Semper Fi

By: Keira Andrews

Narrated by: John Solo

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.

©2014 Keira Andrews (P)2020 Tantor

all the words

I just finished the audio of this fantastic journey. I never talk about a book's plot, just how it made me feel. It had all the words and all the feels...not all good but necessary for the story. And it's an epic story of love in a time when there was so much evil in their world. Historical romance in a time of war, innocence, evil, denial, ignorance.....we've come a long way. Hot!! Trigger for those with war PTSD, a bit of graphic violence related to war. I'm dreading this book hangover with no regrets. Excellent narration.

I need more of this please

Keira Andrews how I love thee.

John Solo you bring these characters to life with such distinct amazing voices and color.

This was an utter and complete joy to listen to.

Ol’ fashioned love story

Loved listening to the differences in time frames between 1942 and 1948. A tale as old as time about the love that two men can share for each other.

Great romance

An outstanding performance and great love story
A must buy. It was what life was like in the 1940s and 1950s. How the world has changed

A sweet historical gay romance

I have been waiting for this book to get an audio release for a long time and grab it the moment it went live. Keira wrote a beautiful romance between two wartime buddies during WWII. Their past was written in flashbacks chapters and you can really feel the bond between them built over bootcamp and fighting together. It’s a low angst and sweet story and John Solo did an amazing job narrating it. He brought the gung-ho and cocky exterior of Cal to the tee.

Semper Fi

A great story! Makes for great reading ! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read.

I loved it!

Great book, great narration. Keira Andrews is my favorite writer, her book always get me!

Riveting and heartwramingly, heartbreakingly real!

What a grand tale this is! I like war stories, but I was never especially interested in love stories from the WWII era...until now. This sweeping tale of friendship and love between fellow Marines who meet as raw recruits in 1942 on the train to boot camp drew me in from the beginning. The writer's use of a dual timeline -- the war years and the home years -- was a brilliant idea, well-executed and authentic in every regard. The story is entirely historical, since when it ends, with Sophia as a college student, it is still only 1957. Calhoun "Cal" Cunningham III and Jim Bennett become fast friends as they weather boot camp with the irrationally mean-spirited DI Sargeant Tyrell, whom I freely admit I hated with a passion and wished to see great harm come to. He had a particular bee in his bonnet where Cal was concerned, and I loved how Cal never let the jerk see him sweat. He earned my respect immediately because he knew who he was, what he was worth (and I don't mean financially), and that kindness paid the greatest dividends.

How he and Jim, now a widower, end up living together in Jim's home on Clover Grove Orchard, which Jim owns, with Jim's two children, is a further demonstration of the kind of man Cal is. Having no interest in his father's banking business (because he does not see his wealth as defining who he is) and needing to find a sense of purpose, not to mention having a long-standing but secret love for his fellow Marine, Cal goes to help Jim get the orchard ready for the season when the man who had been working for him leaves without notice. Cal's presence stirs up a hornet's nest of emotions, from fear to self-loathing, to love. Along the way, Jim discovers what he's been hiding from himself with Cal's help. I'm much more of a Cal fan a Jim fan, though I fully understand his trepidation and confusion, and the many times he pushes Cal away are totally reasonable. A well-wrought story artfully told and well performed. I listened to it although I have an ebook version, and I'm glad I did. This will be another re-read/re-listen for me.

I cried at the end….

Thank you so much Keira for this wonderful story about Jim and Cal. I would never forget this M/M story. I love the way Cal and Jim are together secretly and have feelings for each other since the war ended. I cried at the end because Sophie has grown up and understands that homosexuality doesn’t bother her. Cal and Jim live together forever at the end makes my heart warms every time I think about this.

A bit disappointed

The constant per chapter flashbacks were annoying and could have been contained to a few chapters

I really enjoy Keira Andrews work but this one was a bit disappointing