Review: Needs more....
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2014
I received a copy of this book via Goodreads' Don't Buy My Love program in exchange for an honest review.2.5 stars...Jack is an Army Delta Force operative on medical leave following his liberation from a Kuwait torture house. He is medically and emotionally damaged, now battling PTSD on top of shielding his homosexuality. Returning to his parents' home in Georgia, Jack is sure to confront his high school best friend Dillon, who--last time they met 10 years ago--knocked Jack out, Jack believed this was due to Dillon being angry that Jack was leaving Dillon's sister (his supposed sweetheart) Stacy without so much as a goodbye.  Jack has always harbors a secret affection for Dillon, and is sure meeting him again will be problematic, as Dillon is an "out" gay man.Jack's father, a retired Army officer, is as homophobic as one can be--and he detests Dillon, a boy he lauded in Jack's teen years for his excellent grades and behavior. Acknowledging his attraction for Dillon will only further complicate Jack's tenuous relationship with his father.So, on the whole the story was interesting. It didn't really grab me, however. I have to say that I really needed more--more meat, more depth--I've read a lot of M/M, and even a lot of military romance--everything here seemed rushed and glossed over. All episodes of Jack's PTSD were told in flashback to what happened in his dreams or in his morning, looking backward AFTER the event. This had the effect of removing the emotional connection, and setting Jack in further isolation to the reader.His brief encounters with Dillon seem too forced/forceful to the point I almost wondered if there would be violence. Dillon more than returns Jack's heretofore unacknowledged sexual interest, but Dillon wants to do things his way. Again, the sex was way too fast. Jack's a virgin bottom, and the "prep" was non-existent. They didn't even SPEAK about it. This, was not what I would have wanted to see, at all. Clearly Dillon intuits Jack's emotional issues, but neither man seems to give voice to the needs he has, or those he senses the other has. These guys were best friends for years, and now ten years pass and Jack's just gonna jump Dillon in his parents' yard? Again, pacing was a problem.The timeline was a problem also. Inconsistencies in the prose said that some things happened "last night" while the same occurrences happened "a few days ago" in the other character's voice. The book needs an edit. Typos, and wrong words and wrong homophones were a problem for me. The book is ~75 pages. I shouldn't find a mistake every five pages, on average. Sorry--that's MY issue, and I own it. It, for me, speaks to author unreadiness--which contributed to my not so great feelings about the book.I really liked Dillon, he read as a great character, but there wasn't enough of his voice. Also, I thought the closet-gay-bully was a trope we could have skipped. There could was enough tension in the relationships between Jack, his parents, and Dillon to drive this into a novel--if well done.That both Stacy and Jack's mom suspected Jack's true feelings seemed too convenient. Jack really needed to learn to accept himself, regardless of support, and I couldn't understand why such a hardened soldier had such an inferiority complex. He really seemed too squeamish. It wasn't endearing.Perhaps I expected too much.