Review: Do a good thing for our wounded veterans - buy the paperback today!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 17, 2014
THE Vixen AND THE VETBy Katy RegneryAs Independence Day approaches, it is wonderfully easy to look forward to taking a day to wave our flags and shake the hands of those who have served our country overseas in order to assure our freedom. We dress up, walk in parades, shoot firecrackers and eat barbeque, drink gallons of beer, then return to our homes and our jobs feeling self-satisfied that we have done our bit to "honor our soldiers." But is that even close to being enough?Katy Regnery has created something wonderful with "The Vixen and the Vet." With what is ostensively romance novel, she has brought front and center a dark side of the human psyche - the ability of the American government, and the American populace, to ignore the real costs to the soldiers who often give not only their lives, but their bodies, minds and souls to the machines of war.After an IED explosion in Afghanistan took Asher Lee's hand and destroyed his face, the former football star and small town hero returned to Danvers, VA a broken man. Scorned and vilified by the populace due to his destroyed visage, he retreats to his house on the hill and immerses himself in his library. Never leaving his house, he relies on Miss Potts, his retired second-grade teacher, to act as his interface with the outside world.Eight years later, Savannah Carmichael appears on the scene. An up-and-coming journalist for the New York Sentinel, Savannah has committed the ultimate journalistic sin for a "hard news" reporter. She allowed her libido to cloud her judgment, relying upon a highly unreliable source for a career-making article. Fired and disgraced, Savannah has returned to her family in Danvers to try to rebuild her life. When an opportunity appears, seemingly out of the blue, to write a human interest story for the Phoenix Times, Savannah sees it as her first step to regaining her reputation and her life. And approaching Asher Lee for an interview, just in time for the Fourth of July, seems just the story to save her. The problem is, it isn't just the townsfolk who are culpable when it comes to betrayal, deceit and viciousness.As stated before, this is a romance novel, but it is so much more than that. Katy has written a book which, though it doesn't hit you over the head with it, it still strongly points out how badly we let down our soldiers. Especially those who return with physical, mental and emotional damage.In order to help, Katy has written this novel as a fundraiser, with 50% of her profits in June and July going directly to Operation Mend at the UCLA Medical Center. UCLA Operation Mend is a groundbreaking program that provides returning military personnel access to the nation's top plastic and reconstructive surgeons, as well as comprehensive medical and mental-health support for the wounded and their families. By offering cutting edge reconstructive facial surgery, prosthetics and intensive therapy to those heroes with calamitous injuries, Operation Mend helps our returning warriors live fuller and more comfortable lives once home.To learn more about Operation Mend, I encourage you to check out their website here:[...]And now, a personal plea. A Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino Grande is normally $3.75. This book is $3.99, and it is for an amazing cause. So, grab your wallet and let a wounded veteran know, if only in this small way, how much you appreciate them. They suffer, fight and die for YOU so you can remain safe. This is so little to ask to ascertain that when they return they may continue to live happy, productive lives among their friends and family members without suffering the pain of the scorn and fear of those whom they protect.THANK YOU.