Falling for His Scars: Soldiers Support Group Book 3, Jamie June

The most painful scars aren't always the ones we carry on our skin.  Often it's the ones buried beneath that can rob us of our happiness, confidence, our future.  For Kevin, he's tired of the consequences of his job and his last deployment was rough.  Dealing with the fallout brings him closer to James, the young man he's always felt comfortable with, but moving from friends to lovers isn't easy and both men make a bunch of mistakes along the way.  Their story isn't an easy one.

Again with all the words.  I like the stories, for sure, but it just takes so long to sink in, to get lost in them, that I admit I don't jump in with both feet.  In this particular story, it starts out with a lot of buddy-buddy discussion, a bit more concealed feelings than previously recognized, and a couple events that change their dynamic in pretty drastic ways.  Neither man snags my attention as more than pleasant people that have some internal damage that will have to be addressed before anything romantic can really stick.

Their romance is fraught with saying and doing the wrong things with the right intentions.  At almost every turn both take the role of someone immature, reactionary, and unreasonable.  It was a little much at times, especially at the beginning of their change and again in the lead up to the huge accident that could destroy everything.  I was absolutely not expecting what happened to happen.  You think it's just something "simple" like overbearing family and careers that get in their way, but it becomes so, so, SO much more.  I'm actually still on the fence as to whether I'm okay with what happened, whether it was necessary or not.

Despite my reservations at the big conflicts and drama, I had a lot of things that I did like.  And Kevin's therapist?  She was straightforward, honest, and said all the right things.  She's one of the only therapists in a story that I've actually liked.  Kevin and James together were sexy, sweet, and ended with a ton of forward, hopeful planning.  They really were meant to be even if their journey was immensely difficult.

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I'm not sure about anything anymore. Except him.

I tried so hard to join the military, but they didn't want me. Asthma. So I settled for being a military contractor instead. 

I've done well at it, too. But this last deployment... it was hard. Really hard. And I'm not sure I want to go through something like that again. 

I've got a friend - James. Younger man. Hot as hell, too. But I'm not sure about him, either. I keep finding myself wanting more - but does he? And even if he does, we're in two different places. Young buck like him, he's only started his career in the Army, while I'm ready to figure out what it means to have a home. 

Can we really make this work? Or will his overbearing parents and active duty career be the pressure points that tear us apart?