Okay, so you know how in lots of books there's lots of communication between the couple-to-be and things should be hunky-dory...but there's this ONE THING one character won't talk about...and sometimes there's something the other one doesn't want to discuss either? Sometimes that's 90% of the conflict?

Well.

Neither of these characters wants to discuss much. Not at any time.

Amy Lane's a danged genius for making this work so well! Two medically challenged men both also fighting past traumas find affection and then love and then are nearly torn apart again. There are friends, and family, and dogs. Recommended. ( )

Jed has left the army with a devastating illness but, of course, will not tell anyone about it. He returns to his childhood hometown which is full of bad memories to recover and decide what to do now that he is a civilian. He meets his sister-in-law's brother and moves in with him. Max has his own illness to deal with but the two of them work together and create a haven though both know each is carrying a secret.

I liked this book. It started slow but picked up as Max's past comes out and Jed's illness becomes known. The story was realistic as were the actions and feelings of the people involved. The story was intense as Jed is hospitalized. I was enthralled and oblivious to everything around me. I liked Max and Jed and how they created a family of those from the present and those from the past. I am glad it read this. ( )

A mentally and physically scarred veteran reluctantly returns home after fourteen years only to find home is where his heart is.

At thirty-two, Jed Cooper knows his military life is at an end because of a chronic stomach disease and the debilitating wounds he received during his last deployment. When his younger brother Nick visits him in the hospital, Jed agrees to return to their small hometown of Ashton outside Portland.

Since Jed wants to get to know Nick's wife Kim and their two daughters, and because Jed has nowhere else to go, he at first accepts an invitation to stay with Nick's family. When Nick's townhouse begins to feel too crowded and Nick's drinking worsens, Jed agrees to move into the spare bedroom at the beachside home where Kim's adult brother Max lives.

Twenty-five year old Max, an epileptic, and his service dog Flo have carved out an idyllic life in their cabin by the lake. Max creates hand-hewn furniture to sell and lives an uncomplicated life, raising his own food. When he has seizures, Flo is trained to get help, so Max is fairly self-sufficient.

Jed and Max seem to rub on very well together, forging a friendship and then falling in love. In fact, for a while Max is even able to concoct meals that Jed's chronic stomach illness can tolerate.

Read the rest of my review at The Romance Reviews: http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=13715 ( )