Only Love (Only Love #1)

Title: Only Love (Only Love #1)
Author: Garrett Leigh
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 10, 2014
Genre(s): Military, Hurt/Healing/Comfort
Page Count: 275
Reviewed by: Gigi
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

The diagnosis of a chronic stomach condition leaves thirty-two-year-old Sergeant Jed Cooper with little choice but to call time on his Army career. Then on the dusty streets of Kirkuk, an ambush gone tragically wrong decimates his team, and he returns to the US with a shattered leg and the memory of his best friend dying in his arms.

Life in his sleepy hometown proves intolerable until he finds solace in a lakeside cabin with vivacious young carpenter, Max O’Dair. In the shadow of the epilepsy that periodically plagues Max, he and Jed form an unspoken bond. After a late night episode, Jed realizes how much Max means to him, and life has taught him not to waste time.

But the lines between contentment and complacency are blurred. Things left hidden resurface to tear through their world, and before they can repair the damage, death comes to call again. Faces, past and present, rally around them to weather the storm, but before long, they are left with only love.

This review was initially posted on March 14, 2014.

This was my first book written by Garrett Leigh. She is a newer M/M Romance author, first publishing a freebie titled Gypsy Rain in June 2013 and a steady stream of extremely popular M/M romances ever since. I hear about her on my GR feed constantly, but she tends to favor heavy angst in her stories, which is normally my preference, but this brutal 2014 Minnesota winter and other real life stressors have kicked my ass and kept me reading mostly warm and fuzzy M/M Romance tales to help keep the real-life blues away. I even started a new shelf called wait 4 better mood so some of these excellent angsty tales didn’t slip by me and I could easily access them when my mood perked up. But Only Love? After reading the blurb, I knew this was going to be an exception in my angst-free-exile.

All of my favorite qualities in M/M Romance fiction are represented here. Military men, hurt/healing/comfort, PTSD, service dog(s), family reunions, interactions with children, deep, emotional bonds that transcend sex, good sex (but not a whole lot of it, unfortunately. But I didn’t miss it. The book was THAT GOOD) and a HEA worthy of the image below. That picture perfectly wraps up how the ending made me feel. *sigh*

I can absolutely, 100% recommend this book to M/M Romance fans who are looking to read a journey of healing for two men who eventually find love with each other. It is worth every tear.

Garrett Leigh is quite obviously one of the new greats in M/M Romance fiction and if her hardcore angst can leave me feeling so happy and free, I need to get my ass in gear and catch up to my GoodReads friends who have been singing her praises for months now.

5 STARS, FAVORITES SHELF

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