This series consists of pretty light, basic reads. They are ok. ( )

Jen is my hero! A woman who beat cancer, still bares the scars of her mastectomy (physically and emotionally) yet still gives her all to be all that her patients need. A good friend and finally trying to give strength to the man she cares about.

Shane is a dedicated warrior. He leads his men, trains them hard and feels responsibility for them above and beyond the call of duty. When he gets injured in Iraq and comes back to Jen's hospital for care and rehab we see them connect.

What got me was the stories of the other wounded in the hospital. Carponti took the loss of his arm fairly well. He realizes he still has his life, his wife and will some how find his way on the new path he will have to forge without the military. Osterman on the other hand is having a tough time. He's young and has lost his leg. What does he do...he pushes everyone away. But as we find out a little later on, it's not just the loss of the leg that pushes him to the edge, it's the loss of his buddy. Survivor's guilt....it can cripple even the strongest of men.

I appreciated the fact that though this is a romance Ms. Scott did not shy away from the realities that war and deployments have on the warriors and the families left behind. The network of wives, mothers, friends is amazing and sometimes the only thing that helps all of them make it through. I have loved ones who have served, they came back in one piece yet not whole, thanks for keeping this real and showing a bit of what it can be like to be part of a military family.

Yes, Jen and Shane get the HEA. Carponti...I'd like to know where he ends up in the civilian world. And did Osterman get the help he needed? Oh and what happened with Trent. Did he make it through the court martial, was he able to save his marriage? And please, please, please tell me Lt. Randall, the scumbag, got what's coming to him! ( )

3.5 stars. I started out really liking it--I really enjoy how both the male and female protagonists are not whole for different reasons. Their romance, at the beginning, is sweet. But it really accelerated in a way that didn't feel natural. And I was really tired of Shane's whining and Jen's sainthood by the end. There's also some odd side story with his commander that is just sort of thrown in from time to time--I assume it's a "device" to get me to buy more in the series. But meh.

Also, I read the kindle edition and the book ends at about 82% finished--almost 20% of what I thought i was getting is the publisher pimping different books. I'm all about a free preview, but 20% is pretty egregious and makes me feel like I was a little ripped off. Holding that against the publisher and not Ms. Scott. ( )

This story had a good plot dealing with some serious issues. I liked how they explored feelings and handled everything but sometimes the wallowing got a bit repetitive and I found myself skimming. Nurse Jen ends up taking care of wounded Sergeant Shane but she has some scars of her own.
( )

I must confess that I choose this book because of its cover (sexy :)) and because I adore Suzanne Brockmann and everything military related. I was curious and hoping that this was something good and enjoyable...well, did I get a big surprise.
Jessica Scott is from now on on my top shelf of authors that I will definitely read. It's easy to see that she's a new author, the story is sometimes repeated, some ideas are tossed around and never developed, but the passion which the story is written compensated all of that.
I loved Shane and Jen even without knowing what will become of them. The way they meet, the way they handled things is so well written that you can feel it in your bones. They're flawed, but human and as the rest of us, they have to struggle in finding their way home again. All the other characters were well developed and well placed in the plot, giving another perspective of things.
I believe that Jessica Scott, with her military career, made excellent job mixing the harsh reality of war with real life. Kudos for Jessica and I hope you'll be writing more because I will definitely read you. ( )