“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.” ― Virginia Woolf
Author: T.A. Chase
Publisher: Amber Allure
Pages/Word Count: 114 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Chad Mitchell is on a downward spiral and he’s not sure how to stop it. Between the flashbacks of fighting in Afghanistan and the alcohol, he feels like he’s losing his mind. And if he’s not careful, he knows he might lose more than that. Working at Cookie’s Diner is a chance at working through his problems, yet his demons are stronger than he thinks.
Sergeant Zane Smithson comes to the diner in the middle of nowhere to check up on Chad. The men had served together in Afghanistan, and even back then, Zane had been interested in Chad, who had served under him. But when Zane got home, he had his own demons to beat before he could help his troubled comrade. Now, once Zane finds Chad, he sees there is more to the man’s problems than just flashbacks of war.
When a confrontation between them leads Chad to the depths of a bottle, Zane realizes they both need help to find peace in their lives…
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Review: After years of waiting for the sequel to Finding Love, it’s here!!!! Can you tell I’m a tad bit excited? As much as I loved Tim and Bernie’s story, I was sooooo looking forward to reading Chad’s story. When we were last in the small diner that Tim made home, Chad had been missing for days and no one knew where to find him. When Zane, a man Chad served with, shows up to visit Chad and finds him missing, he makes it his mission to find the man.
Chad has a fairly serious drinking problem that began at a young age and seemed to only get worse after the horrors he experienced when serving in Afghanistan. Cookie has given Chad plenty of slack because he knows more than most about what Chad is going through. When Chad is gone longer than is normal, all the men are relieved when Zane Smithson shows up and makes it his mission to help Chad find whatever peace he can.
Most of us have heard the saying about having to hit rock bottom before being ready to heal. It turns out that Chad’s rock bottom is assaulting his former Sergeant, stealing his car, stealing his money and practically killing himself with the amount of alcohol he consumes.
Zane has fought his own demons after the war, just like he had to fight his attraction to Chad while they were serving together. Now that Zane is single again he hopes to find some happiness with Chad, if the man can overcome his demons.
Chad has to make the decision on his own to enter rehab, but with Zane cheering him on from the outside, he has something to work towards and sometimes that is what makes all the difference.
I feel that this book was not only a love story, but a story of healing. Chad had to come to terms with his life before the military as well as the demons he brought back from the desert with him. Zane was his rock and his reason for entering treatment, but somewhere along the way Chad began to live for himself, and that made all the difference. I believe T.A. Chase did a wonderful job with Chad and Zane. These two men have wanted each other for a while and once they both got their stuff together, they were an unstoppable force and I would recommend you join them for the ride.
You can buy Nowhere Diner: Finding Peace here: