Last month we started with a new feature on Love Bytes, every month we take a week to grab a specific theme that we will work with.
Last month it was anthology week and this month it is Flasback week
There will be a review posted everyday featuring a book published before 2013
We hope you enjoy !
Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Soldier
SERIES: Scarcity Sanctuary #1
AUTHOR: AKM Miles
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 217 Pages
BLURB:
When Soldier shows up to check on one of his properties, he’s amazed to find the old house in disrepair and full of scared boys being cared for by a man who makes him believe in angels. Dillon falls for this big bald man, so scarred inside and out, who comes to mean so much to all of them. All of the boys have such heartbreaking stories and these two men’s mission in life now becomes to make life better, easier, and most of all, safer for the children in their care. Love is all important in building their dream.
REVIEW:
I’m so glad that one of our blog’s regular readers suggested we review some older books because I’m using this opportunity to sprinkle a bit of love on the books that are most special to me. These aren’t necessarily 5 star reads but they’re the books that I have read too many times to keep track of. The books that have stayed with me when other, perhaps better, books haven’t. And actually, that still left me quite a lot to choose from, but I finally decided I just had to start with Soldier by AKM Miles.
This book is like a modern fairytale, an absolute escape from reality and it’s the happy place I run to whenever real life gets to be too much. The blurb says that love is all important in building their dream, and I feel I should warn any potential readers that this book will drown you in love and happiness. While the blurb may fool you in to believing there could be just a bit of angst lurking somewhere in these pages, there are abused children involved after all, trust me this book is nothing other that one great big love fest.
The book centers around a dilapidated old house where MC Dillon cares for seven little boys aged between seven and twelve who are considered “too scarred” to cope with normal fostering arrangements. Nobody seems quite certain whether their make shift group home is entirely legal so they get very little funding, not wanting to draw the attention of anybody in authority. Basically they’re surviving on whatever handouts Dillon can beg for and what little the local adults shelter can spare. Dillon himself was attacked and left physically scarred as a young teen so he’s willing to do whatever it takes to give these kids a safe place to recover from whatever trauma they’ve suffered.
Soldier has been drifting through life with no purpose since his discharge from the military. Both physically and emotionally scarred after a bombing left most of his unit injured or dead, Soldier needs to find a reason to start living again. When he discovers Dillon and the boys living on one of his properties, he finds that reason. Soldier wants to help protect and care for the boys and as for Dillon, well he’d definitely like to “take care of” Dillon too. I must add that the sex between Soldier and Dillon surprised me with the level of hotness. Every other aspect of this book is geared towards sweet rather than sexy but holy shit! Those two men can really tear up the sheets!
Of the seven boys we really only get to know two very well, the eldest, Tommy, and the youngest, Gom. They were both horrendously abused and even tortured by their mothers and they’re the two that Soldier feels the biggest calling to help.
So all of that sounds pretty grim, right? But nope! Because the equation works like this – Scarred Soldier + Scarred Dillon + Seven Scarred Little Boys = Scarcity Sanctuary (emphasis on Scarcity). Even when dealing with homophobic cops, figures from Tommy’s horrific past and a non-house trained puppy named Pee Wiggles there is never anything but positivity oozing from the walls of that house as Dillon and Soldier fight to give the boys the love they need to thrive again.
Like I said, this book is my favourite escape from reality. Honestly, in real life, these little kids would be so traumatized that a few loving, thoughtful words from Soldier and Dillon wouldn’t do shit to help them. But if you, like me, could do with a giant helping of “happy” every now and again then maybe you’ll love this book just as much as I do. And in case you too fall in love with this story, Tommy and Gom each have their own book in the Scarcity Sanctuary series but this first book is by far my favourite.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
I Loved this book. The whole series actually.