The diagnosis of a chronic stomach condition leaves thirty-two-year-old Sergeant Jed Cooper with little choice but to call time on his Army career. Then on the dusty streets of Kirkuk, an ambush gone tragically wrong decimates his team, and he returns to the US with a shattered leg and the memory of his best friend dying in his arms. Life in his sleepy hometown proves intolerable until he finds … he finds solace in a lakeside cabin with vivacious young carpenter, Max O’Dair. In the shadow of the epilepsy that periodically plagues Max, he and Jed form an unspoken bond. After a late night episode, Jed realizes how much Max means to him, and life has taught him not to waste time.
But the lines between contentment and complacency are blurred. Things left hidden resurface to tear through their world, and before they can repair the damage, death comes to call again. Faces, past and present, rally around them to weather the storm, but before long, they are left with only love.
Sensual Reads Reviewers’ Choice GLBT Award 2014
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This book is certainly one of Garrett Leigh’s, and it is visible from the blurb already. She never goes easy on her characters, and Jed and Max are certainly dealing with A LOT. It deserves to be capitalised.
Jed is a former soldier, now plagued by a stomach condition and a mass of scars and injuries from his military career, and has to return home. To the place he hasn’t been to for more than a decade when he escaped it. But it’s not just going back home, it also means staying with his brother’s family. Honestly, Kim, the wife, and the two kids are the only good things in the house. Max, on the other hand, is Kim’s brother who lives by himself (well, with his dog), near the lake and is dealing with epilepsy.
I enjoyed the story a lot. Not just the main characters, but other people around them, are very complex. I enjoyed their path, from solitary figures with difficult pasts to partners. The romance was there, but alongside it, there was healing too.
The guys weren’t the most outwardly emotional or chatty types. The only times we see Jed open up, he’s under effects of painkillers. They both have difficult past, they each faced different but hard problems, and they are trying to deal with it.
What I really adored, was the town. Jed hadn’t been there for more than a decade, yet after some initial chastisement from some of his (ex)friends, but then they step up. And I loved the cameos from Jed’s former, still living teammates/friends.
Even though I said in the beginning that it is obviously Leigh’s book, I also felt that in some ways…It was different. I didn’t feel as much angst as I generally do with her books, and it was…interesting.
All in all, I loved the book and wholeheartedly recommend it if you like books about broken men, love, and healing.
4.5 stars- Despite really enjoying this author’s writing, I had not read Only Love before the recent release of the second edition. And just as I’ve come to expect from Miss Leigh, her writing pulls the emotion from the moments while offering up complex characters and a fully developed story.
Only Love features two characters who appear in secondary roles in the Roads series but is a complete standalone. The story picks up as an Army Ranger separates from the Army following a severe injury sustained overseas. I liked the pairing of two characters struggling with chronic issues because neither was billed as the “rescuer”. Instead, it felt as though Max and Jed drew strength from themselves while offering one another support. The connection between Jed and Max reminded me of a rolling romance. It had a steady build but with more peaks and valleys than most slow burns, and those peaks progressively carried the men toward their happily ever after. There are a good number of flashbacks for both characters, but they always pertained to the moment, were clearly notated, and progressed the plot without disrupting the flow. I love stories that show growth, and Only Love definitely features that for both characters- as individuals, as a couple, and even regarding their relationships with secondary characters. Though it doesn’t contain new content, if you’re a fan of hurt/comfort and military romances and have yet to pick this one up, Only Love offers up all the emotions and is sure to please.
*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*