We are celebrating the release of Hearbreak Warfare by Heather M. Orgeron & Kate Stewart! Their collaboration in this poignant romance was phenomenal, and I’m not sure that I will ever be able to put into words all of the feelings the book elicited from me!
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Stand Alone
Briggs,
Remember when we parted ways in Germany? It was the day I broke your heart. What you didn’t know was that I was breaking mine too.
I thought they’d be enough–my husband and my son. That I’d get home and everything would go back to the way it was . . .
Before the war.
Before the ambush.
Before you.
But, no matter how hard I try, I can’t erase the trauma we shared. I can’t seem to forget the way my heart beat in time with yours.
The truth is I’m lost without you.
I thought the nightmare was over when they pulled us from that hole in the ground, but nothing could have prepared me for the war I’d face at home.
I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but, please, I have to see you one last time. . .
All my love,
Scottie
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Heartbreak Warfare by Heather M. Orgeron and Kate Stewart wrecked me in a really amazing way. I don’t usually read military type romances, because I’m a bit of a baby and tend to shy from books that I know might make me sad. But I did anyway due to my love for Kate Stewart’s writing, and I also haven’t read any books by Orgeron but always enjoy trying out new authors. Their collaboration in this poignant romance was phenomenal, and I’m not sure that I will ever be able to put into words all of the feelings the book elicited from me!
This may seem odd, but I don’t want to reveal too much about the characters individually. I really feel that it’s important in this story to take their journey along with each of them in order to see and understand their truths and complexities. It is told in Katy, Briggs, and Gavin’s point of views, which truly made me love them all the more. I greatly admired their dedication to their country, as well as their loyalty and respect to both marriage and family. Their characters’ all felt so realistic with their raw emotions and honesty, and where my heart broke for each of them, it also soared alongside them on their journey to healing and finding happiness.
‘I can survive being a soldier, I can survive another war, but it seems I can’t survive loving you.’
The story was very complex and seamlessly written. It was so consuming, and from the moment I started it, I could barely step away. Full of passion and longing, it was so damn heartbreaking, sharing a different type of painful and truthful reality for many that reaches deep in your soul. At the same time, it is a beautiful and inspiring story of overcoming tragedy and the many understandings of love.
‘Run far and fast, dance that sexy dance, have that second baby. Smile, Scottie. Lighten up, tell jokes, live a long and happy life, for me.’
On a personal level, I’ll admit this was a really tough read for me. While I’m not as familiar with the military lifestyle, I know that my brother-in-law went off to war as a teenager eating candy and watching SpongeBob and came home both as a soldier and a different man. He suffered from PTSD and ended up losing his life due to over-medication prescribed to help him deal with what he saw while in Afghanistan. He is only one of the enormous numbers that leave to fight for our country and return home fighting a different war with demons they faced. Just as sadly, some don’t return at all. There are so many freedoms that we take for granted everyday – I know that I do.
I realize that many people have sensitivities to certain situations like love triangles in romances, but I would like to say that this might not be what you think going into the book or even while you read it. All of the main characters get their own happily ever after in the story, and Orgeron and Stewart did an amazing job in creating understanding of their situation.
This was such an incredible story, and it’s one that will stay with me for a really long time! You might cry, but this touching romance will leave you with a happy heart. Best of all, Heartbreak Warfare offers an awareness to the many different casualties of war, and I highly recommend this read to EVERYONE!
Copy kindly provided by the authors and Wordsmith Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
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Purchase Heartbreak Warfare on Amazon today – FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
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“I need you to break my heart,” she declares, wringing her hands nervously. “Give me a reason to hate you, because wanting you this way is…it’s ruining me. It’s ruining my life.”
She is dead serious.
Lifting her chin, as if ready to take a blow, her turbulent eyes implore mine. “Tell me about them. Tell me about all of the women you’ve been with since Germany.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Hell no.”
“Oh, please, Briggs. How long did you wait? A few days?” She laughs sarcastically. “I bet you didn’t even make it a day.”
She’s coming out guns blazing, and I can see it’s physically killing her to do it.
“Are we playing the guessing game? Do I get to ask how many times you’ve fucked your husband?”
“Sure,” she says with a shrug. “We’ll trade. You go first.”
She’s bluffing, and I’m calling her on it.
“Don’t do this, Scottie. You don’t really want to hear about that.”
“Humor me, Briggs.” Her eyes plead with mine. “I need to hear this.”
“Fine. You want the truth?”
She nods.
“Complete honesty?”
Again, she bobs her head.
She stands stock-still as I pace the small room, feeling the blood begin to boil beneath my overheated skin.
Fuck it.
I stalk back toward her, stopping inches away. “You really want to know that there have been so many that I’ve lost count? How they’re all blondes with blue eyes? But the blue, it’s never right, and their smiles—all wrong.”
She swats at the fresh tears that trail down her cheeks as her lips begin to tremble. Reaching out, she places a hand on my chest, and I know that she must feel the way my heart is pounding against my rib cage, reaching for her. Always reaching for her.
I jerk myself away and brand that touch to memory.
In about forty-five seconds, my heart is going to implode. I start ticking them down.
“You want me to tell you all about how I have to drink myself stupid, till their faces blur enough that I can pretend…” I pause running a hand down my face. “So that I can pretend they’re you? You want to know how fucking miserable I am? How when I slide between their legs, I close my eyes, and it’s your face I see? How I’m always careful not to kiss them because their lips are all wrong. How every time I finish I want to fucking kill myself, because I can’t stand the pain of wanting the one woman I can never have.”
Thirty seconds.
“Is that enough?” Her eyes snap to mine. “Hate me yet?”
Face crumbling, she gasps out a sob, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
“Come on, Scottie. Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m still the same prick you hated when we met. Nothing’s changed. I think we’ve romanticized this situation long enough, don’t you?”
Taking another step away from her, I tilt my head. “You’re a housewife,” I say snidely. “Someone else’s wife and I’m a career soldier. This isn’t exactly ideal.”
She flinches visibly, and my heart bottoms out.
Fifteen.
I cut my hand through the air. “At the end of the day, this was nothing but a big mistake. And we never would have happened if—”
“Stop,” she cries out painfully, “stop, I’m good,” she whispers before rocketing toward the door just as I reach for her, my fingers curling in the space she just left. Handle in hand, she looks back at me with the sweep of her eyes until they meet mine. That’s how we started, and it’s only fitting it’s how we should end. For the moment, we’re right back there in the place we created, where we are perfect. Where our souls line up without any visible smudge on the seams. In a place where there is still so much love, so much that I can’t stop the tear that slides out before batting it away with the back of my hand.
An identical tear runs down her cheek. “Thank you.”
Three. Two. One.
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Heather M. Orgeron is a Cajun girl with a big heart and a passion for romance. She married her high school sweetheart two months after graduation and her life has been a fairytale ever since. She’s the queen of her castle, reigning over five sons and one bossy little princess who has made it her mission in life to steal her Momma’s throne. When she’s not writing, you will find her hidden beneath mounds of laundry and piles of dirty dishes or locked in her tower(aka the bathroom) soaking in the tub with a good book. She’s always been an avid reader and has recently discovered a love for cultivating romantic stories of her own.
http://www.heathermorgeron.com
A Texas native, Kate Stewart lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it’s what she loves as a reader. Kate is a lover of all things ’80s and ’90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
~ Contact Kate ~
Email – authorkatestewart@gmail.com
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DG Book Blog 
I believe you’re extremely brave I taking on this story given your own personal experience. Thanks for sharing your brother’s story, which is heartbreaking. My father served in Vietnam so I’m quite familiar with the man who returns not being similar to the one who left.
Your review is just outstanding. I’m definitely going to seek it out, despite my loathing for love triangles ☺️
Thank you so much Jonetta, and I’m glad to know you made it to the end! I realize I was a bit long-winded, but it was such a good story and just affected me on all levels. Sometimes I surprise myself in books I take on, and this is the only military romance that I have read since it happened. But I’m glad that I did. I’m so sorry you have experienced some of the negative as well with you father… big hugs to you! 💝
Awesome review! I passed on this one because I don’t usually like it when there’s another woman in the picture but your review has me regretting that.
The MC is actually a woman and her story takes place with who she was before and who she became after her service. I think it’s written in an understandable way for her to have to choose if that makes sense. Thank you so much for reading! 💕
Great review…I definitely want to read this book now.
Thank you! It was such an emotional story, and I really hope you enjoy it too!
I had read this blurb before and thought that maybe this one wouldn’t be for me because it kind of hints at a love triangle. You have me rethinking this. I might just have to read it now! Great review!
Thank you dear! Understood, and I just felt like I ‘got’ it. If you do read it, I hope you enjoy it too!
Wonderful review, lovely. I agree with everything you said.
I’m sorry about your BIL. People who go into war always come back changed and I think that aftercare and psychological support, even while on a tour, could be much better.
Thank you Astrid, and you’re absolutely right. I don’t feel that it’s addressed well, I guess. I appreciate your thoughts and hope you have a wonderful weekend! ❤️
Fantastic review Daisy!!! I am so happy that you loved it too and I agree with everything that you have said!
Thank you my dear! ❤️