Protecting Kiera is loosely tied to the SEAL of protection series and a few of the SEALs and their wives make a cameo that I always appreciate. The story centers around Cooper, a SEAL injured in a mission and is now trying to acclimate to civilian life being completely deaf in 1 ear and 70% deaf in the other. Kiera is a teacher at a school for the deaf and is friends with a wife of a SEAL commander. She meets Cooper when he volunteers at the school.
Cooper is struggling with life. Not only has he lost his planned career in the Navy, he is now hearing impaired and must learn to communicate in an entirely different way. As someone who encountered hearing loss in my early 30's, the feelings that Cooper describes were so spot on. I have had experiences that mirrored Coopers in so many ways that it immediately made me feel connected to him. Kiera isn't hearing impaired but her mom is, so she learned ASL young. She is passionate about her job teaching young children typical curriculum of reading and math, but also teaching them ASL and communication skills! So, she and Cooper are a natural fit. I really liked both them, and together they are GREAT!.
The drama comes from an incident at the school which, sadly, isn't that uncommon. As a teacher, this is something we are ALWAYS on the lookout for. We have to be so aware of our students and their lives beyond the school walls. Its scary. Add to that the issue of the students being deaf, and you realize an already scary and tough situation is magnified. Overall, Protecting Kiera is a story I dove into and stayed with until the end, and closed my kindle with a smile!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: disability, military
- Triggers: there is a kidnapping that might be a trigger for some, especially parents who have had an issue with custodial interference
- Series/Standalone: stand alone (you really don't need to know any of the previous stories!)
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
Books by Katie Reus, Cynthia Eden, Elle James...then you will probably like Protecting Kiera!
See full review on The Book Disciple