Book Review: Nightshade by Ronie Kendig

Nightshade (Discarded Heroes) by Ronie Kendig - received from publisher in exchange for review.

A touching tale of redemption just about sums this story up. We have Max, the ex Navy SEAL who has returned from duty scarred. Trying to be a "real man" he hides his hurts from his wife, Sydney, and they continue to eat him up inside until one night he snaps. It tears their marriage apart, and even though they love each other deeply, it seems that they will never be able to find their way back to each other.

Max was just the right mix of macho tough guy and a scarred and injured warrior. I enjoyed his character from the get go and his fragile relationship with Sydney was portrayed in a way that I could see the thin threads that just barely held them to each other. Both strong people, fighting for what they think is best.

Max's special ops team is full of personality. It was a wonderful group of characters that allowed the author to pull things into the story in ways that just seemed natural. Each and every person introduced plays a very special and important role in Max and Sydney's journey. It is a dark and very dangerous one, but one they must face if they ever hope to save their marriage.

The rating on this book could be split into two sections for me. The story of Max and Sydney gets 4-5 stars all the way. However, there is a parallel story line of Jon and Kimber that we follow as well (don't want to say too much more and give anything away). I found their story to be a bit over done and syrupy, predictable and a little preachy, and would only give it 1 or 2 stars. While their role was very important in the overall plot, I just didn't enjoy them much at all.

Overall a good book, one that doesn't show military as all glamorous, but how it can leave the mind as well as the body scarred, making it difficult to return to a "normal" life.

3/5 (  )