Review: Romance with reality
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 17, 2014
Jake and Mira met when they were 20 and 18 respectively, while he was on leave before going overseas to fight. It was supposed to be a fling. He was determined not to get attached, not to fall in love, never to have a family, due to his own upbringing. She was preparing for college, getting out from under her father's control. Unfortunately, she ended up pregnant and not able to locate him. Eight years later they meet unexpectedly. By this time, Jake has an above-knee amputation due to an IED and even more baggage and emotional turmoil than he did at age 20. Mira is stronger, raising her son alone, still fighting to separate from the ties of her family. They proceed with a very cautious exploration of what they might be able to have together at this point in time.The startling thing about this novel is how real it reads. Yes, it's a romance, but this author kept a lot of reality. Jake walked away from her at 20 and didn't really look back. Even when he learns he has a son, there is no insta-love going on there. He is still full of doubts and not really sure he wants to be involved. He fails her several times. There is a hard road to what will hopefully be happily ever after in this one, both in their relationship and his coming to grips with his new life as an amputee.The writing on this is solid, and I really enjoyed the story. It doesn't honestly give the feminine sigh of the hero knowing at just a look that she is the one for him and going for it. This is more honest, which sometimes means the hero acts really stupid, stupid enough to hurt his girl. He makes wrong decisions. Even their sex life isn't perfect though they have chemistry. I loved seeing the growing bond for this couple. I would definitely read more by this author.I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.