“The Military Wife” by Laura Trentham is an awesome and very well written and depicted book about Military life using the POV of the enlisted and also the POV of their spouses. This was a very emotional and heartwarming book that touched on many subjects like loneliness, PTSD, suicide and death. I was hooked from the first page. I found myself not able to put it down. Being a military mother and spouse this book was very real and true. This book will tug at your heartstrings. This book shows exactly what people in the military go through the countless days alone, the spouse you sent on deployment is not the same one that comes home, the worries you deal with. This book is told both in the present and the past. This is definitely needed because you need to be filled in on the past to learn about the present. This book shows that there can be love after death. I loved this book and highly recommend it. I am looking forward to more books in this new series. Just remember to grab your Kleenex.

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, Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. 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.
The start of a new series & what a start, strong characters, very well paced story that grabbed me from start to finish. I was taken on a roller coaster of emotions & felt satisfied at the end but drained too. I ‘m now looking forward to more in the series as there were a number of interesting secondary characters
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Wow. Just. Wow.

I have avoided reading Military romance/fiction for the past few years due to my personal experience as the spouse of a former soldier living with PTSD. Something about the blurb and my previous experience reading this author made me set aside my fear and request to read it despite my anxiety about the theme. To say that I’m blown away feels like an understatement. This feels like the most honest and real (fictional) depiction of PTSD (speaking from the spouse POV only) and how it affects families that I’ve ever read.

It wasn’t just the PTSD angle of this story that blew me away though. The whole story and the care that the author took to tackle extremely difficult themes had me glued to my Kindle to finish this book in a matter of hours. I felt every emotion that the characters were feeling throughout. The anger, the sadness, the hope and love.

This story was not an easy one to read. I cried. A lot. I felt too much and the pain, fear and anger felt eerily familiar to me, but so did the hopefulness and love and, essentially it’s that love and hope that got me through it. This is a beautifully written story that I imagine I’ll come back to reread often.

The Military Wife by Laura Trentham worked for me on all levels. Told in two povs, Harper's and Bennett's, the novel moves between the past when Noah pursued and won Harper's heart, when Noah and Bennett became friends during SEAL training and then to the present day as Harper discovers that the sizable amount of money Bennett had given to her after Noah's funeral was not really a courage award.

Have you ever read a romance in which the widow starts a new relationship, but then the author slowly destroys the character of the man she was married to? That is a huge pet peeve of mine so I was so very glad that Trentham allowed Noah to remain a good guy, the guy that Harper fell in love with. And, it's because of this that when I was presented with Noah's death scene and Ben's birth that my tears were falling. I almost thought it might be a mistake to have Noah be such a huge part of this novel, but it wasn't. I think it made the reader miss him as much as Harper and Bennett missed him.

All of the characters were believable, their reactions on target.

The Military Wife had so many emotions on its pages, so many feels, that it was a difficult novel to put down. I am very much looking forward to reading future entries in the series.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Published: Feb 5, 2019 by St. Martin's Griffin
SBN13: 9781250145536 Series: A Heart of a Hero #1 Rating: 5*
Harper Lee Wilcox’s life has been more or less at a standstill since the death five years ago of her beloved husband Noah. Noah was the only person she ever dated, and loved - a true soul mate. He was a Navy SEAL killed in the line of duty and never met, his son Ben born after he passed and named after his best friend and SEAL team mate Bennett Caldwell.

While Harper is feeling a growing restlessness of needing a new direction, a call from her best friend Allison helped to make her act. Allison was dealing with her husband, another Navy SEAL struggling with PTSD, and Harper drove to Fort Bragg to help her out.

Two things occurred during the visit. One, not every widow of a fallen SEAL received a very generous monetary award given to the wife. Two, she discovered most of the other military wives struggled with husbands deployed for months at a time and felt as lonely and discouraged as Harper was feeling now. At last a purpose!

Harper came up with an idea of starting a business for military wives that would finally use her two degrees of business and marketing. And be good for the other military wives to give them back purpose while waiting for their husbands return.

Additionally and central to the read was discovering and finally meeting Bennett Caldwell, her husband’s very best friend and team mate whom Harper had never met. Bennett was a man who held secrets and the truth behind what really happened to Noah on the field of battle. But most of all he was a man whom Harper felt an emotional pull towards that bothered both of them because of the love they both had felt towards Noah. Could they find happiness together and put feelings of guilt to rest behind them….

All I can say is THE MILITARY WIFE packs an emotional punch to heart and soul and brought tears to my eyes (in a good way) and a lump in my throat! Sweet, sensual and a very highly recommended read!

Marilyn Rondeau

This book is different than other books I’ve read by Laura Trentham, but it was an amazing story. The romance part was not central to the story, but the military aspect of the story touched me. I loved the secondary characters included in this story, and the way Harper wants to help others touched my heart.

The Military Wife by Laura Trentham is an emotionally charged book that grabbed me from the get go. I couldn't stop crying nor loving the main protagonists. Their troubles were intertwined in more ways than one. Grief and loss, has a way of connecting people together when they least expect it. Laura Trentham showed readers what it meant and how difficult it was to be a military wife. It made me think of the women who journeyed to the wild west with their husbands hoping to make their future successful. Trouble followed those women and these featured here. 

Themes of sacrifice were not only seen but felt in this novel. Laura Trentham has a way of showing readers what life is like for those in the military and those married to military men. Hardships such as losing their husbands was a pain that pierced not only their hearts but mine too. It was like being there in person as they struggled to move forward.. Memories of loved ones brought both joy and sadness to those still living. Harper was a strong leading female character. Even though she was still suffering, she helped those around her who were suffering too. It takes more strength to do that. She was more than a likable character. And then there was Bennett. He too, has his own troubles. Burdens that weighed just as heavy if not more than Harper's. Losing a fellow brother in the military is never easy. Overall, I highly recommend this heartfelt engaging tale of sacrifice and love to all readers.

A poignant story about loss, love and learning how to move forward after a tragic loss. Bennett is a Navy Seal who made a promise to his best friend and lives with a boat load of guilt. Harper is a widow who is trying to move on with her life, five years after her husband died in the line of duty. When her friend calls and says she needs help, Harper runs to her side and in the process, learns that everything that happened after her husband died isn't the truth or the complete story. Going to Bennett to find some answers will change her life, if she can only open up her heart again.
Told from both Bennett's and Harper's point of view, you learn about their life, both past and present. With so much baggage and many secrets that could keep them apart, Bennett and Harper struggle to find happiness with each other. A man with no family, a rather tragic childhood, Bennett never felt like he had a place in life. With no family, he lived vicariously through Harper and Noah's letters to each other. Trying to keep his distance, he shied away from interacting with anyone outside of the Seal's. Hearing the truth about what happened to Noah was heart breaking.
The side story of Allison, Harper's friend and Darren, a fellow Seal, was also heart breaking. Working through PTSD throws Darren for a loop, and things don't look for their relationship. Learning the difference between asking for help and weakness is tough, especially for men and Bennett tries his hardest to help Darren and one scene towards the end of the book ripped out my heart. I would love to read more about these characters in the future.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

This story was so beautifully written by author Laura Trentham. It was was so well done with a gamut of emotions all running through the story constantly. The heartbreak of loss, the joy of birth, the fear of the unknown & the angst of PTSD & unanswered questions. As Harper struggles with moving on after her husband’s death on a military mission, life just moves on, on its own as their son grows & Harper works an unfulfilling job. When she realizes that money received from a posthumous award isn’t really from the military she goes looking for answers from the man who gave her the money. Upon meeting Bennett, her late husband’s best friend & who her son is named after, she feels a connection but he wants nothing to do with her or the money. He made a promise & he kept it as far as he’s concerned. The battle begins with a survival weekend & with frustration & no answers. The connection grows though & soon he’s helping Harper start up a business on the military base to give military wives something to do. Bennett is also there to help out a former Seal teammate with PTSD as he struggles to keep his life & family together. As their relationship grows we see changes in both Bennett & Harper but the true change comes when he finally tells Harper how & why her husband died. I can’t say enough about this book, it was so emotionally charged & I’m sad that it’s over. Definitely recommend this book.

I loved how the author switched from chapter to chapter from the present to the past. This is the story of how Noah Wilcox met and fell in love with Harper Lee Frazier. This was a long distant relationship. She finishing college with dual masters. Noah training to be a SEAL. In the middle of all this is Bennett Caldwell, who is Noah's friend and SEAL brother. As we all know, not everyone comes back from a mission. This story tells how these men deal or don't deal with PTSD. It also tells how the women deal with their men, raising their families and still try to feel relevant. It was a wonderful book.

A very realistic story about military wives. Many eyes will be opened by this account of the lives military members and their families as they struggle with deployments, PTSD, and death. Told in past and present, the story shows the many emotions and decisions that the SEALS and their families have. Highly recommended!

This story tells the story of different aspects of military life. Harper met Noah just out of high school while he was on his way to SEAL training. They kept in touch and their friendship blossomed into love. Noah had such a sunny personality and you can't help but love him. While in training, he and Bennett become best friends. Bennett just wanted to keep his head down and get through it, but Noah wormed his way into Bennett's life. Bennett has always been a loner and after listening to Noah read his letters from Harper, he fell in love with her too. But he would never act on it because of Noah. Noah made Bennett he would take care of his wife and child if anything happened to him. When it came time, he just couldn't do it. But, Harper wouldn't let him hide away. Everyone has always left him and if Harper knew the truth about Noah's death, she would leave him too. Does he dare hope she will stay?

Lovely thoughtful book about starting over and about coping with trauma. Harper's husband Noah, a SEAL, was killed and while she's tried to move on, raising their son Ben, she hasn't really moved forward. In trying to help her friend Allison and Allison's family, she decides to open coffee shops near military bases which will be staffed by military wives. Bennett, Noah's best friend, turns up in Harper's life and well, that's where romance comes in. This is sensitive to so many issues. Nothing is easy. Told from alternating perspectives and with some shifting timelines, this is a well written story that has a lot to say. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

I love Laura's writing. Laura brings you into story and characters like you where there with them. I would definitely recommend this books for lovers of Kristin Hannah and Barbara Delensky.

Even though this might have been a tad predictable, overall I enjoyed it and found it to be bittersweet but ultimately joyful.

The heroine Harper seemed a little uneven at times in some of her actions/choices, but as she faced a confusing and unique situation, I can understand her waffling a bit better. My favorite characters here were the men in her life, both Bennett and Noah.

I haven’t read many military romances, but this one was well done.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Such a good book. Didn’t want it to end. Writing was amazing. Was a great inbetween book for me to break up my general thriller/ Suspense books I read.

Right from the first page I was hooked into this story that explores military life from so many different viewpoints. Firstly the men themselves, then the women who love them and the children in the family.  Military men are tough but they are also human, Laura Trentham explores PTSD, grief and loss, women who worry about their men and children who have either lost a parent to war or must tiptoe around because their dad just isn't who he once was.

Harper Wilcox is a wonderful Mom to Ben. She has been through the mill - losing her husband Noah in a military mission. Fortunately she has the support of her mother and a delightful Ben. She wants more though about how Noah died beyond the terse military report. She believes Bennett who was on that mission may hold some answers.

Allison is Harper's friend, she has three children and a husband who since returning from active duty has been morose and the family have had to tiptoe around him.

I liked the way the story unfolded, the characters were ones I could take into my mind and heart. The story moved along at a good pace and I think gave me a good insight into the challenges, struggles and losses of those involved in military service. Its an emotional read, while I smiled from time to time, I also teared up. So an emotional read!

Such a mixture of loss, guilt, anger, despair coupled with love, strength, support, new hope and second chances. I will most certainly look for the next book in The Heart of a Hero series.

I loved this book. I felt like it had great insight into the different aspects of military life, from the person in the military, to the spouse, to the person out of the military. I liked how the story was interwoven from past & present perspective. Harper & Bennett are fantastic as is the side story of Allison & Darren. Highly recommend reading this book!

Sadly I didn't finish this book. I really liked the description, but as I was reading it I couldn't finish it. That was no fault to anyone but my own. This book just hit a little too close to home for me. Overall what I did read I liked, and maybe in the future, I will go back and finish it, but for right now its just not for me.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were relatable and you could understand their emotions and where they were coming from with their decisions. I found myself really rooting for Harper and Bennet throughout the book. The storyline is strong and the characters all have a depth to them. A great romantic read for someone wanting to feel a bit sappy and emotional. It's the story of Harper for falls for a military man and the trials and tribulations that come with being an army wife (as is evident from the book title). Laura writes well-crafted characters who you can really connect with.