Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: Always Hope
SERIES: Guardian Hall #2
AUTHOR: RJ Scott
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
LENGTH: 294 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2025
BLURB:
He couldn’t save his team. Now Tyler has nothing—and no one.
Corporal Tyler Mason is haunted by the friends he lost in war, the sole survivor because of a mission that cost his team their lives. Rejected by his twin sister, who can’t bear to face him, and having pushed his parents away beneath crushing guilt, Tyler arrives at Guardian Hall, desperate to disappear into silence. He wants to vanish—erase every trace of who he was—but somehow, the people of the Hall look past the scars and silence, seeing strength in his survival and hope where he sees only failure.
As co-founder of Guardian Hall, Dr. Marcus Stirling has spent years helping others rebuild—but despite everything he has seen, he carries the weight of his own mistakes and the hard-fought sobriety he has achieved. He’s seen so much, but nothing prepared him for the broken man standing on the roof that night, burned, scarred, and barely holding on.
What begins as a fragile connection between doctor and patient slowly deepens, each moment drawing them closer until desire becomes impossible to deny. But love has never been safe. And when guilt, grief, and the shadows of the past close in, both men must risk everything for the one thing they never believed they’d find. Because even when there’s nothing left… hope can still survive.
Always Hope is a slow-burn, hurt/comfort, MM romance with a broken soldier, a recovering addict, ghosts that won’t let go, and a forbidden connection that might save them both.
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Trigger warnings for Always Hope: PTSD, survivor’s guilt, military combat loss, addiction recovery, grief, family estrangement, emotional discussions of suicide ideation, burn injuries, physical scarring, and mental health themes, including depression and self-isolation
REVIEW:
This story was a little hard to read, but so worth it.
Tyler is a man tormented. There is nothing in the world like survivor’s guilt and Tyler is drowning in it. He feels lost and more alone than he ever has in his life. Coming to Guardian’s Hall is the only indication that maybe he wants something more than to just die. He thought that’s what he wanted…but then there was Marcus.
Marcus has survived his own kind of war…one he was waging with himself. Now he finds himself unable to stay away from Tyler but the circumstances make him question his own motivation.
These two men are both beautifully broken in different ways. I love the dual perspective in this story as I feel like it gives us a unique look at the characters and what they are going through. The author portrays their struggles in such a way that I could not look away for fear of missing something. It’s heartfelt and so real. The problems are not just dismissed, but worked through, and while most of the storyline was not a surprise, that was okay, because it was all about the journey, not the destination.
We only got brief but memorable glimpses of Marcus’ relationship with his friends and sponsor, but that’s okay because it kept the focus on where it belonged…Marcus himself and how is learning that his past doesn’t have to overtake his future.
And Nate? He really is heartbreaking. I cried so many times as he waded through his misery and the causes of it. He personifies those people who go out there every day and put themself on the line for others. As a side note, veterans should be far better cared for. No one who has served their country should be left homeless and alone without support.
I love Nate from the beginning, and while I knew he would get his happy ending eventually, seeing him so devastated just about killed me.
RJ Scott is an amazing writer who has a wonderful connection with their characters. They are able to wring emotions out of their readers and let us get completely immersed in their stories. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Please be aware that there is talk of suicide, battle injuries, burns and drug and alcohol abuse. They are tough subjects but a part of real life and very well portrayed in this book.
RATING: 
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