Honor Bound (Love and Honor, Book One)

 

HALLEE BRIDGEMAN

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2022.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

First line: Captain Rick Norton crouched near the edge of the dirt road.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This is my first time reading Ms. Bridgeman, and I loved this book, so much. So so much. I don’t even know if I can write a proper review without just gushing about how much I loved this book!

Cynthia is a doctor, running a small medical practice and delivering babies in the middle of an African jungle. Rick, leader of an Army Special Forces team, has been trying to eradicate a warlord who terrorizes the villages, kidnapping the boys to raise into his army. Through chance and happenstance, Cynthia’s father has become the Vice President of the US, and the warlord has learned of her existence in his jungle. Now part of Rick’s mission is to retrieve Cynthia and get her out of there, regardless of whether or not she wants to leave.

Cynthia and Rick clash from the start, which is one of my catnips. I love a hero and heroine who are at odds with one another, who bicker and fight and drive each other crazy. They are both so well written. In the midst of all the danger and the adrenaline pounding non-stop action we get a wonderful character study, or rather two wonderful character studies as they get equal page time. Cynthia has been through the ringer thanks to an ex who was using her for political gain, and she’s found peace in the jungle, tending to the villagers’ minor medical needs and finding her own spiritual needs fulfilled. With her practice focused mostly on obstetrics, she’s a little out of her depth when two of Rick’s men are injured, but she rises to the challenge. She’s brave and resourceful. She abhors violence, which is where a lot of the conflict with Rick comes from. He gets her out of a sticky situation with the warlord’s army, but he kills to do so, and because of that she does not act very grateful!

Rick. Oh gosh, I adore him. He’s a leader, he’s a soldier, he doesn’t do what he does because he enjoys violence, he does it to protect and serve. He prays before a mission, and during a mission, and he only resorts to violence when it’s necessary. And of course saving Cynthia’s life was necessary!

I love the author’s writing, and she obviously did a lot of research. Her descriptions of the jungle and the villages are evocative. She employs a lot of military lingo (with a glossary of military terms and acronyms provided at the front of the book), which helped it feel like a realistic portrayal. As the characters trek through the jungle, evading the enemy and roadblocks, sometimes having to engage with the enemy, the pace was brisk and the action nonstop.

Until they are safe and sound and back in the U.S. From there the action slows considerably, as the characters assimilate back into their own lives, but I was still completely captivated, to the very last page. While Rick and Cynthia undeniably have feelings for each other, their lives are so different that there is still some conflict. I saw where one reviewer complained that Cynthia was the only one who had to change, but I didn’t feel that she changed so much as that she came to some realizations, about herself and about Rick.

I am continually impressed with Revell’s romantic suspense line, and this book is a great example of the quality of the authors whose work they are publishing. The second book in this series came up for request, and I just found out a couple of days ago that I’m getting a copy, and I am beyond excited for that book to land in my mailbox!

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and have voluntarily reviewed it* 

Goodreads Synopsis: It may seem odd to seek peace by moving to a war-torn African country, but for medical missionary Dr. Cynthia Myers, it provided a way to escape a shallow life of unearned wealth, a philandering fiancé, and a father now square in the public eye as vice president of the United States. At least here she knows her work and life have meaning. But all that is thrown into chaos when she fails to save the life of a local warlord's mortally wounded son.

As part of the Army Special Forces "A-Team" on a mission to capture and subdue the warlord, Captain Rick Norton is compelled to use deadly force to save Cynthia's life. Enraged at the violence she witnessed and riddled with guilt that men died because of her, Cynthia tries to hold on to her anger--but an unwanted attraction is taking hold.

With two members of his team badly injured and rebels in hot pursuit, Rick will have to draw upon all his strength and cunning to get her out alive . . . because he's beginning to think they just might overcome their differences and be able to make a life together.