Friday Fiction Fantasy "Boy" Friend: His Road Home by Anna Richland

It would truly help if my memory was in better working order. Seems like I forget a book almost as soon as I read it.

So, I was looking through the book collections on my Fire and came across Anna Richland's His Road Home. Once it was again brought to my attention, I remembered this book fondly; I've reread it several times. It's not a long book but you get a lot of bang for your buck (so to speak).

May I introduce my interpretation of SSG Reynaldo Cruz, medic in the 5th Special Forces Group, US Army.

When the book opens, Rey's performing simple dentistry on a village elder in Afghanistan, who is so grateful that he offers Rey his daughter in marriage. It would be very iffy to turn this offer down and once Rey recovers he tells the elder that he has a fiancee and he must regretfully decline this most wonderful gift. But the elder wants to see a picture of this woman and Rey is up shit creek because he's got nada.

He searches photos from his old high school on the internet and decides on a classmate of his older sister. What can it hurt? She'll never know. No one will ever know, only an old Afghani.

Uh ...

Wait a minute ...

Yeah, famous last words.

Grace Kim finds out she's engaged from calls from her friends, family and her boss. Yeah, Rey had printed out her picture and it was found on him when he came into contact with an IED and ends up a bilateral amputee and with expressive aphasia. Grace goes to Washington DC (she's from Seattle) to find out WTF??

And that is when the story really begins; I won't say more because - spoilers.  :-)

This is a gem of a book and Rey is a gem of a hero. I fell in book love with him because he doesn't moan and groan; he hunkers down and gets with the program to overcome his injuries. He has to learn a new way to live and he wants Grace to be part of it. He is a true hero and just about the most loveable man I've ever read about.

This is also a road story, as Grace accompanies Rey back home, driving across country in Rey's classic old car. Reading how they both adjust to Rey's injuries is inspiring and I like that there's no overwhelming lust making them jump each other's bones. This could be termed a slow burn romance, I guess, since Grace went on a cruise counting fish (she works at the National Marine Fisheries Service) while Rey was in rehab and then there was the long car trip. And they had some adventures along the way.

I highly recommend this book. It's not a long book but it's packed with feels and with people you'd like to know.

And the hero is a true hero.