a one year backpacking trip around Europe. During one of her extended stops she gets a job in a pub as a bartender. It’s there that she meets 30 year old Navy SEAL Miles, the night before he’s heading back out on another tour in the Middle East. Before Miles leaves, he gives her his email address, leaving the fate of their continued relationship in her hands. It takes several days for her to talk herself into it, but she finally contacts him.
I absolutely LOVED Piper and Miles and their relationship!!! Get this...they didn’t spend the night together before Miles left. Now I know the one night stand is all hot and exciting, but for me, it’s far more romantic when the emotional bond develops and is strengthened before the physical one. I love a hero who is willing to play the long game and is ruled by his heart instead of his hormones. The chemistry and yearning between Piper and Miles was so sweet and SO SO SO romantic. It made their reunions that much more meaningful and heartwarming.
I also really liked Miles. Usually, Navy SEALS are portrayed as the grunting, bossy, alpha-male types and I am SO over those. But I don’t believe Ms. York has ever gone there. Her heroes are definitely manly, but they have this quiet, not-over-the-top confidence and gentleness about them that makes me swoon. I loved how Miles was aware of how difficult it was for Piper to suddenly be thrust into a military relationship, but didn’t expect her to suck it up and adjust.
“Thirty-six hours,” she whispered, her lower lip trembling. Slowly, carefully, he lowered his face to hers and swiped that lip with his tongue, soft and gentle.
“And we’ll make every single one of them count.” He kissed her full on the mouth, then on the corner as he pulled back a couple of inches to see her face again. They weren’t going any further until they were both on the same page. “Okay, crash course in dating the uniform. Countdowns can be good and bad. It’s there. It’s always going to be there. Thirty-six hours until I go, five weeks until we see each other, six months to the next deployment. Sometimes ninety minutes to an unexpected mission. That’s my life. I love my job. But I love being with you, too. And when I’m gone, you’re with me. I take these memories we make and I hold them close when things get shitty.”
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, her eyes glinting bright. Crying girl alert. Shit.
“Don’t be sorry.”
“I thought I was being cool.”
“You’re beyond cool, Piper...I derail your year-in-Europe plan and you just roll with it. I appreciate that you want to be happy-happy when we’re together, but if you’re not, inside, I want you to be honest with me, okay?”
GAH! Miles gave my tummy butterflies and if I’d been standing my knees would be weak!
So, a huge THANK YOU to Zoe York for, once again, preventing a headlong dive into a reading slump for a second month. And I knew she would. Every time I need a solid, feel good story I reach for a Zoe York book. This time, she managed to pack in all the feels, all the action, all the heat in a short number of pages. Fall Deep made me smile the whole time I was reading, and I can’t even tell you how happy that made me.