Brockmann, Suzanne - The Unsung Hero, The Defiant Hero, Over the Edge

[oyceter]

General overview for books 1-6 on race and gender and other stuff.

Each write up contains spoilers for the books.

The Unsung Hero (2000)

Navy SEAL Tom Paoletti is forced to go on medical leave after sustaining a head injury, and he goes home to recover. However, on the way, he suspects he sees an international terrorist, but he's not sure if the paranoia is a side effect of the head injury. To make matters worse, the girl next door, Kelly Ashton, is back, and she's still a bit annoyed at how he pretty much fled town after high school after kissing her. Furthermore, Kelly's father Charles is dying of cancer, but his best friend and Tom's uncle Joe wants to tell someone about what happened to them in World War II in France. Finally, Tom's ne'er-do-well niece Mallory has caught the attention of comic book artist David...

As you can tell, there are a lot of romance plotlines in here. Also, as I think I noted in my overview, Brockmann really likes past unrequited romances, which I do too, and older guy/younger women, which I don't so much. The Tom/Kelly romance is nice, and I like that she's basically trying to use him for sex while he's in love with her. I also like that Kelly, despite her nice-girl exterior, is a bit of an exhibitionist when it comes to sex. That said, my favorite romance was actuallly the Mallory/David one, and double plus points for having one of the romantic leads being a Japanese-American guy! (I think he's adopted, but still.) Sometimes I feel like I should complain about the Asian geek typecasting, but since I am an Asian geek and I like Asian geeks, I did not have that much of a problem with it. Plus, I loved that David is a polite geek with social skills who doesn't impose on Mallory's personal space.

Also, Brockmann is probably one of the few romance authors who can make a romance triangle work for me (Joe/Cybele/Charles).

I was sad when Charles ended up sacrificing himself, since you rarely get to see older characters in romance, much less older ones being cool, and I didn't want a pattern of the older characters dying off. Thankfully, Brockmann writes against that in later books. Also, I was a bit iffy with the idea of a single love of a lifetime, although I think Brockmann also negates that later on in the series as well. That said, I am a sappy romance reader who wants a happy ever after for Joe.

I also love love love that Kelly is the one who is still wary about getting married.

The Defiant Hero (2001)

When Kazbekistani terrorists kidnap Meg Moore's grandmother and daughter, she holds up the Kazbekistani embassy at gunpoint, which brings in John Nilsson, the Navy SEAL interpreter. They had fallen in love a few years ago, but Meg was married. This is also the beginning of the Alyssa and Sam storyline, and it includes a flashback to Eve's wartime romance. I didn't buy the main romance as much as in the first book, largely because John and Meg spend a fair amount of the book apart instead of interacting. Also, the added action in the plot here meant less talking. Finally, Kazbekistani terrorists ARRRRGGGGHHHHH. I feel I should have more to say about them, except I cannot get past the ARRRRGGGGHHHH. I also didn't love the flashback romance, particularly the lying about Eve's age. The only reason I was somewhat okay with it was because it was Eve doing the lying and because Ralph was obviously horrified, but it was still a bit squicky on some level. That said, I am really glad Eve got a happy romance, given the way Charles' ended, and that she gets to be kickass and physical in the end, which compensated for the way Charles' storyline ended in the last book. This book also made me hate Sam Starrett, partially because of how he would get on Alyssa's nerves, and partially because of how the narrative kept validating his awesomeness by having Alyssa unable to trail him and etc. Even more minus points for drunk date rape, though I have to say, Brockmann is actually better than many romance authors in that Sam actually tries to resist and realizes it is Bad. Again: LOW BAR.

Over the Edge (2001)

The Troubleshooters team is called to Kazbekistan when Kazbekistani terrorists hijack an airplane. Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok is a bit enamoured with Navy helicopter pilot Teri Howe, but skeletons from her closet and the age difference between them means he tries to keep her away. Let me say, I am still annoyed that in the Troubleshooters series, when the guy is older, the age difference is much larger than when the woman is older. Also, Sam and Alyssa appear again, and there is a World War II flashback romance involving the Danish Jews and the resistance.

First, Kazbekistan: ARGH. All the white feminist PSAs about how terrible and bad Muslims are to women was particularly argh inducing. This was particularly bad when coupled with Gina's rape. I am also iffy about Teri's past angst being sexual abuse, particularly with how Brockmann couples it with Stan's inability to say no to her. That said, I also hated the paternal way he tried to set her up with Mike Muldoon. Still, I like that she is more sexually aggressive than most romance heroines. I thought Helga was awesome, but didn't like the Alzheimer's plot. I'd complain more, except Brockmann has other older characters doing other things in later books, so there is that. Also, I love that Helga's assistant is a black Israeli Jew.

I didn't hate Sam as much in this book—the crying scene got to me—but I still didn't think he was nearly good enough for Alyssa, particularly the way he would always revert to sexist insults. I didn't necessarily buy Alyssa being ready to try a relationship with him, despite the ending twist. Also, I really liked that Stan basically told WildCard that it didn't matter how much he loved what's-her-face, he got slapped with a restraining order because he was acting damn creepy and he should keep away.

I was really glad that Max turned out to be multiracial, since it's pretty obvious he and Gina are set up to be one of the big romances in the series, though OMG, wow do I have problems with the power differential. I am very very very glad that Max does as well. The age difference also squicks me a bit, but not as much as the power differential.

I feel the romances in the second and third book all suffer from the surfeit of thriller plot, but I liked the first book a lot.


Links:
- rushthatspeaks' review of Unsung Hero
- kate_nepveu's reviews of Unsung Hero and Defiant Hero and Over the Edge

Comments

[oracne]

Wow, it's been a long time since I read these (I was reading them as they came out).

I like that Kelly's mixed feelings last for several books!

[oyceter]

I do too! I love that the sequels don't have scads of married couples with babies. I mean, they are there, but to a much lesser extent than most romances.

[veejane]

Ah, it is The Defiant Hero with the "I could totally pass for Central Asian" hero named Nilsson, who speaks conversational Welsh, and tames wild unicorns in his spare time. I laughed SO HARD, not even in a judgey way, just in a "You totally went there, that is hilarious, other romance novels aspire to be as wacky as you" way.

[oyceter]

Hahaha, he totally is a unicorn! I would laugh, except I so much prefer his brand of unicorn-ness to the usual alpha male heroes I get in romances.

[rachelmanija]

I really enjoy The Unsung Hero, largely for the David/Mallory romance (seriously, SO ADORABLE - plus, I would have a problem if all Brockmann's geeks were Asian and all her Asians were geeks, but that's not the case at all) but also because I liked Tom and Kelly and Tom dealing with his disability.

I'm not that big on the other two. It took me forever to even grudgingly be okay with Sam, though I always love Alyssa. I think in the series overall she ends up with more narrative time than Sam does, much of which she spends with her gay partner, Jules, who is awesome. There's one book in which all I recall Sam doing in the whole thing is giving her a backrub.

[oyceter]

David and Mallory are seriously SO CUTE! I also really liked how Brockmann dealt with the uncertainty in Tom's injury; that's the part that I sometimes find the most frustrating, and I feel in fiction there tends to be more sure diagnoses. (But that is just a feeling for me.)

OMG I hated Sam SO MUCH. I got a little better with him by book three, because he decided he was in love with Alyssa, and I figured anyone in love with Alyssa had at least gotten that bit right, but I hated his snark. I am really glad Alyssa gets more narrative time, since I felt she should have gotten more page time in the Sam/Alyssa book.

[mme_hardy]

"The Tom/Kelly romance is nice, and I like that she's basically trying to use him for sex while he's in love with her."

Me, TOO! Women just have a lot of sexual and romantic agency in these books, and I love that.

[oyceter]

YES! It does get a bit formulaic if you read six Brockmann books in a row, but seriously, it's a formula I see so rarely in romances that I don't care!

[mme_hardy]

Have you gotten to the one where the SEAL does the lady from behind (she's sitting on his lap), facing a mirror, so she can see how gorgeous she is? *pant*

[oyceter]

I think I did! Is that the one where the guy is younger? That was awesome and is one of the favs in the series so far.

[mme_hardy]

I forget!