Sealed with a Kiss: Even a Hero Needs Help Sometimes...

Every time you think you have this one figured out Daughtridge comes from a different direction... always with fresh perceptive understanding of the characters' motives. A beautifully told story of relationships and self discovery with enough healthy, fun sex to satisfy most (my favorite was in the swing). This serious novel by a skilled writer is clothed as a romance and I enjoyed it as such, but it deserves to be seen as much more. Witty, funny, tense, rough and tender with credible characters, settings and action.

Mary Margret has my SEAL Teammates down to a "T". Well Written for anyone that loves a Romance Novel or just a great story. She does understand the human condition and makes you happy about it with this story. John Carl Roat

What an excellent read! From the first page, I was hooked. Daughtridge's characters experience the gamut of emotions and you're right there with them, thanks to the author's style and exceptional grasp of the human condition. The story is filled with challenges, both external and internal, for each main character as they weave their way toward love. Ms. Daughtridge's colorful descriptions of the North Carolina coast and her understated wit make for a wonderfully entertaining first novel. I can hardly wait for her next work!

I don't read many romance novels, don't have time. But when the opportunity came to read SEALed With A Kiss, I jumped at it. It's a thinking woman's romance novel. Jax and Pickett are complex, authentic characters before they meet, and get even more interesting as their lives come together over one weekend at the beach during a hurricane. The sex scenes are fun (and hot), but the story of how two good, solid, independently minded people fall in love and then help each other to grow and love even more is a page turner. While some will consider it a great "beach" read, it was a "Friday night into early Saturday morning" read for me. And I'm not a fast reader. It was just too good to put down. All romance novels have happy endings. I loved Daughtridge's ending because through the storms they weathered together, Jax and Pickett forged a truely healthy, loving relationship. Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan

Navy SEAL Jax Graham has found himself in a precarious situation. His ex-wife's death leaves him as the sole support to his four-year-old son, but his career leaves precious little time for him to play full-time dad. Granting custody to his ex-wife's mother seems like the ideal solution but after spending time with her and his son, Tyler, he's questioning if he's making the right decision . . . and if not then what should he do? Family therapist Pickett Sessoms takes her job to heart. She knows exactly what she wants and love doesn't enter into the equation. She sees military families struggling all the time to stay together and knows she doesn't have the fortitude to withstand the demands of military life. So why is she obsessing over a little boy and his father she met on the beach? With a hurricane barreling toward the North Carolinian coastline, Pickett's mother volunteers her to prepare some elderly friends' beach house `because Pickett lives at the beach' - never mind that she lives thirty miles away in Snead's Ferry. While struggling to close the shutters she notices a young boy and his father on the beach, both uncomfortable with each other. Getting involved isn't part of her plans but she can't resist trying to help. When she leaves Jax and Tyler are happily building castles in the wet sand. When the time comes to evacuate, Tyler's grandmother Lauren is panicky and demands to take Tyler with her. Jax is still on leave and insists that his son will stay with him. He hasn't changed his mind about giving her custody but her drinking is cause for concern. Before leaving Lauren projects her own fears onto Tyler so that nothing Jax does calms his fears. Finding a hotel to stay at until the storm blows over proves to be impossible, but Jax comes up with idea of calling Pickett and asking her to put them up for a few days. Against her better judgment she agrees and they move into her home but Pickett isn't prepared for the emotional attachment that she feels for them. The last thing she wants or needs is to become involved with a military man and SEALs are extremely focused on their career. What she doesn't realize is that she needs a hero just as much as he needs a family therapist to help him form a relationship with his son. Mary Margret Daughtridge really pulls at the readers heartstrings with her debut release SEALED WITH A KISS. Pickett, Jax and Tyler are wonderful characters who are struggling with their own issues and insecurities that makes it easy to be able to relate to them. I loved getting to know these characters and being privy to their relationship through its ups and downs. What stunned me was how my feelings toward the grandmother went from hatred to almost feeling sorry for her. Military men are often considered the ultimate hero and highly desirable. Ms. Daughtridge presents Jax in a `human' light and we get to see his vulnerabilities and insecurities. Not traits we normally expect to see in h