This book of course made me cry. When Dax's family lost him, it took me back to when my husband was deployed twice, this was always a fear my family had everyday he was there (He made it home safe) My heart just broke for everyone. My husband didn't have a regular pen pal but he was sent a box and a letter from a class and he really appreciated it. I love the idea that both Dean and Ryder met by writing to each other. That's really a great way to get to know a person. I loved them together and they were both so sweet. I really enjoyed the whole book.

i really liked this story a lot. the writing was pretty good as was the character development. there were equal amounts angst and happiness, which was surprising as i was ready for heavy angst and heartache. the idea of these 2 meeting as pen pals is so unique and interesting to me.

i hated what dean went through as a kid but i'm glad he had dax and his family to get him through it. and then after losing dax, dean broke completely. he basically shut down but really wanted to do something to repay his brother, which was becoming a pen pal to a lonely soldier. they corresponded for over a year getting to know each other. dean sent him several care packages as well. and oh, the first time they spoke on the phone my heart melted a little.

ryder went through quite a bit in the middle east with his crew...and that was after having a crappy upbringing. i was a little surprised we didn't see more of the PTSD or nightmares. he seemed to get over that really quickly which is a little hard for me to believe.

they both suffered quite a bit of angst after finally meeting and getting together. but there were absolutely sweet together.

overall is a really sweet story that i totally recommend!

3.5 stars

Sometimes you just need a sweet book. Yes, there was angst. Yes, there were tears. But from the beginning to the end it was obvious for me that there would be an happy ending.

I didn't gel with this one.
I found Dean and Ryder's interactions stilted and a bit juvenile and everything felt very rushed and quick
There was tension with Dean's family and Bentley.
The bare bones of the story are good but just didn't work for me.

i really liked this story a lot. the writing was pretty good as was the character development. there were equal amounts angst and happiness, which was surprising as i was ready for heavy angst and heartache. the idea of these 2 meeting as pen pals is so unique and interesting to me.

i hated what dean went through as a kid but i'm glad he had dax and his family to get him through it. and then after losing dax, dean broke completely. he basically shut down but really wanted to do something to repay his brother, which was becoming a pen pal to a lonely soldier. they corresponded for over a year getting to know each other. dean sent him several care packages as well. and oh, the first time they spoke on the phone my heart melted a little.

ryder went through quite a bit in the middle east with his crew...and that was after having a crappy upbringing. i was a little surprised we didn't see more of the PTSD or nightmares. he seemed to get over that really quickly which is a little hard for me to believe.

they both suffered quite a bit of angst after finally meeting and getting together. but there were absolutely sweet together.

overall is a really sweet story that i totally recommend!