Second Chance With Her Soldier-Barbara Hannay

Second Chance With Her Soldier Barbara Hannay Harlequin Romance, Dec 3 2013, $5.99 ISBN: 9780373742684 In Tarin Kot, Afghanistan Australian Commando Corporal Joe Madden delays opening his wife Ellie’s Crunch Time email that he assumes demand he sign their divorce papers ending their troubled marriage. It was his idea, but both know signing the document will not allow either to move on passed their stormy relationship. In Karinya Station in Far North Queensland, Ellie wonders why Joe never responded to her email that explains she changed her mind about donating their “sproglets” embryos as she decided on one last try for pregnancy though agreed to continue with the divorce. Three years later in Sydney, Joe is home but never told his wife his deployment ended as has his military career. He struggles with a lack of purpose and detachment from civilian society. When she calls having seen him on the news, he asks about two years old Jacko but Ellie guts him by inviting him to stay with them. He insists that is a bad idea. Still Joe knows he no longer can avoid coming home to see his family in order to end his marriage. In Karinya Station, the torrent leaves Joe trapped with his wife and son for Christmas. This dynamic contemporary looks deep into military marriages and the mind of a combat solder adjusting to civilian that star Aussies but could be any nationality. The storyline goes the expected second chance course (duh – it is a romance), but the fascinating relationship between the disturbed vet and his concerned wife and their precocious toddler make for an insightful family drama. Harriet Klausner