REVIEW: Bringing Delaney Home by Lee Kilraine

In Bringing Delaney Home by Lee Kilraine, Delaney Lyons is struggling. An explosion in Afghanistan claims her foot. She can’t remember the weeks before and after it, and she’s in pain, both physical and mental. She can’t sleep because her dreams are haunted by nightmares which she’s certain mean she was responsible for the deaths of the other people who died that day. Delaney does the only thing she knows how to do–she withdraws from everyone. Only Greer isn’t having any of that and sends her best friend, Quinn, to DC to bring her home.

Quinn Cates always had a crush on his best friend’s older sister. People told him he was crazy for holding on to the idea of her for so long, and when he finally tried to move on he discovered he couldn’t. So when Greer tasks him with bringing Delaney back to them, his heart breaks at the condition he found her in. The normally strong woman has resorted to hiding her body in sweat clothes big enough to fit him and she hid herself behind an emotional wall. Quinn, along with everyone else in town, doesn’t know what happened to her, but he’s determined to help her find her way back.

Delaney had hit her low point, and as much as she wanted to get better for her sister’s sake, she just didn’t believe she had it in her.
She didn’t want to tell Greer this might be as good as she gets. She was too afraid to admit that to herself. It was easier to quit than to follow a road paved on false hopes and impossible dreams.

She meets Marcus, an overweight high schooler who wants to run track but can’t. Delaney used to be a runner, and when asked why she still couldn’t, Marcus calls her out on her excuses. When they make a pact to help one another, it’s the first time that Delaney really starts to get out of her emotional slump. She even starts to believe that maybe even something could happen between her and Quinn.

I liked Quinn. No matter how many times Delaney pushed him away, he wouldn’t budge. When he finally discovers what happened, he’s even more determined to make sure she gets her life on track. Delaney struggles to understand why Quinn would want her since she’s missing a limb. While she sees herself as defective, he only sees her as his equal.
“I’m the Mickey to your Minnie. The Fred to your Wilma. Sadly, I’m Lucy to your Schroeder.”
“Oh.” She glanced away and fiddled with the latch to the glove compartment. “I always thought Barney and Betty had a better relationship.”
“You think so? I always thought Barney let Betty walk all over him. Fred and Wilma were equals.”

There was a bit of drama with someone trying to scare Delaney out of town. I thought the result of that was a bit anticlimactic, as was the final confrontation between Delaney and Barbara, a woman who was out to make Delaney’s life difficult.

I was a little confused to why Quinn’s brother, Tynan, wouldn’t talk to Delaney about her experience in Afghanistan when Quinn asked him to. Tynan had also served in the military and Quinn reached out to him thinking he could help Delaney. Instead, Tynan directed Quinn to the VFW. It seemed odd he wouldn’t want to try to help a fellow soldier.

Lee Kilraine has started the Cates Brothers series with a bang, writing a wonderful book about discovering what makes life worth living again when it feels like all hope is lost. There was sadness, there was laughter, and there was incredible strength and determination from the characters. I’m looking forward to reading the future books in the series.

Book Info:

 February 2, 2015 | Lyrical Shine | Cates Brothers #1

A Second Chance at Love and Life. When a wounded Army nurse gives up on her recovery and withdraws into isolation, an old flame kidnaps her back home.
Problem #1: 1 worried sister with demands: Work out. Show up for physical therapy. Be nice. Solution: Delaney Lyons figures she’ll go through the motions, and after a few weeks, when her sister stops worrying, she can escape back to her solitary life.

Problem #2: 1 pain-in-the-butt cop getting in her space and under her skin on a regular basis: Between his hot glances and bad-boy grins, she isn’t sure if she wants to lick his chiseled muscles or hit him with a dumbbell. Solution: Label the dangerous man “off limits” and ignore him.

Off limits? Not bloody likely. Quinn Cates went to the trouble of kidnapping Delaney’s ornery behind back home–he isn’t going to let them miss their second chance at lust…love…whatever.

Problem #3: The darn man is impossible to ignore. And he practically dares her to re-commit to her rehabilitation. Can Delaney find the strength to try again, or will she miss her last chance to grasp her life back?

Sparks fly as Quinn’s brothers get involved and the small town grapevine calls the play-by-play. Climax, North Carolina: Where small town love is big. A Cates Brothers Book.