SEAL Camp

Tall, Dark, and Dangerous, Book 12

By: Suzanne Brockmann

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Navy SEAL Lieutenant Jim "Spaceman" Slade's got a problem. A SEAL team is only as fast as its slowest member - and right now, thanks to his battered knees, that's Jim. He reluctantly takes medical leave, but he's a SEAL, so he spends his "vacation" as an instructor, helping out a former senior chief who runs a camp for SEAL wannabes. But to Jim's shock, he finds himself falling for the one woman attending the camp session - an obviously brilliant but seemingly timid lawyer who is determined to do everything her way, no matter how wrong. 

Ashley DeWitt's got a problem, too. She's a kick-ass lawyer, but when it comes to her personal life, she's a total pushover. When she finds herself hiding behind her condo dumpster to avoid a confrontation with an ex, she decides enough is enough and signs up for a session at a camp called SEAL World in hopes she'll discover how to be more assertive outside of the courtroom. And then she's assigned to Jim's team....

When an alpha male - smart, funny, strong, but terrified of a future trapped behind a desk - collides with a smart, funny, and quietly strong woman with a troubled past, sparks fly hot and fast. 

The tall, dark, and dangerous Navy SEALs of Team 10 are back, with fan favorites like Lucky, Joe Cat, Bobby Taylor and his wife, Colleen, Thomas King, Rio Rosetti - and with Suzanne Brockmann's signature blend of love, laughter, and a hint of danger in SEAL Camp.

©2018 Suzanne Brockmann (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great Author turned After School Special

I have been a huge fan of Suzanne Brockmann for years and was very excited to see she had written something new since she has been exploring other projects over the last several years. She has begun to use her books as "lessons" for us all - this book went way to far in my opinion. I respect and support equal rights for everyone, but I don't need to be told how I should see every situation in life or how I should think. I'm actually a grown woman and can think for myself. The story itself had stereotypical "villains," her father, her ex-boyfriend, the two "other white men" assigned to her command, husband of a client, last but not least, the two white business CEO's. There was not enough development of the heroine story, mostly because the author was busy making sure all the standard villains acted in the expected stereotypical manner, almost to the point of all man are bad except for Navy Seals. It overshadowed the story and in the end, did not allow much time for a good story.

The performances from Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank, as usual, were very good. I had trouble enjoying them as much as I usually do because of the storyline.

Unfortunately, I think I am done with Ms. Brockmann and am very disappointed as there are few authors I find that I like as much as I did her original Troubleshooter series and some of her other books.

I feel so used

Wow. So disappointed to see that Suzanne Brockmann has lost her voice and uniqueness. This book is hugely disappointing. It’s basically a social justice rant. The message throughout is that men are idiots who need to continually apologize when they think and act like males. Thus also making women seem like spineless, downtrodden creatures who need constant checking to be sure we aren’t offended. Also, just in case the reader isn’t clear, white males are self-centered, misogynistic racists. What a crock. Really sad to see that Ms. Brockmann, clearly a strong woman, has fallen into this stereotypical view of the world.

The sad thing is that I have huge respect for Suzanne Brockmann’s writing. She has been one of my faves for years because her stories have always shown that she sees all people as worthy and valuable. She has a great sense of humor, her books are generally full of fun and camaraderie, and she develops characters with wisdom and compassion. I don’t care for this new preachy, two-dimensional writing from Suzanne Brockmann and will be quite careful buying her books in the future. Sad.

Worst book of the series

I was not at all pleased with the content of this book. Very disappointed in the overall read.

Very Disappointing

The author seems to be using this book as a platform to express her political and social views. Gets really old. I have loved many of Suzanne Brockmann's previous books. Wish I hadn't wasted my money on this one.

Total Disappointment

I was so disappointed with this book. I have enjoyed almost every book Suzanne Brockman wrote and this one was not only disappointing it was offensive. If I want to be bombarded by social justice warriors, I would turn on my television. I expect my books to be entertaining. I will not be purchasing any more of her books.

When Suzanne Brockman wrote about the Nazis in her Troubleshooters books, it was interesting. When she wrote about the Nazis in her introduction it was not as entertaining. I think she probably insulted some of her readers by both the reference and the tirade.

*POLITICAL PROPAGANDA *

Brockmann unfortunately ruins this book with constant nonsense about “modern feminism”. She starts the book with a forward in which she refers to people who disagree with her as Nazi’s and call for violence against them. I am offended on behalf of all Holocaust victims and survivors. She uses her male lead to push the idea of how the new age man should act. Like being angry at himself for asking another SEAL to keep an eye on his girl while she’s at a bar alone. Cause that’s not treating her as an equal! Good Lord! save us from these crazy feminists! Just a guess here but those of us who love to read a books about big strong protective Navy SEALs don’t want to hear our main character wining about equality and crying through the whole book!!
I have been a fan for many years and have bought the majority of her books. Don’t mind us not sharing the same opinions. But I do mind you shoving yours down my throat.
Signed-
Forever finished with Brockmann

More goodness from her Tall, Dark series

Seal Camp features Spaceman Slade and Ashley, (roommate of Skelly’s sister Coleen, wife of Bobby Taylor) characters from earlier books in the Tall, Dark & Deadly series. Yes, I was waiting for Ashley to become less wimpy; but she has some good dialogue on women and respect. I was kind of disappointed in how much of a bonehead Spaceman was. But he has the best quote of the book: (This was why there weren’t women in the teams—except, nope. That kind of thinking was first cousin to victim-blaming—of putting the responsibility for safety against crimes like sexual assault purely on the backs of women, because“men couldn’t help themselves.” Which was damned insulting to men—implying that they were weak, lacking in control, and morally incapable of keeping their pants zipped.) YES!
Thomas King makes another appearance in this book. Dare we hope for his story in future?
It’s basically a stand-alone story, but I think it’s best - a richer, more rewarding story - if you’ve read the others. There’s a lovely Epilogue with cameos of other characters from those earlier books.
I’m a long time Brockmann fan, and I definitely recommend!
Patrick Lawlor really is the voice of Brockmann’s Seal books.

The Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series is back--yay!

If you've read the other series books--or just looked them up--you might have noticed that it's been 15 years (2003) since the previous book in the series came out ( Night Watch ). The intro to this book warns series readers to "embrace the time warp!" because Seal World is set in today's world, though for the series characters only about a year and a half has passed. Fortunately, they've adjusted well, and not a single one of them is carrying a flip phone or trying to IM anyone. Well, not that I noticed, anyway... ;)

I really liked both Jim and Ashley. Both together and separately they gave me quite a few LOL moments as I read, and together they were a great couple...eventually. There was a lot of work needed to get them to the point where they could truly come together as equals, and unfortunately they definitely weren't there by the end of their too-short mutual stay at "camp". They both made some choices during the book that were downright maddening or cringe-worthy (or both, occasionally), some of which I absolutely disagreed with at first but which did make sense--for their characters--ultimately. And of course they both eventually got their heads out of their you-know-whats and met each other halfway by the end of the book, so there is that ;)

The book did feel a bit preachy at times, as Jim couldn't manage to see Ashley's point about why she chose to react to two of her SEAL Camp teammates' innuendos in the way that she did without practically being hit on the head with her reasoning. Given today's real-world climate, though, it was refreshing to see people having grown-up conversations about things like consent, harassment, and respect and then go on to have a HEA you can believe in at the end. (That said, though--if you didn't cheer for Suz's recent RWA speech, then this probably isn't the book for you.)

It's been a while since I'd read the other series books (a summer of 2011 binge read, thanks to my library's e-audiobook collection), so I was more than a little fuzzy on the details. No worries, though--Seal Camp should work just fine as a standalone, or as an intro to the series. If you have read the other books, many (most? maybe even all, I'd have to double-check to be sure) of the past characters make at least token appearances, and it was a lot of fun to catch up with them. The next book's ( King's Ransom ) plot is hinted at, and dare we hope for a future book with Dave (new to the SEAL team as of this book and the first openly gay man to be admitted to BUDS after "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was lifted)? Fingers crossed!

Oh, and Ashley's brother. He's gotta get a book too! ;)

Full disclosure: I beta-read this book for the author last spring as a backer reward for the Kickstarter campaign she ran to get backing for a movie she was producing. I loved it then, but wanted to wait until I'd read the final version to give a review. Since I've read so many of her books (read: almost all of them) on audio, waiting for the audio version to come out seemed like a perfect idea. It didn't disappoint! The audiobook is narrated by Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank, who narrate most of the Troubleshooters series, and they do a great job (as always!) bringing Jim and Ash to life.

Rating: 4 stars / A-

Fun listen

It's been a long time since I had a chance to enjoy a Suzanne Brockmann listen, and this hit the spot. Ashley goes to SEAL camp, where Jim is an instructor. The only woman, she is at a disadvantage immediately with the attitude some of the men are giving her, but with Jim by her side, she is able to realize that brawn does not meet brains. I enjoyed this slow burn and look forward to the next one in the series. Patrick Lawler and Melanie Ewbanks as always give a great performance.

TOTALLY GREAT THREESOME

SUZ BROOCKMANN STORIES, PATRICK LAWLOR AND MELANIE EWBANKS. THEY CAN PERFORM FOR ME ANYTIME. SUPERB NARRATORS, AND EXCELLENT STORY WRITING. WOW I'VE LOVED ALL THE TALL, DARK AND DANGEROUS SERIES AS WELL AS THE TROUBLE SHOOTERS SERIES, IN THE FEW BOOKS THAT PATRICK AND MELANIE DIDN'T READ, I MISSED THEM DEARLY. THANK YOU ALL FOR A WONDERFUL READS.