While Jason Reynolds was proudly serving his country, his world back home was being shattered. Now out of military due to medical reasons, he is not ready to return home to all the reminders of his previous life. Jason finds himself living in the Happy Endings Resort one of his friends owns in a small town. Looking for something to take his mind off of his awful life and existence, he wonders into the local mechanic’s shop and gets a job. Jason works hard all day and exercises like a fiend at night trying to tire his mind enough to sleep through the nights without nightmares. Things are going fine until he goes to the local diner to eat and see’s her. He can’t understand his reaction to this stranger, especially with his mind still wrapped-up in his life and family before his service. Jason can’t deny he feels something for the waitress Dawn, so he gets the heck out of the diner. Jason later finds out that Dawn is his boss’s niece. Regardless of what he tries, Jason can’t get Dawn out of his mind. The two eventually become close and Jason must decide if he can give Dawn what she is looking for while she is dealing with her own demons.
A Solder’s Dawning was not your typical military-based novel. Jason was really struggling with not only what he saw and/or did while in the military, but also personal loss. I dare to say this isn’t your typical guy meets girl, girl heals guy, and they live HEA. This doesn’t make this book “bad” but really different; it was a fresh-take on surviving what life has dealt you with and trying to move on, even when you are scared to death. Both Dawn and Jason had horrible things happen to them but together, we see if they can find the strength to move on together while at the same time begin a new relationship. This book was well written story dealing with horrible circumstances and events. It was emotional and passionate but remained realistic. I loved it.
5 Stars