Return to Rebel Ridge

Don't Cry For Me

Rebel Ridge #2

Sharon Sala

 

Released: September 18, 2012

 

Mass Market Paperback, Harlequin MIRA, 400 p.

ISBN: 9780778313427

 

 

Mariah Conrad has come home. Badly wounded on active duty in Afghanistan and finally released stateside, she has no family to call on and nowhere to go—until Quinn Walker arrives at her bedside. Quinn…her brother-in-arms, ex-lover and now maybe her future.

 

Quinn brings Mariah to his log cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky to rest and recuperate both physically and emotionally. While she's incredibly grateful, Mariah is also confused and frustrated. She's always stood on her own two feet, but now even that can literally be torture. She's having flashbacks and blackouts, hearing helicopter noises in the night. She wants to push Quinn away—and hold him closer than ever.

 

But will she get the chance? Those helicopters are more than just post-traumatic stress; they're real—and dangerous. Bad things are happening on the mountain. Suddenly there's a battle to be fought on the home front, and no guarantee of survival.



Having read the first book in the series, Next of Kin, I was looking forward to getting my hands on Don't Cry for Me... and I wasn't disappointed.  Quinn Walker was a character that caught my interest in NoK, and even before Ms. Sala announced a second book, I was hoping that Quinn would get his own story.

 

As a former soldier, Quinn lives a quiet life on Rebel Ridge.  Content to roam the countryside as a forest ranger, he deals with the fall out of his time spent in Afghanistan.  Though still plagued with nightmares, Quinn does not hesitate to offer a place to stay to Mariah, one time lover, who herself is now state side and recovering from wounds she received during battle.

 

Suffering from lingering injuries as well as PTSD, it takes Mariah a while to settle in with Quinn, they man she loved, who she saved, and who left her without a word.  An independent woman, Mariah has trouble dealing with Quinn and his loud and affectionate family in the beginning.  An orphan, she has no idea how to relate to others in a family situation.  However, with the support of Quinn, and his mother, Dolly, and a scrawny red boned hound pup, Mariah slowly comes out of her shell.

 

But when trouble comes to Rebel Ridge - as it always does - it's Quinn who is in the firing line.  With no one to turn to Mariah has to overcome her injuries - and defy the odds - if she wants to bring her man back home again...

 

I loved Quinn and Mariah's relationship.  The building of a life together on a bond forged during war, the friendship and respect that the have for each other is refreshing to see in a contemporary romance.  This book, series, is a homage to family, friendship, loyalty and love.  A great read, and I would highly recommend to anyone who loves not only Sharon Sala, but the joys of a good book.