review 1: 4.5 StarsFrom Out in the Cold is a story of two men with PTSD and how they learn to cope together. Neil and Jeremy were best friends when they were growing up. After figuring out that they both were gay and attracted to one another, they did a bit of experimentation. Then, many years later, while Jeremy was on leave from the Army, they got drunk one night and did more than experiment. That night left things very awkward for our guys and they didn't see or speak to one another for 5 years. In that 5 years a lot has happened to the both of them.For the past year, Neil has been trying to cope with and recover from a very traumatic event that has left him emotionally scarred and coping with PTSD. He is undergoing therapy, but he needs more. He needs his family, but they... more don't want him to 'bring the gay into their house' so he feels (rightly) that he doesn't have a support network and coping on his own is touch and go. It's nearing Christmas, again, and his pending annual trip home has him so stressed out he has taken up smoking. Again.Jeremy is an Army veteran. He spent the last 8 years serving his country and did three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The things he saw and had to do to survive there has left him with his own demons and also suffering from PTSD. And, to make matters worse, his family found out he was gay and disowned him. Of course, to hear them tell it, they did it out of "love", which just made me want to shake them. Repeatedly. After being told he is not welcome at home after finishing up his stint in the Army, Jeremy buys a bus ticket to Chicago hoping that Neil won't turn him away.This book is more of a love story than it is a romance. It's beautiful and emotional and over the course of it we see Neil and Jeremy try - unsuccessfully - to deny what they feel for one another and we see Neil's family move from denial toward acceptance. There were several times during the story that I teared up a bit. But the ending is a happy one. review 2: For me this was an emotional read, and I cried buckets, but there were also some things that I didn’t like. For example I had a hard time feeling any difference in the POVs, if there hadn’t been names to help guide me I would never have known if the chapter was told in Neil’s or in Jeremy’s perspective. They sounded the same. And even though the names helped a lot there was a few times when I had to put the book down in the middle of a chapter and got confused when I started to read again. I had somehow expected more angst. PTSD usually means more of a struggle, but everyone just accepted that there was a problem and that should work on it. I thought I expected more problems coping in society and less homophobia. The thick honey that coated the end I could have been without. Still, I good book! less
