I'm a sucker for military men. Heck, I married one. Some Melissa Foster books are better than others, but they're all good. My older sister and I are quite a bit older than out younger sister and brother and grew up helping to raise them so our mom could bring home the bacon. So this was the perfect book for me.

I know the feeling of thinking I know what is best for my little siblings and pushing my agenda on them. Wanting to protect them and being annoyed they didn't do things for themselves even though I was the one not letting them. It's quite a surreal position and I think Ms. Foster did a great job of helping the reader to see Jewel's struggle. Helping us to realize she is way over protective but not alienate the character from the readers.

The mention, multiple times, of Nate's feelings for Jewel being inappropriate at one time were necessary. When you do the math it can seem creepy. But Nate admits he knew it was "wrong" and never even thought of acting on anything until Jewel got older. It's still weird, but you can see where he's coming from.

What bugged me about this book, and what actually is the reason I went with 3 stars instead of 4, is the glossing over of any benefits Rick's family would have gotten upon his death. Now, I don't want to glorify dying in combat. It's not pretty, it's painful. For the family, the friends, the comrades. It's all around a terrible situation. But back when my husband was in the Navy he used to joke that he was worth way more dead than alive. Not that Rick's life insurance would have fixed all of his family's problems, but it would have went a long way toward helping them to live better lives. And since he was such a good guy that he actually sent money from every paycheck to his mom, I can't imagine anyone else would have been his beneficiary. Sure, you have to pay into your life insurance when you're in the military. With the level of commitment and responsibility Rick felt toward his family, I'm sure he would have had a decent amount of life insurance...especially when he was being sent overseas. It's a little sticking point that often comes up in books that deal with vets and/or loved ones left behind that always bugs me. Again, his death is still a tragedy. But the home situation would have been a bit different after his death than it is portrayed.

Now that I'm done with that rant. I enjoyed meeting the new branch of the Braden family tree. Especially Tempe. I don't know what it was, but her character just found a place in my heart immediately.