Title: The Way Back Home
Author: Carmen Jenner
Genre: Military Romance
Release Date: May 29, 2017
Blurb
August Cotton shouldn’t be here. When a tragic accident calls him home to Magnolia Springs, this returned Veteran adds his parents to the list of things he’s lost in recent years, right along with his IED detection dog and his left leg. As the sole guardian of his four-year-old sister, August must rely on his Marine training in raising a tiny hellion who’s as stubborn as he is. But the Corps could never prepare him for this. Nor could they prepare him for Olivia Anders, a woman who’ll stop at nothing to get her way.
As owner of Paws for Cause, Olivia is no stranger to the broken men and women who return home from war. She’s no stranger to broken dogs either. In fact, she’s made it her mission to pair the two and enrich both of their lives, but pairing ornery and aloof August Cotton will take some work. The last thing August wants is some pushy southern woman occupying his parents’ bed and breakfast and forcing him to open up about the hell he narrowly escaped, but that’s exactly what Olivia intends.
They complete one another, and yet they can’t stand to be in the same room.
Can Olivia make this hardened Marine feel again and finally show his heart the way back home?
*** Intended for a mature 18+ audience only. This book may contain triggers for some readers.
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REVIEW
Just freaking awesome!! I got such a hangover from this book. I just wanted to hold onto the story. Keep it pressed to my heart. I honestly didn't read a thing for a few days. I just loved it!August gets a call whilst he is away telling him the worst news he could receive. After getting injured while on duty for the marines he's lost himself. He spent his days wandering waiting for the time his life would end. Instead he has to return home to look after his little sister. He has no idea what to do with a child. He's still lost himself so he has no idea what to do her.
Olivia arrives in town expecting a warm welcome. She's been invited there to open a branch of Paws for Cause. Her charity set up to help service men and women after they return home from war. She sets them up with a Therapy dog to help them when they suffer flashbacks and be there when they need something to hold onto. The town had recently suffered a loss of a serviceman so Olivia goes to help them. Unbeknownst to her The people who asked her to come have recently passed and their son knew nothing of her arrival. She turns up at the guest house only to be met by the very grumpy and angry ex-marine August. From the start she puts her foot in her mouth by insulting him. Things go from bad to worse and her hopes for helping the town quickly diminish, No one wants her there but she is determined to do her job so she battles on.
Ohhhhhhhh sweet lord the love in this story is blinding! It might not sound it from my quick round up and the blurb but boy does it shine!
This is my first read by this author and it will absolutely not be my last.
There's this slow burn that slowly wraps around your heart until you're completely encompassed in it. You read on anxiously seeing August fight it every step of the way. You mentally fist bump Olivia for her tenacity and her courage not to give up. You will August to see what's in front of him and feel like shaking sense into him when he refuses to. You laugh at Olivia when she time and time again puts her foot in it. You smile big at August's little sister Bettina being so sweet and innocent while your heart breaks for her loss. Your eyes well up with tears every time August loses himself in his memories. You break your heart at what Olivia has been through but rejoice in her strength to carry on with her head held high. You fan your face at the heat between them both. You keep your fingers crossed that they will make it out together with a happily ever after.... All of this and then you realize that you love them. You've been pulled in so far that they mean a lot to you. Yeah yeah i know they're not real... but yeah... for that time... they totally are. I love them.
Both characters are so well written. The change in them both took you on such a journey i wanted to stay with them longer. August is slowly healing but what i loved the most was that the way he was, it wasn't sugar coated it was raw and truthful. Honest. PTSD is a very real condition and it should never be covered it glitter. It's hard. Not only for the sufferer but for their family and friends and this author showed it in it's true colours. Olivia also goes on her own journey. She's battling too, again nothing hidden just honest truths. I think in the beginning she's a little immature maybe? But as the story flows she comes into her own with fight and grit. There is a happy ending but it's still absolutely true to the story. No miraculous cures but a compromise and their version of happy.
All the supporting characters added a lot to the story. Even the nasty townsfolk. The ignorance showed by them is absolutely mirrored in real life because people often don't understand mental health conditions and often mock and taunt sufferers.
There was also two little back/side stories, one of August's past. It's between him and the town veterinarian Jude. I was drawn to this and I'm very much hoping that at some point Jude gets his own story. I also want to hear more about Josiah and Beau. Two boys teetering on the edge of going bad.
As i said the story is a slow burn but it draws you in without you realizing it. I had to put the book down to sleep but i did it very reluctantly and only because it was after 2am and i had to get up for work lol. It kinda surprised me as it wasn't action action action but still i needed to carry on reading. Brilliantly written with characters you genuinely care about.
I will keep this book in my heart for a long time to come. It's absolutely a 5 star read. I would recommend it to everyone i can. I already have.
Reviewed by Kerry
Excerpt
“You know, if you want to see me naked and sweaty, all you have to do is ask, darlin’.”
“I do not . . . I wasn’t . . .” My words are stolen from me as he stalks forward with a maddening smirk on his face. “What are you doing?”
“Getting tired of waiting for you to be okay with this.”
“August, we talked about boundaries.” I press my hand to his chest because he's too close, and I can't think straight with the heady scent of his sweat and sandalwood soap distracting me. It wasn't my intention to run my hand over that sweat, to feel the hard-won muscle beneath, but here I am, petting him as if he's my favorite kitty.
“No. You talked about boundaries. I told you I was gonna fight, and I ain’t above fightin’ dirty.”
“How dirty?” I breathe.
August’s lips curl up into a smile. “So dirty.”
Both hands snake around my waist and he lifts me onto the counter, wedging his hips between my thighs. He hooks a finger in the sash and unties my robe as if he were opening a gift made just for him. I wrap my legs around his hips to pull him closer, and that’s all the admission he needs. He threads a hand through my hair and pulls my neck back to expose the tender flesh to his mouth. I close my eyes and whisper his name as my whole body turns to flame, starved for the oxygen that only his touch can bring. His hot mouth trails down my neck, his hands cup my breasts, squeezing, kneading, and I slide a hand between us, into the waistband of his shorts. I take his hard length in my hand, stroking him from base to tip. August grunts as he pushes my negligee out of the way with frenzied hands. His fingers find me bare and exposed with no panties.
“So fucking’ dirty,” he groans, wetting his lips.
“I do not . . . I wasn’t . . .” My words are stolen from me as he stalks forward with a maddening smirk on his face. “What are you doing?”
“Getting tired of waiting for you to be okay with this.”
“August, we talked about boundaries.” I press my hand to his chest because he's too close, and I can't think straight with the heady scent of his sweat and sandalwood soap distracting me. It wasn't my intention to run my hand over that sweat, to feel the hard-won muscle beneath, but here I am, petting him as if he's my favorite kitty.
“No. You talked about boundaries. I told you I was gonna fight, and I ain’t above fightin’ dirty.”
“How dirty?” I breathe.
August’s lips curl up into a smile. “So dirty.”
Both hands snake around my waist and he lifts me onto the counter, wedging his hips between my thighs. He hooks a finger in the sash and unties my robe as if he were opening a gift made just for him. I wrap my legs around his hips to pull him closer, and that’s all the admission he needs. He threads a hand through my hair and pulls my neck back to expose the tender flesh to his mouth. I close my eyes and whisper his name as my whole body turns to flame, starved for the oxygen that only his touch can bring. His hot mouth trails down my neck, his hands cup my breasts, squeezing, kneading, and I slide a hand between us, into the waistband of his shorts. I take his hard length in my hand, stroking him from base to tip. August grunts as he pushes my negligee out of the way with frenzied hands. His fingers find me bare and exposed with no panties.
“So fucking’ dirty,” he groans, wetting his lips.
Author Bio
Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.
Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.
A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.
A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?
PUBLISHED TITLES TO DATE:
Welcome to Sugartown (Sugartown Series #1)
Enjoy Your Stay (Sugartown Series #2)
Greetings from Sugartown (Sugartown Series #3)
Now Leaving Sugartown (Sugartown Series #4)
Sugartown: The Collection
REVELRY (Taint #1)
KICK (Savage Saints MC #1)
TANK (Savage Saints MC #2)
Finding North
Toward the Sound of Chaos
Harley & Rose
Author Links
WEBSITE
GOODREADS
AMAZON
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