The Military Wife by Laura Trentham is an emotionally charged book that grabbed me from the get go. I couldn't stop crying nor loving the main protagonists. Their troubles were intertwined in more ways than one. Grief and loss, has a way of connecting people together when they least expect it. Laura Trentham showed readers what it meant and how difficult it was to be a military wife. It made me think of the women who journeyed to the wild west with their husbands hoping to make their future successful. Trouble followed those women and these featured here. 

Themes of sacrifice were not only seen but felt in this novel. Laura Trentham has a way of showing readers what life is like for those in the military and those married to military men. Hardships such as losing their husbands was a pain that pierced not only their hearts but mine too. It was like being there in person as they struggled to move forward.. Memories of loved ones brought both joy and sadness to those still living. Harper was a strong leading female character. Even though she was still suffering, she helped those around her who were suffering too. It takes more strength to do that. She was more than a likable character. And then there was Bennett. He too, has his own troubles. Burdens that weighed just as heavy if not more than Harper's. Losing a fellow brother in the military is never easy. Overall, I highly recommend this heartfelt engaging tale of sacrifice and love to all readers.

A poignant story about loss, love and learning how to move forward after a tragic loss. Bennett is a Navy Seal who made a promise to his best friend and lives with a boat load of guilt. Harper is a widow who is trying to move on with her life, five years after her husband died in the line of duty. When her friend calls and says she needs help, Harper runs to her side and in the process, learns that everything that happened after her husband died isn't the truth or the complete story. Going to Bennett to find some answers will change her life, if she can only open up her heart again.
Told from both Bennett's and Harper's point of view, you learn about their life, both past and present. With so much baggage and many secrets that could keep them apart, Bennett and Harper struggle to find happiness with each other. A man with no family, a rather tragic childhood, Bennett never felt like he had a place in life. With no family, he lived vicariously through Harper and Noah's letters to each other. Trying to keep his distance, he shied away from interacting with anyone outside of the Seal's. Hearing the truth about what happened to Noah was heart breaking.
The side story of Allison, Harper's friend and Darren, a fellow Seal, was also heart breaking. Working through PTSD throws Darren for a loop, and things don't look for their relationship. Learning the difference between asking for help and weakness is tough, especially for men and Bennett tries his hardest to help Darren and one scene towards the end of the book ripped out my heart. I would love to read more about these characters in the future.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

This story was so beautifully written by author Laura Trentham. It was was so well done with a gamut of emotions all running through the story constantly. The heartbreak of loss, the joy of birth, the fear of the unknown & the angst of PTSD & unanswered questions. As Harper struggles with moving on after her husband’s death on a military mission, life just moves on, on its own as their son grows & Harper works an unfulfilling job. When she realizes that money received from a posthumous award isn’t really from the military she goes looking for answers from the man who gave her the money. Upon meeting Bennett, her late husband’s best friend & who her son is named after, she feels a connection but he wants nothing to do with her or the money. He made a promise & he kept it as far as he’s concerned. The battle begins with a survival weekend & with frustration & no answers. The connection grows though & soon he’s helping Harper start up a business on the military base to give military wives something to do. Bennett is also there to help out a former Seal teammate with PTSD as he struggles to keep his life & family together. As their relationship grows we see changes in both Bennett & Harper but the true change comes when he finally tells Harper how & why her husband died. I can’t say enough about this book, it was so emotionally charged & I’m sad that it’s over. Definitely recommend this book.

I loved how the author switched from chapter to chapter from the present to the past. This is the story of how Noah Wilcox met and fell in love with Harper Lee Frazier. This was a long distant relationship. She finishing college with dual masters. Noah training to be a SEAL. In the middle of all this is Bennett Caldwell, who is Noah's friend and SEAL brother. As we all know, not everyone comes back from a mission. This story tells how these men deal or don't deal with PTSD. It also tells how the women deal with their men, raising their families and still try to feel relevant. It was a wonderful book.

A very realistic story about military wives. Many eyes will be opened by this account of the lives military members and their families as they struggle with deployments, PTSD, and death. Told in past and present, the story shows the many emotions and decisions that the SEALS and their families have. Highly recommended!

This story tells the story of different aspects of military life. Harper met Noah just out of high school while he was on his way to SEAL training. They kept in touch and their friendship blossomed into love. Noah had such a sunny personality and you can't help but love him. While in training, he and Bennett become best friends. Bennett just wanted to keep his head down and get through it, but Noah wormed his way into Bennett's life. Bennett has always been a loner and after listening to Noah read his letters from Harper, he fell in love with her too. But he would never act on it because of Noah. Noah made Bennett he would take care of his wife and child if anything happened to him. When it came time, he just couldn't do it. But, Harper wouldn't let him hide away. Everyone has always left him and if Harper knew the truth about Noah's death, she would leave him too. Does he dare hope she will stay?

Lovely thoughtful book about starting over and about coping with trauma. Harper's husband Noah, a SEAL, was killed and while she's tried to move on, raising their son Ben, she hasn't really moved forward. In trying to help her friend Allison and Allison's family, she decides to open coffee shops near military bases which will be staffed by military wives. Bennett, Noah's best friend, turns up in Harper's life and well, that's where romance comes in. This is sensitive to so many issues. Nothing is easy. Told from alternating perspectives and with some shifting timelines, this is a well written story that has a lot to say. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

I love Laura's writing. Laura brings you into story and characters like you where there with them. I would definitely recommend this books for lovers of Kristin Hannah and Barbara Delensky.

Even though this might have been a tad predictable, overall I enjoyed it and found it to be bittersweet but ultimately joyful.

The heroine Harper seemed a little uneven at times in some of her actions/choices, but as she faced a confusing and unique situation, I can understand her waffling a bit better. My favorite characters here were the men in her life, both Bennett and Noah.

I haven’t read many military romances, but this one was well done.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Such a good book. Didn’t want it to end. Writing was amazing. Was a great inbetween book for me to break up my general thriller/ Suspense books I read.

Right from the first page I was hooked into this story that explores military life from so many different viewpoints. Firstly the men themselves, then the women who love them and the children in the family.  Military men are tough but they are also human, Laura Trentham explores PTSD, grief and loss, women who worry about their men and children who have either lost a parent to war or must tiptoe around because their dad just isn't who he once was.

Harper Wilcox is a wonderful Mom to Ben. She has been through the mill - losing her husband Noah in a military mission. Fortunately she has the support of her mother and a delightful Ben. She wants more though about how Noah died beyond the terse military report. She believes Bennett who was on that mission may hold some answers.

Allison is Harper's friend, she has three children and a husband who since returning from active duty has been morose and the family have had to tiptoe around him.

I liked the way the story unfolded, the characters were ones I could take into my mind and heart. The story moved along at a good pace and I think gave me a good insight into the challenges, struggles and losses of those involved in military service. Its an emotional read, while I smiled from time to time, I also teared up. So an emotional read!

Such a mixture of loss, guilt, anger, despair coupled with love, strength, support, new hope and second chances. I will most certainly look for the next book in The Heart of a Hero series.

I loved this book. I felt like it had great insight into the different aspects of military life, from the person in the military, to the spouse, to the person out of the military. I liked how the story was interwoven from past & present perspective. Harper & Bennett are fantastic as is the side story of Allison & Darren. Highly recommend reading this book!

Sadly I didn't finish this book. I really liked the description, but as I was reading it I couldn't finish it. That was no fault to anyone but my own. This book just hit a little too close to home for me. Overall what I did read I liked, and maybe in the future, I will go back and finish it, but for right now its just not for me.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were relatable and you could understand their emotions and where they were coming from with their decisions. I found myself really rooting for Harper and Bennet throughout the book. The storyline is strong and the characters all have a depth to them. A great romantic read for someone wanting to feel a bit sappy and emotional. It's the story of Harper for falls for a military man and the trials and tribulations that come with being an army wife (as is evident from the book title). Laura writes well-crafted characters who you can really connect with.

Wonderfully written saga addressing some of the realities that the spouses/families that remain behind when their partners/parent go off to serve their country face. This is told from the view point of one of "The Military Wife". When a family member serves, the entire family serves too, each in their own way. We find out about the loneliness, lack of jobs outside the home, depression, guilt, etc. that the partners of deployed troops deal with. It is a difficult dynamic to make work.

The characters are well written. I felt as if I was with the main character, Harper, as the story progressed. We meet her and her eccentric, retired librarian, mother, her friends and other family members. We are brought along on a journey with Harper through the highs and lows of being a military family. I liked how the author switched between past and present as chapters in order to fill the reader in on the lives of the 2 main characters.

Thank to NetGallery, the publisher and author, Laura Trentham, for the opportunity to read the arc of “The Military Wife.” This is a new author to me and one I will make sure to keep in mind when looking for a book to read.
I have to say I really liked this book! I was raised from infancy in a military family and married a military man.....much of what I read in this book, I could relate to.
“The Military Wife” is a very sweet and heartwarming story. Once you start reading it, you won’t want to stop. The Author touched on so many issues that the military member faces (PTSD) and spouses face trying to figure out where they stand in their spouses life.
This story touched my heart in so many ways.... ways I have experienced first hand.
I highly recommend this book, it is beautifully written.

The Military Wife a great start to a new series by Laura Trentham. Book one in the Heart of a Hero series. A heart felt story. It swept me in from the first page and didn't want to let me go. The author wrote a great story. Bringing her characters together. I look forward to reading the next book in this series and more books by this author.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but I really enjoyed it. A little sad in places but a nice love story and a glimpse at what military wives and families must go through all the time. I liked the writing and the character development and once I got into it I finished the book in one sitting.

I definitely recommend this book, and I see this is book #1. If there are more books to come I'm looking forward to reading them. Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin's and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sad, emotional and heartbreaking...but ultimately uplifting. Laura Trentham takes us into to the world of military wives and their families, and having to deal with separation and death along with the very real problem of PTSD that faces our military today.
Harper and Noah meet just before he leaves for SEAL training. They are immediately attracted to each other and eventually are married.Shortly after she becomes pregnant she receives the visit no military wife wants to get.
Five years later she is a single mom living with her mother when fate leads her to Bennett...Noah's best friend and SEAL brother. As Harper and Bennett are drawn to each other it becomes evident that Bennett is living with deep pain connected to Noah's death. Harper needs to know what happened but knows she must give Bennett time to deal with his pain. What follows is a beautiful story about love and family and hope for the future.
I really, really liked this book. This is the first book by Laura Trentham that I've read and I was totally engaged in her storytelling and in her character development. I look forward to reading more by her.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book.

The Military Wife by Laura Trentham is the first book in her A Heart of A Hero series. This book tells the story of Harper Lee Wilcox and Bennett Caldwell and their journey to a Happily Ever After. Harper is a war widow with a five-year-old son, Ben. She is floundering with what to do with her life when the story begins, five years after her SEAL husband's death overseas. Bennett is a former Navy SEAL and was best friends with Harper's deceased husband, Noah. He runs Caldwell Survival School which suits him quite well as he is a bit of a loaner. Seems Noah made Bennett promise to take care of his wife and child if anything ever happened to him. This promise will bring Harper and Bennett together.

This story is told with alternating chapters between the present and the past. It took me a while to get used to this style of storytelling but I can see why the author took this approach. It was very effective in explaining the complicated backgrounds of the main characters. This is a very emotional, poignant story. The author expressed these feelings as well as the other happy and sad feelings of the characters quite well. I really enjoyed her in-depth characters and how well the storyline flowed. What a blockbuster beginning to a new series.