Blog Tour Review: Out of Mind – Jen McLaughlin

Reaching for sunlight…

Finn survived the ambush and came home to me, but in his head, the battle is still raging. He’s falling apart and I’m trying my best to pick up the pieces of him, to find the us we used to be. I love him as much as I ever did, but love isn’t enough to fix this. I thought telling my father about our relationship would be the hardest thing we’d ever have to face. I was wrong.

Lost in shadows…

All I wanted was to be worthy of Carrie. One mission, just one, and I’d be able to give her the future she deserved. Then everything went wrong, leaving me tainted and broken. Carrie wants me to be who I was, but all that’s left is what they made of me. I’m no good for her. No good for anyone like this. I have to figure out how to move forward. Alone.

Sometimes love isn’t enough…

Series: Out of Line #3
Release Date: April 29th 2014
Publisher: Jen McLaughlin
Source: Inkslinger PR
Reviewer: Candace
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

You always worry when you come to the end of a series.  Will it be good?  Will you be disappointed? Will the author just write an easy ending to get to a HEA? I can say without blinking an eye, Jen McLaughlin didn’t disappoint me in Out of Mind.  She gave Carrie and Finn’s story a HEA but it was emotional, gut wrenching and took my breath away a few times.  It was nice that this book really focused on Carrie and Finn and the depth of their emotions for each other.  If you haven’t read the series, don’t start here.  Go back and read Out of Line and Out of Time first.

Finn comes home from war but he is not in one piece mentally or physically. Just like a great deal of our vets, he is suffering from PTSD…a real and dangerous condition.  Jen McLaughlin doesn’t skirt around the issue or make it easy on our couple.  She really digs in and shows all the ways that PTSD effects not only the individual but also their family and friends.  It destroys lives and relationships and Jen doesn’t shy away from digging into it.  It was painful to read because you knew Carrie and Finn were going to suffer but their conversations seemed honest, realistic, and brutal.

In the end, Carrie and Finn do end up happy.  I was sad to see the series end but it was great to see it go out on such a high note not only for the couple but the storyline was strong, touching and hard to put down.  Jen McLaughlin always gives us romance but she was really exceptional in Out of Mind openly discussing PTSD. Kudos to you, Jen.

Jen McLaughlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She writes steamy New Adult books for the young and young at heart. Her first release, Out of Line, came out September 2013. She also writes bestselling Contemporary Romance under the pen name Diane Alberts.Since receiving her first contract offer under the pen name Diane Alberts, she has yet to stop writing. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.

Website: http://dianealberts.com/

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/DianeAlberts6

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianeAlberts 

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6921962.Jen_McLaughlin