Reviewed by Stacy Ahlgren
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 5 Stars

BATTLE SCARRED
Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn’t found what he’s been searching for: a normal life. At his job, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as
those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty red-headed social worker.
HEARTBROKEN
For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time—unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues.
A DESIRE TO HEAL…
When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs…

I’ve been a fan of Shiloh Walker’s books for years, especially of her Hunters series.  This time around in her latest release “Fragile”, Shiloh leaves the paranormal elements behind and focuses mainly on the love story of two damaged people who have seen their share of cruelty in the world yet still manage to create something beautiful with each other.

Luke Rafferty was once Special Ops, a Ranger, sent out on dangerous missions, and he’s seen his share of the ugliness people will do to each other, but when he is seriously injured on a mission, he decides he wants his shot at a normal life, and six years later, finds it as an emergency room doctor in Kentucky.  But it isn’t until he meets social worker Devon Manning that he believes he’s found the woman who just might fill the emptiness he’s felt inside for so long.  Now he just has to convince her…

As a social worker, Devon Manning gives back to the system that saved her life when she was a teenager.  Not only has she seen the horrific things people can do, she’s experienced them firsthand.  She’s never let a lot of people close to her, but the way Luke Rafferty makes her feel has her willing to take a chance on something special.  But someone isn’t happy to see them together, someone bent on revenge, and now both Luke and Devon are fighting to protect themselves and the wonderful life they’ve created together.  Will this madman succeeed in his destruction?

One of the things I most enjoy about Shiloh’s books is her strong voice, and in this one you can hear it loud and clear.  Her stories are not light-hearted romances, but deeply moving love stories that can usually bring tears to your eyes.  Her characters are often flawed and sometimes tragic, but always you can see the hope living inside of them for a chance at something better.  They feel strongly, which means they are easily hurt, but never weak.  They rise above the bad things that have happened to them.  Basically her characters are survivors.

In most books I’m all about the hero, but it’s the heroine this time around who captures most of my attention.  I totally admired Devon for surviving what she’s been through and for choosing a path that allows her to pay it forward.  From her experiences, she has the ability to connect with young and older children, and many times she’s able to get through to them when someone else cannot.  That doesn’t mean her job is ever easy, and there’s often more tragedy than triumph, but Devon is dedicated to saving as many kids as she can.  It’s in her blood, what drives her to wake up every morning.  But it’s a difficult road to travel alone, and when she falls in love with Luke, it makes the pain a bit more bearable to have someone to go home to each night.  I also like that she didn’t jump into a relationship with Luke, but she didn’t run from him either.  I could appreciate that she took her time, and ultimately she didn’t deny her chance at finding happiness.

Overall, I have to say I loved this book: the emotion, the suspense, even the tragic moments, because it all came together to tell a moving love story.  Luke and Devon are incredibly likable people who are initially brought together when their jobs intersect, yet they can’t stop thinking about each other, and eventually they fall in love.  What could be more wonderful than that?  Not much.