Review: Between Ghosts by Garrett Leigh
Note: This ARC was provided by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
"What are you doing over there?"
"Waiting for you." Connor held out his hand. "Come here."
As if Nat could refuse. Common sense--and the rockets lighting the night sky--told him whatever was brewing between them was a bad idea--a bad idea with no future, except a shit-ton of heartache--but Connor's eyes drew him in, like they always did. Life was too short to ignore a moment as perfect as this.
You know how you came across an author who's new to you because you've never read any of their books before and then when you read their latest release, you're gobsmacked at how frickin' good it is and then pissed that you it took you this long to read anything they've written? I seem to be making a (bad) habit of that and yep, I've done it again with Garrett Leigh because Between Ghosts is her newest novel and it's a gut-wrenching but honest look at war and how its casualties are never, ever limited to those on the battlefield. This is a standalone and one that I'm seriously recommending you not just add to your to-be-read list--because we all know how long it takes to work our way through it--but actually read immediately.
Between Ghosts is the story of Connor Regan, an embedded journalist with the crew of Charlie-3, and Sergeant Nathan Thompson, who is Charlie-3's first-in-command. Connor has his own personal reasons for wanting to be a war correspondent and it all leads back to his older brother, James, who was killed while serving with the Special Air Service or SAS. Even after three years, Connor still mourns the loss of the brother he looked up to and loved immensely. Nat has already lost count of those who fought by his side but never made it home, but the one death that haunts him most is that of his best friend, Pogo, and the sadness and guilt have never left him. In the midst of war, Nat and Connor find an unexpected kinship.
Seeing Connor and Nat's relationship evolve from one of wariness and skepticism to something far more significant than either one of them probably expected was fascinating. They're very different men but in a world where you put your life in someone else's hands, they reach some common ground that has them opening themselves to the possibility of a far more intimate although often rushed form of human contact. Part of the fascination has to do with the fact that they nurture a closeness to one another but do not share a great deal of personal history--at least on Nat's end, and I'm thinking this has a lot to do with the loss he suffered and how he's hesitant to risk getting close to Connor only to have him leave in the end.
I've read several war romances but this is probably the grittiest one I've come across and I appreciated the author not holding back or trying to soften the more gruesome events soldiers face. But one of my favorite things about this was how Garrett Leigh showed that as highly trained these men were and how experienced they were in facing and doling out death, they were still human and had the same emotions that a civilian like Connor had. There was the usual anger and loneliness, but there was also fear and doubt and even the rare appearance of hope. Between Ghosts was a story of brotherhood--the kind you're born into and the kind you find--and about discovering love even in the most desolate of places. Five-plus stars. ♥
Date Read: 15 March 2016
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