Friday, May 30, 2008

#30 A SOLDIER COMES HOME by Cindi Myers ("number" and date correction)


Number of Book #30
Date Began and Finished 5/7 - 5/10 2008
Genre - Contemporary Series Romance
Year It Was Published - June 2008
Publisher - Harlequin (Superromance #1498)
Number of Pages 242
Mass Market Paperback
Reason for reading: review for Love Romances And More
Rating 4/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: In A SOLDIER COMES HOME, Captain Ray Hughes has just come home from a tour of duty in Iraq. But no one is meeting him. Unlike all the other soldiers returning from war who have spouses waiting for them, his wife had decided before he came home that she wanted a divorce because she couldn't stand living the lonely life of a military officer's wife, and had moved on and was now living with an ex-friend of his. And, she had left their son behind, a toddler that hardly even remembered him. While at the Special Events Center while figuring out how to get home, a corporal from his unit asks if he needs a ride. Daniel has also just returned from Iraq, and his wife Allison was there by his side to meet him. Dan and Allison drop off Ray, noting the somber look he had when approaching his dark and lonely house.

Chrissie Evans works with Allison at a dental office, and she also happens to live next door to Tammy Hughes, the young woman whose husband Ray had gone off to war. Chrissie befriended Tammy, thinking that she was lonely and needed support, and would often baby sit her child young TJ when Tammy went out on the town. The two also would occasionally go out to bars, where Tammy would flirt and try to pick up other men. Chrissie soon wanted out of this friendship,but she continued to baby sit TJ, who needed love desperately.

By the time Ray had returned from Iraq, TJ was living with his grandparents while Tammy moved in with the new boyfriend. Ray was obviously bitter about what had happened, but he also blamed Chrissie for Tammy's wild ways. He thought that it was Chrissie who influenced Tammy to hang out in bars. While at first Chrissie had shown interest in the soldier, she now was angry that Ray had assumed some terrible things about her without even asking for the real story.

I found A SOLDIER COMES HOME to be a very captivating read. I hadn't' read a Superromance in a while, so this was a treat. Secondary characters Rita and her husband Paul, who was also about to sign up for the war, had a plot line that was equally as important as that of Chrissie and Ray. Often times too many characters bog down the story, but Rita and Paul's struggles with coming to terms with Paul's' brother's death in the war, as well as choosing between fighting in a war or staying home with your spouse was an intriguing part of the book. The story lines meshed well, with Rita being Chrissie's best friend, as well as both stories focusing on the war. I think this is the only romance I've read so far that has incorporated the Iraq war as the main theme of it's story, and Cindi Myers did a good job with it. A SOLDIER COMES HOME is recommended.

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