Book Review and GIVEAWAY: At the Island's Edge, by C.I. Jerez {ends 5/8}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

We continue to dance, and I sing along to the chorus. I think about the words and what it would mean to Eli if he understood it. Would he think it’s fate that we are dancing to a song about a woman who knows every wound, every war of life, and the pain of love?

When it ends, patrons seated at tables near the dance floor’s edge clap for us. Maybe it’s because for a split second the two of us looked happy. Or perhaps it’s Eli’s effort to dance and lead me despite only being able to use one arm. It doesn’t matter. I blink back the tears from the corners of my eyes, flooded with conflicting emotions and sentimentality.

Eli hugs me again, but this time he holds it a second longer, pulling my body a slight pulse tighter against his. He leans down and kisses my cheek. I’m tempted to turn my face and return his kiss, but a sudden movement at the entrance catches my eye.

My feet are frozen. I cannot move. It’s not possible. It’s been ten years, but it’s him. So much time but he’s barely changed, maybe a little more mature, but still the face I knew before. I’m struck dumb by the familiarity of his features.

Lina returns to Puerto Rico after attending high school in the U.S. and serving a traumatic tour with the Army in Iraq. Can she still rise to be the mother and family member her family expects?

Official synopsis:

As a combat medic, Lina LaSalle went to Iraq to save the lives of fellow soldiers. But when her convoy is attacked, she must set aside her identity as a healer and take a life herself.

Although she is honored as a hero when she returns to the US, Lina cannot find her footing. She is stricken with PTSD and unsure of how to support her young son, Teó, a little boy with Tourette’s. As her attempts to self-medicate become harder to hide, Lina realizes she must do the toughest thing yet: ask for help.

She retreats to her parents’ house in Puerto Rico, where Teó thrives under her family’s care. Lina finds kinship, too—with a cousin whose dreams were also shattered by the war and with a handsome and caring veteran who sought refuge on the island and runs a neighborhood bar.

But amid the magic of the island are secrets and years of misunderstandings that could erode the very stability she’s fighting for. Hope lies on the horizon, but can she keep her gaze steady?

The story starts with the attack of Lina’s convoy in Iraq. Her recounting of each moment is full of emotion, and the reader can feel Lina’s distress and urgency to get home safe to her son. As a combat medic, she is only supposed to be there to help her fellow soldiers, but as her convoy passes through a village with multiple threats, she is forced to do whatever it takes to survive. 

As it was the end of her tour anyway, Lina is soon honorably discharged and back with her son. While she originally had planned to stay and have the military fund her journey through medical school, she now wants out, and has little support processing what she’s been through.

Lina and her son move back to her family’s home in Puerto Rico, where she has not lived since before high school. Her relationships with all of her family members are closely examined, and she isn’t confident in trusting anyone else to have her best interests at heart. Unfortunately, she is still emotionally overwrought and has to make some bad choices before she realizes how badly she needs help.

The book was an emotionally-charged journey through Lina’s PTSD and its resulting alcoholism. But all is never lost, and experiencing Lina’s life through her eyes helps the reader feel her strength and love for her son and family. The book earned a high 4 out of 5 stars, and would be readily recommended to those who enjoy contemporary fiction, strong female characters, and stories of life transitioning after military service.

{click here to purchase on Amazon - currently FREE for Kindle Unlimited!}

Becki Bayley is a Gemini who enjoys Legos, snack foods, and Cherry Coke. See more of what she’s up to and her family’s adventures on her blog, SweetlyBSquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of At the Island's Edge!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Thursday, May 8th, and winner will be notified the next day via email and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

At the Island's Edge, by C.I. Jerez