BOOK: Christopher's Medal
AUTHOR: SA Laybourn
PUBLISHER: Totally Bound
RELEASED: November 22nd 2013
BOOK COVER: Posh Gosh (Emily Ellis) Art Director at Totally Bound
SYNOPSIS
The wounds of war can run far more than skin deep.
Grace Webb trains racehorses for a living. It's a career she's happy to focus on when her fiancé, Christopher Beaumont, is deployed to Afghanistan. At a time when racing yards are losing horses because of the bad economy, a promising horse like Allonby could be the salvation of her father's yard. Grace welcomes the chance to focus on Allonby in attempt to stop fretting about Christopher's growing despondency and the frustration of lousy internet connections.
When Christopher comes home with horrific leg wounds and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Grace is determined to help him heal. While she fights Christopher's nightmares, depression and rage, she also faces a battle to save Allonby's career before it's had a chance to blossom.
Christopher, feeling that he's giving Grace more grief than love, leaves her. Grace couldn't heal Christopher, but she can help Allonby and keep her father's yard running. When Christopher returns, seeking forgiveness and a second chance, Grace gives him that chance. This time she won't let Christopher surrender to his demons. On the eve of the biggest race of Allonby's career, Grace faces down her worse nightmare - saving Christopher from himself.
SYNOPSIS
The wounds of war can run far more than skin deep.
Grace Webb trains racehorses for a living. It's a career she's happy to focus on when her fiancé, Christopher Beaumont, is deployed to Afghanistan. At a time when racing yards are losing horses because of the bad economy, a promising horse like Allonby could be the salvation of her father's yard. Grace welcomes the chance to focus on Allonby in attempt to stop fretting about Christopher's growing despondency and the frustration of lousy internet connections.
When Christopher comes home with horrific leg wounds and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Grace is determined to help him heal. While she fights Christopher's nightmares, depression and rage, she also faces a battle to save Allonby's career before it's had a chance to blossom.
Christopher, feeling that he's giving Grace more grief than love, leaves her. Grace couldn't heal Christopher, but she can help Allonby and keep her father's yard running. When Christopher returns, seeking forgiveness and a second chance, Grace gives him that chance. This time she won't let Christopher surrender to his demons. On the eve of the biggest race of Allonby's career, Grace faces down her worse nightmare - saving Christopher from himself.
REVIEW
My Rating = A foxy four
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest
review. First read November 2013
The beautiful cover of this book became my favourite of 2013
and first drew me to this book and I knew then I just had to read this.
Having already read and become a fan of Ms Laybourn’s books
in the m/m genre under the pen name SA Meade, I knew this would be an amazing
read too. It wasn’t until I had started reading it that I clicked and realised
Christopher and Grace had an appearance in the m/m book Stolen Summer that I
had read way back in 2012 (loved that book!)
This book really took me on an emotional ride but it starts
off with the blossoming of a gorgeous romance for Grace and Christopher. Grace
works in her father’s racing stables and has been training a beautiful horse
called Allonby. It was the owner of Allonby, the General that brings Chris to
the stables to look over Allonby. Chris is an officer in a local regiment and
Grace is instantly taken with the handsome soldier but doesn’t think he would
look twice at her being a lowly assistant horse trainer. Imagine her shock when
Chris then asks her out which is the start of their beautiful love story.
Grace, although at first showing signs of self-doubt is in
actual fact a strong and resolute woman. Chris on the other hand appears to be
in a career that was mapped out by his family for him but being the loyal and
courteous man that he is, he has pursued his intention of becoming an officer.
The beginning of the romance leads the reader into a happy place and I was
sighing with bliss at this until Chris is then deployed to Afghanistan. It is
at this point the whole story takes a turn into an entirely different route and
the read becomes a more angst and gritty experience for the reader.
After six months and a heart wrenching time of not knowing
if Chris was alive or missing, he is finally back home in England to recover
from his injuries to his legs but the most significant change is not in his
physicality but in his mind. He is like a completely different person and all
attributed to PTSD. I must admit at times I just wanted to wallop Chris at the
way he dismissed and cast Grace aside.
Throughout it all Grace came across as a strong and
resilient woman who would let nothing stand in her way of getting the ‘old
Chris’ and the man she fell in love with, back. I feel that the story needed
more attributed to the symptoms and treatment of PTSD and this could have aided
me to understand how and why Christopher’s behaviour was so erratic and thus be
more compassionate to his character.
The writing around the racehorse industry was inspired and
in depth and you could clearly see the depth of the research that had gone into
this. Not being a ‘horsey’ person myself I could relate to the description Chris
gave to this by horses being ‘big brown smelly things’ but by the end of the
read I was a little more informed!
Overall this was a gripping and emotional read that takes
you through untold turbulence intertwined with resolutions of keeping the faith
of a love that will not die, no matter what.
Wonderful.
AMAZON UK
AMAZON US
TOTALLY BOUND
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