Review: Look below the surface
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2014
Now to be perfectly honest, I was not a big fan of Nate Jennings at first. He was one of those angsty heroes, who seemed to enjoy his misery just a bit too much. On the surface..... Once I got into the story a bit, my sympathy gland went into hyperdrive. I have a special place for military heroes, even above my pnr boys. The thing was, Nate didn't have the ability to see any of the good in himself, only the part he considered to be a huge FUBAR. Usually my typical heroes have confidence out the ying yang, but Nate missed that class because his self esteem was below zero. The thing about people who are hurting from guilt or lack of self esteem, they have a tendency to reflect that off of the ones who want to care for them. Case in point Nate's relationship with his brother and also with Lilly. The thing that saved Nate in my eyes, was the fact that he actually realized what he was doing and was trying to rectify his behavior and overall countenance. Well that and the fact that the man was flat out sexy.Lilly, now Lilly was a different story. I liked her from the get go. She was a tough, confident woman and knew how to work a nerve and dig out a pound of flesh.  She knew when to have compassion and when to say eff you and the horse you screwed to get here. Tempted by the Soldier was a study in the various shades of gray in between black and white. (not in the 50 shades, you pervs) but in what can cause an admirable person to behave contrary to themselves. By the end of TbtS, I was extremely impressed with how Nicolette Day tied some really serious emotional issues into a sexy romance (because it is a HOT story).With just a slightly heavier hand this could have turned into a preachy tome on PTSD and it's ramifications, instead it is presented beautifully and a manner that can be presented to the masses. Brava, Nicolette, brava.