Review: Intense, Broken and Beautiful Characters
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
The first thing that I need to say about Because of You is that it is an intense read. There is nothing sugar coated about it. It is brutal in its honesty and depiction of the tragic circumstances that not only the main characters endure, but the people that surround them. It's just one of the things that made me like this book.The obvious victim in this story is Shane and the rest of his friends that were injured and sent home. The author didn't stop there though. Jessica Scott gives readers a glimpse into the lives of the men and women who stay behind. The wives, kids, husbands, moms and dads who say goodbye more often than they'd like. It's a view we don't often get and some of us don't think about. That glimpse helped make this story even more intense. It's not a story about war as much as it is the effects that it has on everyone involved.Jen didn't start out as someone who was attached to the military from any other aspect than to work in a hospital and have close friends who were military spouses. Her perspective changes drastically as the story progresses, but even before that she had her own battle scars. She kept them to herself until she absolutely had to and even then she didn't totally open herself up. She was hard on Shane, and my favorite part was the fact that he was just as hard on her. It's basically what made them perfect for each other, even when they were too stubborn to see it for themselves.Like I said before, this story was intense. Jessica Scott touched on some really tough, but important issues. Unfaithful spouses, trust issues, loneliness, suicide and cancer survival among them. This is not a HEA kind of love story, but if it had been it wouldn't have rang true.The supporting characters in Because of You are great. Vic, Nikki, Laura and Trent add almost as much to the story as Shane and Jen. I loved getting to know them and I hope that we see more of all of them as the series continues. I know that Laura and Trent will be featured in an upcoming book and my only complaint with that is I want it to be next! They were left in a sort of limbo at the end of this first book that I really want to see them work their way out of. *sigh*The next book in the series is Until There was You (October 2012) followed by Laura and Trent's novella, Back to You (2013.) Needless to say, I'll be watching for both of their releases.I received Because of You from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.