Treading Water

Forgotten Soldier, Book 2

De: Jessie G

Narrado por: Andrew Reyna, Casey Hunter

After devoting 18 years of his life to the US Navy, Petty Officer First Class Shane Parker is struggling with the very real possibility of becoming unnecessary. If he doesn't make chief petty officer before he's 20 - and it doesn't seem likely that he will - he'll be retired from active service and placed on the Fleet Reserve list until his mooring lines are officially cut forever. While it would all be very honorable and ceremonial, he simply wasn't civilian material.

Before even swearing-in, Julian Brand knew he wasn't cut out to be a soldier, but refusing wasn't an option. Generations of Brand man made careers in the military and the expectation of every Brand son was to follow in those prestigious footsteps. Though the prospect of being rolled back hindered his every step, he survived Battle Stations and did his time. Six years out of uniform and Julian still struggles to find familial acceptance as he fights to live life on his terms.

On the surface, they couldn't be more different, but when Jared Ramos calls, neither are capable of refusing. If they can find a way to work together, they might be able to save a friend and each other in the process.

©2017 Jessie G (P)2017 Jessie G

Loved both the story and the Narrator!

I loved the story when I first read it. Listening to Casey Hunter narrate the book made me love it even more!
There were a few times I have to rewind my audio as a few of the voices weren't distinct enough for me, but I knew the story well enough to know who's POV we were supposed to be in. It didn't take me out of the story or the narration.
I did think the time between the end of one chapter and the beginning of another moved too quickly. We didn't really get to absorb the last line before the next chapter started. Other than that I have no complaints about this audio book.
Jessie G is an author I love and I would listen to another audio of her books.

excellent storyline, excellent narrator

I really enjoyed this story this is my first introduction to this author and I can't wait for his next installment of the series. the storyline was compassionate funny and entertaining, it shows the sacrifices of soldiers coming back from the most the difficult part of their lives and their resilience of those solider who come back broken and the people who loves them help them through it. I highly recommend this story and author.

Micah's Soldier and Treading Water

This audiobook includes the first two books in Jessie G's Forgotten Soldier series, and they are wonderful. The stories are tied together by their involvement with a new foundation set up by Jared Ramos and friends. The foundation was set up in order to provide for the needs of military members who are not fully helped through normal channels.
First is the short story, Micah's Soldier. We meet Marine Garrison, who is returning from his final deployment with expectations of solitude and loneliness since he pushed his loving boyfriend Micah out of his life years ago. Micah, meanwhile, has kept up with the man he still adores and has a surprise planned for Garrison.
The second story, Treading Water, revolves around Sean and Shane, who became like family in the Navy, and Sean's cousin Julian. Sean has been seriously injured, and Shane and Julian come together to help him heal and learn to live in his new situation. While pulling together to provide support for Sean, the other men begin to fall in love. This is a sweet and sometimes heartbreaking story about the growth of all three men.
The writing is strong, the characters are believable and honorable, and the narration just adds to the the greatness of the stories. This is excellence!

Wonderfully narrated story!

The narration on this story compliments the storyline in every way! What a wonderful book!!

Great story, good narration

I love this story plus the bonus short story at the beginning. It touches lightly on some of the issues that returning soldiers face, but nothing graphic or triggering. Provides a very heart warming HEA and opens the door for future books in this series. The narration is good, with different character tones so that you can identify who is speaking, but unfortunately there are some minor editing issues that took away from it slightly. You occasionally hear rustling papers and the spacing between the end of a chapter and the beginning of the next one is non existent. Regardless, I highly recommend picking it up! it is a great start to what I hope will be a large series of stories!

Interesting start to a series

The prequel story Micah's Soldier was super sweet and I really wanted to continue the series after listening to that one. I would give that short 3.5 stars

Unfortunately I never really got onboard with the main story. I'll rate it 2.5 stars
There was a lot to like about this story, but also a lot of things that really didn't work for me at all.

First of all, the beginning. The first couple of chapters are from the point of view of Jared Ramos and his assistant Aidan - and I got quite invested in them. I wanted more. Except, it turned out, they were not our MCs and when Shane and Julian were introduced, Jared and Aidan were left behind. I felt cheated and very unsatisfied, because I really didn't care about Shane and Julian at first - I wanted the other story!

Shane and Julian's story was ok, in the end, but it felt a bit forced to me. I never really saw them as a couple. They were more like satellites revolving around Shaun and his injury, with their own back stories only superficially touched upon, which was a shame, because there was quite a lot of meat on those bones, I just never felt that we got to see the good bits. And the head hopping was driving me a little bit crazy. For such a short story there was just too many people and relationships being introduced.

Also, Shane's coming out felt weirdly forced and unrealistic. I never really bought that part of it either. However, the writing and story was engaging enough that I might give this series another try when Aidan's story is released.

Lastly, I listened to the audiobook of this story and the narrator drove me up the wall - which may also have affected my experience badly! He had the weirdest longest completely unmotivated pauses and half the time I had absolutely no idea which of the characters were speaking what sentence. He also had bouts where he was doing a great job, but the times when he wasn't overshadowed the good bits.

A story that has a little of everything

Two great stories for the price of one. The first story is just heart warming a sweet. The second story had it all humor, sadness, happiness and love. The narrator's did a wonderful job bringing these stories and characters to life. If you are looking for something to hit all your emotions with a HEA this is for you!

LOVE THIS STORY!!

The first story, Micah's Soldier, is a sweet second chance romance of two wonderful characters, Micah and Garrison. Micah's unwavering dedication, love an support for Garrison is incredible, even when he thought Garrison didn't want him anymore. Their reunion is beautiful an heartwarming, wish we had more of their story.
Treading Water is another spectacular story that I loved. At the beginning I thought the story was about Jared and Aiden, but then it segued into Julian and Shane. Hopefully we'll get Jared and Aiden's story soon.
Julian is such a loving and beautiful person. He is perfect for the rugged, emotionally challenged Shane. They are a spectacular couple and I love watching their relationship grow. It is great to see Shane slowly open up more and more with Julian.
The unwavering support that Julian and Shane provide to Shawn is incredible and adds so much strength and integrity to these 2 characters.
The narrator was very good for the most part. I gave him 4 stars simply because there were some pacing issues and sometimes it was hard to distinguish between the characters. But overall he was great.
I highly recommend this book and can' wait to read more from Jessie G.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this audiobook at my request.

the best!

this is hands down the best audio book that I have had the great pleasure to listen to. Casey Hunter is a fabulous narrator and brought the characters and their personalities to life in the most awesome way. Jessie G is one of my go to one-click authors and this is my first time listening to one of her books in audio and I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Great book with a promise of more to come

The audiobook begins with a prologue – a quick explanation of where the characters fit in other series written by the author. A quick reminder for fans, no big deal if this is your first foray into her work. Then there is a short story which starts this new series. In ‘Micah’s Soldier’, Garrison is coming home, not expecting anyone to greet him. He is facing what many soldiers do – no teary reunions, no families to embrace them – just an empty life to return to. Garrison isn’t expecting any welcome, but when it comes, he knows who to blame – or who to thank.

This short is heartwarming and dovetails nicely into the novel. In the first chapter of ‘Treading Water’ we meet Jared Ramos who is starting a charitable foundation to help vets coming back from overseas with physical and emotional problems.

This is a very timely discussion that needs to be had. For almost 20 years, the US and other coalition countries have been sending their very best soldiers – often young and naïve men and women – into horrific situations for which they are not prepared. Even those who manage to come home without physical injuries have psychological problems and this is often where the government fails these brave men and women. Jared, and his new assistant Aiden, aim to do everything they can to help. I didn’t read the blurb first and therefore was surprised when the story moved forward without these two, but I suspect their stories will be told later in the series.

Enter Sean. The young man, injured in a freak accident on an aircraft carrier, is now in the hospital. He’s going to survive, but his physical recovery is going to be tough and the results are uncertain. His cousin Julian, along with Sean’s friend Shane, race to Sean’s side. Sean and Julian are as close as brothers. Military service runs through the Brand family, but Julian wasn’t cut out for soldiering, instead is working hard to set-up his own Bed and Breakfast in Florida.

Shane has also been injured and is facing the precipitous end to his military career with two years left to go. Shane and Julian, in their concern for Sean, turn to each other for comfort. But with one man clearly destined for home & hearth and the other notorious for his one-night stands, how are they going to make it work? As well, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell might finally be history, but that doesn’t mean every gay officer has suddenly decided to come out.

This book challenges the reader to face the reality of what our soldiers face every day. We expect them to keep us safe, then we often fail to care for them when they come home. Having Sean as such a strong presence in the book helps bring that perspective into sharp focus. In fact, there are three alternative POV’s – Julian, Shane, and Sean. Although Sean isn’t part of the romance, his story is as important.

A perfect ending – with a few lovely surprises – again dovetails into the next story. Jared and Aiden bring another soldier out to stay with Julian and Shane. From the quick glimpse, it is going to be a heart-wrenching story and I can’t wait for it.

The book was great.

The audio recording is another issue altogether. The narrator, Casey Hunter, does a good job, but there are large pauses right in the middle of scenes. There are no POV changes or anything else to account for these weird pauses. Also, there is no pause between the chapters. The narrator says the last line of the one chapter, announces the next chapter, and begins the next chapter – all in one breath. It is jarring and irritating. Not enough to reduce the power of the story, but definitely enough to reduce the enjoyment. Andrew Reyna is listed prominently as the producer, so I’ll put the blame at his feet. I hope these issues are resolved by the next project.

This wonderful book is timely while not being preachy. Can’t wait for the next one.