Review: Point of Contact – Melanie Hansen

Point of Contact by Melanie Hansen is an unforgettable MM romance that explores grief, healing, and the power of finding love after devastating loss. Following the lives of Trevor Estes, a father shattered by his son’s death, and Jesse Byrne, the soldier who served beside him, this emotionally charged story blends heartfelt romance with a raw portrayal of the wounds war leaves behind.

Point of Contact by Melanie Hansen
Genres: Contemporary, MM Romance

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Only love can heal an impossibly broken heart

There’d forever been a thread running through Trevor Estes’s life—his son, Riley, strong and constant like a heartbeat. But when Riley is killed in combat, everything in Trevor’s life unravels into a mess he doesn’t know how to mourn.

Then Jesse Byrne, Riley’s friend and platoon mate, arrives on Trevor’s doorstep with a box of Riley’s things. Jesse’s all-too-familiar grief provides an unlikely source of comfort for Trevor: knowing he’s not alone is exactly what he needs.

Trevor never imagined he’d find someone who fills his heart with hope again. As the pair celebrate Riley’s memory, their unique bond deepens into something irreplaceable—and something neither man can live without.

But diving into a relationship can’t be so simple. Being together means Trevor risking the last link he has to his son…leaving Jesse to wonder if he’ll ever be enough, or if Trevor will always be haunted by the past.

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ABSOLUTELY A MASTERPIECE!

This book had been sitting on my TBR for a long time, and I knew I had to be in the right headspace before picking it up. It’s a story about grief, and that’s a theme that hits me hard, but my goodness, what a book.

Beyond romance, I’ve always followed geopolitical topics and war-related news, and it’s easy to reduce those events to numbers. But here, we see what each of those numbers truly means: how every loss shatters not only the soldier’s life but also their family, and how survivors are left with scars that remain long after the war ends. We live through all of it with Trevor and Jesse. I can honestly say this is the book I’ve cried the most over. Crying for Riley, for Jesse, for Trevor’s pain, and for every small step he took toward allowing himself to heal.

The story unfolds in two parts: the “before” and the “after.”

In the “before,” we meet Trevor, who became a father as a teenager after a night of drinking and drugs resulted in Riley’s conception. He stepped up, becoming a single father and dedicating himself fully to raising his son. We also meet Riley, who joins the army seeking direction, and Jesse, his friend and fellow soldier. Their camaraderie, as well as the harsh realities of military life, are vividly portrayed. Even though the blurb tells us Riley won’t survive the war, the author draws us so deeply into their bond that each chapter leaves us on edge.

Then comes the tragedy—the “after.”

In this part, we experience every emotion alongside Trevor and Jesse: the collapse, the friendship, the tentative healing, the love slowly blooming, and the courage to try smiling again. As readers, we grieve with them, laugh with them, root for them, and heal with them.

The writing is simply phenomenal, the story unforgettable. Everything about this book was perfect for me. A true “The Cat Loved” read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend if you love deeply emotional romance.

I will never forget this book.

Final Rating: 5 stars!

Have you read Point of Contact or another Melanie Hansen novel? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!