Sunday, September 18, 2011

FEATURE: The Traiteur's Ring by Jeffrey Wilson

The Traiteur’s Ring
By: Jeffrey Wilson
ISBN:  9781936564170
Published September 9, 2011 by JournalStone
Available Format: Paperback, ebook

My Rating:  ★★★★★

Ben Morvant is a member of the Viper Team of the United States Navy SEALs—a strong, brave soldier with an admirable sense of justice and morality.  He’s also a Traiteur or spiritual healer.  He has worked very hard to distance himself from his painful and confusing past in every possible way.  When he is confronted with all sorts of demons on the battlefield, he finds he must finally face his past and the truth about who and what he really is once and for all. 

I was truly impressed with this book! I don’t read a lot of military type stories with war and blood and guts. Since the main character is a Navy SEAL, and they are out in the field for a good bit of this book, there is naturally war and blood and guts. I found myself genuinely interested in the story, even the military parts (I even looked up a few terms!), which says a lot for Wilson’s stimulating writing style. 

I hate to sound like a big prude, but I’ll admit at some point (maybe when there was a certain “splat”) I got a little bored with all the sex between Ben and Christy. I mean, I get it, but I don’t necessarily want to keep hearing about it. If I wasn’t proofing, I might have just skimmed through those parts completely.

Ben is an amazing protagonist. He is young, a Navy SEAL (which means his body is taken care of, right?), sweet and sensitive, thoughtful, strong, and some kind of magical healer/warrior! How in the world did a male author make up such a perfect guy?!?!? I love my husband, but man, I certainly was jealous of Christy for a while!

My favorite part of Traiteur’s Ring:  it evoked almost every emotion possible. The easy, playful banter between Ben and his fellow team members had me laughing quite often. His relationship with Jewel and Christy made me feel those warm fuzzies.  I loathed the terrorists and the destruction they caused. I cried, honestly, at least three different times in the story (don’t want to spoil anything, though!). And, the action and suspense had me hanging on the edge of my seat. 

Not every girl out there will be able to appreciate this story as much as I have, but it really has something for everyone. Jeffrey did an amazing job. He is a wonderful storyteller. I think if you decide to try this one out, you will not be disappointed!