When twenty-two year old Emme Sawyer joins a Marine unit heading into Helmand Providence, she focuses on what she does best: keeping her men safe. But, when the unit is hit by an IED, Emme realizes she can’t save everyone. With her humanity on the line, and her faith in question, she seeks comfort from Raven, her commanding officer. Soon, Emme develops feelings that don’t belong in a combat zone, where each step could be your last.
Raven keeps his emotions locked up tight, never allowing the men to see him sweat. But when Emme joins his unit, all bets are off; and the feelings he thought he left stateside begin to emerge. Knowing that the deserts of Afghanistan are the last place to start a romance, and the United States military’s view on fraternizing; Raven tries to deny his heart. Emme and Raven learn you can’t always choose where love finds you. And that sometimes, you just have to trust in God’s plan.
My Thoughts:
This book was pretty different than the types of books I typically read. It is set entirely in a war zone in Afghanistan and follows a unit through some pretty intense battle. As the corpsman with the unit, Emme's job is to care for the wounded as they are hurt. She is the only girl in the unit, but doesn't let that stop her from getting in the action whenever necessary.
The relationship between Emme and Raven starts very slowly and has many, many obstacles to overcome. It seemed that the entire relationship-building was overshadowed by the details of the war, and it made it difficult to really get involved in their relationship. Once their true feelings were out in the open, however, things seemed to move very quickly through the end of the book.
I though this book had a very sweet ending, yet not completely finished. I would have liked to see where the characters ended up a few years down the road. While I understand that certain details had to be shared in order to maintain the authenticity of the military unit during a battle, I felt the book had a little too much death, drinking, and making out for my liking.
I truly have mixed feelings about this book. I think that those who enjoy military books will probably love it.
Connie grew up in
Seattle but moved to Central Washington to be closer to all things
outdoors. Married with two college boys
she keeps busy kayaking, mountain biking, skiing ,and hiking through the
beautiful hills of the Wenatchee Valley.
Growing up with a love of reading the transition into writing seemed
natural and she can be found on summer days writing under the tree in her front
yard surrounding by her three dogs.