More than a touch by Alexis Morgan

Synopsis:

Wounded in combat, Leif Brevik is haunted by survivor’s guilt. For the first time in his life—unsure if he still has a military career in his future—he feels completely lost. So when a war buddy calls for help with restoration of their fallen brother’s house, he jumps at the chance to regain a sense of purpose.

Zoe Phillips is assigned to monitor Leif’s physical therapy while he’s in town. But she’s a former military nurse, and she senses that his wounds are more than just physical. As she pushes the handsome soldier to open up, the connection between them deepens beyond the professional facade she tries to maintain.

And as Leif begins to put down roots in her beloved hometown, Zoe realizes that maybe having him around is exactly what she needs to heal her own wounded heart as well…

Review: ~by Micaela

I give this book a 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed it from start to finish. Once Zoe and Leif met, I wanted them to be together! Their stubbornness and emotional scars made it difficult for them, however, they were somehow brought back together again and again. I kept wondering what would happen and how it would all end. I was not disappointed.

The characters felt believable and it was refreshing to see that both characters were struggling with their own problems instead of just one being the "messed up one." They depend on each other. I am interested in reading Alexis Morgan's other books in the Snowberry Creek series because they have the same cast of characters, but feature a new main character each time. I love the thought of how the characters build off one another and intermingle in surprising ways. I am looking forward to reading more of this series.

Guest Post:

My Own Personal Salute

In my experience, an insatiable sense of curiosity seems to be one of the defining characteristics of writers. We all look around the world with eyes wide open, wondering about anything and everything.  But the one thing that I'm always most curious about is people—how they think, why the way they act the way they do, and what they'll do next.

In fact, whenever I'm at the airport, I rarely read a book. Instead, I spend most of my time watching my fellow travelers, making up stories about them, and wondering how close I came to their truth. Most of those people fade from memory, but four have stuck in my mind for years now. The defining characteristic of these men was that they were all soldiers.

Two were traveling together, and as they walked down the concourse, they drew the eye of more than just me. One was tall with broad shoulders; the other was average height but with that lean build that let you know he could hold his own. There was just something about them that practically shouted that they could handle anything life threw at them.

The third soldier stood a handful of inches over six feet. His shoulders were broad, and he carried himself with that swagger that sets hearts to fluttering as he passed by. What made him memorable was that this big tough guy was walking along holding the hand of his tiny little daughter. She was probably about four years old, dressed head to toe in bright pink. The contrast between her and her dad still makes me smile.

The fourth was going through security at the same time I was. When he started to unlace  his boots, I couldn't resist saying, "Don't tell me they make you take those off."  He just laughed and said if  he had a dollar for every time he'd had to unlace his boots in an airport, he'd be a rich man. Then he had to empty out all those pockets on his cargo-style pants and remove his belt. Oh, yes, then there were the pockets on his shirt. He did it all in good humor, but still.   

I think seeing these four men and others like them is a big reason why I chose to start my Snowberry Creek series off with stories about soldiers returning to civilian life after their last deployment. It's my way of honoring the men and women who choose to serve their country. We owe them a debt we can never pay in full, and I wanted to remind readers that these are truly amazing people, each with his or her own story to tell.

I'd love to hear about any encounters you've had with a member of our military, whether at an airport or at your local coffee shop.

Alexis