Loving Meg

Camerons of Tide's Way #2

by Skye Taylor

When Meg Cameron joined the Marines to get an education, she never counted on being deployed to a war zone. Now that she’s home, both she and her husband Ben are struggling with the toll war, separation and regrets have taken on their marriage. Meg is tormented by guilt over the death of a military dog and the kiss she shared with her commanding officer as he comforted her. Her husband, Ben, is the love of her life, how could he possibly forgive her if he knew the truth?

Ben Cameron is just happy that his brave, beautiful wife is safely home with him and their young sons. Everything seems fine--at first. In bed, he and Meg are perfect together, until the nightmares come and she calls out a name that's not his. She's hurting and he doesn't understand, but he's trying. If only she would talk to him about what's bothering her.

Then there's Kip, a police K-9 who lost his handler and his spirit to a perp with a gun. Ben has been asked to help rehabilitate the grieving K-9. Can Ben help these two wounded warriors find peace? Can he convince Meg to trust him with her nightmares? As Meg debates returning to active duty, a move that would surely end in another deployment, Ben's frustrations and fears climb. What if her pain and confusion take her back into harm's way again, and he lost her forever?

359 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2014

About the author

Skye Taylor oldest city in the US where she divides her time between writing novels, walking the beach, volunteering at the JAX USO, keeping up with dozens of friends via the internet and trying to keep her to-be-read pile from taking over the house. She considers life an adventure and in a world of people who ask why, she has decided to ask "why not?" She spent two years in the South Pacific with the Peace Corps (2002-2004). She's jumped out of perfectly good airplanes and earned a basic sky diving license. She loves to travel and has visited twenty-six states and fifteen countries on four continents and in the South Pacific. Her bucket list includes at least that many more places to see. She's a member of RWA, Women's Fition Writers, Sisters In Crime, and Florida Writers Association. Check out her website at: www.skye-writer.com.

Reviews

[Heather Ashby · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a member of a military family, I was amazed at how well Skye Taylor showed Meg’s PTSD issues and resolutions. Ms. Taylor did an excellent job of researching the military aspects of this book, obviously taking the time to talk with military members who have spent time downrange. A female officer with PTSD made for the perfect conflict in LOVING ME, not only solving Meg’s and Ben’s issues, but hopefully enlightening civilian readers to some of the backlash of war—even for females in a non-combatant role. We typically read about male service members dealing with problems upon arriving home. LOVING MEG gives us a new perspective. In addition to reading a good story, I was thrilled to see that Ms. Taylor not only writes about PTSD companion dogs, but also puts her money where her mouth is and donates a portion of her profits to K-9s for Warriors. I was moved by their motto: “We rescue the dogs and they rescue the warriors.” I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series that features a Gold Star Wife. (I was given a copy of LOVING MEG in exchange for an honest review.)

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about a woman returning from combat and suffering from PTSD. Her suffering and dreams affect her marriage, until her husband can find a way to help her from the pain she hides. But it's the dog he is training that brings the condition to the surface, a dog similar to the one she lost in combat. Heartfelt and realistic, this love story has it all.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After returning home to her husband and sons, Marine Lieutenant Meg has difficulty adjusting to life with them and their extended family. To make matters worse, Meg is unable to voice her disaffection to her husband Ben, who is really trying to understand what Meg is going through. This is Meg’s story about her transition to life after a combat deployment. I found the story interesting, and it is not usual to read about a female veteran, let alone a female Marine veteran. Nevertheless, the story did drag a bit for me. There were times when I found myself struggling somewhat to get through to the next chapter, event, etc. Still, the subject did not lend itself to a fast paced action thriller, like so many others. The author really did a fantastic job getting the reader right into the mindset of Meg, how the combat experiences she went through changed her, as well as bringing home that her husband in particular and two young sons also went through something while she was deployed. I think we often forget or fail to think about the fact that families go through a lot when a service member is deployed to a combat zone--or to any other unaccompanied tour, though a combat zone is definitely different and can affect one very strongly. As I read the book, I really felt a part of both Ben’s and Meg’s life both before and after her deployment. I also became entwined in Meg’s story about the K-9 Scout who had died in an explosion during her tour in Iraq. I can understand how and why she felt as she did when Scout died and how she reacted to the death and her thoughts and feelings afterward. As I said, however, the book read rather slowly, not like many of the thrillers, mysteries and even romances today. This is about the only real criticism I have, though even this is not a strong criticism. I think the book is very relevant today, as we all know others who have been to combat zones and how this affects. The book illustrates very plainly what PTSD is and how it manifests itself. I think anyone who enjoys a good book about readjustment and how enduring love can triumph will enjoy this read. I received this from NetGalley to read and provide an honest review.

[Terisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Meg Cameron joined the Marines when she fresh out of high school in order to get an education. She never dreamed that years later when she was a wife and a mother that she would be deployed to a war zone but she was. She had been gone for a year and now that she's back she's feeling that she is no longer needed. She's missed so much, her babies no longer need her, they seem to have grown up so much in the time that she was gone. Her husband Ben, who is the love if her life seems to do be able to handle everything on the home front with ease so even he doesn't seem to need her. She no longer knows what she wants in life and there are things that happened that she can't tell Ben, she's ashamed of what she did and also heartbroken for what she let happen.

Ben Cameron is so proud of his wife and is just happy to have her home safe where she belongs but Meg isn't the same women that she was when she left for war. She seems unsettled, has nightmares and he knows that she's hurting but doesn't understand how to help her because she won't open up to him. He's also worried about the man John that she keeps talking to in her sleep. Who is he, what does he mean to Meg?

This was book two in the Camerons of Tides Way series and I loved it just as much as book one. It was heartbreaking to read what Meg was going through and how she struggled with things that she used to enjoy because of what happened to her while overseas. She didn't suffer as much as some of our military men and women do but she still had nightmares and felt like she no longer belonged when she came back. I have to tell you, I fell in love with Kip the K-9 that was in their care and as much as I do not want a pet, it made me want to adopt a dog. An amazing story with a great ending!

[Lilly Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed. I cried. And I bit my nails with my stomach tied in knots waiting for Meg to share her fears with Will. Loving Meg is a story of homecoming and faith. It is the story of heartache and triumph, but most of all, it is a story of family. Unlike the first book in The Camerons of Tide's Way Series, (Falling for Zoe) Loving Meg isn't a story of falling in love. It is a story of holding onto that love with all you've got and trying to get past the everyday, the mundane, and the heartaches and temptations that tear at the soul and wear a person down. It is a story of love conquering all, and two people finding their way back to their happily ever after.

[Negar Arvanaghi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really details what a soldier, and in particular a female soldier, deals with during and after deployment. Although Meg denies having PTSD, it is clear she does. She may not have been as bad as Chuck, but she was still bad off. It's great that therapy dogs can help these soldiers returning from war.

I wish she had opened up to her husband from the start, but I guess soldiers are taught to keep their feelings hidden. I'm not sure.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommend! The author has mastered her craft and I became lost in the story right away. I sympathized with Meg's problems and cheered her on as she took steps to solve them. I also liked getting a glimpse into the military world and finding out more about how veterans adjust to civilian life when they return from active duty. The service dog, Kip, was on a similar journey, so it was good to see both Meg and Kip's paths cross. The ending was especially good.

[Sharon Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ms. Taylor tells Meg's story so wonderfully,dealing with the demons of serving overseas as a leiutenant in the Marines. Coming home and trying so hard to find her place, with her husband and their two young boys. This story is rich with so many emotions, I really got caught up in it and read this book in no time at all. Now, I'll have to find books one and three in this series, as I'm hooked! Thank you, Ms. Taylor, for several hours of pure reading enjoyment, I'm looking forward to reading more from you.

[Tonya Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved military romance and when you add a dog in the mix it makes it that much more special. Meg is a vet and had some hard times growing up with an alcoholic mom and not so good man around and when she was over seas things happened that made her have ptsd when she returned home. instead of telling her husband she held it back till finally she realized what holding it back could be doing to him.

[Alisha]

4.35