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Semper Fi

por Keira Andrews

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The war is over. The battle for love has just begun. As Marines, Cal and Jim depended on each other to survive bloodshed and despair in the Pacific. Relieved to put the horrors of war behind him, Jim went home to his apple orchard and a quiet life with his wife and children. Knowing Jim could never return his forbidden feelings, Cal hoped time and an ocean between them would dull the yearning for his best friend. But when Jim's wife dies, Cal returns to help. He doesn't know a thing about apple farming-or children-but he's determined to be there for Jim, even as the painful torch he carries blazes back to life. Jim is grateful for his friend's support as he struggles with buried emotions and dark wartime memories. Then Jim begins to see Cal in a new light, and their relationship deepens in ways neither expected. Can they build a life together as a family and find happiness in a world that would condemn them? Contains mature themes.… (mais)
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I've just got to give this one an extra half star. I took a while to warm to this book, and the alternating between timeframes, relentlessly as Semper Fi does, is always a risk - I feel I'm being played with.

But after a while I got into the rhythm of jumping between Cal and Jim's friendship during the Second World War, and their friendship as it continued into the post-war peace.

Not immediately, but a few years after the war, Cal visits Jim at his apple farm near New York. It's not just the hold that Jim has over Cal, but the nature of life in the small community, work on the apple farm and the raising of Jim's young daughter that cast their spell over Cal.

Reflecting the times, 1940s and 1950s, Cal holds no expectations that he will ever have a romantic relationship with Jim, yet they do find each other and we're led to believe they find a way to make it work. I hope that is true though it must have been nigh impossible. Hopeless and unthinkable, not to put too fine a point on it.

So there's lots of sacrifice and denial and hope and longing in their journey, at least for Cal, until Jim allows himself to think of himself. I found Cal for all his good natured cheer and swagger to be quite noble in his resignation to what he could expect of his friendship with Jim. That he was willing to make a friendship work in the first place showed the same courage and selflessness as he demonstrated non-stop in the war. He's a guy from a privileged background who chooses to be a non-commissioned marine, he doesn't appear to take anything too seriously, yet his quiet dedication to the introverted and non-assuming (and equally heroic) Jim is the power of the story.

I look out for novels read by John Solo after he came to my attention in J.R. Gray's Unscripted... There would not be a more perfect narrator to recreate the characters of Cal and Jim. ( )
  Okies | Jul 22, 2023 |
It was okay. I didn't love it, but i liked it alright :) ( )
  NannyOgg13 | Mar 27, 2021 |
[DBML Event: I received a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review]

Review also at JustOneMoreBlogAboutBooks

Year 1942. Cal and Jim are marines and since they met they were pretty much inseparable. Cal is gay and knows it. Jim is married and doesn't even bring into question his sexuality. They are from very different backgrounds and even temperamentally they couldn't be more different; and yet they get each other like no one else ever did..

Reading about Cal and Jim is a struggle - it's both sad and frustrating at times - but as a reader you get to experience the same struggle they had to overcome to be finally together! Cal's pov was my favorite since I really took a liking to him; but it was also the saddest since, while he knew his feelings very well, he had to hide them away all the time. After the war, Cal forced himself to stay as far as possible from the person he loved in fear giving away what he felt for him. Only when he felt Jim needed him, Cal came back and even then - even when Jim finally get it - he had to hide and pretend and lie...I really don't want to be in his shoes!

As you may have noticed, [b:Semper Fi|23355893|Semper Fi|Keira Andrews|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413060170s/23355893.jpg|42912500] is not a light romance but that is exactly the reason why Cal & Jim story is so captivating!
I strongly recommend this book even to those, like me, that don't often read historical romance since it would be a pity to let it slip away for that.
At last I'd like to thank the author for the chance she gave me to read her book for free, I hope she appreciates my review. ( )
  Lara-IT | Feb 3, 2021 |
DNF at 40%. I enjoy the writer's other work and this is also well-written, but I just can't get into historical M/M books.
  AddictedReader28 | Oct 19, 2017 |


(Happy early Veteran's Day! Release day is 11/11/14 but what a perfect date to be released.)

Thanks to all the troops for all that they do!

4.5 HEARTS--Semper Fi is a best friends to lovers novel when you break it down. It is moving. It is understated yet dramatic. It has action, it has feels. It is erotic. It has laughs. It made me smile in one moment then swoon in the next. I got angry at one point and my heart nearly beat out my chest in the next.

This story is love, the other half to your soul, covered in apples (once you read it you'll understand) kind-of-love.

Cal Cunningham met Jim Bennett on a train, heading to Marine training. He knew in an instant he had to get closer to the blonde haired, blue eyes apple orchard farm boy from upstate New York. He was charmed from the start. Cal joined the Marines to spite his rich family. Cal was also queer, a crime at the time. He hid his true self from others and denied himself. But there was something about Jim. The fact that Jim was married to a woman with a child (and has only been with one woman) did not stop his feelings for the younger man. And so begins the start of Semper Fi.

Semper Fi is told from alternating POV, alternating flashbacks [Cal and Jim 's start in the Marines - 1942] and [rekindling of their friendship when Jim needs help with his apple farm- the men haven't seen each other once the war ended -1948]. Semper Fi is set in post WWII New York and Pacific Islands during WWII. The story is also broken down in three parts, the pace slowly speeding up as it progresses. Nothing read extraneous, the way it was broken down lent credence to the story on a whole, in my opinion.




We're brought onto the magical apple farm that is Jim's livelihood. He recently lost his wife to a car accident and needs help with that year's harvest. Cal drops everything to help his best friend, who he hasn't seen in three years. This is juxtaposed with the start of the men's military careers. It goes from sweet and sexy, yearning and longing of unrequited love to the senselessness and horrors of war. The author weaved the strands pretty expertly.

Romance always needs two interesting main characters but it's not interesting if the secondary characters are flat. I loved the secondary characters just as much as the main inSemper Fi. Mrs. O'Brien, the kind grandmotherly figure - I wish I had her in my life right now. Sully - the redheaded still-wet-behind-the-ears soldier - little bugger. Adored him. Rebecca - the grieving fiance...I thought she was going to play into that evil female character stereotype but she didn't. She was good. The children, Sophie and Adam...get into my pocket please. They were age appropriate and intuitive. All of these character added to the Semper Fi experience.

The duality of the story actually works. There was angst but it was not added unnecessarily. Before I could get my hooks into worrying about how a certain scene played out, I'd get a flashback giving more depth to the character.

I felt like I knew Jim and Cal, their reactions to situations made sense and I was drawn in. Cal, the silver tongued talker, who always had the right word for the right situation. Jim, who suffered from PTSD, struggled with his feelings, his sense of religion and self...both men were interesting, well plotted characters.

And sexy. This is also a hot number. The forbidden aspect added a little extra to the sex scenes. And yummy intense, outdoor sex always wins in my book. *growls*

At the core of this story, it's rich boy meets farm boy, an out queer (well for that time period) who is in love with his straight, best friend. Those are always great themes done well.

And this was.

For "GFY" to work for me, I need to read the internal struggle of the straight character. I need to believe the angst and self doubt. I need examples of said struggle. This was given inSemper Fi. No one jumps into a relationship without examining their inner demons (and between Cal and Jim they have plenty).

Plus, the time period did not work against getting the romance across. It was stricter times back then but it was believable. You can tell the author researcher the time period thoroughly but it did NOT READ LIKE AN INFO DUMP. A pet peeve of mine is reading a story where you can tell the author used the search engine and included everything but the damn time stamp.



This story is about the lengths a true friend will go for you. It's about a love that doesn't come along every day, a love that the two people involved make sacrifices for. It's strong. This is definitely on of my favorite books of the year. I would say I'm claiming Cal (because I loved him) but he's for Jim. Jim's for him.

Minor niggle: I wish Jim stood up to his father-in-law. Something about those in-laws and Jim's relationship felt unsettled. That just might be my personal deal. Overall, excellent story.

I'll leave you with a favorite quote of mine:

"So why should anyone judge you for your thoughts? For your feelings? Feelings of love, not resentment and anger. Yes, some would judge you, but to the devil with them. Don't ever hate yourself for loving."

This story does a fine job answering this.

Recommended, especially for readers who enjoy the relationship building in a friends to lovers theme.

SRAL



A copy provided for an honest review.
" ( )
  SheReadsALot | Jun 20, 2016 |
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The war is over. The battle for love has just begun. As Marines, Cal and Jim depended on each other to survive bloodshed and despair in the Pacific. Relieved to put the horrors of war behind him, Jim went home to his apple orchard and a quiet life with his wife and children. Knowing Jim could never return his forbidden feelings, Cal hoped time and an ocean between them would dull the yearning for his best friend. But when Jim's wife dies, Cal returns to help. He doesn't know a thing about apple farming-or children-but he's determined to be there for Jim, even as the painful torch he carries blazes back to life. Jim is grateful for his friend's support as he struggles with buried emotions and dark wartime memories. Then Jim begins to see Cal in a new light, and their relationship deepens in ways neither expected. Can they build a life together as a family and find happiness in a world that would condemn them? Contains mature themes.

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