Review: Carponti Gets His Own Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
Set in 2007 during the initial Surge of forces in Iraq, this powerful novella tells the story of one of her beloved characters, Vic Carponti.  Carponti makes an appearance in the earlier novel Because of You.  The smart-mouthed, ginger, soldier made an impression on readers and the author.  It is gratifying to see him get his own story, even if it is a bit short.This novella is gritty, real, and does not sugar-coat life in the military.  With vivid imagery, Scott tells the story of the boots on the ground.  The ongoing war in the Middle East is not pretty.  Soldiers are wounded or killed.  Everyone misses their loved ones.  Stress is constant.  Through this reality she tells the story of Vic and Nicole, a couple trying to maintain a relationship across distance, both physical and emotional.  Nicole doesn’t have the first-hand experience of war that Vic does.  Those experiences of war threaten to drive a riff between them as there are many things that Vic doesn’t share about what he’s going through.  Nicole understands his reluctance, but wants to do everything she can to support him and their relationship.The emotional distance between these characters is beautifully detailed.  This is not an HEA story.  It is more of a snapshot into real-life; specifically the real-life experienced by our soldiers every day.  Yes, Vic and Nicole make it out to the other side, in this installment.  Their story continues chronologically in Because of You.This novella mirrors the initial events of Because of You.  We see the events leading up to the Surge deployment and the initial months overseas.  It provides an alternative POV on the IED explosion that injures Shane Garrison in Because.  It also gives us more details on the IED that injures Carponti.  We know from the events in that novel that there is considerable recovery left before the wounds of war are healed.If I have one complaint it is the cover.  Don’t get me wrong.  It is beautiful.  However, the hero is a ginger.  The cover model is clearly not.  I had to keep reminding myself that Carponti was not as depicted on the cover.  In a couple instances, it almost threw me off as I was reading.Scott has written another powerful installment in her ongoing series.  I can’t wait to read the upcoming books.  I’m still waiting for Trent and Laura to figure things out.