Title: Echoes in the Storm
Author: Max Henry
Genre: Military Themed Contemporary
Release Date: September 12, 2017
Blurb
“Behind those eyes, a battle rages. One that’s not fought
overseas with guns and tanks, but one that wreaks havoc in the homeland with
harshly spoken words and misguided beliefs.”
One week is all we were supposed to share. One week as
strangers. Yet you became so much more.
You were the echo in my storm.
All the little things you did differently irked me. I
thought it meant we couldn’t get along, that there was no chance we’d work out.
But when it came time for me to leave, you know what I figured out?
They were the faint call of home, lost on the wind and the
roar of thunder. It was you calling me, hoping I’d hear you and find my way out
of the dark that I had lost myself in when I shut off to survive.
You were my echo. My call back.
And fuck it all if I didn’t find home in the end.
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Excerpt
Chapter One
Eleven hours in the office, and this is what I have to come
home to. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, trapped in the naïve
thought that maybe, just maybe, if I wish him away hard enough, it could truly
happen.
Nope. Still there.
Blondie belts a tune out on my car radio, the beat going
some way toward helping me find my zen. Three years on, and the sheer sight of
him still pisses me off the same as it did when he told me “I don’t think I
could ever love you again.”
Yeah. Because loving me meant accepting the fact it wasn’t
my fault, and he refuses to believe that.
I refuse to believe that.
Drawing a deep breath, I reach for the door handle and
promptly cut Blondie off mid-sentence as the crisp evening air rushes into my
safe haven. With my leather tote snatched in my other hand, I rise and plaster
on as natural of a smile as I can manage when my back aches and my feet throb
from overuse.
“Eight months, Jared.”
My ex leans a shoulder against the side of the house, tucked
under the veranda as though he had hoped to blend into the shadows and catch me
by surprise.
“And yet, it hasn’t dulled your attitude any.”
“What do you want?” I shut and lock the car, pining for that
first dip in a hot bath.
“You ignored my calls.” He frowns as I walk right by him.
“Did you think I’d be that easy to brush off?”
“Hardly.” There was a reason he used to be saved in my phone
under ‘Cockroach’. “I’ve been busy.”
“You’re not the only one,” he bites, inviting himself into
the house behind me. “But then again, you never did understand that concept,
did you?”
“Carry on, Jared,” I snap louder than intended. “See how
long this wee conversation lasts if that’s the way you’re going to steer it.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “I’ll make it
quick.” For a fleeting second, I see the vulnerable man I fell in love with ten
years ago. “I want you to sell the house.”
Until that.
“What?” I throw my tote on the side table with more zest
than necessary.
We were married for barely two years, not enough time for
the property to have increased substantially in value. So it was decided when
we split that I’d stay in it, paying the mortgage on my own, and the little
that he had put in over the course of our relationship would be repaid when I
sold.
When I sold.
“If you need the cash—”
“I need an end to this.” He waves a hand between us as I
slump against the hallway wall. “I need to cut ties from you, Cam.”
“I thought we were doing that just fine,” I whisper as I run
my eye over his carefully put together outfit.
Fuck, he unfriended me on Facebook the minute he split. I
don’t even know where he lives now, just that it’s in the city, and judging by
the threads he’s got on he’s doing well for himself.
Of course, he doesn’t need the money. He’s never needed
anything from me. Makes sense then, that he wants me to sell to ensure he has
no reason ever to see me, let alone talk to me, again.
“If you want closure, Jared, I can get my lawyer to send
yours the settlement amount when and if I sell in the future. You don’t have to
deal with me.”
He shrugs. “Except I would. You’d still be there in the back
of my mind every time I have to list assets, Cam. Or if Kell and I want to
apply for another mortgage—it’s still in my name, too.”
“So we change it.” I push aside the reference he made to the
whore who stole him away. “Make a time at the bank, and I’ll meet you there.”
Silence hangs thick, choking the air in the house—the very
reason for this conversation. I push off the wall with the flat of my hand and
take a couple of steps toward the lounge room.
“How long?”
He hangs in the entrance hall. “As soon as we can agree on a
realtor.”
“No.” I drop to the edge of the armchair, bracing myself
with both hands on the cushion. “You’ve got to give me longer.”
“Why, Cam?” He ventures as far as the open doorway, ever
reluctant to get too close to me. “You’ve had three years to get what you need
out of being here. Staying in the house won’t change anything.”
“Exactly,” I whisper.
I never stayed in the hope it would settle the past, or that
the memories the house held could ever ease the pain. I didn’t stay to heal. I
stayed to keep the wound open and festering, to never forget.
I chose to remain in the home we shared so I would be
reminded every day of what I did and why I don’t ever deserve to have that kind
of love again.
“You need to move on,” Jared murmurs as he retraces his
steps toward the door. “It’s not healthy, Cam.”
“I know.”
He twists the handle and opens the front door a fraction,
resting his shoulder against the edge as he drives the nail home a little
harder.
“You need to own up to what you did.”
REVIEWED BY SHERI
Cam knew if she just kept going trough the motions of the day,life would pass by with absolutely no hurt or heartbreak. No one could make her come to terms with how she lived until one day a handsome stranger breaks down in front of her house. There is something about the stranger that speaks volumes to her but now she just has to figure out what exactly he is saying.
Duke knew going o get his P.O.S car was a bad idea, but what else did he have to do? Being back from war has him with so many emotional hangups and quirks, that getting a normal job is totally out of the question. so when his brother called, Duke did as he was asked. Now he is broke down hours away from home and no place to go. Just when he thinks he is out of options, a grey haired savior comes to his rescues in more ways that he intended.
Both Cam and Duke start a awkward friendship but after both open up about their issues, both come to realize that they aren't that different as one may think. However can both come together and battle their fears? Or will their issues be too much for one another?
Echos in the Storm is not your typical happy go lucky romance novel. Is it a love story? Damn right it is but what each character has to go through is in itself heartbreaking. There are not many books that steal a piece of my heart and I am the type of reader who will read a story and not think twice about it. But this book it had me wanting more.....More of their HEA and just...well more of Cam and Duke. However with Echos, it not only had me asking questions but left somewhat of a impact on not only my heart but my soul as well. I am not going to lie and say that I jumped into this book as soon as it hit my Kindle. It took me 4 days to even crack it open. Something about he way Max writes gets me every time and I find myself having to mentally prepare myself for one of her stories because I know they are going to kick my butt.
Fantastic Book....5 Stars isn't enough.
Author Bio
Born and bred in Canterbury, New Zealand, Max now resides
with her family in beautiful and sunny Queensland, Australia.
Life with two young children can be hectic at times, and although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.
Life with two young children can be hectic at times, and although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldn’t change a thing.
In her down time, Max can be found at her local gym, brain-storming through a session with the weights. If not, she’s probably out drooling over one of many classic cars on show that she wishes she owned.
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