Land and Sea

by Nick Van Der Wateren

Riley Linden is a Captain in the Royal Tank Regiment of the British Army. He goes on a night out at his friends’ urging, not expecting anything, and runs into Lieutenant Jamie Harrison, who’s just been dumped by his long term boyfriend and not looking for anything serious. They meet by chance in a gay club in Portsmouth and end up having a one night stand that quickly snowballs into something more. Suddenly they are entering a relationship without a clue as to what it may mean or how to navigate it and this becomes a turbulent and exciting phase in their lives where they learn to open themselves up and cope with being two men in the armed forces having a long distance relationship. There are visits to each other’s homes, interactions with each other’s friends and the realisation that this is far more serious than either of them expected it to be. Almost by accident, they find themselves falling in love and having to deal with the fact that in a short time, they’ll be separated. Riley will go to Afghanistan and Jamie to the Pacific, deployments that could make or break their relationship and affect every decision they make from that time forward.

476 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2020

Reviews

[Brittanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how this book has only 1 other review before me, two years after publishing. Besides a few minor spelling and grammar mistakes, I was enraptured with the writing. It's on the longer side and I'm a slower reader and I still devoured this in under 2 days, staying up way past bed time.
Jamie and Riley are both sweet yet broken men fighting for their country and then for each other. This book deals with PTSD, active modern warfare, and the effects that being in the service has on the civilian side of soldiers' lives. This is a British book with the characters being in army and navy during the latest (current?) Afghanistan conflict which isn't something I know much about but, if the author isn't in the service themselves, they really did a lot of research to bring their writing to life.

I hope Van Der Wateren isn't discouraged by the lack of response for this book and continues with the series as intended. I would certainly be interested in staying in these two men's lives a little longer.

[Carleigh Leake · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful love story!

Jamie and Riley meet by chance and the love story that follows is so endearing but heart wrenching at the same time. I love them as a couple!