Maybe I have read too many romance books in the past few years, because it has become harder and harder for a book like this one to make an impression on me. It was an ok romance. The characters were adequate. The serious issue of PTSD was dealt with, but I have read similar story lines that were much the same and impressed me more. Two stars. ( )

I had a very difficult time getting into this book, but luckily I kept going. I actually really started to enjoy the story and the characters about halfway. Good read!

I liked this book. it was a good quick read. ( )

I received this book for free through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers.

I started reading this book way back in January and put it on hold for the longest time because I was in such a reading slump.

This was a nice and cute romance book. I did like that it touched upon PTSD which is a heavy subject and showed the effects that it can have. Overall, it didn't blow my mind, but it was still a good romance novel. ( )

A little housekeeping first: OUCH! I forgot to post my review of this book after finishing it in early November (2016). It was received as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program; I remember being impressed it was mailed out within 3 weeks of the winners announcement! This was the first book by Ms. Chase I had read, and I really enjoyed it (review to follow). Over the weekend, the eAudio version was available for borrowing through my local library. Terrific! I could add onto the "existing" review, my thoughts of how well the narrators performed the book... and, THAT's when I realized, I hadn't posted my FIRST review. So here goes...

This is a story about two people, whose lives interwove due to their parents' shared political careers. Maddie McGuire, 21 and daughter of the U.S. President, is a serial non-conformist do-gooder. Jake Simmon, 27ish and son of the Vice-President, is an Afghanistan-war veteran, adjusting to society after experiencing devastating losses from a 'mission gone wrong.' Their shared background has been on hiatus for the past 5-6 years, as Jake went through Officer training school and then deployment overseas. However, prior to Jake leaving, he enjoyed besting Maddie whenever he could, since she tried to get him into trouble. For Maddie, outward efforts to show her disdain of Jake, were actually fueled by an unrequited "teen" crush on him. Fast-forward to current day, the two are assigned to work together on a long-term Veterans assistance program. Both are leery of this arrangement, as they independently recognize there is a spark between them, despite their past skirmishes.

As is my policy, I won't disclose further details of the story; instead sharing my feelings about the storyline, etc. While I have read a fair amount of 21st century military stories, involving the difficulties in transitioning back into society, I still felt this book had a separate voice. The author does not tip-toe around the real issues veterans face. Likewise, she doesn't pull punches with character dialogue. Most of the characters speak colloquial dialogue. However, there are times during the book, when the author seemed unsure if the overall theme was about the characters' resiliency in the end or a hot, HEA romance. Sometimes I felt Maddie was written too young in age; she didn't always match up to a returning, seasoned soldier. In contrast, the male characters all spoke as guys would in real life; reluctantly and sparingly. Despite the bit of inconsistent writing, the story moved along nicely, the characters were developed as well as each needed to be, leaving me with the hope that the author will write another story based on some of these characters: Jake's two sisters, or Jake's buddies, Slade and Tame. This story rates four stars.

NOTE about the Audio version of this book: Two narrators were utilized during this production. Usually I rather enjoy having male and female off-setting voices; in this instance, I did not. The female narrator Saskia Maarleveld was new to me. At first she seemed a little subdued, but her pacing and ability to invoke different intonations that were easy to listen to, won me over. I wished she had been a solo narrator on this book. The male narrator Will Damron just never sounded the way I "heard" Jake's voice in my mind. His interpretation of how Jake should say things, just didn't work. He was often too "hard" and "abrupt" in his emphasis and cadence. His "female" voice was not easy to listen to. Too nasally? whiney? I am just thankful I read this story in book format first, as the audio version was lacking. ( )