A Soldier’s Love is a touching romance of love and loss, of a bitter young man and a lonely young woman who find love in a time of war.

Ron Miller has returned to Georgetown to finish his History degree while remaining in the Army Reserves. He has been burned by love before and is wary of getting involved again but there is something about the quiet young woman who works in the college office that intrigues him.

Katie McNeill has worked in the office since graduating from the University of Maryland. Labeled a spinster at the age of 25, she is relentlessly pursued by an eighteen year old rich boy, Jimmy Garrett, though she has eyes for the quiet and handsome Lieutenant Miller.

Sunday December 7th will change all three of these individuals’ lives when they learn Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese. Ron is reactivated after Christmas break, Jimmy joins the Army and their other roommate Billy is drafted. World War II will affect each and every one of these people in different ways.

I was immediately drawn to the quiet strength of Ron Miller and the desire to complete his education. Raised during the Depression, he is a responsible young man and a mentor to young Billy, his roommate, and some of the other students at Georgetown. I was saddened by the fact that he is bitter from past betrayals yet heartened he is getting over his hurts, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. Katie is attracted to the quiet man yet is aware of the rules against dating students. The unsettling attention of eighteen year old Jimmy is rather obsessive in nature and raises red flags for this reader. I was not surprised to see his actions escalate once he discovered Katie wasn’t interested in him as more than a friend. The vivid accounts of the character’s reaction to Pearl Harbor being bombed brought back memories of my predecessors’ involvement in the war. The poignant vignettes with Ron and Katie, with Ron and Billy, and with the Army buddies and wives interspersed throughout the story were realistically drawn and made the characters all the more relatable. If you are looking for a historical romance that is fresh and original, with characters and situations that come to life on the pages, you will surely not want to miss A Soldier’s Love by L.K. Campbell. I, for one, will read it again.

Reviewed by: Scarlet