2 of 2 copies available
Special Forces medic Rey Cruz needs to find a fiancée, fast, or he'll end up in a marriage orchestrated by an Afghan warlord. Finding a picture online of a girl he barely knew back home, he fakes an engagement photo, thinking no one else will see it. But when Rey loses both legs and the ability to speak while rescuing a local boy, the image goes viral.
Seattle marine biologist Grace Kim is shocked to find out she's engaged. When she's offered a plane ticket to visit her "fiancé," she takes it, looking for the answer to one question: Why did he lie? Touched by Rey's funny texts and the determination she sees in him, Grace offers her friendship—a big step for someone who prefers whales to most company.
And when Rey is finally sent home, Grace agrees to help him drive his classic car cross-country over Thanksgiving—a once-in-a-lifetime road trip that leads to what feels like real love. In front of his friends and family, she plays the caring fianc‚e, but what place will Grace have in Rey's new life once he's ready to be on his own again?
39,000 words
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 13, 2014 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781426899126
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Open EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781426899126
- File size: 235 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from August 25, 2014
Richland (First to Burn) packs a novel’s worth of plot and characterization into this tantalizing novella. Sgt. Reynaldo Cruz fibbed to his fellow soldiers about being engaged to a woman he barely knows. When an explosion catapults him from serving as a medic in Afghanistan to recovering from a double amputation at Walter Reed Hospital outside of Washington, D.C., his supposed fiancée is called to his bedside. Dr. Grace Kim, a marine biologist, doesn’t even remember meeting Reynaldo. Unwilling to expose his deception given the circumstances, she heads to Walter Reed to figure out why this man connected himself to her. What follows is a raw, emotional story of two embattled people slowly building a life together. Painful self-examination is rewarded with a deeper understanding of what it means to love and be loved in return. The story’s only flaw is that it ends far too soon, leaving readers desperate for more of Richland’s powerful descriptions and deep characterization.
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