LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! So sweet. The romance went really slow, which made sense and was written so well. The disabilities (physical and psychological) were written so realistically and pulled at the heart strings. The reaction of Tom's father brought tears to my eyes. This is one of those books that I have been thinking about after finishing it. I love when a book does that. Tom and Jamie were wonderful. ( )

When I read the description of this novella, I just had to read it: An HIV-positive guy and a double amputee war veteran get together over saving homeless dogs to train as service dogs. How cool does that sound? Built-in angst and legitimate survival. Wow.

Unfortunately, the total of the parts didn't meet my expectations.

When Jamie comes into the Humane Society to adopt a cat as a companion to his pet, he meets Tom who is there looking for another dog to train as a service animal. When Jamie hears what Tom does and learns that the Canine Comrade Corps needs office help, he volunteers.

Both Jamie and Tom are attracted to each other, and both feel unworthy of love. Jamie owns up to the fact that he messed up his own life by having unprotected sex with a lover who turned out to be unfaithful. He knows he hasn't been as courageous as Tom whose PTSD and amputations came from his time in the service.

Jamie's caught in a dead-end job because if he left to go to a better job, he wouldn't have health care because of his preexisting condition, and his HIV meds are too expensive without health benefits. He's also worried about getting the side effects from the drugs even though he hasn't experienced any so far.

Tom is battling day by day, trying to avoid triggers that will take away his self control. He knows the importance of service dogs since his helps him control his environment and balance his life. His job at the CCC has become the center of his life, and rightly so. He, like Jamie, wonders if he'll ever have sex again or a loving partner in his life.

When they get together, they see each other as people and not as problems. When a distraught guy comes into the CCC and threatens to kill himself, Jamie calmly talks him down while Tom's PTSD puts him in a near catatonic state. It takes both Jamie and Tom's best friend to get Tom back in control.

Read the rest of my review at All About Romance: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9937 ( )