Oooh did I love this book.

This is a beautiful story of redemption, told in dual timelines but only one POV, which was his. I really liked the uniqueness of the single POV being the MMCs. And what a great MMC he was!

Soldier was born to a young mother with a drug problem, leading a very unstable upbringing and a series of bad decisions as a teen led him to be in prison in his early twenties. He did not always make the best choices but we can see the desperation that brought him to that point. We get his whole story from childhood to adult as we move through the first past timeline. 

We also get his present day story, being released from prison years later and trying to fit in back in the outside world. He ends up living next to a single mother and her son, whom he befriends and eventually starts a romance with the mom.

Truth be told, the romance is somewhat of the lesser plot here, and I didn’t mind at all. I loved Soldier, his strength and inherent goodness despite his difficult upbringing was beautiful. His journey was hard at times but I genuinely loved it. There is not much I love more than a true story of redemption and this one just really hit the spot for me. 

We do however definitely get a romance, and a beautiful, tender one at that. Soldier and Rain saved each other in multiple ways and their love felt meant to be. I also loved Soldier’s other relationships, with his former prison guard who helped him reestablish himself, with the townspeople as he won them over, and especially with Rain’s son who was the first person to befriend Soldier and not treat him any differently. 

I do have to say, it’s pretty long. It’s around 500 pages, and it’s very character driven so you spend a lot of time with Soldier. I personally enjoyed every second and flew through the pages. I loved the author’s writing style so much I immediately picked up the next (loosely interconnected) book and binged that one as well (review to come!)