I received a copy of this book from the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review

Christie is a soldier who recently became a father. He had helped his best friend Caro and her partner have a daughter, but they were killed in a car crash when the baby was just a couple of months old. Being the biological father, he got custody. It was a big adjustment for him. As he was rushing to get to base one day, he gets pulled over for speeding. His state trooper was a complete hottie and they eventually met again later and decided to date. Robert knew from the moment he saw Christie that he was his soul mate.

Christie has the ability to talk to Caro after she has passed. It is a comfort to him, and it helps Frankie hear her voice, but he doesn't tell anyone about it because he doesn't want them to think he is crazy. Christie doesn't tell Robert about it, but as time goes on, it seems that Robert believes in this stuff a bit as well and eventually it starts talking about pagan rituals and how his family grew up with different beliefs. They are more compatible than they thought. So far the book was hitting all the great parts for me.

Then Christie gets deployed and Robert completely takes over at home. He moves in, takes care of Frankie, and waits for Christie to come home. Then there was some brief cheating-ish type behavior it didn't really go far and it definitely appeared more of a PTSD-not fully realizing what was going on-dealing with death type of situation. That annoyed me a bit although I could potentially understand how it happened. Then the book just felt a bit rushed at the end. There wasn't a lot of resolution of the cheating-ish incident, and I felt there were definitely unsettled feelings between the guys, even though they said they were fine. It was like the book started out going 100 miles per hour, and then came to a construction zone and slowed down to 20.

This book started as a very solid 5 star read for me. It hit a ton of emotions in me, especially as we learned about Caro. Singing to Frankie and Christie's conversations with her made me tear up on numerous occasions. She was beautifully written, and I really loved the start of the book. Christie and Robert connected quickly and strongly and they were great together.
Unfortunately, it didn't finish so strong for me, but it is still a 4 star read for me.

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Romance in full swing. That is probably the entire review in 4 words, but I will add more, don’t worry. Christie (that despite the name and the looks is a man) is the unexpectedly single father of Frankie, unexpected since a) Christie is completely gay and b) he was supposed to be only the biological father, a favour he was doing to his best friend Caro and her partner Liss. But then Caro and Liss died in a car accident and Christie is the father of Frankie, and of course he has to take care of her, doesn’t matter Christie is a career soldier soon to be deployed. He strikes the lottery when he meets State Trooper Robert Lindstrom, that not only is the Norwegian god the name suggests, he is also ready to be part of an already made family and has a lot of relatives ready to give an hand if necessary.

That between Robert and Christie is love and lust at first sight, and Christie doesn’t really need much wooing to allow Robert into his life and above all bed, 2 steaks and a bottle of wine and he was ready to open the door (no pun intended). Truth be told, Christie was probably on a too long dry spell, and Robert is the answer to many prayers, he is the oddity among the gay guys, someone who is not scared by commitment and a toddler.

I liked the full romance mood of the story, I liked the happy ending and I also liked they had some trouble but nothing major they couldn’t face and manage. I think the army setting was good and realistic, maybe I wondered of the chance of an openly gay man like Christie, that apparently is screaming “gay” as soon as you see him, to be a career soldier with apparently no trouble from his fellow soldiers and commanding officers. True the story is set in the period when gay marriage is becoming legal in some of the United States, but still I think the Don’t ask Don’t tell was still strong inside the army. Anyway, as I often said, this is a romance, and if happily ever after are not in the romance, where should they be?

Despite all the romance and pink glasses perspective, and the flaming gay attitude of Charlie, the author didn’t forget she was dealing with two men, something you can clearly see in their interaction, especially that first night, when basically Robert is trying to score from moment one without knowing that Charlie has already decided to let him win; while Charlie can desire a long-term partner, he has also his “needs”, and there is nothing bad in having Robert help with that.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608204022/?tag=elimyrevandra-20