Book Blast: Point of Contact by Melanie Hansen (Review, Guest Post + Giveaway)

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Melanie will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

There'd forever been a thread running through Trevor Estes's life—his son Riley, strong and constant like heartbeat. But when Riley is killed in combat, everything in Trevor's life unravels into a mess he doesn't know how to mourn.

Until Jesse Byrne, Riley's friend and platoon mate, arrives on his doorstep with a box of Riley's things. Jesse's all-too-familiar grief provides an unlikely source of comfort for Trevor; knowing he's not alone is exactly what he needs. Trevor never imagined he'd find someone who fills his heart with hope again. As the pair celebrate Riley's memory, their unique bond deepens into something irreplaceable—and something neither man can live without.

But diving into a relationship can't be so simple. Being together means Trevor risking the last link he has to his son...leaving Jesse to wonder if he'll ever be enough, or if Trevor will always be haunted by the past.

Read an Excerpt:

Trevor reached up to brush Jesse’s tears away, letting his thumb linger along his cheek. “So thank you. Thanks for letting me see my son through you.”

Jesse’s lips trembled. “I miss him. I miss him so much.”

Trevor slid his hand to the back of Jesse’s neck. “I know.”

With a small sob, Jesse reached out to wrap his arms around Trevor, pulling him close. His body was shaking, tremors of grief Trevor knew only too well wracking him from head to toe. All around them the world ebbed and flowed, oblivious to the fact a twenty-year-old boy had been torn from it, leaving behind two people who’d loved him and who now clung together, their shared pain a strange sort of comfort.

Trevor stroked Jesse’s hair as he shuddered against him, biting his own lip against the tears that stung his eyes. This was Jesse’s fight, and Trevor marshaled every ounce of composure he could, determined to be strong in return for this man who’d given him so much.

“It’s okay,” he murmured over and over. “It’s okay to miss him. I miss him, too.”

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5++++ Stars

So, first thing first, from just the blurb I knew reading Point of Contact would be an emotional journey and it was, it was angsty and I went through so many tissues reading it. Truly, this is a book to be savored and devoured in the comfort of your own house, it might cause sporadic bursts of tears and we don't want those in public, do we?

While I will admit that I'm sensitive and it's not all that difficult to make me cry, Melanie Hansen had me sobbing my eyes out, completely broken over both Trevor and Jesse's pain at losing Riley. I swear I'm dehydrated and exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster, Ms. Hansen took me through.

PoC is not truly a romance—although it does have one—but it's a love story. It tells us about Trevor's unconditional love for his son and Jesse's love for his brother in arms, and the love they find together while grieving for Riley. Again, it wasn't an easy read, but it's completely worthwhile.

Trevor was an amazing father and even if Riley wasn't planned, he did his best to provide for him and be the best dad he could be. The way he missed Riley when he went on deployment and then his pain at finding out he'd been killed were so poignant, so acute, so real, that as a mother I just couldn't not relate to him. And Jesse, sweet, responsible Jesse, who'd already gone through so much since he was a little boy helping take care of his Deaf parents and then being left on his own at 18 after they both died, hiding his sexuality so he could join the army and then suffering the rigors of war and being there with Riley until he died so he wouldn't be alone, I just wanted to hug him and make it better.

It's obvious Ms. Hansen did her research, apart from her inner knowledge as to how the army works and the process of grief, but more than that, she was able to put it into words that reached my heart and made me care for these men and want a HEA for them.

I loved the progression of Jesse and Trevor's friendship into them becoming lovers. It was a slow burn, but I could feel the tension and the feelings growing between them and when they finally made a move forward, it was beautiful, hot, sexy and loving. They not only had amazing chemistry, but had this intangible bond of their love for Riley and their support for each other that made it even more special, deeper, more meaning.

I loved to see both their relationships with Riley and how truly special Riley was for everyone he came in contact with. I also enjoyed seeing that Jesse was still there for his brothers, especially Watty, once they were back from Afganistan.

All in all, PoC is a book you can't miss out on, emotional, sweet, angsty, fantastically written and did I mention heartbreakingly angsty? Just don't forget the tissues, because believe me, you're going to need them.

Highly recommendable!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer via NetGalley for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

5 Stars! 

This is MH's best novel to date. You'll need Kleenex and a loved one to hand - it's a heartbreaker.

I'm privileged to have been a beta for this tale, which spans 9 years following the death of Trevor's son, and Jesse's best friend, Riley. I've loved every minute of it, though I cried/welled up over much of it. Some has been out of sadness, and some a mixture of sadness and happiness and hope. If you've read Unquiet, that should give you some idea of the depth of emotion that MH does, but in this tale, beware, it's multiplied. Though it's only 27/01/18 as I read its final incarnation, I am pretty confident that this one will be a contender for book of the year, and MH for Best Author, at the many end-of-year MM blog polls.

So, the blurb pretty much tells you what happens, but what it can't convey is the devastation and the depth of feeling that Riley's death causes, or the way in which his short life imprinted on Trevor and Jesse, and on his brothers in arms. I teared up over teenage dad Trevor's utter love and devotion, and over Riley's conception and early days - that something so amazing, i.e. Riley, and his and Trevor's love for each other, started from such crappy beginnings. I cried over Riley's death in the arms of someone who loved him so much - the words that MH wrote in that scene were devastating to my heart, but later on, were a comfort to both myself and Trevor. I ached over the reactions of Riley's friends to his death, and over what it means to be Army brothers. There were mixed tears over the period after Riley's death, in which Trevor goes from barely existing and functioning, to learning to live and love again. I ugly-cried over the loss of a son and Trevor's grieving, being a parent myself. MH's portrayal of the military honours given to Riley was moving, but this time the feelings were happiness, comfort and gratitude. I felt all the emotions because MH's writing made it seem as if I was part of Riley's circle of grieving loved ones.

It might sound as if I did nothing but cry over this tale, but that's not the case. I felt the love in this tale, as a human being, and more so as a mother, and it moved me. Hugely. It made me think about what's important in life, what's essential and what I could and could not live without.

The tale is hard to describe - it's not an out-and-out romance, and it's not necessarily what I'd call a gay romance, but there is a very loving relationship between Jesse and Trevor at the end of it. They start off as could-be friends and as sources of support for each other, and they keep Riley alive for each other via their memories and actions, but that all slowly turns to a genuine friendship and a lasting love.

It's a tale in which we get to see many forms of love, the power and the legacy of love, and it ends in a HEA that's incredibly satisfying, but rooted in RL. I loved how MH kept Riley alive for Trevor and Jesse, and knew without a doubt that he would always be in their hearts and memories - to be loved like that, is an amazing and humbling thing.

The respect portrayed for the military in this, and the respect shown by the military to its fallen was heartfelt and comforting; MH comes from military stock, and I'm pretty certain some of what I read is from a personal perspective.

This is an amazing tale that has stayed with me since I first read it, nearly a year ago, and which will stay with me for a long, long time yet.

ARC courtesy of Carina Publishing and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Hi Mel, would you please tell us what and/or who inspired this tale?

This story was inspired by several people I’ve met/know of in real life. The first is a woman who works tirelessly in our community running a foundation she created in memory of her son, who was killed in Afghanistan on Mother’s Day. Another woman we know, her only son was killed on patrol when he offered to take the place of a buddy who was sick. Loss of a child in war, survivor’s guilt…they were themes I was drawn to explore in a story, especially with my background as an Air Force brat and now a Navy spouse.

Can you please describe the tale in your own words, Mel, and what you were aiming for when you wrote it? More than anything, this is a story about how one young man’s death changed the course of several lives. It’s about how two very different people found unexpected love, and happiness, as a result of losing someone they both loved. It’s about how tragedy changes us, and mostly it’s about the strength and resilience of the human spirit. We honor our military with “Thank you for your service,” but what does that service look like? The family is serving, too, especially when a beloved son makes the ultimate sacrifice.

You've gone into some detail about the dignity, respect, honour and ceremony that surround death in active service in the US military - is this purely research Mel, or did you draw on your family background, too? It’s mostly research, but some of it is personal as well. My husband, who is active-duty Navy, had the honor of serving on both a notification team and the team that meets fallen servicemembers at the airport in order to reunite them with their family. I asked him to describe his feelings and observations to me, and then I filled in the gaps with research.

What have been the reactions to the tale, Mel? And, of all the characters, who have readers connected with the most? I don’t read reviews, so I really can’t answer this! My beta readers cursed my name several times, I know that.

How did you feel writing this tale, as a mother, as its creator and as someone with family connections to the military? It was a very hard story to write, obviously. When I came to the scene where Riley is killed, I actually had to put it aside for several months in order to steel myself. The goal for this story was to have the reader fall in love with Riley so that his death would resonate, so that Trevor and Jesse’s grief would feel relatable. The downside to that plan was that I fell in love with Riley, too. It was very hard to write that scene. Very hard.

How hard was it taking the characters from grief to happiness, and how did writing the tale affect you? Were you able to 'remove' yourself a little, or did you find yourself immersed in the tale and in tears? It took me two years to write this story, including the time I had to put it aside. While I was actively writing it, I was able to remain somewhat detached, but several times during editing and proofreading I found myself in tears.

Out of the three main characters, who do you identify with most, and why? He’s not a main character, but surprisingly enough, I’d have to say Carl, Trevor’s ex-fiancé. During the time I was writing this story, my best friend experienced the violent, devastating loss of her husband. I was there with her from day one, and a lot of Carl’s feeling of helplessness and futility comes from my own experiences with those same feelings. You see this person you care for deeply being torn apart by these storms of grief and anger, and there’s nothing you can do to help them. Nothing. This is their fight. My friend is in a much better place now, but there were times I didn’t think I could do it anymore. My goal with Carl wasn’t to make him a “bad guy” or in any way a bad person. He was there when Trevor needed him most, but the man Carl fell in love with died the day Riley did. They were both changed, and what worked for them in the past just didn’t anymore.

Did you have fun highlighting the generational differences between Trevor and Jesse? I did! Trevor is exactly my age, and I keep trying to picture myself falling in love with someone so much younger. What would that look like? How would I feel?

There's a moment in the tale, at the luau that absolutely moved me to tears, because of a similar personal experience - do you believe in an afterlife, Mel? I do. I don’t believe so much in organized religion anymore, but I’ve always believed in a higher power and an afterlife. Several people I know who’ve lost loved ones have described similar experiences to me, where their loved one visits them in a dream to reassure them, or they’ve sensed their presence. I believe that Riley would want to let his beloved father know he was okay, that he approved of him taking this most unexpected chance for love and happiness.

You have two pre-teen sons - what would be your reaction to either of them wanting to enter any branch of military service? If either one of them chose that path, I would be honored and proud.

And are the rumours true that there will be more military-themed tales from you this year? Can you give us a little no spoilers exclusive, please? There will be! I have a planned three-book series with military themes and the first one is tentatively scheduled for November! I’ll share more when I can.

Thanks, Rita, and Bayou Book Junkie for hosting me today!

About the Author:

Melanie Hansen likes to consider herself a cynic, but at heart she’s a hopeless romantic. Every morning she gets up before dawn to spend time with her characters, creating stories that are deeply emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, but in the end where love always wins. Melanie’s proud of the fact that two of her books have been named as RT Book Reviews Top Picks. She grew up with an Air Force dad, ended up marrying a Navy man, and has lived and worked all over the country. Melanie hopes to bring these rich and varied life experiences to her stories about people finding love amidst real-life struggles.

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Website: https://melaniehansenbooks.com



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