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thebritishbibliophile_'s review against another edition
5.0
'4.5 stars for The Commander by Melanie Moreland. A thrilling, suspenseful read that was interesting as it was hot and...well, commanding.
Thank you to Grey's Promotions for sending me an Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and review. The below is a spoiler-free review of The Commander, written with full honesty and truth about the book and its content.
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What initially drew me into wanting to read The Commander, were the tropes 'Boss/Employee' & 'Surprise Pregnancy', along with the blurb that pitched excellently the teaser of the story that lays within the pages of the book. I am a massive fan of both tropes, and those two together posed a super-interesting story that I was keen to see how it would play out.
Melanie Moreland has been an author I've always read in the past, so to dive in with The Commander as my first Melanie Moreland ARC was an honour.
The Commander was a story that proved my initial thoughts correct upon seeing all the tropes and reading the blurb prior to my ebook ARC landing on my kindle app. Right from the start, we're thrust into some high-profile situations--tense even--and in bursts our main female character, Taliyah Wells, quite literally into the path of Julian Grayson. Immediately the two have chemistry which sparks off the page but of course, the pesky employee/boss barrier steps in and this is where the trope I love so much, kicks the story and the tension, up into high gear.
'A lie tore us apart, and I thought I’d lost her forever.'
We were already hinted in the blurb that once Julian and Taliyah were a certain item, there would be something to force them apart. What that thing would be, would only be discovered when reading the book and I have to hand on heart admit I got it completely wrong as to what I though it would be. I like that. I always love to guess what could be the reason/cause before it's revealed, but it's even sweeter when the author outwits the reader and in this circumstance I was thoroughly outwitted and the why was jaw-droppingly good!
'But now she’s back—with a secret she’s been keeping.'
If I thought I liked how both Julian and Taliyah were separated, I loved how they were brought back together. Taliyah did her best to do what she thought was best in the course in which her life had taken, but as she had burst into Julian's life a year prior, it's his turn to return the favour and he does it in a oh-so-typically Julian way. Over-the-top and pun fully intended, in full Commander mode.
Julian through all of his stubbornness, pride and hard-headedness, was a character I secretly championed as both his life and Taliyah's deserved a happy ending, and he definitely learned some lessons on his way there. Not to mention, the moment we got a peek at the down-to-earth, normal, human side to him which made me love him all the more. When you get to those parts in the book, you'll laugh and 'awe' just as I did!
Though I jumped into this series on book three, I'm most definitely on board to reading any books that will follow as well as hopping back to read books one and two.
Melanie Moreland has a talent for telling a story that is as unique and special as she is, and I'm glad that I'm back in the fold and reading one of the authors I've had the pleasure of reading off-and-on over the last few years.
4.5 stars for Julian, Taliyah and The Commander!
Thank you to Grey's Promotions for sending me an Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and review. The below is a spoiler-free review of The Commander, written with full honesty and truth about the book and its content.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What initially drew me into wanting to read The Commander, were the tropes 'Boss/Employee' & 'Surprise Pregnancy', along with the blurb that pitched excellently the teaser of the story that lays within the pages of the book. I am a massive fan of both tropes, and those two together posed a super-interesting story that I was keen to see how it would play out.
Melanie Moreland has been an author I've always read in the past, so to dive in with The Commander as my first Melanie Moreland ARC was an honour.
The Commander was a story that proved my initial thoughts correct upon seeing all the tropes and reading the blurb prior to my ebook ARC landing on my kindle app. Right from the start, we're thrust into some high-profile situations--tense even--and in bursts our main female character, Taliyah Wells, quite literally into the path of Julian Grayson. Immediately the two have chemistry which sparks off the page but of course, the pesky employee/boss barrier steps in and this is where the trope I love so much, kicks the story and the tension, up into high gear.
'A lie tore us apart, and I thought I’d lost her forever.'
We were already hinted in the blurb that once Julian and Taliyah were a certain item, there would be something to force them apart. What that thing would be, would only be discovered when reading the book and I have to hand on heart admit I got it completely wrong as to what I though it would be. I like that. I always love to guess what could be the reason/cause before it's revealed, but it's even sweeter when the author outwits the reader and in this circumstance I was thoroughly outwitted and the why was jaw-droppingly good!
'But now she’s back—with a secret she’s been keeping.'
If I thought I liked how both Julian and Taliyah were separated, I loved how they were brought back together. Taliyah did her best to do what she thought was best in the course in which her life had taken, but as she had burst into Julian's life a year prior, it's his turn to return the favour and he does it in a oh-so-typically Julian way. Over-the-top and pun fully intended, in full Commander mode.
Julian through all of his stubbornness, pride and hard-headedness, was a character I secretly championed as both his life and Taliyah's deserved a happy ending, and he definitely learned some lessons on his way there. Not to mention, the moment we got a peek at the down-to-earth, normal, human side to him which made me love him all the more. When you get to those parts in the book, you'll laugh and 'awe' just as I did!
Though I jumped into this series on book three, I'm most definitely on board to reading any books that will follow as well as hopping back to read books one and two.
Melanie Moreland has a talent for telling a story that is as unique and special as she is, and I'm glad that I'm back in the fold and reading one of the authors I've had the pleasure of reading off-and-on over the last few years.
4.5 stars for Julian, Taliyah and The Commander!
jsromancebookblog's review against another edition
5.0
Sweet but drama filled, The Commander is perhaps the swooniest of the series. It’s the sort of book that has you biting your nails one minute but then feeling all warm and fuzzy the next.
Book three in the Men of Hidden Justice series is focused on Julian and Tally. Julian is the head of Elite Security but even more so the guy that calls the shots when it comes to who, when, and where Hidden Justice will target next. Tally is his newly hired secretary desperately in need of a job to add to her bartending gig, since she’s just scraping by having just graduated as an art history major. From the moment Julian lays eyes on Tally, he’s smitten. In this book, we get to see how their relationship goes from boss/employee to friendship to much more.
Since the first book, I had a feeling that Julian would be my favorite, and I wasn’t disappointed. He’s charming yet guarded at the start, and there’s a warmth to his character that I wasn’t really expecting. He’s an all-in kind of guy, and while he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with in his regular life, with Tally he’s a total sweetheart. Tally’s also guarded but for reasons we don’t find out right away. She’s lived a very difficult life before finding Julian, and that informs all of her actions throughout the book. I like her resilience and the realness of her character’s attitude. Some of my favorite parts of this book are when she sasses back at or pokes fun at Julian. Together their characters work, but there’s plenty of drama to go along with them, too. All the conflict is what makes this story interesting and not just a sweet love story. I definitely enjoyed all the angst both Julian and Tally had to go through to get to where they finally ended up.
Overall, I feel like this is almost a cautionary tale of how insidious lies can become in a relationship. Both Julian and Tally kept things from one another, and those lies by omission (and sometimes outright lies) almost cost them dearly. There’s a lot of stress incurred by them both rather unnecessarily, because in the end they simply didn’t trust each other with their truths. I do wish we would’ve seen more of how hard they had to work at building their trust back up, but the pacing works for their story.
The Commander is a solid story of what happens when lies and the truth about the past catch up to two people. It’s got equal parts sweetness, steam, and tension, and it’s a great addition to the series.
Book three in the Men of Hidden Justice series is focused on Julian and Tally. Julian is the head of Elite Security but even more so the guy that calls the shots when it comes to who, when, and where Hidden Justice will target next. Tally is his newly hired secretary desperately in need of a job to add to her bartending gig, since she’s just scraping by having just graduated as an art history major. From the moment Julian lays eyes on Tally, he’s smitten. In this book, we get to see how their relationship goes from boss/employee to friendship to much more.
Since the first book, I had a feeling that Julian would be my favorite, and I wasn’t disappointed. He’s charming yet guarded at the start, and there’s a warmth to his character that I wasn’t really expecting. He’s an all-in kind of guy, and while he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with in his regular life, with Tally he’s a total sweetheart. Tally’s also guarded but for reasons we don’t find out right away. She’s lived a very difficult life before finding Julian, and that informs all of her actions throughout the book. I like her resilience and the realness of her character’s attitude. Some of my favorite parts of this book are when she sasses back at or pokes fun at Julian. Together their characters work, but there’s plenty of drama to go along with them, too. All the conflict is what makes this story interesting and not just a sweet love story. I definitely enjoyed all the angst both Julian and Tally had to go through to get to where they finally ended up.
Overall, I feel like this is almost a cautionary tale of how insidious lies can become in a relationship. Both Julian and Tally kept things from one another, and those lies by omission (and sometimes outright lies) almost cost them dearly. There’s a lot of stress incurred by them both rather unnecessarily, because in the end they simply didn’t trust each other with their truths. I do wish we would’ve seen more of how hard they had to work at building their trust back up, but the pacing works for their story.
The Commander is a solid story of what happens when lies and the truth about the past catch up to two people. It’s got equal parts sweetness, steam, and tension, and it’s a great addition to the series.
kem0514's review against another edition
4.0
I will start by saying I am not a fan of instalove so therefore this audio was never going to be 5 stars for me. But with that said, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. Julian is the leader of the Hidden Justice. He starts off very serious but his entire world is changed when he meets Tally. Tally brought so much lightness and laughter to his dark world. Their love story is quick and they soon are married until things come crashing down and we fast forward a few months. When Julian finds Tally again with a child he is determined to do whatever it takes to get his wife back. He is willing to change his whole world because he loves this woman so much.
The audio of this book made the story slightly more entertaining for me. John Lane was the absolute perfect narrator for Julian. He brought the character to life. Maxine is new to me but I think she pulled off a very good Tally. They both were easy to listen to and hard to get distracted away from the story (which I tend to do when listening to audio).
The audio of this book made the story slightly more entertaining for me. John Lane was the absolute perfect narrator for Julian. He brought the character to life. Maxine is new to me but I think she pulled off a very good Tally. They both were easy to listen to and hard to get distracted away from the story (which I tend to do when listening to audio).
p0laris's review against another edition
3.0
This is filled with some very sweet and tender moments. It sadly glosses over a lot in its mission to tell the entire story from beginning to end, but I found myself invested in the characters' HEA too much to care. It's one of few I've read lately where I feel we get the majority of the story from the MMC's POV, which I really enjoyed.
The one thing I will note, though, is that the writing was really hard to get into. I am not exaggerating when I say that 3 out of every 4 sentences started with "I". It was a very stilted thing to read, and my mind didn't get used to it until at least 50% of the way through, which is the last time I remember thinking about how much it bugged me. In fact, after the first chapter alone, I came to read reviews on here just to make sure it would be worth continuing. Putting my trust in the reviews, I pushed through and I'm glad that I did because this was a sweet second chance/secret baby romance. And the epilogue was absolutely perfect.
The one thing I will note, though, is that the writing was really hard to get into. I am not exaggerating when I say that 3 out of every 4 sentences started with "I". It was a very stilted thing to read, and my mind didn't get used to it until at least 50% of the way through, which is the last time I remember thinking about how much it bugged me. In fact, after the first chapter alone, I came to read reviews on here just to make sure it would be worth continuing. Putting my trust in the reviews, I pushed through and I'm glad that I did because this was a sweet second chance/secret baby romance. And the epilogue was absolutely perfect.
syndi3's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Commander is sweet military romance. Miss Moreland gives her most romantic hero which is Julian. I am swoony over Julian. He is my favorite kind of man. Patience, big heart, kind and loving.
Like many of Miss Moreland signature, the plot is very sweet, swoony and cheesy. But the banter has some depth for character development.
Such an enjoyable book.
Like many of Miss Moreland signature, the plot is very sweet, swoony and cheesy. But the banter has some depth for character development.
Such an enjoyable book.
izziede's review against another edition
3.0
It's okay.
I found it hard to get past the fact that the heroine left the Hero, whilst pregnant.
There had been an issue of safety, the Hero got hurt badly so before he gets a chance to explain she runs.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
No other woman or man drama.
HEA.
Another child on the way.
I found it hard to get past the fact that the heroine left the Hero, whilst pregnant.
There had been an issue of safety, the Hero got hurt badly so before he gets a chance to explain she runs.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
No other woman or man drama.
HEA.
Another child on the way.
fsmeurinne's review against another edition
5.0
Awesome read, we get Tally and Julian's story, it's full of action, passion, and so many great things. The story will hook you from the start, I couldn't put it down. This is book three of the series, but I think is my favorite so far. There is a lot of emotions, you will have that roller coaster ride feeling, where forgiveness is the main theme. I love the suspense and action mixed with the romance, it gives me the perfect amount to get me lost in the pages for a few hours away from reality. So it's my perfect combo. Amazing 5-stars!
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Blog |BookBub | Amazon |Audible |Instagram |Twitter |Facebook |TikTok |YouTube |Pinterest |Tumblr |Bookstore
trish_beautifulchaosreviews's review against another edition
5.0
The Commander is the culmination of the Men of Hidden Justice, and wouldn't you know, Julian's story would end up being the most touching. The story was romantic, exciting, and edge-of-your-seat intense for a bit, but it all ended with a delicious island HEA. Included in this story were appearances by Matteo and Marcus. It was nice to see both of them again. And just knowing they have this island paradise where they are all living the dream-like HEAs just has you closing the book with a smile on your face. Melanie's ability to write a sweetly romantic story with suspenseful spice is one reason I have enjoyed reading her books. This book is no exception, and Julian is definitely a swoon-worthy alpha hero, and the HEA is perfect.
elegantfantasy_blogs's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 ⭐
"I couldn't stand to see her walk away. I couldn't have her here either."
I really enjoyed all the books in this series so far and I can say that this book was no exception. We saw Julian as the silent, commanding and serious leader in the previous books and it was really good seeing his playful side come out whenever Tally was around. When he met Tally, he was instantly captivated by her but both of them were keeping some huge secrets from each other and that eventually lead them away further apart.
"Oh ms. Wells." I smirked and winked at her. "You'll find I like nothing more than a challenge."
But a more shocking revelation leads Julian back into Tally's life and now Julian is going to do whatever it takes to get back his family together but Tally isn't sure if she could trust him and put her heart on the line again, she wants to get away from him but she deep down knows that she can't. Overall, it was really nice to see Julian & Tally fall in love and and to see all the previous characters live a safe and peaceful life together! It was a great addition to the series and I loved every second of the epilogue!
ARC received in exchange of an honest review
"I couldn't stand to see her walk away. I couldn't have her here either."
I really enjoyed all the books in this series so far and I can say that this book was no exception. We saw Julian as the silent, commanding and serious leader in the previous books and it was really good seeing his playful side come out whenever Tally was around. When he met Tally, he was instantly captivated by her but both of them were keeping some huge secrets from each other and that eventually lead them away further apart.
"Oh ms. Wells." I smirked and winked at her. "You'll find I like nothing more than a challenge."
But a more shocking revelation leads Julian back into Tally's life and now Julian is going to do whatever it takes to get back his family together but Tally isn't sure if she could trust him and put her heart on the line again, she wants to get away from him but she deep down knows that she can't. Overall, it was really nice to see Julian & Tally fall in love and and to see all the previous characters live a safe and peaceful life together! It was a great addition to the series and I loved every second of the epilogue!
ARC received in exchange of an honest review