Opening Line:"Adam McPherson hovered in that murky place between awareness and sleep, clinging desperately to the dream."

I’ve really been enjoying Rhonda Nelson’s Uniformly Hot series from Blaze. They’re uncomplicated, sexy little reads, with relatable, fun characters and a charming small town draw. Here with The Soldier we return to Bethel Bay South Carolina for Army Ranger Adam McPherson’s story.

We first met Adam in (Letters from Home) which was his brother Levi’s (very good) story. Injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq, Adam returned home missing half his leg and struggling to accept his new limitations. The only thing keeping him going these days is his resolve to return to active duty as soon as he’s fit enough and leave this small town behind. Adam is a soldier and always will be, unfortunately now it’s sometimes all he can do just to get out of bed, his body may be on the mend but his psyche is struggling to catch up.

Enter Winnie Templeton, she runs the local bakery, is a bit of a jock and has been in love with Adam since, well… forever. She can see that he’s struggling and slowly retreating into himself so she issues a challenge knowing that the competitor in him will come out swinging.

Before long Adam is helping coach a teen girl’s baseball team and talking freely about his prosthetic leg. Winnie also gets him swimming, running, flirting and finally noticing what’s been in front of him all along. How could he not have “seen” her before? And because this is Blaze it doesn’t take long for our couple to hit the sheets, the bakery counter and Winnie’s life long ambition of Bethel Bay’s lover’s lane.

Of course from the moment our couple enter into the love zone there’s a time limit on their affair because Adam is determined to return to Iraq and there’s simply no future for a career soldier and a small town girl.

I much as I enjoyed this story I have to mention how off putting it was to watch the heroine practically begging for the hero to notice her. From the start it was a very unequal coupling. I mean Adam had known his whole life that Winnie had feelings for him and kept rejecting her, and even when he finally “noticed” her it felt a bit like; oh well Winnie’s here and she’s offering so I might as well sleep with her. I felt sorry for Winnie who had loved Adam forever and never been able to find anyone else. You could tell that their future wouldn’t include any of her plans they’d be going or doing whatever Adam decided.

Still this is a fast paced easy read that I’ve probably put too much thought into. Cheers