Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Semper Fi
AUTHOR: Keira Andrews
NARRATOR: John Solo
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 11 hours, 46 minutes
RELEASE DATE: February 25, 2020
BLURB:
The war is over. The battle for love has just begun.
As Marines, Cal and Jim depended on each other to survive bloodshed and despair in the Pacific. Relieved to put the horrors of war behind him, Jim went home to his apple orchard and a quiet life with his wife and children. Knowing Jim could never return his forbidden feelings, Cal hoped time and an ocean between them would dull the yearning for his best friend.
But when Jim’s wife dies, Cal returns to help. He doesn’t know a thing about apple farming—or children—but he’s determined to be there for Jim, even as the painful torch he carries blazes back to life. Jim is grateful for his friend’s support as he struggles with buried emotions and dark wartime memories. Then Jim begins to see Cal in a new light, and their relationship deepens in ways neither expected. Can they build a life together as a family and find happiness in a world that would condemn them?
This historical gay romance from Keira Andrews features friends to lovers, sexual awakening, found family, and of course a happy ending. (It also contains wartime violence and depictions of post-traumatic stress.)
REVIEW:
Cal and Jim met and bonded in the training for the Marines, before being sent out to war. They connected in their shared misery and loathing of their instructor and the bond they formed saw them through many and countless horrors. It called Cal to Jim after Jim’s wife died in a car accident after they’d returned from the war. It saw them through the lowest of low and the highest of highs. There was something special between them from the start, and I believe Jim was the only one not knowing. Well, not knowing it was more than friendship.
Semper Fi really highlighted what it was like to be gay back in the 1940s. The stigma and what’s more the illegality of it. And how deep rooted this sense of wrongness was. Jim felt that to the bone, truly believed it, because that was the way back then. And to be honest it still is in far too many places and far too many people, but that’s a discussion for another time. So while I don’t agree with all of his choices, I do understand why he made them, why he felt he had to. His struggles were real, and both Andrews and Solo made you feel all of them.
This story felt so real. There was nothing over the top or overly dramatic. Nothing added for the wow or shock value. It’s genuine and believable through and through. And I would be surprised if there isn’t a Jim and Cal out there somewhere living their hard earned happily ever after.
Some books – for various reasons – aren’t ideal for audiobooks and I feel Semper Fi might be one of them. It’s told from a dual point of view, something I always like as it gives the reader and listener insight to both main characters. We get to know both of them, know their inner thoughts and wants and we feel what they are feeling. However, this book is also told from two timelines; 1942 and 1948. And these switch off every chapter or so.
Writing the book this way, I felt like whenever I started to get invested in the events taking place, we were transported back to 1942 or to their present day in 1948. It made me disconnect from the story, from Cal and Jim. I liked both timelines, they were interesting and served a purpose, but I wished the book was written in two parts; the then and the now. I think it would have had much more of an impact that way. Made me connect and care more. This is my personal preference and experience, and not something that should be taken as gospel.
I think that John Solo did a great job capturing the sense of time and place. Some a bit too credible for my peace of mind, Okinawa being one of those places. Then again, I really do appreciate war not being romanticised, that some of the horrors were shown to us. Even though I’m happiest in my little bubble, pretending that humans aren’t so cruel to each other. But it wasn’t only the bad stuff that he captured. He showed us the love between Cal and Jim, the longing and the fear of repercussions. But also the love of a family, good friends. The gentler pace of life they lived back then. And the epilogue, that was truly beautiful, and so, so heartfelt.
Even though there were things keeping me from loving this book to the fullest. I still do recommend it, because there is an amazing love story here and one I believe will touch many, many hearts.
RATING: 
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