It felt like their history got swept under the rug so we could hurry up and get to the romance and then the romance was unsatisfying because Harper remained underdeveloped as a character. From there they moved right into a tentative relationship that quickly became something more. I'm not one to advocate violence, but he had it coming.

When he ran into her and tried to be casual and friendly she literally punched him in the face. Travis and Harper had very bad history which was Travis' fault. Unfortunately other aspects of the book weren't as strong. Their interactions are that combination of profane, mean, and supportive that's so common in the friendships of young men and I enjoyed them. I also liked his relationship with his friends from his unit. That aspect of the story was very well done. He isn't perfect by any means, but he felt very real for a 19 year old dealing with PTSD and a host of other personal pressures who is trying to grow up and figure out how to move forward with his life. On the positive side Travis is a great POV character and his story was engaging. I liked some aspects of it very much and others not at all. I had a very mixed reaction to this book. She and Travis have bad history going back to middle school, but he's hoping that they can put it behind them because she's the only person in Florida he actually wants to spend time with. The one bright spot in all this is Harper.

His worst problem is that he's consumed by guilt over the death of his best friend in combat and experiencing serious PTSD symptoms. His mother is behaving oddly, his parent's marriage may be breaking up, and he no longer has anything in common with his old friends. His younger brother is dating his ex-girlfriend, Paige, and driving his car without permission. His relationship with his father is still as bad as it was when Travis joined the Marines to get away from his disapproval. Travis Stephenson is a Marine home on leave after a deployment in Afghanistan, and things aren't peaceful on the home front.

Something like normal by trish doller