Marie Force

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Release Date August 6, 2019

He came home a hero and lost the only woman he’s ever loved... 

Navy Captain John West has no idea how to survive without his beloved Ava, who moved on with her life during John's six-year deployment and has now married Eric. He’d prefer to wallow in his depression and heartbreak, but the whole damned world wants a piece of the SEAL Team leader who helped capture the world’s most-wanted terrorist. He needs help handling the relentless requests, and when Ava sends her new sister-in-law to manage the media circus for him, John is prepared to hate her on principle. Her brother took his Ava. What else does he need to know about her? 

Julianne Tilden realizes right away that Ava’s ex is going to be the most complicated and difficult client she’s ever had, but an opportunity to represent the most celebrated man in the world could make her career. She’s determined to do the job, even if she dislikes John from the moment she meets him. And Julianne likes everyone. So much so that her brothers worry about her being taken advantage of by those who would exploit her unwavering love for others. But John… He’s in a class by himself, and his bitterness is a festering wound that she begins to wish she could somehow fix for him. 

The more time John and Julianne spend together, the more their mutual disdain morphs into something that feels an awful lot like desire. There’s no way she could want this man, or so she tells herself, and when Eric finds out she’s developed feelings for the man causing trouble in his new marriage, well…. 

That’s going to be a hot mess. 

Five Years Gone was one of my favorite books of last year. I was not sure if John's continuing story was going to be able to live up to it, but was excited to read more. And I was immediately immersed back into his world. The author did a good job reminding us of any details that were pertinent so we could just jump right back in. And I enjoyed this installment as much as the first.

Captain John West is struggling and recovering. He is now seen as an American Hero due to video footage of him taking out a terrorist, but his life was further altered by medical complications, recovery, and missed time. And the one woman that kept him motivated to return home to for six years fell in love with someone else in his absence. He has lost the only people he ever loved or loved him. He still has some physical challenges, and he is angry, depressed, broken-hearted, and overwhelmed by the media's attention. Regrets and nightmares are further dragging him down.

Julianne Tilden is a media expert recommended by his old girlfriend, Ava. She is actually the sister of Ava's new love. But she is tough, smart, friendly, and optimistic. Even when he tries to intimidate her, she stands up to him and challenges him. She is light to his darkness. And somehow she begins to push him out of his pity party and gets him to take charge of his life. And as she pushes through his tough facade, more and more glimpses of the happier, friendlier, but also vulnerable John begin to emerge. 

But they know they are off-limits. She should be professional. He needs her to help sort out his public image. And she is too closely related to the situation with his ex and her new love. It is all a precarious situation bound to cause controversy. But that does not stop the attraction they both know they should resist.

This is an emotional, heartfelt story of loss, love, healing, and hope. It is told in multiple points of view giving us more understanding. It not only continues John's story, but also Ava and Eric's. John's disappearance, reappearance, and unresolved feelings affected them all in different ways. And their larger closely tied family and friend group also have concerns. But sometimes the unexpected happens and it is a catalyst for change. And healing and moving on takes time, patience, and understanding. 

John West doesn’t want to move forward from the heartbreak of finding the love of his life married to another man during the 6 years he was away. But there are so many people, from the Navy to the media, who want to hear John’s story, who want a piece of him that he can’t disappear to wallow like he wishes he could. Hiring Julianne, his former love’s new sister-in-law to manage the media requests is partly a good idea, partly a recipe for disaster: they are both determined to not like the other.

Julianne is looking forward to the challenge of representing John, her biggest client to date, but also knows there will be more to juggle than just the job. Her family doesn’t understand how she could have taken this job but they would never understand as Julianne realizes the lines between dislike and desire are blurring. She finds she admires everything John has done and is attracted to the man he is now.

I knew John would have to put aside his feelings for Ava, and it would only take time for that to happen. I loved watching as he discovered he could love another woman just as fiercely. Jules was a perfect match for him -- her calm, her confidence, and her ability to roll with the chaos that is his life right now are exactly what he needs as he finds himself now that his Navy career is at its end.

I enjoyed returning to this world and seeing where John took his decisions following learning of Ava’s impending marriage. We also get a peak at Ava and how she is holding up knowing John is alive and well.

I loved watching John find his happiness after everything he sacrificed when he left Ava 6 years before. He still loved her, but had to learn to move on after learning she was getting married to someone else. (This part of Five Years Gone wrecked me, and I needed this follow on story to feel better about everything that happened to John after he disappeared from Ava’s life.)

This was the closure I wanted for John from the time he came back into Ava’s life. His decisions caused them both pain, but after this story I feel like they both have the happily ever after they each needed.

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