Briggs,Remember when we parted ways in Germany? It was the day I broke your heart. What you didn’t know was that I was breaking mine too.I thought they’d be enough–my husband and my son. That I’d get home and everything would go back to the way it was . . .Before the war. Before the ambush. Before you.But, no matter how hard I try, I can’t erase the trauma we shared. I can’t seem to forget the … trauma we shared. I can’t seem to forget the way my heart beat in time with yours.
The truth is I’m lost without you.
I thought the nightmare was over when they pulled us from that hole in the ground, but nothing could have prepared me for the war I’d face at home.
I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but, please, I have to see you one last time. . .
All my love,
Scottie
more
Riveting!
This is not a book for pus-says as Mullins would say. There are so many raw moments, it brought tears to my eyes. Yes, it’s that good.
Katy Scott is proud of her military heritage and is happy to serve her country when she is called upon, even though it means leaving behind the most important people in her life- her husband, the Captain, and her six-year-old son, Noah.
Baghdad is an awakening, but with the help of her best friend, Mullins, Scott settles into camp life. This is where she first meets Christopher Briggs-infantry, and though she’s not sure she likes him, it’s hard to avoid the chemistry between them. But, Katy loves her husband, Gavin, and would never dream of cheating and she makes sure everyone- especially Briggs- knows this.
A routine trip to deliver supplies goes horribly awry and Briggs, Scott, and Mullins are captured by a militia force. What follows are some of the darkest days in these soldiers lives. My heart bled with all they were forced to endure. The only thing that kept Briggs and Scottie alive were each other. A bond was formed in that pit of hell that was impossible to break.
After their release, and return stateside, the war veterans try to recover the pieces of their lives and carry on, but nothing is as before.
There is only the after.
This book will throw all your preconceived beliefs out the window. There are no easy answers, and in the end, all you can do is follow your heart.
I give Heartbreak Warfare 5+ lovely kisses- this book will destroy you!
4 ‘Running together’ Stars!
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Well, what a journey. WOW guys, just wow. I am 100% emotionally drained after finishing this book. Heartbreak Warfare is a roller coaster of emotions and I was not expecting it to be what it was. I literally do not have words to explain it. You just have to experience it to understand how heartbreaking and gripping this love story is. Also, this is not just a romance novel, it’s a tribute to the American soldier. I just want to say, well done Kate and Heather for such a fantastic piece of writing!
So, Heartbreak Warfare is a standalone novel and it’s the first collaboration between Heather M. Orgeron and Kate Stewart. This is Katy Scott’s story, a soldier who is leaving on tour and she is also leaving a husband and a son home. She and her best friend Muggins leave the US and that changes their lives forever. There they meet a group of men and they become friends. There Katy meets Chris Briggs. They feel a connection from the very start but they can’t and won’t act on it. And then, being in war, reality makes its appearance. And it’s extremely tragic.
We’re safe. As long as we’re connected, we’re safe.
I still don’t exactly know how to explain what I am still feeling, hours after finishing this book. Heartbreak Warfare is not easy to read. At all. It’s a very real vision of what happens in war and of what can actually happen to soldiers in their missions. It gets that bad that it’s almost unbearable to read at times. Unbearable because you feel so many emotions that you can’t stop crying. I simply cried my fucking eyes out sometimes. Many times. Also, you have to understand really well the whole situation to read between the lines of what happens between Katy and Briggs.
I am two different women, living in two separate worlds, in love with two different soldiers. In the haze that’s now my life, clarity is all I prayed for.
I was hooked to this story from beginning to end. I could not stop reading. I stayed until late to finish it because I wanted to stop feeling so heartbroken about the whole situation. Because after everything, Katy and Briggs are changed forever. They are not the same people and that is what affects to the love triangle in this story. Katy is married to Gavin, a husband that adores her and they have an adorable kid called Noah. Gavin suffers because he wants his wife back, the woman he fell in love with but Katy is re-leaving the nightmare of war every day. Also, she feels that only Briggs is able to understand her because of the connection that united them while in war.
And you probably know I am not a massive fan of love triangles but I am also a massive fan of Kate (and now Heather!) and I will literally read anything she writes. It was very complicated, painful and intense. I literally wanted to shake Katy so much for the whole situation sometimes because I was suffering for all of them. It took so many difficulties to finally reach a good point and a decision but it was completely comprehensible. Fate has its ways. And, as I said, Heartbreak Warfare is not an easy read but it also is totally worth it. Besides the love story, it is a raw portrait of the American soldier.
There are only two things in life I’m sure of: my love of this country and my love for you.
Therefore, my rating for Heartbreak Warfare is 4 STARS because Kate and Heather simply wrote an excellent book and their collaboration worked fantastically. The writing and the brutally frank emotions were written remarkably well, the characters are complex and stellar and the love story was unique, angsty and extremely moving. Again, not an easy read, especially because of the theme of war and also if you are not a fan of love triangles. But still, I am not a fan of them and I still recommend reading this book. So yeah, go blind, do not look for any spoilers and go read it!
Highly emotional, intense, great hero, kept me guessing (something few books can do for authors) kept me up way past my bedtime. Got up the next day and immediately started reading it again, because I wanted to savor it and the first time through, I was rushing because I wanted so much to know what was going to happen.
Do you ever start a book and know you need to pick sides? The idea that you can choose- no, that you HAVE to choose, tearing you up. This book will make you hurt in every way possible. In both good and bad ways.
Heartbreak Warfare is the ultimate bomb to your core. The shrapnel tears jagged, tapping holes throughout your body. The pieces of your heart and soul scattered amongst the pages. You will live through a war of the worst kind. You will die a little bit several times in these pages. You will love, long, and cling for all you had before. Before you turned the page…Before you lost your heart…Before you lost your mind…
Before and after. Two set periods of time. Before I read this book I loved these authors individually. After I read this book, well there’s no way to go back now. I will forever remember the heartbreak, heartache, and the choice I made. I knew I would need tissues and in case you haven’t noticed yet- you will too.
Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood
5 “I hate you both Heather and Kate because I am a mess” stars
This. This is why I hate love triangle.
I was a sobbing mess all the time.
This was an epic tug-of war on our hearts!
Till the last chapter I never knew who would “win” if you can call it win when one is destroyed and I never knew who I wanted to “win”!!!! Usually in love triangles I have a favorite and I just want to smash the girl and tell her to “make her mind!” but here, nope!
I did not know who I wanted her to end with….
This book is also so much more than a love triangle but let’s begin with it and with the characters.
On the one hand you have Briggs.
Briggs is the one Scottie/Katy will meet on her mission abroad. He is single, a flirt and very handsome. Briggs/Chris is also very cocky but that’s his way to deal with life.
“Infantry?” Adrenaline junkie. “I like to be the first pretty face those ugly bastards see.” The way his entire face lights up with his smile tells me that he genuinely loves what he does, and I have to respect him for that. Maybe I judged him too soon.”
“ I can’t help but smile. He’s the perfect picture of an American soldier: strong, virile, and confident, with a healthy dose of cocky.
But there is more than cockiness. He is the one easing the others in a situation in cracking up jokes. He is the one lighting up a room and drawing everyone around like moths to a flame.
Under the easy-going attitude and flirt is someone who genuinely care.
Someone strong who’s found a purpose in his existence in defending his country.
Someone deeply respectful despite the flirt.
Someone who does not want to jeopardize Katy’s marriage even if it hurts.
Someone who knows she is taken, not his. Not in this life.
On the other hand you have Gavin.
Katy’s handsome Captain of a husband. The father of her son. A loving husband and doting father. Smart, strong and beautiful. Deeply devoted to his family.
He is madly in love with his wife and when he learned what happened he did not live anymore till the moment she set foot on American soil again.
He is careful around her as he knows she’s lived something deeply traumatic.
You could not want for a more perfect husband and I loved him so much.
In the middle you have Scottie/Katy.
Devoted wife and mother. Army brat. Beautiful and courageous. Deeply loyal.
But when she came back from war, she was not the same woman who had left. She could not bring her old self back to give to her husband. She fought every day to survive, to overcome what’s been done to her but she felt adrift.
My heart was torn between these as I wanted every one of them to find his happiness.
I told you this book was so much more than a love triangle.
It deals with heavy and serious topics. PTSD because what Briggs and Scottie went through was torture in its literal meaning. The authors did not barre holds. The scenes are horrific, the choices that were forced upon them inhuman. Yet this is not overdone. It’s something really happening there. Something we’ve seen on the news or read about in the newspapers.
Kudos for Heather and Kate to go through it all without flinching. Well maybe the flinched a lot but they wrote it without embellishment. They give the harsh reality and I can’t imagine how difficult and painful it must have been for them to write some scenes.
You can’t erase the past. It’s been horrendous what Briggs and Scottie have been through.
Gavin wants to help his wife but the aftermaths of such trauma are huge. He feels powerless and it hurt witnessing all this. I hurt for Gavin because he tried the best he could. I hurt for Scottie/Katy because she was lost and did not know how to open up or what she wanted.
“You won’t talk to me, you won’t let me in, you don’t want my help, and now I can’t touch you?”
Katy felt so bad to hurt Gavin. To disappoint everyone.
“He’s losing his patience, and I came home without any. I’m the problem, and that’s the hardest part. Our marriage was completely different before I was deployed. Army spouses deserve fucking medals.”
I hurt for Briggs because he was also lost even if he seemed to deal better with what happened.
To make it short: I hurt for everyone! All the time! Because what happened to Katy impacted everyone around her. It was a huge painful mess. And I was utterly exhausted by the end of the book.
I hate love triangle because I consider them unnecessary drama but that’s the problem here: none of this drama was unnecessary. Scottie/Katy was not some undecided teenager who does not know which to fall for: the jock or the sexy nerd. No. She wanted to make her husband happy. She wanted to go back to her old self. Yet she could not forget how Briggs made her feel safe. She did not recognize up from down, she did not know what she wanted or what she needed.
And honestly I could never fault any of them.
So Heather and Kate realized the unthinkable: make me love a story about love triangle and filled to the brim with angst and pain. Me who run from love triangle and can’t stand angst…
If that’s not a testimony to their talent I don’t know what is!
Now if you’d excuse me I am on my way to read a light, adventurous dystopian YA. Something lighter and fuzzier.
What a rollercoaster of emotions with Heartbreak Warfare. I’m still speechless with this amazing book.. I cried, I laugh and my heart broke a thousand times. but still, the journey was great not knowing where it will take us but making us so intrigued from the very first pages of the story…
Katy had her dream life, a great husband, and a beautiful son, they were everything for her, until duty called and she decided to take one more round saving lives.. she was a military nurse, she was trained to save lives but no one told her the only one who needed to be saved was her.. not knowing how her life and future was about to change. a change that at some point she will regret and make her question over and over again if her decision was the right to make..
“There’s a reason we were thrown into that bunker together. I have to believe that. You were destined to be a part of my life. You’re ve changed me. No matter where this journey takes us, when I close my eyes, it will be your face I see. When I breathe my last breath, your name will be on my lips”
Briss dedicated his whole life to the army, he didn’t have much, he didn’t need that much just his grandma and a beautiful ranch that makes him feel so alive.. memories and past brought him one more time to fight for his country but sooner or later he will realize he was only fighting for his heart.. it is a matter of time to see if he is ready to fight this new type of war.
“I May burn in hell for this, but I can’t help what I feel. We’re only given one shot at life, and no matter how much it hurts, I’m glad I took Mine.”
it is hard to write about this story without giving too much away.. it is heart-wrenching but full of love.. it is sad and happy with so many moments that will make the story come alive.. it has so many great characters that put so much more to this book.. but most of all it shows and tells a story of forgiveness, of second chances of understanding.. Understanding that sometimes life and circumstances bring us things that we won’t see them coming but at the end we will have and gain so much more.. it is a story that will keep you hanging until the end.. a story that will show you that we do not always have every answer and every key, that we have to let the course of our lives and emotions to help us see father to be able to heal and see our dreams come through.
Overall Heartbreak Warfare was an amazing, beautiful and raw, the story the characters everything made this book so much more, my heart was sad a lot of times but at the end, this was an epic ride!! definitely looking forward to reading more book by Kate and Heather.
Favorite Characters: Noah and Gavin
Favorite Quotes:
“Our Love is exactly that beautiful hue of yellow that shines so brightly in our bedroom on the mornings you make love to me. It’s in our son’s hair, in your voice, in the way we look at each other. everything I know about love you taught me, through patience and understanding. you raised my heart, trained to love you in the best imaginable way.”
“She’s sick, Daddy! You left when she’s sick! and you can’t spect her to get better without her medicine”
“I’ve been fighting since I returned home for the half of me that still beats for him, and today I fought harder than ever before.”
I love you, Gavin……………………..
Heartbreak Warfare by Heather M. Orgeron and Kate Stewart is one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read! I tried to go into it with a guarded heart because I knew it was going to be highly emotional. That plan flew out the window about three paragraphs in. The book grabbed me by the heart and never let go. Every word was saturated with emotion; devastation and fear, tension and grief, but also hope and love, joy and ultimate peace. I am in awe of the writers’ ability to give voice to their characters. They shed light on situations that so many soldiers and their families deal with every day. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I will definitely be telling everyone they need to read it now!
Wow. Just wow. This book consumed me. I could not put it down, I didn’t want to. It was hurting my heart left and right. I’m an emotional puddle of goo. Right from the very first page I knew this story was going to make me feel…things. I don’t think I can write a half way decent review because this book moved me. Ugh feelings everywhere! I made my husband come lay down with me so I could talk it out with him. I had to talk it out with someone! I cried. Like, my cold dead heart burst wide open and emotions where spilling out all the the place. It was messy. Ugh. Just ugh I say! Damn book. Why you gotta be so amazing?! I don’t know, I can’t stop saying wow. In my own opinion, this is hands down a must read. Okay I’m emotionally drained. I need a nap and some carbs.
Oh This Book!! If I could give this book 100 stars I would. Seriously. This is the best military romance book I’ve ever read without a doubt. I knew within the first few pages that this book was going to be special, and that was an understatement. I read this story within 2 days – and it’s long! I.just.could.not.stop.reading.it. I knew when I was up past midnight under the covers sniffling that it was bad. But it was oh so good. These characters – their story – their sacrifices – their loss – their love – their passion – their strength and determination. Gah – I literally have no words. I loved it and I hated it. It pulled me in – stole my heart, ripped it to shreds, and then slowly put it back together. I fell for the hero…and I fell for the heroine…I fell for their friends, their lovers, their families. I FELL FOR EVERYONE!!! This book took a piece of my heart and my mind. It made me cry over soldiers I don’t even know who have sacrificed everything for the US, and it made me cheer and celebrate those who have survived and lived their lives to the fullest. As I sobbed through the final Chapters going through tissue after tissue, my husband and kids were in awe of how this book was touching me. They stared – they brought me more kleenex – they wanted to know what was happening – and they smiled and hugged me when it was over. It was the last thing I thought of before I fell asleep last night, and the first thing I thought of this morning. This book is beyond EPIC – it is everything. I cannot praise these authors enough for being bold enough to tell this story. Thank you, thank you, thank you, H. Orgeron and K. Stewart!! I can’t wait to read it again and again.
5+* Heartbreaking Stars
Wow this was my last read for 2018 and what a fantastic angst read to see out the year!
The love story of Briggs, Scottie (Katy) and Gavin was epic, sad, turbulent and so real. This is a military romance like nothing you have read before. You felt the hurt and saw scars the 3 had to endure. Your heart will be shattered and will be slowly put back together through the journey that Briggs, Katy and Gavin have to navigate.
The story flowed well and was so believable that you will be thinking about this story for a long time, it will not leave you easily. Fantastic writing by two very talented authors.
Those who know me know I rarely use the word epic when describing a book. I’ve read so many fantastic, awesome, amazing books over the years, but only a few have had me stopping life until I found out what was going to happen. Kate and Heather accomplished that with Heartbreak Warfare. They caused everything to come to a screeching halt until I read the last page. If I could rate Heartbreak Warfare 10 stars, I would. And if I had to describe it in one word… epic.
Get your tissues ready; this book will make you cry! I cried, I laughed, and I sobbed; my heart was shattered and then put back together again. The characters, the complexity, the entire storyline… just wow! I love this book!
“The best love triangle in existence. This work of art will haunt you long after you’ve finished reading. This Military Romance will force you to view societal norms in an entirely different light. From the opening to the very last word, these authors bleed raw, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable truths about life, love and relationships. An accurate, gripping depiction of what military relationships suffer through, and rise above. Heartbreak Warfare will wreak havoc on your heart and mind—an emotion filled battle that will keep you guessing until the very last page. With poignant prose that claws at your chest, action that takes your breath away, and soul singeing heat, Heartbreak Warfare is a brilliant novel worth a million stars.”
Not going to lie, this is heavy stuff. I was an emotional wreck with this book, I went through every emotion with Scottie, Gavin and Briggs and I was ready to put it in the freezer to delay the pain. This was hard to read but I absolutely loved it.
Definitely in my top 10 reads this year.
“I’m the corner piece to a puzzle, trying to force into the center, and no matter how I try to manipulate myself, I just don’t fit.”
This is my feeling at the moment. I am in the minority I think.
I adored this story for about 60% and then something happened. My own heartbreak started taking over. I know that “Love is a Battlefield” especially when it is riddled with bullet holes actual warfare.
I just couldn’t wrap my head around Katy’s decision. My guy was not the victor. I fought hard for him. I could see where and why the end result happened, but I felt things fell apart too quickly and my guy was left in the dust wondering what the hell happened, much like I did.
My feelings aside the writing was fabulous and I was sucked in completely and just because I didn’t like or agree with the outcome does not mean I did not enjoy the journey.
If you want something light and fluffly, this is NOT the book for you. However, if you like a book that makes you FEEL and is filled with real, raw emotion, then do not miss this one. Get it NOW!
This military romance will rip your heart to shreds. But it won’t leave you that way forever. So many feelings stirred by this one. It runs the gamet of emotions. You will have tears of heartbreak and tears of joy. Sometimes you’ll laugh. Sometimes you’ll want to throw that Kindle (or book).
Your heart will break for Katy. You will want to shake her at times. But you will feel all her emotions. You will want to hug little Noah. And Gavin, your heart breaks for him as well, and you will respect him for some of the things he does. And Briggs. Oh Briggs. You’ll fall in love with Briggs. And sometimes you will hate him. But he is what he is and he owns it.
I don’t want to give spoilers but just want to say READ THIS! Seriously, it tears your heart out but you will be better for it!
This is one of my top reads for 2018.
This book was filled with so much emotion and pain. I won’t lie the first part of the book is brutal, its heart wrenching and its hard to read. A few times with tears streaming down my face I was asking myself why I was still reading it, BUT the Authors have done such an amazing job with this book I just couldn’t put it down.
I think the title is so right it is Heartbreak Warefare throughout this book. The emotional IED’s that are lobbed at you by Heather and Katie feel so raw and real. I have enjoyed these authors separately but together they are phenomenal.
if you have read the blurb then you are aware of what to expect, I tend to avoid them as I like to go into books blind somewhat so that i have no pre-expectations. I did know this book would be hard with some sensitive subjects but they were handled so well.
The first half of this book deals with what happens whilst deployed during war and the second half is the aftermath, the piecing of their lives back together. How these two are still functioning I have no idea. I felt everything along with Scottie and Briggs, even with Gavin. These three consumed me, they both gutted me and gave me hope. Their strength, even when they thought they had none, was inspiring.
At different parts of the book I swung back and forth between wanting the outcome to go one way and then the other. To be honest there was no right or wrong, there was just what felt right.
There are so many things I can say about this book but you really need to experience every bit yourself. There is pain yes but there is also lots of love, some laughter, a cute little boy called Noah, and some serious swoon-worthy moments.
This is the best military romance I have read to date! It was so emotional! I was equally torn between Gavin and Chris and I loved Scottie! I highly recommend this!
No matter how long I sit here, I know that I’m never going to come up with the right words to express how much I love this story. These two authors have created such a masterpiece with Heartbreak Warfare. It’s such a fantastic, epic and beautiful tale that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I cried so many tears while reading this real and powerful story. And even though my heart broke time and time again, once I was finished reading, my heart was unbelievably full of love and happiness.
I knew going into this read that it would be a heavy, emotional journey but I had NO idea it would effect me the way it did!
This book centers around two deployed military service members who become POW and the after effects of their experiences. While I couldn’t personally relate to a lot of the content around the enlistment and deployment of a spouse, the authors did a wonderful job making sure the story was authentic and accurate. I really appreciated their attention to detail and commitment to getting things right within the story.
I loved this book for a few reasons.
– The writing between these two authors was seamless! You’d never know that two incredibly talented ladies teamed up on this story. It flowed so well and really showcased both author’s strengths. The depth of emotion and heartbreak that was articulated within these pages was unbelievable. It takes a lot to get me to sob during a read and this one hit me in the feels numerous times!
– Briggs was…… well…… epic. That man! Swoon!!!!!
– The bond between the characters, especially Scott and Mullins. Their strong, independent personalities were what 2 true heroines are made of!
– The banter between all of the characters was hilarious! I loved that although there were very dramatic parts of this book, there were still a ton of laugh out loud moments and crude humor.
What I didn’t care for about this read.
– Gavin! That poor man got the short end of the stick. My heart bled for him and his willingness to watch his wife slip away to another man. I’m so glad Gavin got his HEA in the end though.
– How a woman could be married for many years to such a strong, faithful husband who she adored and then suddenly fall as deeply in love with someone she’d only known for 3 months was really hard for me to wrap my mind around. I didn’t agree with a lot of the flopping back and forth between the two men that the heroine did but that’s just me. I completely understood her bond with Briggs due to their capture and how what they shared was something no one could ever understand but I just couldn’t get behind the idea that it was a love worth shattering your entire life for.
In the end, I gave this book a 4/5 star rating because it was truly an incredible read. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves an emotional roller coaster romance, especially around military romance. I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.