Griffin was a reporter imbedded with the military in the war. During that time, he submitted articles detailing the truth of the war. Now that he's back home, he's under contract to write a book on his experiences. Only problem is, he can't. He's suffering from PTSD but won't admit it. He's drawn away from life & his family. Enter Jane, the book doctor. She comes in to help authors organize their thoughts & get on track. Jane has low self esteem & it seems like Griffin is going to roll all over her but Jane has a tough side. When it comes to her career, she's determined to ride it out. After all, her father told her it's better to be competent than loved.

Ms. Ridgeway has a way of delving into a subject & involving her readers emotions from the beginning. She gives us a taste of what those in the war are subjected to with PTSD. I say a taste because I don't think we'll ever truly know what they go through. Her characters are well developed & three dimensional. Even though Griffin can be an egotistical jerk, his softness & affection for his family comes through. The gruff, grumpy ex-reporter living next door adds a lot of color & depth to the story along with his life experiences. Another excellent book by Christie Ridgeway! ( )

Sadly, I couldn't finish this book. It came to me via my Harlequin monthly subscription and the blurb looked promising. Well, I find Ms Ridgeway's writing to be like Steven King's, there is just too much of everything. Too much description and just too much. The words were tightly packed on the page and it took like a paragraph just to find out what color hair this person had or what that person was wearing. I was weary from trying to read it.

I think the plot looks promising and if you like overly descriptive writing this will probably be a great book for you! This one just wasn't for me. ( )

Beach House #9 - Crescent Cove, CA Jane is to help a war hero write his story. Griffin lets her know he doesn't want her. He's in party mode and she's in work mode and he has a deadline.
Hot steamy sex scenes. Love the detailed descriptions of the surrounding beach area. Love the pet names and how understanding and patient it takes him to take care of her and her needs.
Story also follows his sister and her family and their troubles. ( )

I loved this book. Great characters, great family (once again), and laugh out loud funny in places. Griffin as a character might be one of my favorites, ever. It was, hmmm, nice isn't exactly the word yet it's the only one that comes to mind, to see a semblance of a reaction to living through war and then having to somehow come back to the life you had before. Though I don't always (often) love books about book people, Ridgway handled this one perfectly, including the way both Jane and Griffin dealt with happy-ever-after-type endings.

The only thing that kept this from being a straight 5-star rating for me was the Tess/David story. Although I did get where David was coming from (and really loved the two of them together), it just didn't work as a counterbalance to the Griffin/Jane story. David's backstory might have been weighty enough for me in another book, but when compared to Griffin, it just dragged things down for me. ( )

What I really liked about this story? Watching and listening to the Hero (a war-time journalist), as he relives his year spent embedded with American Troops in Afghanistan. This book enlightens as it entertains. What I waffle about when thinking about this book? The Heroine. She seems like two different people, but not in a deliberate way. I'm not sure the author had a good handle on who she was. What I also liked? The well developed secondary storyline and the subtle setup for the third book, which is about Griffin's twin, Gage. ( )