Dylan Granger was a Special Forces medic for seven years
in
Afghanistan, until his world fell apart. A year after
coming back home, he's still suffering from severe PTSD
and no medication eases his torments. He is the sole
survivor of his unit; he has violent nightmares, he is
consumed with anger, guilt and shame, and he is prone to
lose his temper at the drop of a hat. Dylan's brother
Gage finally convinced him to seek further help, as
nothing seems to be working: getting a therapy dog looks
like the last resort. Gage found Julia Hart, who she
trains therapy dogs; she knows it works, because it did
for her. Gage and Dylan will stay for three weeks at
Julia's
ranch so that Dylan can train his dog. However, Evan, the
man who was the cause of Julia's PTSD just got out of
jail...
TAKING HEART is an exceptional book but it's no walk in
the park: it's extremely intense but so worth it in the
end. T. J. Kline is a remarkable storyteller, and this
second instalment in the captivating Healing Harts
series even surpasses the first book in my humble
opinion. While Julia has more or less managed her issues,
it would be an understatement to say that Dylan has not.
His rage is palpable, it's almost scary how well the
author communicates his emotions, almost to the point
that I felt like recoiling from the page.
Ms. Kline creates such an intimate atmosphere, and the
characters are so real, that we experience the events
almost as much as Dylan and Julia do. He is darkness and
frowns to Julia who is light and smiles; she is open and
straightforward, a little naïve even while he has become
sarcasm. The budding relationship between Dylan and Julia
evolves organically, albeit fraught with bumps, and it is
a magical and lovely romance, but what kept me reading
frantically was that I felt I was "participating" in the
therapy itself, along with Dylan. It's obvious a
tremendous amount of research has gone into this book,
and with her usual flair for understanding human nature,
Ms. Kline has crafted an extraordinarily compelling read.
Besides the fascinating look into animal therapy, the
arrival of Evan culminates in such a suspenseful manner,
I was holding my breath.
Ms. Kline's simple, elegant prose only serves to express
a story that needs to be told; the writing is beautiful,
but it never gets in the way of the characters' voices
nor the story. TAKING HEART is a romance for the
thinking, feeling romantic; no heart will be left
unmoved.
T. J. Kline's Healing Harts series continues as a
soldier suffering from PTSD and a therapy dog trainer find
that some scars can only be healed by love
Julia
Hart knows how much good she does training therapy dogs—it's
what helped her overcome her own trials after a relationship
turned unexpectedly violent. But moving beyond her mistakes
meant trusting only her family with her heart.
Dylan,
a former soldier, has run out of hope for recovery. Plagued
by nightmares and flashbacks, he doubts anything will help
him overcome his PTSD. When his brother convinces him to try
one last time, he agrees to get a therapy dog.
Dylan
didn't expect to find Julia or a chance for a "normal"
future again. But when Julia's attacker is released from
prison, Dylan and Julia will have to face the past together.
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