Romance

A Soldier’s Return by RaeAnne Thayne is a 2019 Harlequin Special Edition publication.

A tender, sweet medical romance-

After her divorce from her selfish, immature, ‘surfer dude' husband, Melissa Fielding, returns home to Cannon Beach, with her young daughter. She now works in the medical profession, living in the Brambleberry House- a very special residence.

While walking her neighbor’s dog, she has a run in with her old classmate and her boss’s son, Eli Sanderson. With old Doc Sanderson out of commission for a while, Eli will be taking over for his father, which means that for all intents and purposes Eli is Melissa’s boss- even if it is only temporary.

That doesn’t stop Melissa from feeling flustered around Eli. He’s not the nerdy guy she knew in high school anymore. He’s a soldier, fighting off the nightmares of war casualties, feeling like it is his duty to continue to serve in the Army.

For Eli, meeting the girl he had a crush on in high school has reignited his feeling for Melissa. But he knows his stay is temporary and he is no place for a relationship.

How will the pair manage to work together every day and ignore their attraction to each other?

Full disclosure- I added this book to my TBR list without reading the synopsis first. I have always enjoyed this author’s books, so I figured this one was probably a safe bet.

The book is published by Harlequin Special Edition, not Harlequin Medical - two entirely different imprints- so I was pleasantly surprised by the strong medical elements in the story. I’m also a sucker for military guys, so in many ways this book was a perfect fit for me.

The story also has a very mild paranormal element, which I found intriguing. However, it was too vague and I'm wondering if I missed out on some key information by not reading the previous books in the series, which was a bit of a drawback for me.

But, to be clear, this book can most definitely be read as a stand-alone. That said, I hope to eventually read all the books in the series, not only to see how the other residents of Brambleberry House get their HEA, but to discover all the other mysteries of the house, as well.

Overall, this is a very nice contemporary romance, made better for me due to the medical drama, and military themes.

An emotional second chance love story, cute kids and dogs turned out to be a pretty solid combination, as well!

3.5 rounded up. ( )