Warrior

by Nicole Blanchard

Ben and Olivia have known each other for years, he is friends with her brother and while they have never come right out and said it, they have both had a longing for a little more than friendship for longer than they would admit.

But Ben is in the military and having a relationship isn’t high on his priority list but they eventually get it on just as he is getting ready to ship out on another tour of duty.

Life on tour is harsh but little does he know that Olivia is not having it all smooth sailing back at home, because her life is changing and adapting to it is taking its toll.

She is a tough cookie and sets herself on a path that she will never be able to turn back from and she does it all on her own.

I was rooting for her in some ways but on the other hand I thought she could have shared the situation, it was a secret she didn’t have to keep.

Did that action make her selfish? – Yes in my book it did

Did I understand why she did it? Yes, I think I do, I understand that she considered that Ben had enough to deal with while on tour but how do you reconcile the two, it was never going to be an easy decision.

I was hoping that when Ben came back from his deployment they would be able to find their happy ever after but that was just wishful thinking on my part.

The Ben that returns isn’t the man that left, conflict can do that to a man and I give the author kudos for the manner in which she addressed this in the book, he has issues that Olivia isn’t able to initially understand, adding her situation to them may just be enough to push him over the edge.

I was awash with questions and queries, I had my fingers crossed behind my back as I was reading hoping with everything in me that the happy ending I was praying for actually came to fruition.

What would Ben do when he discovered Olivia’s secret? How would he take the news?

Could they rely on their years of friendship to give them the foundation of a relationship that may just be the saving of them both?

Ben was a complicated character and many of the situations that surrounded him were more complex and complicated that would have been expected but given his story I personally felt that the author handled his coming to terms with everything in a realistic manner, with tact and sensitivity.

Not everything can happen instantly, no matter how much you pray!

There were some sub characters that I found completely engaging and a number of sub plots that remain unanswered, a peek above the normal military romance from an author who certainly knows her subject matter.

I look forward to seeing where the author takes this series.