Marine Under the Mistletoe (Always a Marine #19) by Heather Long

Blurb:

He used to believe in magic…

Kaiden Nelson looked like every other Marine, only most of his guys didn’t grow up in a family of nudists, celebrating the wheel of the year and the lunar cycles. His buddies wouldn’t name him a witch, either. But after more than a decade at war, Kaiden isn’t sure he can—or even wants to lay claim to that calling anymore. He’s got too much blood on his hands and he’s tired…tired of war, tired of fighting. Some days…he’s tired of living. When he’s sent on leave for the holidays, he’s unsure if he can ever really go home again.

She’s a candle in the night…

Rowan Harper lives in two worlds, the mundane where she handles tech issues for a major corporation and the pagan where she celebrates the sabbats and esbats with her coven. Like so many in the region, she keeps her beliefs private. It makes life more bearable from others who would judge, and she likes nothing better than the great sabbat retreats the coven takes to the sprawling Lake House. It’s a time where she sheds the shackles of everyday life and embraces the divine.

The wheel turns…

When Kaiden turns up at the coven Yule, his Circle of family and friends are eager to welcome him. He feels unworthy of the open warmth and shies away to the darkness, but Rowan refuses to leave him in the shadows. Can the inexorable pull of one woman help him face down his demons as they hold vigil against the longest night of the year?

Review:

An incredibly touching tale of a Marine reconciling what hes had to do in as part of his job with the tenets he was raised to believe.  He has been a Marine for 10 years and has put in his time in the sandbox.  You can't do that and not come out unchanged.  His friends and family don't judge him as harshly as he judges himself. There comes a light in his darkness in the person of shy computer tech Rowan.  She refuses to let him sit alone in the dark and the love in her heart may bring him into the light once more.  I don't know much about Wicca but the peace of the season comes through loud and clear.  It is apparent to me that the author really cared for the characters of this story and so I did too.  A must read for the holiday season no matter what religion you are.

Note:  The author states that a portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to Toys For Tots.

Marine Under the Mistletoe

Always a Marine

Release Date: November 10, 2013

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About the Author:

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

Contact Details:

Website: http://www.heatherlong.net

Email: heather@heatherlong.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeatherLongAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HVLong