A Change of Heart
By Barbara Longley
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Cory Marcel has given up and withdrawn from life. She spent
nearly a decade giving everything in her to a military career that she found
fulfilling and that was proof to the world that she had transcended her “trailer trash” past. But her proud record
is nothing more than a tarnished memory since she went public and charged her
commanding officer with rape. She may have won the case, but she lost her
career, having been declared “unfit for duty.” Now she has returned to her
mother’s trailer where she is surviving—barely--but not really living. Battling
PTSD, she has lost her will to fight, her trust in people, and her hope that
things will get better.
Brenda, her best friend since childhood, demonstrates tough
love and forces Cory out of bed, into a shower, and eventually back into life.
She even finds a job for Cory at Langford & Lovejoy Heritage Furniture in
Perfect, Indiana, a firm that is becoming known for hiring veterans struggling
with PTSD. Brenda’s brother is almost the only man Cory trusts, and since he is
employed by Langford & Lovejoy, she agrees to take the job.
Ted Lovejoy is a founding partner of Langford & Lovejoy,
but his dissatisfaction with being regarded as “the kid” and left out of significant
decisions is growing. His ire goes vocal when he learns of the company’s latest
hire about which he was not consulted. He is ranting at Noah Langford, his
partner, about hiring Cory Marcel when a clearly vulnerable brunette walks in.
Tender-hearted Ted is dismayed when he realizes the fragile woman is the new
employee whose hiring he is protesting. He tries his best to make amends, but
Cory’s fear of men is entrenched, and Ted finds it slow going.
At first Ted, who has a propensity to save maidens in
distress, wants only to befriend Cory and reassure her that he is safe, but he
soon finds his attraction to her and his desire for more than friendship make
it difficult to be patient. Cory can’t help warming to Ted. Not only is he a
good-looking guy who is making her aware of feelings she thought were dead, but
the sensitivity he shows in installing a lock on her office door and in always
choosing to seat himself with his back to the room so that none of the
traumatized vets are forced into that uneasy position reassure her about the
kind of man he is. Still, Cory’s wounds are deep, and for every step forward
she takes with Ted, he feels as if they are taking two back. Can the patience
of a man who is beginning to doubt that he will ever experience the kind of
love his friends have found endure long enough for Cory to heal and embrace a
life richer and more rewarding than the one of which she once dreamed?
A Change of Heart
is the third book in Barbara Longley’s Perfect, Indiana series, after Far from Perfect (Noah Langford and
Ceejay Lovejoy) and The Difference a Day
Makes (Paige Langford and Ryan Malloy). I’m a fan of the series because
Longley has presented the lingering problems affecting Afghanistan veterans
with surprising depth and a refreshing absence of the sentimental clichés to
which authors writing about such characters too frequently resort. I found the
third book particularly interesting since the veteran is female and the
traumatizing event occurs within the military circle. Longley shows her readers
what Cory’s life is like after the headlines of a highly publicized case have
faded and the victim is left with a ruined professional life and emotional
trauma.
All of the characters in Cory’s story early on ring true—her
mother’s helpless concern, her best friend’s refusal to let Cory give up, the
reassuring presence of the brother, who was practically Cory’s brother too, a
big, tough military hero with vulnerabilities and an unlikely childhood
nickname (“Bunny”). Once the setting switches to Perfect, fans of the earlier
books will enjoy seeing many familiar characters and the evidence that the HEAs
of Noah and Ceejay and Paige and Ryan are in progress. Cory and Ted’s
relationship seems real, and it demands the reader’s emotional investment.
A Change of Heart
can be read as a standalone. Readers new to the series will have no difficulty
following the development of Cory and Ted’s relationship. Cory’s fears, Ted’s
determination, and the will of their friends to protect both their vulnerable
hearts make this an engaging, heartwarming story. Readers who have followed the
series will particularly enjoy seeing a more mature Ted finally find his own
forever love.
If you are a reader who has an affection for small-town
romances or for romances featuring veterans as characters, I think you will
enjoy this book. I particularly recommend it for readers who love Susan
Mallery’s Fool’s Gold series or JoAnn Ross’s Shelter Bay books.
~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com
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