I’ve read a few books by K.G. MacGregor and I find her books a bit hit and miss but I like lesbian military books so I’ve decided to give it a go. The author says in the ‘Acknowledgements’ that she always wanted to write a romantic novel that opened with the couple in conflict. The idea is interesting as the story starts on present day, shows the couple in conflict, leaves a cliffhanger and from there it goes back in the temporal map. Fascinating idea but I’m not sure if the execution was spot on in terms of the tension build up. As the story goes back to the rise and fall of Zann and Marleigh relationship, maybe the leap to the past is too far or it drags on in a way that it seems that the couple “present” conflict is too detached from the story. All of a sudden, the present day appears again in Chapter Eight (somehow to remind the reader of it) and then again the reader is immersed back in the past. In the last few chapters the reader is guided into an unexpected thriller in the present day, maybe too little too late.

Another issue I had with this book is that I didn’t feel the chemistry between the main characters and their conflict was too mild or Zann’s PTSD was underestimated by the author. There is an interesting secondary plot on domestic violence but I’m not sure if it was solved realistically. In my opinion, this book has good intentions but it doesn’t deliver fully.

Overall, an ok read, but if you like lesbian military books you might want to read ‘Ask, tell’ by E.J. Noyes. 3 stars

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.