Battle to Surrender (Heroes at Home #3) ~ Willow Dixon

Damn. This. Book.

I will be honest here, I think that this book was made for me. I’m pretty sure that this author secretly did a scan of my brain and wrote down everything I love so she could write it, because holy shit is this book the perfect book for me! This book is everything I love in a book rolled into a lovely package. It’s a low angst contemporary book that still has conflict; it has a dom/sub relationship that isn’t the typical one we see in books, so it’s a reversal of the typical trope, which I love; it has good mental health rep; and it’s very sweet and super romantic. All of those things are my absolute favourite things to read about in books. This is only my seventh 5 star book of the entire year, so I think that's enough to tell you how much I loved this book. Brief summary Hunter is a grumpy ex-soldier, he is living through the motions and he doesn’t seem to enjoy his life the most. He meets Shane because they are working on a project together. And they fall in love from there.

“I’m here. I’m going to take care of you.”

First, it’s no secret that the grumpy/sunshine trope is one of my favourite tropes of all time, and I loved how it was done in this one. Hunter is so closed off and doesn’t really like talking about himself and what he likes. Which makes Shane pretty much the sunshine of Hunter’s day. And I thought that that dynamic made it so that they balance each other so well. I loved their dynamic and how well they compliment each other. Second, I absolutely adore the relationship in this book. I would go as far as call one of the cutest couples I have ever read about. Not only did I love how well complimented each other, but I loved all of the little things they did for each other. I loved how Hunter wanted to open up and talk to Shane, something he doesn’t like doing, because Shane created a safe space for him to do so. I loved how they were always there for each other and how they supported each other through everything. This book has a really small focus on small couple scenes between Shane and Hunter and I loved each and every one of them. These two were just so cute together and I loved reading about their love. Also, I absolutely adored Shane and Hunter as characters. I loved how well developed they both were and how you could see their personalities shine through their every action. I thought that they were both absolutely lovely characters and I just adored reading about their lives.

“You’re it for me, Hunter Gray.” […] “I love you so much. And I’m going to keep on loving you for the rest of my life.”

Third, I absolutely adore low angst books that still have some conflict, but all in all are just a feel good story. And it was the case of this book. Which is probably why this story worked so well for me. There was just enough conflict to keep me engaged for the entire book, but it was also the perfect kind of low angst book for me. It was just the right mix of everything for me. Fourth, I loved the story progression in this one. Everything just felt so natural in the way that things developed and I absolutely loved it. I loved how they slowly got to know each other and then started a relationship and then they were always there for each other and learning to know each other. This entire part of the book just really worked for me. Fifth, it’s not secret that I enjoy kink in books. My favourite trope in kink is a good reversal of the typical tropes. Which was the case of this book and probably why I loved the kink in this book so much. I just really liked how ex-soldier Hunter is the sub, while Shane who looks more like a twink than anything else, is the dom. But it’s not just that. I just loved their dom/sub dynamic, so much. I felt like it was perfect for their relationship. I couldn’t think of anything else that would have fit their relationship better. Their dynamic just really worked for me. Hunter is vulnerable and he just wants someone to cuddle him and take care of him, and Shane likes to take control and do exactly that for Hunter. Also, I loved how their dom/sub dynamic was used as a way of comfort and being there for each other, I really enjoyed that. Their dynamic was just absolutely perfect to me. Sixth, I really loved how mental health was portrayed in this book. Hunter has PTSD and I really liked how the book showed his PTSD. I like the book showed it as something that cannot be cured by love and how Hunter will always feel some signs of it, no matter what. I really liked the descriptions of what comes from Hunter having PTSD. I thought that the PTSD was done really nicely in this one and I really enjoyed reading about it. I just absolutely adored every second of this book. This book felt like it was made for me and I had the best of time reading it. This book feels like a perfect combination of all of my favourite tropes, and I loved how it was done in this book.

Battle to Surrender is available at Amazon.

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