Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Only Love 
SERIES: Only Love #1
AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh
PUBLISHER: Fox Love Press
LENGTH: 355 pages
RE-RELEASE DATE: October 22, 2018
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.
REVIEW:
Jed is a war veteran recovering from horrific events with life-changing results. Having seen his unit – his friends blown up – he is scarred physically and emotionally. At the request of his brother Nick, he returns to the last place he wants to be; the hometown where his father kicked him out of the house upon being informed, by Nick, that Jed was gay.
Max has a past, one that is deeply covered. With a new life in the states with his sister Kim and her husband Nick, Max is happy in his lakeside cottage. Kim worries for him though, as Max has epilepsy. As things are awkward at home between Nick and Jed, she suggests Max offers Jed his spare room.
There is an instant attraction between Jed and Max, but both men are broken. The question is whether they can fix each other – if not physically, emotionally.
Told in the third person from Jed and Max’s pov’s, the main characters are very different, yet similar and instantly likeable. Max is a, live off the land guy and Jed is a tough military man who keeps everything to himself, including the illness he returned from war with.
I loved this story. It isn’t flawless (excessive use of the word, but), yet from the start, I felt the need to take my time and read every word. I was right to do so because with each paragraph something new was learned and another aspect of the men’s lives revealed.
Jed and Max find it painfully difficult to open up about their pasts. After all, a man needs to be ready to talk before he will talk. Some things they can’t reveal, other things they don’t want to, and through it all, they find solace in each other. Jed experiences flashbacks. Sights and sounds send him back to places, people and operations. Adjusting to civilian life proves difficult for Jed. His venture into Walmart was one part of the story that was most enlightening. Jed wants to relax but can’t help the inquisitive side that has been ingrained into him through his training. His gut instincts tell him that there is more to Max than meets the eye.
I’ll admit to having a little difficulty with Jed and Max talking about youths and being veterans. Jed is only 32 and considering I’m in my 50’s anyone younger than forty is youthful. So that took a little brain-readjustment on my part.
I was so captivated by this story that I failed to make my usual review notes while reading. Both men had a journey to take, heartache to experience and re-experience. The bond between Paul and Jed made me cry. Even writing that short sentence, with their names, in made tears spring to my eyes. The relationship between Max and Jed is beautiful, tastefully done and their intimate times complimented the arc. The ending was … well, let’s say – I ignored my favourite program to read it.
Only Love has depth, drama, angst, heartache, love, compassion and was more than I can explain here. It ticked all the boxes I have for a super story.
RATING: 
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