Review: Because of You
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2011
Every now and then I go through a reading "thing". By that I mean I pick something and go with it. I glom up everything I can of a certain type of hero, or setting or trope. For readers who visit Fiction Vixen regularly you might remember my cowboy stage--yee haw that was fun. Well, I feel another "thing" coming on and it's military romance. As with my cowboy stage, I'm surprised by my recent desire to gobble up these types of romances. Oh I've read a few here and there but lately these romances really appeal to me. I'm thinking Shane, the hero in Because of You might have a little something to do with it."He'd always seemed big, but up close he was massive. Black tribal tattoos twisted up both of his wrists, writhing up his forearms to disappear beneath the frayed edge of a green Tshirt. And who knew that bald could be so sexy in the right lighting? Had to be the rough jaw that did it."The black tribal tats are not integral to the plot. I just wanted you to know what we're dealing with here. Really.Hot.Hero. We learn this early in the story which helped me get on board the Shane Train right away.But aside from his physical attributes Shane has a lot more going on and so much more to love. We have a hero and heroine that are both damaged. I say damaged because they both have some emotional and physical scars but they are far from broken.Shane finds himself facing up to his mistakes in his former marriage and struggling with his military career although he is very committed to it. He's a sexy hero because you know full on that he is a warrior through and through, but he doesn't need the bravado and posturing to portray that. He's tough as nails but cares deeply for those in his charge as well as his friends.Jen has faced down death and carries the emotional and physical scars because of it. But she's not broken, she's healing. Even with her own inner struggles she reaches out to Shane and opens up in order to help him heal.This is a very angst filled story that took me through a range of powerful emotions. From the beginning I was drawn into the characters lives and I really cared about them. I liked that Shane and Jen begin their relationship with both of them facing major emotional issues but they are both well-rounded solid people. They both stumble, but power through.The secondary characters are quite notable as well. We have two other couples I can't wait to read more about. Carponti and his wife Nicole, and Trent and his wife Laura make up an interesting cast of characters with potentially great stories. Carponti is the sidekick with a d*ck joke ready for any occasion. He doesn't let a pesky thing like a missing limb get him down as long as he still has his d*ck. (Nicole nicknamed it Thunderdick, or so he claims. Trent and Laura have some turbulent times ahead that we only get a hint at. I see major angst in the future for them.I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Jessica Scott. If you're looking for a good military romance you'll want to give this one a try. This one earns a spot on my 2011 recommended list.