Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella

Andrew Summers is no stranger to the Civil War. Reenactments that is, as Andrew’s father makes him spend his vacations dressed as a soldier in battle. His father takes it so seriously that Andrew is not allowed to talk to those on the other side of the pretend battle. But this year, there is a new face and Andrew wants to learn all he can about Shep Wells.

Shep’s dream is to travel to distant locations, but right now his heart is captivated by Andrew. The guys spend a few stolen moments together over a few short days, just long enough to fall in love–young love, first love style. And, in a world of electronic communication, Shep suggests they write to each other and their letters become their confessional and part of their shared story.

When circumstances have Andrew becoming a present day reluctant soldier, Shep continues with his plan to see the world. Yet through the years, their letters close the distance between them and when Shep finally comes to see Andrew, it is with the intention of finding out if those moments together years ago are enough to build a future on.

Love on a Battlefield is a well-executed, complete story told in a shorter number of pages. It certainly is not easy to accomplish all of those things while creating compelling characters that have chemistry from page one. The story starts present day and then takes us back five years in the past to when Andrew and Shep first meet. Their meeting was brief, yet intense, and Andrew was not at all ready to acknowledge what it meant to be attracted to Shep.

Andrew’s life was then turned upside down when his college plans were derailed and the way this happened was the one piece that didn’t fully fit for me. Andrew kept himself closed off from any type of romantic relationship as first he was afraid to come out and then he was afraid for what that meant in the military. Andrew has also been waiting for Shep.

We only see glimpses of the communication that took place between the two, but it all made a deep and lasting impact on both of the men. Andrew carried his favorite letter from Shep through battle and for all the wanderlust that Shep had, his compass pointed to Andrew. The written word here has a long reaching effect that continues to shape the lives of both men. Roberts will make you believe in the relationship between Andrew and Shep and while the ending has that perfect, fairy-tale quality to it, you will believe they deserve it.