Title: The Way Back Home
Author: Carmen Jenner
Genre: Military Romance
Release Date: May 29, 2017
Blurb
August Cotton shouldn’t be here. When a tragic accident
calls him home to Magnolia Springs, this returned Veteran adds his parents to
the list of things he’s lost in recent years, right along with his IED
detection dog and his left leg. As the sole guardian of his four-year-old
sister, August must rely on his Marine training in raising a tiny hellion who’s
as stubborn as he is. But the Corps could never prepare him for this. Nor could
they prepare him for Olivia Anders, a woman who’ll stop at nothing to get her
way.
As owner of Paws for Cause, Olivia is no stranger to the
broken men and women who return home from war. She’s no stranger to broken dogs
either. In fact, she’s made it her mission to pair the two and enrich both of
their lives, but pairing ornery and aloof August Cotton will take some work.
The last thing August wants is some pushy southern woman occupying his parents’
bed and breakfast and forcing him to open up about the hell he narrowly
escaped, but that’s exactly what Olivia intends.
They complete one another, and yet they can’t stand to be in
the same room.
Can Olivia make this hardened Marine feel again and finally
show his heart the way back home?
*** Intended for a mature 18+ audience only. This book may
contain triggers for some readers.
The thing about reading Carmen Jenner's works is that you'll get addicted to it. Pretty sure in my case I was looking forward to reading more of her books the moment my Carmen Jenner's cherry was popped by Harley & Rose . There's just something in her words and style of writing that always got me. So when I learned about The Way Back Home, I could not help but be be giddy about it, and the trope? It's one of my weakness. So to say that I am excited is an understatement because I could not explain how I felt about this book. So I devoured it hungrily and man.. she nailed it again. This book had me engrossed from beginning until the end.
“Every day I wake up and expect that I’ll be a new man,” he whispers. “Every day I lie to myself because I know I ain’t ever changing, but I still need to tell myself that to make it through.”
The Way Back Home followed the story of August and Olivia. The blurb pretty summed up their journey but honestly it was just the tip of the iceberg. Even then, I will not spoil you any details from this book aside from what was in the blurb. I will in fact just tell you my journey with them and to tell you, theirs was a beautiful journey so awe inspiring.
Reading August and Liv's story was like living and being with them. They were portrayed as if they were real and the emotions that accompanied with the words and lines pages after pages felt so alive that even in the wee hours I could not help but devour it and got lost with it. Theirs wasn't an easy journey. Each carried a baggage of their own and each deal with it in different ways. August for instance despite needing the help was so stubborn admitting it. I could not blame him though, war wasn't the only thing that was bugging him out. It was the war inside himself that was eating him alive. If not for his sister, I doubted he wanted to live. But even with it, he's barely living. Cranky, asshole, a jerk but then lo and behold, a hot AF ex Marine at that. What's more? Despite his hard nature he's got a heart so big and he owned me because of it. An honorable man, flawed but just perfect. Olivia on the other hand, was a character so refreshing. I love her attitude and I love her fierceness. Her heart full of kindness and love got me and made me fall in love with her. Who would have though that this pushy southern woman got a past so heart wrenching yet chose to live and help others in need?
These two were a sight to behold. They complete one another, and yet they can’t stand to be in the same room. . The good thing about it though is the fact that each characters were portrayed well in a way that they balanced each other out. Their chemistry was undeniable yet their road towards home is a slow burn process. We were given each time to savor more of them individually. See? August and Liv's journey was full of rough patches and curveballs. It wasn't easy. There was tension everywhere yet it wasn't rushed just for the sake of HEA. In fact, Carmen Jenner covered all the bases of this book and wasn't just so hell bent on pushing the romantic side of the story but instead we are given time to process what was really happening. And with it, we were also given not just to read the book so we can feel those butterflies on our tummy but to ponder on several things and appreciate the beauty of life. For what is, you need to experience it yourself. In my case, I just love it to pieces!
If you are into books with trope like this, then this is for you. Carmen Jenner's writing is excellent and the emotions that goes with it were just so real. It's heart gripping yet heart warming too. It's a beautiful and awe inspiring story aimed to deliver!
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Excerpt
“You know, if you want to see me naked and sweaty, all you have to do is ask, darlin’.”
“I do not . . . I wasn’t . . .” My words are stolen from me as he stalks forward with a maddening smirk on his face. “What are you doing?”
“Getting tired of waiting for you to be okay with this.”
“August, we talked about boundaries.” I press my hand to his chest because he's too close, and I can't think straight with the heady scent of his sweat and sandalwood soap distracting me. It wasn't my intention to run my hand over that sweat, to feel the hard-won muscle beneath, but here I am, petting him as if he's my favorite kitty.
“No. You talked about boundaries. I told you I was gonna fight, and I ain’t above fightin’ dirty.”
“How dirty?” I breathe.
August’s lips curl up into a smile. “So dirty.”
Both hands snake around my waist and he lifts me onto the counter, wedging his hips between my thighs. He hooks a finger in the sash and unties my robe as if he were opening a gift made just for him. I wrap my legs around his hips to pull him closer, and that’s all the admission he needs. He threads a hand through my hair and pulls my neck back to expose the tender flesh to his mouth. I close my eyes and whisper his name as my whole body turns to flame, starved for the oxygen that only his touch can bring. His hot mouth trails down my neck, his hands cup my breasts, squeezing, kneading, and I slide a hand between us, into the waistband of his shorts. I take his hard length in my hand, stroking him from base to tip. August grunts as he pushes my negligee out of the way with frenzied hands. His fingers find me bare and exposed with no panties.
“So fucking’ dirty,” he groans, wetting his lips.
Author Bio
Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.
Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.
A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.
A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?
PUBLISHED TITLES TO DATE:
Welcome to Sugartown (Sugartown Series #1)
Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.
A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.
A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?
PUBLISHED TITLES TO DATE:
Welcome to Sugartown (Sugartown Series #1)
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