You Know Me As Lad

I NEEDED to write a review for this because, well...AWESOME

When I bought this little story last night I was not expecting what I got. I love interracial romance, and black/white is one of my favorite pairings (black/Asian is a close second but that's hard to find in IR books). I also love military men, especially SEALs. So, I knew I was going to at least like this book if neither character was an ass.*

*Let me explain the "characters being asses" statement. M/F IR romance that is black woman/white man has a really annoying trend that runs through the genre; the immature/bad attitude having/mean/selfish/annoying heroine syndrome. For some reason a lot of these authors (most of them women because I haven't yet read any by a man) equate strong black woman with being an ignorant, childish harpy full of bad attitude who treats people like crap. I don't know why they seem to think this is acceptable or cute but someone really needs to clue them in and help them see past stereotypes.

So, when I bought this story I was expecting a sweet little military romance that was a bit sexy. What I got was an amazing story of a deep love that spanned over two decades and grew out of childhood friendship. I got a story of a military man struggling with physical injuries, mental injuries, and an addiction. I also got the story of the woman who has stood by him, loved him, and been his best friend for as long as she can remember. I got Zuly and Fitz's story.

Zuly and Fitz have been best friends ever since a very young and wild haired Fitz saved a very young and wild haired Zuly from a wolf spider on the playground. Actually, they are more than best friends, they are each other's oxygen, each one's heart beats for the other. Without Fitz there is no Zuly, and without Zuly there is no Fitz. I have never believed more in two characters being soulmates than I did with this book. It should have been corny, too mushy, and I think in the hands of most authors it would have been. In Nikki Winter's hands these characters were believable in how...solidly they loved each other. It was so fierce and ran so deep that it was almost aggressive. It was also backed up by over 20 years of friendship that cemented how connected Zuly and Fitz were.

After fifteen years of being a Navy SEAL, Fitz is honorably discharged after being injured and what was all together a horrible situation. He comes home and refuses to see or talk to his family and Zuly. He's damaged and has been living in an alcoholic haze for two months. He needs help but refuses to take it from anyone, especially Zuly, the other half of his soul and the person who matters the most.

Fitz's pain and situation was so heartbreaking. What a soldier goes through after what they've seen and done is portrayed really well in this story. It's not glossed over and it's not solved and magically healed by love alone. The toll that military service takes on the soldier and on their family is a big part of this story. I wasn't expecting that but I'm so glad that this book tackled the subject and didn't shy away from it. At one paoint Fitz thinks that he's never going to be the person he was before he went into the military. He's hardwired differently after what he's seen and done.

At the end of this book, even though it's a short novella, I was as satisfied as I would have been with a full-length novel. I loved the beginning, I loved the middle, I loved then end; I just loved it, plain and simple.