Semper Fi

Title:  Semper Fi

Author:  Keira Andrews

Publisher:  Keira Andrews

Length:  309 pages

Rating:  A List

Up All Night Satisfaction

 

Blurb: The war is over. The battle for love has just begun.

As Marines, Cal and Jim depended on each other to survive bloodshed and despair in the Pacific. Relieved to put the horrors of war behind him, Jim went home to his apple orchard and a quiet life with his wife and children. Knowing Jim could never return his forbidden feelings, Cal hoped time and an ocean between them would dull the yearning for his best friend.

But when Jim’s wife dies, Cal returns to help. He doesn’t know a thing about apple farming—or children—but he’s determined to be there for Jim, even as the painful torch he carries blazes back to life. Jim is grateful for his friend’s support as he struggles with buried emotions and dark wartime memories. Then Jim begins to see Cal in a new light, and their relationship deepens in ways neither expected. Can they build a life together as a family and find happiness in a world that would condemn them?

Review:  This book is the first thing I have read from this author, but it won’t be the last. A ground breaking historical love story. As some of you know I am wary of military romances because I was an army wife for years, but it was a historical WWII book so I threw in the dice and took a chance. And it was well worth it.

This book was not an easy read. I’m a fast reader and can kick out a read in a couple hours but the intensity of the book made it incredibly tough to read in one sitting. I had to put it down several times, recover my breath, do something else and when I had the strength come back in for more.

Kiera Andrews does a phenomenal job depicting the life of a Marine fighting in the Pacific in WWII. It was breathtaking and heart wrenching. Then she intermixes the current afterwar story in between which is no less intense or heart twisting. You go from one moment holding on for dear life in the jungle to trying to make ends meet as an apple farmer.

Let’s talk character development for moment. The story, the war would be just a hard backdrop and not gut churning except you invest in these men. Jim is the hardest worker. He is loyal and determined to make it. Cal has his own struggles with identity, acceptance and self loathing, but finds something real in Jim.

The twists in this book, sometimes I saw them coming and sometimes I didn’t, but either way I broke with each moment. The love these men share…it’s why I love this genre. The author gave us a love story with incredible depth. We see what it means to fight for your partner. To love unconditionally.

This is not an easy book, but the beauty and challenge in it is well worth your time. A perfect read.

Reviewed by Beans