Gawd I love a good redemption story.
This book starts off with a literal bang and never stops moving.
From the deserts of Afghanistan to the island of Puerto Rico, the settings are so vivid you can taste the salted fish in the air.
I loved the family bonds, the personal growth, and Teo! I couldn’t get enough of Teo.
I have love for neither toxic machismo, nor miscommunication as a trope, but these were handled so deftly, the author is entirely forgiven.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

This was a very interesting book about a woman named l.I n a who went back to her roots in puerto rico. She went home with her family.She had a young son named t e o you had torrect syndrome. She?
Adds problems because she was in the military and she found to kill somebody and then she watched one of her soldiers get K I l l e d. She was dealing with a lot of things better passed as well When she was young, she was sent to school in Florida.This is where she became pregnant. She s Add cousin named Dolores.
Involved in the story about the dead soldier. She developed a drinking problem and i Try to resolve this through different r S m e a n s. She met this man who was running the B a r and he had something to do with the dead soldiers well. This writer is amazing because she Tied the story all together. And it was like a mystery and a love story at the same time. That everything was connected in such a fantastic way.

What a read!

Between the lush settings, the vivid characters, and the heart-breaking, but redemptive plot, this book was everything I needed in this dumpster fire of a year.

I loved the frank discussions on mental and physical health, single parenthood, substance abuse, and toxic masculinity.

I loved the family dynamics, both good and bad.

I loved the theme of HOPE throughout.

I cannot believe this is a debut novel. I’m both impressed and GRUMPY AF.

PTSD is not a theme that I have read a lot before in books and this was eye opening. Lina could be frustrating at times but knowing what she went through and seeing it through her eyes it all made sense. I loved seeing the culture of Puerto Rico and how it has influenced Lina in some of the ways she lives. I really loved both Eli and her son Teo. Lina was not the only one who had growth and I loved the emotion I felt especially towards the end.

Thank you @c.i._jerez @suzyapprovedbooktours and the publisher for the gifted copy

This is a tragic story of war and the wounds and scars it leaves with those who served and suffered, but also a beautiful tribute to life, honoring our path, finding the connections that bind us all, and learning to forgive and love again. My heart broke so many times in this book, but was put back together and healed as the character's hearts became whole again. Written with so much sensitivity to the nuances that make us unique and human this thought-provoking novel will inspire you to ponder the joys and things to be grateful for in your own life.

Lina returns to Puerto Rico after attending high school in the U.S. and serving a traumatic tour with the Army in Iraq. Can she still rise to be the mother and family member her family expects?

The story starts with the attack of Lina’s convoy in Iraq. Her recounting of each moment is full of emotion, and the reader can feel Lina’s distress and urgency to get home safe to her son. As a combat medic, she is only supposed to be there to help her fellow soldiers, but as her convoy passes through a village with multiple threats, she is forced to do whatever it takes to survive.

As it was the end of her tour anyway, Lina is soon honorably discharged and back with her son. While she originally had planned to stay and have the military fund her journey through medical school, she now wants out, and has little support processing what she’s been through.

Lina and her son move back to her family’s home in Puerto Rico, where she has not lived since before high school. Her relationships with all of her family members are closely examined, and she isn’t confident in trusting anyone else to have her best interests at heart. Unfortunately, she is still emotionally overwrought and has to make some bad choices before she realizes how badly she needs help.

The book was an emotionally-charged journey through Lina’s PTSD and its resulting alcoholism. But all is never lost, and experiencing Lina’s life through her eyes helps the reader feel her strength and love for her son and family. The book earned a high 4 out of 5 stars, and would be readily recommended to those who enjoy contemporary fiction, strong female characters, and stories of life transitioning after military service.

Thank you to my partners, Over the River PR, NerGalley and Lake Union Publishing, and the author. I appreciate the gifted paperback and eARC! I am leaving this review voluntarily!

1. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 • This story covers so many topics in such a beautiful way. What Jerez has accomplished with Lina LaSalle’s narrative is nothing short of captivating. The sensitive issues are handled with a delicate manner, and yet, the reader is able to feel the depths of emotion in them.

2. 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 • From the beginning, Lina proved her never-ending love for Teó. Her decision to move back to Puerto Rico was not an easy one, but she knew it was what was best for Teó. She stops at nothing to find him the help he needs with his health issues and with his daily needs.

3. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 • Lina’s relationship with a majority of her family has been strained for many years. Unsuspectingly, she forms a quick bond with her cousin, Dolores, and this proves to be just what Lina needed to help her reacclimate to the island and to the family.

4. 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 • It never ceases to amaze me how people can make such huge decisions that affect another’s life without even blinking an eye. Lina finds out a harsh truth, but ultimately, it does lead to a happy beginning for those in question.

5. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 • What Lina didn’t expect to find was a love interest. She meets Eli almost immediately and I was there for every second of their budding love story. The kinship they are able to unearth is strong and that only feeds the romance to a greater extent!

‘At The Island’s Edge’ is a powerful debut novel by @c.i._jerez. Books on post-war living and emotions is always hard but, it’s important to understand what they have been through and what will follow.

Lina is a combat medic and when she returns back to her young son with a medical condition, she’s not sure how to deal with PTSD and take care of a child on her own so she seeks help from her family, in Puerto Rico.

The storyline was relevant and very inspiring. Even after you come back home from war, you return with so much grief, loss and emotions that you crave for stable support in order to get through the hardship. Lina’s character really got to me. She is strong and resilient and a hard worker and such a great mother. There’s also a great importance on family support, even people who you least expect to help you, end up being the biggest emotional supports.

A poignant and beautifully story about the devastating impact of war PSTD on survivors and their families. Will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Sobering, uplifting, and atmospheric!

At the Island’s Edge is a heart-tugging, engrossing tale that takes you into the life of Lina LaSalle, a former combat medic who, after taking a life in Iraq to save her convoy from a suicide bomber, moves back home to Puerto Rico with her young son, only to find herself depending more and more on alcohol to cope with her PTSD.

The prose is vivid and rich. The characters are complex, flawed, and vulnerable. And the plot is a touching mix of tragedy, heartbreak, guilt, redemption, family, community, friendship, survival, hope, mental health, self-forgiveness, and the all-encompassing, unconditional love a parent has for their child.

Overall, At the Island’s Edge is an emotional, reflective, compelling tale by Jerez that is a heartrending reminder of the enduring psychological, physiological, and emotional devastation that is caused by war.

What an inspiring book this is. In this book we read about the story of Lina, a Puerto Rican young single mom medic soldier who is just back from war where where she had to do the unthinkable, having to take the life of a young man, during combat, in order to save her life and the lives of her unit members.
This act has caused her so much trauma that she starts drinking in order to numb the pain, adding to this is the trauma of haven been sent as a teenager to the US to finish high school, making her feel undesired by her family, especially by her father.
When she finally acknowledges her behavior and her feelings she recognizes that she suffers from PTSD, and that's when her real healing starts, she seeks help from a therapist, she stops drinking and she has meaningful conversations with her family members about the trauma caused by their actions that have lead the way she looks at her life and she founds love with another wounded war veteran, she forgives her child's father.
With themes of war, trauma, PTSD, broken heartedness, self destruction, this book is not an easy one to read, but along with these heavy themes we also find the ones about love, hope, friendship, forgiveness, starting over, the ones that make life worth living, making this a beautiful book, one that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

What a beautiful story about recovery, love, and hope. It sounds banal, but this novel can be a helping hand for many. It gives hope.

Lina is lost. As a woman, as a single parent, as a soldier, and as a family member she is lost. On top of that she doesn't realize that she suffers from PTSD. Once a strong and no-nonsense woman now she behaves irrationally, and irresponsibly. She keeps punishing herself for something that she had to do. Thankfully going back home to Puerto Rico did not turn out to be a humiliation and a punishment, but a bumpy road towards recovery. The love of her family, the willingness to be there for her little son when he needs her, and a new unexpected friendship give her all she needs - support and hope.

Glimpses into cultural aspects of Puerto Rico enrich this novel.

At the Island's Edge by C.I. Jerez ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heartfelt story about a young mother/medic and what she saw on the front lines of the war. She moved back home to Puerto Rico after leaving the military. She's searching for peace, healing and making up lost time with her son who now needs her the most.
Thank you Netgallery and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy of this book.

Gorgeous and emotional. I'm so glad this book exists and really think other readers are going to love it.

Great story about an Iraq war soldier adapting to civilian life. Complicating it all is she is starting over back in Puerto Rico, where she grew up. Having left at a young age, moving to Florida to live with her aunt and have her son. Now home she is dealing with ptsd, her parents and her hopes and expectations for her life, her son's life. Can they reach a common ground? I enjoyed this book and feel the author portrayed the challenges well

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This is a moving story about a woman who served in the US Army in Iraq and was in combat. Forced to make a difficult decision, she is having trouble finding peace after coming home to her family in Puerto Rico. The love between mother and son is so strong and slowly, with her family beside her, she is able to see that she can have a good life. This was a good story, but did tend to drag for me.

Lina's story will take you on an emotional roller coaster in the best way. It's rare to read a book from the POV of female soldier and even more rare to have her be as nuanced as Lina. The many facets of her life (extended family, motherhood, dealing with a child's medical issues, love, past relationships, PTSD) all work in concert here to create a beautiful portrait. As an army brat, much of the military lingo was comfortingly familiar but I still learned a ton about being a soldier and about Puerto Rico.

A heartbreaking story that had me captivated as I read.
Lina is a single mother and a medic traumatized from her experience in Iraq. She has moved back to Puerto Rico with her son to try and put her life back together. Not an easy situation with PTSD, fear, her identity and addiction.
Lina’s emotional journey to healing in her home of Puerto Rico to find her dignity and life back really tugged on my heartstrings and emotions.
A story of love, loss, mental health and rich with culture. I loved this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book

This is one of those story’s that will pull at your heartstrings. It’s an emotional journey and deals with some heavy topics such as grief, PTSD, and addiction. There are also some other themes and fear of commitment resonated the most with me. I really loved Lina as a character. She was well rounded and truly captivated what it meant to be a single mom. It would be so hard to be in her position and she was dealing with so much. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to deal with all the things she did, but she pulled through and preserved the best she could. The writing is captivating and sucked me in right from that start. I couldn’t wait to find out how Lina dealt with everything. I loved learning more about Puerto Rico and it’s culture and history. I love reading books like this that help me explore the world, and Puerto Rico is such a gorgeous place.

If you’re looking for an emotional story, that will keep you on the edge of your seat then check this one out.