Review of Marine Under the Mistletoe by Heather Long

Marine Under the Mistletoe
by Heather Long

Four stars for this light, contemporary romance with likeable characters.
Sergeant Kaiden Nelson has returned home to celebrate the holiday season with
his family.  He's managed to stay away for ten years and returns to the Lake
House, a winter retreat for his coven, Blue Circle, begrudgingly.
Kaiden feels slightly awkward when his old friend, Aaron, greets him naked. He's
been away from his coven for so long that he's not accustomed to his friend's
nudity or the chaos of having a lot of people around.  

He meets Rowan when he returns home and there is an instantaneous attraction
between them. Rowan is not only beautiful, but accepts Kaiden unconditionally.
Rowan is perceptive and supportive to Kaiden's needs. She is like a balm to his
battered soul.  She helps him resolve his conflicted feelings on how he can
continue to be a dedicated Marine and still follow the laws of their religion. 
Kaiden's job as a Marine has placed him in positions where he has had to kill. To
him, he's broken the cardinal law he's been taught since birth of "an it harm none",
thus the reason he's stayed away for so many years.
As Rowan and Kaiden prepare to celebrate the pagan holiday, Yule, Rowan helps
Kaiden work through his guilt and find peace in his soul.
Although Kaiden admits that he didn't want to return home, he's grateful he
trusted his instincts; otherwise, he wouldn't have met Rowan. In a matter of a
three day span, he's managed to fall in love. 
Although Rowan knows she could fall in love with Kaiden, and wants to buy into
the fairytale, she finds herself leery of his immediate declaration of love.  Can
Kaiden prove to Rowan his sincerity? Will they be able to make a relationship
work when he has to return in ten days?

Marine Under the Mistletoe turns out to be a nice, straight-forward romance
without a lot of angst or drama and was an enjoyable read.
(The cracker crack that Rowan made in the story sounded so good, I wish there
was a recipe attached to try it out).

4Stars
Rebecca Trust