The Military Wife
by Laura Trentham
Series: Heart of a Hero, #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 5 2019
A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in award-winning author Laura Trentham’s The Military Wife.
Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina since her husband, Noah Wilcox’s death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben turning five and living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried that moving on means leaving the memory of her husband behind.
Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her husband, a former SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home physically healed but fighting PTSD. With three children underfoot and unable to help her husband, Allison is at her wit’s end.
In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not only Allison but a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string of coffee houses close to military bases around the country.
In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah’s best friend and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in ways neither of them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with Bennett. Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man they both loved haunts their pasts?
This book was so much more than just a romance, more of a life story wrapped around a love story. It touched on topics that are current and real, acknowledging that life can be far from perfect…but there is always hope and maybe even a second chance at both life and love.
Laura Trentham did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life on the pages. There was such a realness to each of them and this really allowed me to feel all the emotions in this book right along with each of the characters. The use of flashbacks really worked in this story – it was like getting two love stories for the price of one – and, for me, made it so much easier to relate to Harper and understand her actions and decisions. And even though Harper and Bennett didn’t have a straight path to their HEA, they kept the angst and drama to a fairly low level and acted like the adults they were supposed to be.
There was a lot to love in this story. Harper’s son Ben and her mother were wonderfully written and I loved what a character her mother was. Watching Harper’s friend Allison struggling with her husband’s PTSD was heartbreaking but seeing her pick up the pieces and begin to put her family back together left me with a feeling of hope. I also loved how Harper’s business idea came together and the opportunities that it is sure to bring – including what I hope are additional stories about the lives of some of the women who were introduced in this book.“My problem is that I didn't feel him at all. When you kissed me, I forgot...everything. Even him. That's why I ran. I'm scared I'm going to lose my memories of Noah, and that's all I have left."
He took a moment to process what she'd admitted. He couldn't deny the spike of satisfaction, but neither could he deny the very real issue of Noah's ghost between them. "You'll never forget him. Neither will I."
This was a book that had lots of feels and was filled with emotion and deserves a spot on anyone’s reading shelf!
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book I received from the Publisher on NetGalley.
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