Reviewed by JustJen
Title: The Only One Who Matters
Author: Cat Grant & L.A. Witt
Series: The Only One #2
Heroes: David Flint/Josh Walker
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 183 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Available at: Samhain Publishing, Amazon & Barnes and Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads & Booklikes
Blurb: No man—and no heart—left behind.
Months after a bullet ended his SEAL career, Senior Chief David Flint doesn’t know which is worse: struggling to adjust to life as a civilian, or watching his lover, Lieutenant Commander Josh Walker, leave for one deployment after another.
Missing the career he loved—and knowing all too well the danger Josh faces—doesn’t help. And as Josh walks out the door for another assignment, David can feel their relationship cracking under the strain.
With so little time between assignments, Josh has no idea how to fix things with David. One thing he’s sure of, though…if they don’t find a way to resolve the rising tension between them, there’s a storm coming they might not be able to weather. But he plans to give it his best shot—when he gets home.
Assuming he makes it home alive…
Warning: Contains plenty of smoking-hot sex between two dudes who just wanted to be SEALs, not deal with all this romance crap. They went and fell in love anyway, and now have to figure out how to make it work while saving the world and teaching their puppy not to beg.
Review:
I absolutely loved the first book in this series and fell in love with Josh and Flint right from the get go. They faced quite a few challenges back then, and that has not lessened any this time around.
Now, Flint, or David as he is now a civilian, is having a lot of trouble coming to grips with the ending of his SEAL career and acclimating to his new life. He is at a bit of a loss as he recuperates from his injury and tries to figure out what he will do with his life. Added to this is the fact that Josh is still enlisted and going on dangerous assignments. David has never been on this end of things, stuck at home and waiting for any news of his loved one, yet knowing full well what Josh faces while deployed. This is really starting to take a toll on their relationship, of which they are both aware. Unfortunately, Josh is not home long enough for them to really do anything about it, so things just sort of sit in limbo until he returns.
In the meantime, David is adjusting, with the help of a team member’s family. They have kind of adopted each other, with David stepping in to help with the kids and pregnant wife while that team member is deployed. It was fun watching David struggle a bit with being around the kids and having to step up to the plate to care for them. I liked watching his comfort level grow little by little as they became more and more important for them. It also really helped David to understand and share the emotions as they commiserated over their deployed partners.
Josh does quite a bit of growing up in this book. Even though they still struggle with communication issues, they are both aware there are issues that must be addressed. I was really pulling for these guys to get through things, especially when Josh finally returns and has to deal with PTSD issues on top of everything else. For some reason, this installment felt so real to me, with the problems they each faced from different sides of the fence. I felt so much for each of them for different reasons and was hanging on for them to really join together and be there for each other. It is clear how much they love and mean to each other even when things aren’t going perfectly for them. This book especially gives you a real sense of some of what military families go through every day.
I love this writing team and they quickly became an auto read for me. While I do really enjoy both on their own, when working together, it is like a double whammy. The stories are solid and well written, pulling various emotions from me in the process. When I begin reading, no sooner am I starting that I find myself at the end and longing for more. This book was no exception. I hope this isn’t the last we will see of David and Josh, but, either way, I know I’ll be excited for where ever the next adventure will take us.
Overall Impression: It was amazing
*I received a copy of this book from the authors in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
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