Anna RichlandBesprekingen

Nice book. On the whole I enjoyed it. The biggest thing holding it back from more stars was that it felt rather distant, a bit more tell than show. The theme was interesting and I enjoyed both main characters. The story also could have benefited from more description.

I don't get it...

I really wanted to like this book, because it started off with such an interesting premise: Reynaldo, a medic/soldier working in the Middle East, gets out of a warlord offering up a bride to him by saying he has a fiancee back home. To prove it, he takes a random girl he vaguely knew from his hometown and photo-shops a picture of them together. But then Reynaldo gets blown up, losing his legs and sustaining a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) in the process, and somehow Grace winds up being known as his actual fiancee.

Somehow, everyone totally believes that Grace managed to have an entire relationship behind their backs, and Grace's rather weak protests get unheard. Grace shows up at Rey's bedside but can't get an explanation out of him because of his aphasia (which was a rather interesting twist to add). She continues to linger (Why...?) and keep him company, and it's never really clear just how she feels about this whole situation. In fact, I one big negative I found in the book was the lack of description and how the plot seems to make giant leaps in the space of a few paragraphs. For example, when Rey first sees Grace he puts in a quick sentence about her "not being his type". Yet then a week has magically passed and when Grace can't come up with any more excuses to stick around he kisses her (and since that whole week was just skipped, we have no real description for how their romance builds up during this time).

More time flies by in the book without detail. Reynaldo just lost his legs and his ability to talk, but the book would have you believe that he is pretty much just okay with this from the beginning. As far as his legs go, Rey seems to just shrug his shoulders and be like "well, there's lots of amps (amputees) in the military, so I'll just get prosthetic legs and be about my merry way". Admirable endurance, but I feel that even the best of men would have been at least a little upset at having lost their friggin' legs. As for the aphasia, Rey does offer a few sentences expressing his frustration, but for the most his situation is just accepted without much grief. I feel like this book would have had so much more depth to it if we could have seen Rey struggle to overcome his new disabilities (with Grace's help, of course). Instead, months flash by very quickly and Rey gets his new prosthetic legs without a hitch. In fact, the loss of his legs was almost like just a vague background plot to the story.

The lack of description combined with the fast-moving timeline made me really confused as to where Grace and Reynaldo stood in their relationship. I might be partly to blame because about halfway through the novel I was ready to give up and so I moved very quickly through the last pages to finish it. I never really felt like I could get inside the characters' heads and understand what they were feeling. The whole novel felt flat, and I was very sad about that. I really wanted to get more engaged, but it just never happened. I almost wish that this novel of only 120 pages or so would double in size so that the author could flesh out and go deeper into what could have been a very interesting romance.

I really enjoyed this book especially since the heroine was from a Korean background (like me).

The only thing I had a problem was that the story was too short so everything progressed quite quickly. I would love to read a sequel of their life together after their real engagement and how his university schooling goes, their struggles as reality of juggling schooling and work. I loved their relationship even though I felt that it progressed too fast for me in the sense that the author didn't write more. We don't get to read the months that go by we get text messages of how he says hi after a few weeks/a month. We read just the aftermath and I wanted to read the development, the struggle.

My only critique about this book is that Grace seemed a little too perfect. I couldn't fully see her as a real person and I think it's just because the story was short and the author could definitely add in more angst, character story and other life stuff in it!

This was a pleasant surprise! Teresa is a military nurse stationed in Afghanistan and is faced with a mystery when one of her patients arrives with no evidence of the severe injuries noted in triage. Wulf is an immortal, a berserker, and if his secret is exposed he'll be forced to leave the military and the team he considers family. He should avoid Teresa like the plague, but he's drawn to her strength and confidence as duty forces them to spend more time together. Then a mission makes Wolfe a target of opium dealers...and Teresa is pulled into the danger.

I loved the suspense in this book and all the action that came with it. The relationship that develops between the couple is passionate and intense. They had several obstacles to overcome, but I was pulling for them from the beginning. The secondary characters were well written and the camaraderie between Wulf and his men was entertaining and realistic. This was so close to a five star read and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance or romantic suspense. The only reason I bumped it down to four stars was the length, especially of the sex scenes. I get bored fast when sex scenes are so long they interrupt the flow. On the up side, I felt like I got my money's worth when it came to the plot as this story could've easily been split into two books. An excellent start to a new series. I'll be reading the next book.

I always love a HEA story but His Road Home by Anna Richland is exceptional!

Author Anna Richland treats a very serious subject with sensitivity, humor and a great deal of honesty. I do wish more of the trials our returning veterans was delved into more deeply, but I realize how difficult this would be in a short amount of time and was not the focal point of the story.

Rey, but mostly his interpreter in Afghanistan, creative a very interesting situation that could lead to nothing but trouble and I saw it coming from the very beginning!

Grace handles the situation as her name implies, with as much grace as any woman could be expected to, and with so much more compassion that many would be able to muster with such surprises coming off of the internet!

Anna Richland uses her mastery of the written word to great advantage in His Road Home. I am going back to her previous novel, which introduced Rey Cruz and I will be watching for future stories that she releases.

On a more personal note, I am the wife of a disabled veteran from the Vietnam conflict. I can’t thank you enough, for bringing the stories of our fallen and unsung heroes to your books. The dedication in His Road Home brought me immediately to tears. Thank you as well for mentioning Fisher Houses and Doctors Without Borders / MSF. Both are worthy of note for the great works they do.

I highly recommend His Road Home by Anna Richland and give it five, steaming cups of coffee (my equivalent to gold stars). May this coffee be taken in the spirit it is offered and know that I would give it many, many more were that an option in reviewing.

~ Patricia, Room With Books ~ © Oct 24, 2014

DNF. I'm reserving a rating in case I decide to pick it back up. I loved the first bit of this book--enough to recommend it to a friend to really enjoys military guys and romance. But it lost me in Italy. It's just a downright mess in Italy. I overlooked a bunch of it until he takes her back to his secret bedroom/bathtub place and all of a sudden her panties melt and all her reservations are gone...after they just did the shootings and the sewers and the fire and and and. Too far fetched. too much and with characters still not developed well enough for me to care.

Christina Alvarez Macini runs a wine collection service along with a pretend boss. At a London wine auction she is shocked to find a stranger (Stig) claiming to be her boss. The night at an auction turns into a dangerous adventure. If they are to survive, these two strangers need to trust one another.

The first Immortal Vikings, First to Burn was one of my favorite books in 2014. I was so excited to read number two. While it has a different setting, the story and characters were just has good. Stig & Christina are different, but also very much alike in some ways. I loved that their attraction burned fast and hard. The Second Lie is an excellent addition the the series, I loved it. Sexy, exciting and filled with non-stop adventure. A must read.

The Second Lie had me hooked from the word go as I love an adventure with my romance and this story has plenty.
Christina was working to building her name and her wine collecting service, and she invented a rich British owner to reassure her clients. But at her latest wine auction she is dismayed when things don't go as planned, and an unexpected guest arrives.
Stig is a con man and a thief, he's also an immortal Viking. When he discovered what Christina had done he knew he had a plan to make some fast money that he needed.
The story then leads us to an adventure of, a kidnapping and lots of 'on the edge of your seat' action.
And of cause the attraction between them can't be ignored, the passion is hot and steamy, and I liked the interaction and their banter, I especially enjoyed Stig, and his turn of phrase, he was very amusing.

This was a first book for me by this author, it can be read as a standalone but I intend to catch up by reading the first book from the series as I enjoyed this story so much.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next Immortal Viking story with great anticipation. 5/5
Parano

It only took me a couple chapters to fall in love with the characters and the story that would unfold. Excellent read! I loved Rey & Grace journey. Unique and heartwarming. His Road Home is a wonderful story full of compassion, love and new beginnings. In a few short pages Ms. Richland created a beautiful and sexy romance. One of my favorites this year.

This is a stand alone short story. Rey Cruz also makes an appearance in First to Burn, Immortal Vikings #1.

This was an wonderful read. It's probably not something I would pick up on my own but I ended up loving it anyway. First to Burn is a military romance with paranormal elements. It's non-stop action, mostly set in Afghanistan & Italy. Wulf and Theresa's journey was exciting and delicious, filled with danger and romance. I especially enjoyed that Beowulf was part of Wulf's back story. About half way through there was a bit of twist. It's always great when a book/story surprises me. A unique tale that I definitely recommend.

For those not familiar with the epic poem of Beowulf and interested in it, the author recommends checking out the audio book format Beowulf: Translated and Read by Seamus Heaney.