The Stars Above Us

By Maggie Gates

*A standalone and can be read fully by itself. However, it is technically one of the Griffith Brothers from The Griffith Brothers series*

*This was read prior to The Griffith Brothers series*

TheStory

News reporter Rebecca gets an assignment embedded with Captain Nathan Griffith’s squad on the front lines of the Iraq war. After a rocky first meeting, Nathan is determined to get under Beth’s skin, because this is no place for a reporter - especially not Becks.

Beck’s job is to get to the bottom of what happened to one of the soldiers stationed here. Even though she and Nathan are constantly getting on each others’ nerves, that is her main focus. Between bickering and fighting, the two of them actually start to bond and find something deeper in their relationship. But Nathan is holding the secrets Beth is looking for, and it might mean the end of everything they’ve been building. 

TheReview

I love a good military romance. A sassy woman who doesn’t fit, a grumpy captain, and life-and-death situations? Sign me up!

Becks is that sassy chick that shouldn’t be in the middle of a war zone. Nate is the grumpy Army captain. And their banter is so fun to read. He doesn’t want her there and she is determined to get her answers. Their chemistry was awesome. They had a fun dynamic. 

Nate’s big secret isn’t brought up much but as expected, it is a sad state of affairs when it finally comes to light. But besides the secret, which we know is there, there is also a twist to the story that literally had me in tears. 

While I LOVED this book, I have one complaint. The ending felt so rushed. Like it could have definitely been just a smidgen longer of a book, and the ending could have been done way more satisfactorily. However, the epilogue covered A LOT. It’s years after the ending, so that helped a bit with the unsatisfying quick ending. I think it might be setting up for The Griffith Brothers series. 

This story was everything I’d want a military romance to be. It was phenomenal. It’s not as basic as other ones I’ve read. It’s deeper. Although the ending was rushed, the rest of the story was slow and detailed with beautiful little moments sprinkled throughout. 

TheRating

Storyline: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

World Building: N/A 

Writing: 4/5

Overall: 📘📘📘📘📘

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️