Long and Short Reviews

A Soldier Comes Home by Cindi Myers
Harlequin Superromance
Contemporary
Full length, spicy
Review by Poppy

No one is waiting for him when Captain Ray Hughes returns from his tour of duty. With his soon-to-be ex-wife gone, it's just him and his little boy now creating their own version of a family. Although he faces a lot of uncertainty, Ray is determined to raise his son the best way he knows how.

Chrissie Evans is a complication Ray didn't expect. Almost against his will, he's drawn into a relationship with his widowed neighbor. Chrissie is everything he could desire in a woman and he wants a future with her. But can he promise her what she needs to hear?

♥ ♥ ♥

Kudos to Ms. Myers for writing a timely, realistic story that doesn't pull punches.

Her hero, Ray Hughes, returns home from a tour in Iraq to find... nothing. His soon-to-be ex-wife has taken everything--his truck, his furniture, his money. Everything but his young son.

Her heroine, Chrissie, is a widow of three years. She lost her husband overseas, and has sworn to never marry another man who puts himself in the path of danger. Still, she can't avoid running into them--they're everywhere in Fort Carson, CO, where she lives and works. Her co-workers are married to soldiers, and she rides the emotional rollercoaster with them as their husbands are deployed, as their husbands return home. And, in fact, a soldier lives right next door. And he needs her assistance.

When Ray struggles with raising his son, a child he barely knows, his neighbor, Chrissie Evans comes to help him through the first few awkward days. Despite a series of misunderstandings, they slowly become friends. And, eventually, a bit more than friends--though both are understandably hesitant to become romantically involved.

The author skillfully ties in secondary stories of love and loss and recovery as well. Full of emotion, but never taking sides, this story is packed full of all the pain, love and difficulty facing the families of deployed soldiers.

My only real complaint with the story is that the ending seemed rushed and climax a bit forced. Still the emotions felt by Ray and Chrissie, both positive and negative, are authentic and believable. I was rooting for all the characters in this story to get their HEA and Ms. Myers doesn't disappoint. If you're interested in a complex romance with well-written, three-dimensional characters, you'll want to pick up a copy of "A Soldier Comes Home".

A copy of this book is being given away this week in our Blog Review contest. To enter, just fill in the comment form below between 6/16/08 & 6/20/08, and you will be included in the drawing to be held on 6/21/08. Good Luck!!