Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Grounded
AUTHOR: Teodora Kostova
SERIES: Cookies
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 300 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 17, 2019
BLURB:
A chance encounter.
A passionate night.
An intense connection.
When medical student Shane Sanford and RAF pilot Greg Becker meet the air between them sizzles with mutual attraction. There’s nothing holding them back as they give in to their desire. But once their paths lead them into a different direction, neither of them can forget the intense connection they’d shared.
When fate brings them together again a year later, they have a choice to make: try and make a long-distance relationship work or let this be a one-night stand again.With war, tragedy and fear standing in their way, can Shane and Greg overcome the challenges life keeps throwing their way?
Is their bond strong enough to survive?
Is love enough?
REVIEW:
I love Grounded. I love Greg and Shane. And I love how much they love kissing.
Greg is a pilot in the RAF, deployed in Afghanistan, and is away for long periods of time, usually with sparse communication. The job is gravely dangerous, putting stress on both Greg and his love interest, Shane. This story is about how they navigate the separation and danger, both in terms of their relationship and individually. They endure periods of emotional distance, in addition to being apart physically.
Their story is told in increments at five years, four years, three years, and two years in the past, plus the present day (the majority of the book) told chronologically, not as flashbacks. The novel opens when Greg and Shane, twenty-three and twenty-years-old, respectively, meet in a London club and sparks fly immediately. They promptly take their passion to a hotel room where things get so hot and urgent. The chemistry is off the charts, though they both feel something more than just sexual attraction. Stupidly, they don’t exchange numbers after their one night together, but obviously they meet again or else this would be a short book.
While Greg is deployed, Shane is home in Cambridge running a rehabilitation center for combat veterans. The men benefit from being with others who have the shared experience of the trauma of war and the physical and mental pain it often causes. It’s through the center that Shane forms his friendships with the men who comprise many of the secondary characters, including Peter, Amir and his boyfriend, Jay. Amir and Jay are the main characters from Cookies, book one of the Cookies series. If you’ve read Cookies, you’re already familiar with the gang from the rehab center. The present-day timelines of the two books run concurrently, and some of the events are told in both books, from different perspectives (Grounded is told in dual, first person POVs). My attention drifted during many of these repetitive scenes, but they are necessary for this book to be completely standalone.
Greg has several close friendships within the RAF, Evan and Dawson among them, and to a lesser extent, Mark, Kelly, and Anthony. Evan, in particular, is a pivotal character with strong development.
With all that – and I’m not even revealing any details – you can bet there’s angst out to wazoo here. The angst will keep you engaged, as will your desire to see Greg and Shane succeed as a couple. Speaking of coupling, the sexy times are wonderfully steamy. At the very end, Ms. Kostova has created the most ”elaborate” final chapter/epilogue I think I’ve ever read in a romance novel. Enjoy it. Enjoy all of this sweet and sexy story. I highly recommend it.
“I love you,” I whispered in his ear as I bent down to kiss his cheek goodbye. It was probably the most selfish thing I’d ever done, the words serving no purpose but to hurt us both, Yet, I needed him to know. I was going to war and I may never come back, I wasn’t going to regret not telling the only man I’d ever loved how I felt.
RATING: 
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