ONCE A MARINE by Cat Grant

Riptide Publishing

October 27^th, 2011

978-1-937551-11-7

Contemporary M/M

E-book

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 

There is a saying that love is a battlefield and for Cole Hammond, he is about to find first hand how love can cause so many issues even as it heals a heart and soul in the process.

After being discharged from the military under the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, Cole Hammond is having trouble adjusting to being a civilian again. He struggles in law school, tries to keep his PSTD at bay and wasn’t looking for anyone to share his life with much less a night out on the town. Meeting Marc Sullivan was a breath of fresh air. Out, proud of it and determined to live life on his own terms, he works as a waiter as well as a up and coming romance writer. When these two meet for the first time, sparks fly between them but Cole has issues, namely he is firmly in the closet but soon Cole’s sexy drawl and shyness overcome Marc’s reservations and soon both men are falling in love. But when issues arise at Cole’s parent’s place, it brings tension and a stress that could end things between them unless they are willing to fight for each other and their relationship. Can Cole and Wes get beyond their fears and find that strength that binds them amid the love they share together?

Cat Grant delivers a strong emotionally gripping novel that leaves you slumped in the chair, gasping for air. This is a no holds barred look into a man’s struggle against post-traumatic stress disorder, how it affects his everyday life plus his desire for love even as he tries to stay away from it. Ms. Grant tells a tale that will leave you with tears in your eyes and a desire for more after that last page is read. The story a flow seamlessly, captures your interest from the beginning and doesn’t let you put the book down, even to eat dinner. What draws me to this story is how the two main characters grown in the story as love weaves itself around them, opens doors long thought shut inside them as well as lets them shine with the one person who really gets them. Its that one person who sees you at your worst and doesn’t flinch as they hold your hands and gives you the strength to keep moving on, to reaching that next level in life. This is an author who knows how to let her characters shine bright and lets them run loose within the pages of ONCE A MARINE.

ONCE A MARINE is more than guy meets guy, they fall in love and live happily ever after. It’s more than that. Its about facing your demons, of letting yourself lean on someone when you are tired of the weight on your shoulders and trusting them to be there for you, of letting yourself believe you are worthy of love even though you know you might get hurt. It is all this and more. Cat Grant delivers a strong, emotionally rich story to keep the reader spellbound till the very end. Cole and Marc are two characters I fell in love with the moment they locked eyes on one another and you felt something special connect between them. If you are looking for a story that leaves you smiling in the end, with characters who are multi-dimensional and grow on you to a storyline that touches on serious topics in a way that leaves you eager to help out in real life, then grab ONCE A MARINE, settle in and be prepared to fall in love with an author, a book and a set of characters that steal your heart. I look forward to seeing where this new to me author goes in the future and can’t wait to see what she has next for her readers.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

Once a Marine Available from All Romance Ebooks