Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Ranger: A Standalone MM Romance
AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix, K.M. Neuhold
PUBLISHER: Serlf-Published
LENGTH: 226 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 26, 2020
BLURB:
I’ve been living under storm clouds since my honorable discharge, but Julian’s the sun.
I’ve tried everything to deal with my PTSD from yoga to sunning my butthole, but nothing seemed to help.
So when my brother suggests a service dog, I figure I don’t have anything to lose. The last thing I expect is for the dog to come with a cheerful, quirky trainer I can’t get out of my head…
I’m too screwed up for love, but a chance to explore a side of myself I didn’t realize existed until recently is too good to pass up.
But the more I get to know Julian, the more I start to think I might not be beyond saving after all…
REVIEW:
PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) can be crippling is such a way that it disables one to perform regular routinary activities like having a regular job or performing day-to-day chores. It can sap your energy like you have been running a marathon. But I think when you are a soldier, PTSD can be slightly higher in intensity and volatility and it can sometimes turn violent, although not in all cases. Maybe because of the horrors that you have seen during your tours, which will probably stay with you forever so you have to find a way to live with it. Most of the time, it requires psychological assistance and having someone there to talk them down whenever they experience it. Not all soldiers have PTSD, only those who have seen horrors that are unspeakable have these nightmares. With care, support and love by family and friends, even co-workers, this can be controlled and cured.
Mack Stone (a.k.a. Ranger) was an Army Ranger. He has seen first-hand horrors that we are lucky not to have seen. When he lost a special person during his last tour, he felt like he has lost someone who could have been “the one” but back then he didn’t act on his feelings before it became too late. Now he is barely living, most of the time he doesn’t really want to. He kept thinking of what might have been. He kept thinking of how he lost that special person who could have been the one. He knows that he has to will himself to get better, not only for his mental and physical health but also for those people who care about him enough to want him to get better, like his brother Lucky.
Julian comes from a family of lawyers, and he was on his way there too when he finally woke up and be courageous enough to go for what he really wants. Now, he trains various kinds of animals. He trains them for movies and TV, but most importantly he trains (dogs in particular) them for Veteran Soldiers to help with their traumas from wars. When Lucky, a former Marine, called him to inquire regarding the possibility of helping his brother cope with his PTSD, Julian readily arranged for a visit to Ranger’s house for an interview and assess what kind of dog he needs.
A tale of a “not really grumpy but just lost” Veteran and a very sweet and “full of sunshine and smiles” Animal Trainer. Their friendship stemmed from Julian placing his trained-dog Benny to be Ranger’s pack. When he got Benny, Ranger’s life began to change. He started to live again. He started to have someone beside him who feels whenever he starts to have an episode and seem to know how to ground him and bring him back. A brewing friendship also started between Julian and Ranger. Julian seems to understand what Ranger is going through due to his several work with other Veterans who also deal with PTSD.
A sweet and beautiful story of two people just fitting each other. Two people who just fill what the other person needed but didn’t really go out looking for it. Beautifully-written with a low level of angst, I am not discounting the fact that one of the characters has PTSD, that the readers will come out thinking that things can get better with love, care and support. And things do get better, you just have to hang in there and do your best!
RATING: 
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