Positive Raleigh

The Lonely Heroes Series, Book 5

By: Sam E. Kraemer

Narrated by: Michael Ferraiuolo

Raleigh “Nemo” Wallis—

Positive. One word with a lot of meanings—but not all of them are good.

When I remember my time in the Navy as a SEAL, I know one word will define me and shape the course of my life until I die. Loss seems to follow me everywhere I go, but when Benji Hoffman comes back into my life, he makes me rethink a lot of things—mainly…

How can I love him and not kill him?

o-0-o

Benjamin Hoffman—

The memories I carry from my childhood on Knott’s Island are precious to me, especially when life throws challenges in my path. I’m running for Congress at my best friend’s insistence, and someone sets fire to my campaign headquarters, just as my best friend is hospitalized for a major illness. When her brother comes back to the island to see her, I’m that fifteen-year-old kid again, crushing on him even though he comes off cool as a cucumber when I’m around him.

After getting my ass kicked at a quick stop while on the campaign trail, Raleigh Wallis decides to accompany me to keep me safe because of my friendship with his sister. How can I survive being with that man every day and not die of longing for him?

Both men have a desire to make life better for those about whom they care. Can Raleigh overcome deeply rooted fears from his past and let down his walls enough to let Benji in? Who is trying to undermine Benji’s shot at doing the only thing he’s ever wanted to do—make his home state a better place to live? Can they positively achieve their goals together?

©2018, 2021 Sam E. Kraemer (P)2024 Sam E. Kraemer

Absolutely brilliant!

This next book in the series does a stellar job of dealing with a difficult subject. I call this brilliant because along with the difficult subject the way the author deals with prejudices in the storyline is fantastic!

Good story. Good narration.

I continue to listen to this series because the narration is well performed and the author has very insightful stories about socially important issues. This book addresses issues such as HIV and false accusations as a political tool. I enjoyed the path that the plot took, but I didn't feel like the story was entirely resolved. This is a long series, so I expect more revelations about the main characters in the next books. The author still struggles with excessive descriptions in both character dialog and story. People don't talk like that. Even those of us who are a bit neurodivergent learn to abbreviate our excessively detailed descriptions. We also don't refer to friends and family by their first and last names on a regular basis.

I was a little frustrated by the nasty attitude towards homeopathy by several of the characters. Valid health care treatment or not, there is a culture behind homeopathy. When a character who has experienced prejudice and misunderstanding of their own healthcare and condition is dismissive of someone else's choices, I find the hypocrisy a bit alarming. The issue isn't really addressed in the story. I personally don't think the issue in the story was homeopathy, I think the problem was a mental health issue, and this was not addressed either.

Overall this was an interesting read/ listen with a sweet romance that kept me reading even when I hit a rocky spot.