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Summary
Summary
From award-winning author Laura Trentham comes an emotionally layered novel about redemption, second chances and discovering that life is worth fighting for.
At thirty, Greer Hadley never expected to be forced home to Madison, Tennessee with her life and dreams up in flames. A series of bad decisions and even worse luck lands her community service hours at a nonprofit organization that aids veterans and their families. Greer cannot fathom how she's supposed to help anyone deal with their trauma and loss when everything that brought her joy has failed her.
Then Greer meets fifteen-year-old Ally Martinez, a gifted girl who lost her father in action and now hides her pain behind a mask of sarcasm. But Greer sees something undeniable that she can't walk away from. To make matters more complicated, Greer finds herself spending more and more time with Emmett Lawson--a man with both physical and emotional scars of his own. When a situation with Ally becomes dire, the two of them must become a team to save her--and along the way they might just save themselves too.
Author Notes
Laura Trentham in an award winning romance author. The Military Wife is her debut women's fiction novel. A chemical engineer by training and a lover of books by nature, she lives in South Carolina.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Trentham (The Military Wife) nails the pride and pain of military families with this expertly rendered, deeply felt contemporary romance. Greer Hadley gives up her Nashville music dreams and returns to her tiny hometown of Madison, Tenn., only to find her long-distance boyfriend in bed with someone else. She responds by getting drunk and trashing a local bar. After getting arrested, Greer must complete 50 hours of community service as a music teacher at a local charity dedicated to aiding veterans and their families. One of Greer's first students happens to be her high school crush, Emmett Lawson, an Army captain who lost his leg to war. Undeterred by Emmett's initial prickly manner, Greer pushes for him to open up, and soon animosity turns to attraction between them. Trentham's agility with tough topics--including PTSD and substance abuse--and her effortlessly empathetic characters combine to create a compulsively readable tale. By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this story will grip readers from start to finish. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Feb.)
Booklist Review
Greer Hadley didn't think she'd be back in her parents' house at 30, raiding the fridge and figuring out how to tell her mom she didn't need a curfew anymore. She'd dreamed of getting discovered in Nashville, playing bar standards mixed with a few original compositions on the honky-tonk circuit, but a debilitating cocktail of stage fright and writer's block killed her hopes of stardom. After a drunken outburst at a hometown bar, Greer gets sentenced to community service helping veterans and their families process their emotions through music. Greer's assigned to Ally, an angsty teenager struggling with the loss of her dad, and Emmett, the All-American golden boy who returned home with a prosthetic leg and a defeatist attitude. Through lyrics, chords, and more than a little tough love, Greer rediscovers her love of music and recognizes her ability to help those around her. Trentham (The Military Wife, 2019) explores the complex range of emotions facing members of the military and their loved ones, emphasizing the power of connection. Fans of Mary Kay Andrews' novels and Matthew Quick's The Reason You're Alive (2017) will enjoy this patriotic and heartwarming story of ambition, identity, and regained potential.--Stephanie Turza Copyright 2020 Booklist
Library Journal Review
After her hopes of a career as a songwriter in Nashville fizzled, 30-year-old Greer Hadley moved home to Madison, TN. Then her boyfriend, Beau, cheated on her. Following a night of drinking and bad decisions, Greer is sentenced to serve 50 hours of community service at an organization assisting veterans and their families coping with trauma. She is assigned to 15-year-old Ally Martinez, whose father was killed in action. Ally is angry, abrasive, and still struggling with her grief. Greer also takes on reclusive war hero and town golden boy Emmett Lawson, who lost a leg in combat and now hides out in a secluded cabin on his parents' horse farm. Handsome, guilt-ridden Emmett resists efforts to help, even from sexy, fiery-tempered Greer. When a surprise connection between Ally and Emmett is brought to light, readers will delight in the heartfelt way the characters' lives are woven together. VERDICT Though part of the "Heart of a Hero" series (following The Military Wife), Trentham's romance with themes of family, music, and military can stand alone. Recommended for purchase where contemporary romance is popular.--Laura Jones, Indiana State Lib., Argos