Review: Loss Doesn't Equal Defeat
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2014
***Received from Tasty Book Tours for an honest review***(This is a short story/novella. This review is not based on story length but story content as length has very little to do with how much I enjoy a book.)There are times, in life and in fiction, when the best support in times of crisis comes from someone who is as damaged as you. Maybe not in the same way but the hurt they’re feeling matches the intensity of your own.In this short sweet story, Nick and Jill go through the highs of meeting for the first time and acknowledging they’re attracted to each other, dive headfirst into the lows of loss and grief, then rise together as overcomers. We watch their relationship develop through flashbacks as they struggle, individually and together, to move past their own personal demons.It was difficult to read about Jill’s anguish over losing her brother to the war and then her foot to a car accident. It was like watching glass fall toward the ground in slow motion. I knew the break was going to happen but hoped against hope the landing was softer than I knew it would be. When her dreams of competing shattered before her, Nick was there.Nick is a military man. His hell are the memories he brought home from his time overseas. How he was able to give Jill support and encouragement while he was dealing with his own problems blew me away. It takes one hell of a man to put aside what he’s going through to be there for the woman he wants.The ending made me smile. I didn’t doubt for one second they’d be together, but I loved that they spent time apart to seek help as individuals before coming back together again. I would’ve loved to be a part of that journey, to see on paper what they went through to go from broken to whole again, but this is still a terrific story without it.