✦ Ellen’s Reviews ✦'s Reviews > Five Years Gone

<4.5 Stars

“I love you. I’ll always love you.” Then he kissed me as passionately as he ever had and was gone, out the door in a flash of camouflage. I never saw him again."

John, the love of Ava's life, was deployed 5 years earlier and she has not heard one word from him. She can't locate any trace of him. It's almost as if he never existed! Desperately needing a fresh start, she leaves San Diego for New York City and meets an amazing man at her sister's wedding. Eric is handsome, smart, loving...all in all, the perfect man. Yet Ava is afraid to go "all in" with Eric, still dreaming about John and what might have become of him.

"It’s time now to set new goals, to start over, to begin a life that doesn’t have John at the center of it the way it did here. It’ll be nice to be back with people who love me and care about me, even if they tend toward smothering at times. That’s looking rather good to me after years of loneliness and grief."

Ava knows she must meet new people, re-connect with her family and forge new bonds. And Eric, who was also left brokenhearted when his ex-fiancee ghosted him, seems like the perfect match for her. They fall in love and their relationship is sweet, tender and passionate. But Ava is still haunted by her memories of John and agrees to seek professional counseling.

This book is incredibly emotional and timely. The sacrifices by our military men and women are immense, and are honored by this book. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire time I was reading this very engrossing and passionate story. I could not stop reading and loved the very unique, multiple POV's of Ava, Eric, John and their families.

"He’s loyal and devoted and adorable and sexy. I know his family and his secrets, which means so much to me. With Eric, what you see is what you get, and considering my past, there’s a lot to be said for that."

OMG ERIC! I loved him and desperately wanted everyone to have a happy ending. This was my first book by Marie Force and I was completely invested in this story. And the ending was not AT ALL what I expected! Highly recommend for all fans of military romance.

“I’m right here, sweetheart, and I’ll always be right here, no matter what. I love you so much. Nothing will ever hurt you again, not as long as I have a breath left in me.”