Sandy M’s review of Five Years Gone by Marie Force
Contemporary Romance published by HTJB, Inc. 9 Oct 18

I learned of this book several months ago, and I waited and waited for it to hit the shelves. Because I knew it would be an emotional, heart-wrenching read. It’s Marie Force, after all. And I wasn’t wrong. This book will pull you from devastation to hope to love and everything the heart can take in between.

Ava has reached her five-year time limit on waiting for John to return from his deployment after a terrorist attack against the U.S. that pulled him from her life. She has no idea what happened to him – she’s had not one word in all those years and because they weren’t married, the military will tell her nothing. So she’s finally giving herself permission to move on. Going home for her sister’s wedding is a good place to start. There she meets Eric, her new brother-in-law.

Little do either Ava or Eric realize, they both have unresolved relationship issues from their pasts, eerily similar while also very different. Both will bring you to your knees just as they were brought to theirs. Eric’s fiance’s departure was of her own volition, but it left him in pieces the way she went about it. The spark that comes to life when they meet is the first bit of hope either has had in a long while.

Notch by notch Ava’s emotional state rises as she gets to know Eric and also meets Jessica, a therapist who doesn’t pull punches. Eric sticks by Ava, even when he realizes there’s a chance she may not be his in the end. I also really like Ava’s friendship with Skylar, her roommate in New York. That’s truly the beginning of Ava’s hope for a new life after such tragedy. Also of note is Ava’s boss, where we get a look into more of the story of the attack and its aftermath. The parallels with 9-11 and the hunt for Bin Laden are obvious, giving the reader an emotional known punch throughout.

The last quarter of the book is heartbreaking, but the excerpt at the end for the next story is keeping me anxious once again, waiting for a final resolution. A wonderfully written story with a huge emotional impact.

Grade: A

Summary:

The most brazen terrorist attack in history. A country bent on revenge. A love affair cut short. A heart that never truly heals.

I knew on the day of the attack that our lives were changed forever. What I didn’t know then was that I’d never see John again after he deployed. One day he was living with me, sleeping next to me, making plans with me. The next day he was gone.

That was five years ago. The world has moved on from that awful day, but I’m stuck in my own personal hell, waiting for a man who may be dead for all I know. At my sister’s wedding, I meet Eric, the brother of the groom, and my heart comes alive once again.

The world is riveted by the capture of the terrorist mastermind, brought down by U.S. Special Forces in a daring raid. Now I am trapped between hoping I’ll hear from John and fearing what’ll become of my new life with Eric if I do.

Read an excerpt.