From War to Forever by Andria Large

Dennis

The love of my life is dead. Is there a reason to live anymore?

I’m a veteran Marine. Terrorists took not only my foot, but also my wife. Recurrent nightmares, a dead-end job, and a painful limp are all I have left. My best friend, Tucker, and my sister, Lizette, keep me afloat. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Tucker… literally. And then, out of nowhere, there are these feelings. The kind I haven’t felt in years. The kind I’m not sure I can handle, or even want to. But they’ve started wrapping around my broken heart, trying to mend it. Only they are not for a woman, but for the man suddenly sharing my bed. I’m not so sure I’m ready to give love another go.

Tucker

The war took my hearing, but I’m alive. Many of my friends are not. I am building a life with my best friend, Dennis. We have become practically inseparable. And now, we are more than friends. I’ve never had feelings like these for a man. My parents, my brother, my buddy, Duke—will they understand how I feel about Dennis? Can I risk losing my family?

2nd Edition
First Edition published as At War by KDP Select, 2015.

Buy Links

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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆☆
Slow burn, gay for you, Marines, hot men, and second chances at happiness. So much to love and man, did I love this book. I thought both Dennis and Tucker were awesome and both had issues that they needed to deal with, but I loved them both and was rooting for them the whole time. I also liked the dual points of view. When I first read this, I didn’t realize it was a trilogy and then the way the book just ended, ugh. I can’t do this book justice with my review. I am not a writer but I love it, it gave me the feels. I connected with both Dennis and Tucker and sometimes that is what matters the most to make a story good.

Characters: Well written
Sex: Yes
Religious: No
Would I recommend to others: Yes
More than one book in the series: Not sure
Genre: M/M Romance
Would I read more by this author: Yes


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
This book does an excellent job telling the story of two Marines who come back from their respective deployments with serious physical injuries as well as PTSD.

Tucker and Dennis met while at a VA hospital during their recovery and have been best friends ever since. Not only is Dennis coping with losing part of his leg, he's also dealing with the loss of his wife, who died at the hands of rebels they were fighting.

Tucker has survivor’s guilt as being one to survive an attack while his good friend, Chuck, died. He's living with hearing loss as well as the guilt.

From best friends to lovers with lots of drama along the way.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This is the story of two wounded vets struggling to adjust to civilian life. The friendship between Tucker and Dennis provides both men with the strength to deal with their disabilities and the emotional support that no one else in their lives is able to provide. But they never expected to fall for each other.

Dennis is a widower and an amputee. After his years as a Marine, working as a bouncer isn’t always fulfilling. Grief has kept him from relationships and he has to depend on Tucker and his sister more than he’s comfortable with. Tucker lost his hearing in the war, but his skills with computers have transferred more easily to civilian life.

The romance between these two is a surprise to them both. Because their lives are so intricately intertwined before anything sexual or romantic happens, I was actually able to believe in this gay-for-you friends-to-lovers storyline. However, for two men who are very intimate even as friends, I struggled with some of the dramatic miscommunication between them when they become lovers. Some of the conflict felt forced and over the top. These men survived horrific injuries and crippling PTSD – I had a hard time believing that they would fall out with each other so dramatically over more trivial issues.

I enjoyed some of the other characters in this novel, but I felt that some of the side stories detracted from the central relationship. The writing style really didn’t work for me. I found the dialogue choppy and the pacing of the story felt erratic. For me, the writing was distracting and kept getting in the way of the story I wanted to believe in.

ANDRIA LARGE is a traditionally published and self-published contemporary romance author. She doesn’t always follow the rules, so you will find both M/F and M/M books mixed into some of her series.

Henry from the Beck Brothers Series was the first book she self-published. Not expecting anything to really come of it, she was shocked to find the book caught wind and readers were asking for more. Writing books was not something she had set out to do. She wrote stories for herself, as a hobby. Now that it has become her career, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Andria grew up in Philadelphia, but now lives in New Jersey with her two daughters and wonderfully supportive husband, who frequently accompanies her at signings. The events that she attends every year are one of her favorite things about being an author. She loves meeting and conversing with her readers, but also enjoys finding new ones.

Andria considers herself open and friendly, so feel free to send her a message if you have a question or just want to chat.

Connect with Andria

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of From War to Forever by Andria Large to read and review.