The Soldier's Homecoming

By Donna Alward

Book Overview

A hero for his country--home to win her heart Jonas Kirkpatrick left town to be a soldier without ever looking back. But Shannyn saw him every day in her little girl's green eyes.... Six years later,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Large Print: Yes
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1410409880
• ISBN13: 9781410409881
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Thorndike Press
• Length: 283 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Deep emotional read in a short romance. Protection or trust?

Intensely emotional, Donna Alward's THE SOLDIER'S HOMECOMING tells the romance of a man and woman separated by bitterness from circumstances who work together for the sake of their daughter, discovering that something more moving than just duty --- love. Shannyn Smith loved Jonas Kirkpatrick but he left her behind when he went off to serve his country at war. He had made his choices clear, and never looked back. When she discovered she was pregnant, Shannyn knew her daughter Emma had to be her first priority. Whatever the cost to her own heart, protecting Emma came first and still does. When Jonas returns, he is a changed man, a man cold and distant and not like the man she once loved. War has changed this bright young man. When he demands to take up his role as father, can Shannyn trust him with Emma? Will Jonas be able to protect his daughter and be her father? Will Jonas be able to trust those around him enough for a real soldier's homecoming? There is bitterness between Shannyn and Jonas...and for good reason. Donna Alward does an exceptional job at setting up the situation between the hero/heroine, displaying their inner thoughts and conflict to the reader so that this bitterness is not just about arrogant, mean characters but originates from a need to protect and from the situation in which they find themselves. The daughter Emma is well-written, both as a character and as an axis for the narrative in the action as well as the hearts of the hero and heroine. Stylistically, by making Emma the focus, the reader understands the motivations of the heroine and even the hero, allowing the goodness of her characters to show forth in the midst of their conflict. Both Shannyn and Jonas are sympathetic characters precisely because Donna Alward allows the reader to view them through Emma's needs. With just several precise emotionally satisfying moments, Donna Alward crystallizes both the romance Shannyn feels for Jonas and how Emma herself is the center, drawing her hero and heroine together and expanding their hearts. THE SOLDIER'S HOMECOMING is one of those rare books where the bitterness between the hero and heroine works to create an emotional read while maintaining the reader's empathy and investment in her characters. There are real reasons behind why they feel like they do and indeed should feel that way. Donna Alward makes it arise from the situation and not as some gratuitous conflict and she does not trivialize the issues either to get at the romance. Consequently, when Shannyn and Jonas do find love, the romance has a richness and depth that accompanies the emotional intensity. Even more satisfying is the look into love that Donna Alward creates through her pairing of this particular hero and heroine. Each has their own reasons to go into protect mode but isn't love about trusting too? Shannyn and Jonas focus on duty towards others, but through putting Emma first, each one grows to understand that love is more than something about duty.