Michelle says:
"Another fantastic work by Bey Deckard and equal time must be devoted to discussing the story line, characters, and the words themselves. The story picks up shortly after the devastation of their last mission in Sarge. The book is written in first person, present tense that is spectacularly executed. The author crafts the story so we are looking out at the world alternately through the eyes of both Sarge and Murphy and we know what they know and see what they see.
Murphy is sure and steady when it comes to his feelings for Sarge. It’s Sarge that is becoming blindsided by his feelings for Murphy. There is a constant internal push and pull as Sarge struggles on how much he wants to let Murphy in. On the outside, Sarge is emotionally impaired and a product of his military environment, but we don’t only see him from the outside. It is entertaining to watch his emotional range as Murphy keeps encroaching on his heart and there is unexpected humor rounding out their interactions.
The language, especially for Sarge, is appropriately gruff and it cuts right through to the core of the characters. The narrative is bare and stripped down while fully conveying every movement needed to fully bring the characters, as well as the setting, into full living color as Deckard creates three dimensional characters one brilliant word at a time. I found my eyes retracing phrases as I was reading as the language is perfectly chosen and offers the characters every single thing they need."
