Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina since her husband, Noah Wilcox’s death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben turning five and living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried that moving on means leaving the memory of her husband behind.
Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her husband, a former SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home physically healed but fighting PTSD. With three children underfoot and unable to help her husband, Allison is at her wit’s end.
In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not only Allison but a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string of coffee houses close to military bases around the country.
In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah’s best friend and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in ways neither of them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with Bennett. Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man they both loved haunts their pasts. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
I have friendships with both women and men who are in the military, or are a military spouse. The work and dedication that goes into not only protecting our country, but protecting the families on the home front of those who support their military service member is a huge feat, accomplished daily by the ones who are in the thick of it. Having been a military spouse myself, I was interested in reading Harper’s own experiences and finding a sense of authenticity within- and it was there, at large, within her thoughts, her actions, and in what she experiences. A raw, honest read.
With points of view that shift between Harper, Noah, and Bennett, we’re given the full picture. Harper has a hard time with getting past her husband’s death, trying desperately to shield that reality from their son. Bennett lives with survivor’s guilt, so even with the spark of potential he feels for Harper, he has a hard time getting past the fact that he’s the one who made it home, when Noah didn’t. Threaded in are Allison’s experiences with her own husband, who is struggling with PTSD. Within each vantage point, the puzzle pieces of everyone’s life begins to fall into place, with some of the biggest questions slowly answered. Like, what really happened to Noah? And, can Harper really move on?
The budding romance between Harper and Bennett feels shaky at first, much like what I’d imagine it to be in “real” life. Harper wonders if Noah would accept Bennett, if she’s somehow minimizing his memory by moving on and finding love again. I could feel the tension with that, the hesitancy. It made for a very satisfying read, because the path to get there is drawn out, but in the best of ways. It gives us a chance to see the transformations, good or bad, with every character.
I appreciate the deep emotional subject matter that encompasses The Military Wife. It’s not often that we find a novel that delves into the world of what being in the military is all about, and while I could identify with some of it, having lived it myself, it was also an eye-opening experience that was well worth the read, and well worth the five stars I’ve given it.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review. They have one copy to give away!
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