Rev (Jack ‘Em Up Book 5)

Micah Christian returned home from Afghanistan with an overwhelming amount of guilt that constantly haunts him and keeps him from fully adjusting back into civilian life. Between the haunting nightmares and insurmountable regret he’s become a bitter man with a wounded soul that’s in great need of saving. He’s tried therapy and focusing his energy on his training, but no matter how hard he tries to bury it, it remains a constant threat with the power to manipulate his mind at any given time and keeps him from finding some semblance of normalcy. His friends are worried about him, from time to time they see glimpses of the man he use to be, but the majority of the time he walks around with a grim look on his face, and his mind riddled doubts and demons. He’d love nothing more than to escape his demons and self doubt, and be happy again, but he just hasn’t found the right outlet… that is until he lays eyes on a beautiful girl with the same haunting look in her eyes. The minute he spots Jewel Jackson in his self defense class he knows she needs more than just his help protecting herself, and he wants to be the man to save her… he just has to convince her she’s worth the risk.

Jewel Jackson has had a serious crush on Micah Christian since she first laid on eyes on him, and would love to get to know him better, but he’s somewhat of a recluse that always lingers in the shadows. She’s heard stories of what he’s went through, and knows he’s a wounded soul, like herself, but she’s never mustered the courage to talk to him. She isn’t sure what she’d say to him if he did talk to her anyway, her haunting past has left her riddled with self doubt, and has her constantly second guessing her self worth, and what man would want anything to do with someone like her anyway? With the demons of her past lurking and causing her to constantly look over her shoulder she is always worrying about her personal safety, so her friends encourage her to take Micah’s self defense class in hopes of it giving her the empowerment she needs and desires. The minute he walks into the class and their eyes connect she feels something deep inside that has her wanting to run in the other direction, but before she can flee Micah is there pulling her back in…

The minute I started this story I felt everything in my world shift, and felt myself being pulled into Micah and Jewel’s world and was completely transfixed by their every spoken word. Their struggle to not let their pasts define their present, and finding the courage to surrender to one another completely was a beautiful, yet sometimes heart wrenching thing to watch unfold. This beautiful story spoke to me on so many levels, I went from moments of having my heart in my throat and blinking back tears, to moments of utter joy. I felt a deep seated connection to this story almost immediately and at times I found it a little hard to read, NOT because of the writing, but purely because it brought up memories that I thought I had tucked away safely a long time ago. I can honestly say that I have never read something that has been so heart-rending and effected me so deeply, and in the same token been so inspiring! This is a beautifully written story that has left an indelible impression on my heart, and taken me on a truly life changing literary journey! I am in complete awe of Ms. Allen and her writing talents, and think is by far one of the best stories she has created yet!

I highly recommend you give this read a try, it is one of those stories that will invade your thoughts, steal the breath from your lungs, move you to tears, and linger with you long after the last page has been turned!