Honor's Refuge (Love and Honor, Book Three)

 

HALLEE BRIDGEMAN

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

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program

First line: Missy huddled with three-year-old Lola between the nightstand and the bed, praying her little sister would stay asleep.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This third book in the Love and Honor series deviates from the path the first two books took, as the action is all in the US. Phil was the medic for an elite military team, until he was injured in a firefight in an African jungle, which resulted in the amputation of his leg. While he’s learned to navigate life with an artificial limb, he’s still struggling with feelings of loss and not feeling like a whole man. Rather than going back to work as a doctor, Phil is an EMT now. Melissa runs a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. When she has a client who needs medical care but won’t go to a hospital, Melissa calls Phil. A friendship has developed between the two of them, and while Melissa would like more, Phil does not believe he’s worthy of her, that she deserves a “whole” man.

As much as I loved Phil, I did sometimes want to knock some sense into him. How could he not see how Melissa felt, that she didn’t care about his leg? Fortunately, Melissa is patient. As in the first two books, the characterization is so well written. We had already met Phil in the first book, and were along for the ride when he was injured, and I was excited to read this book and learn more about him, and to also get to know his family. And my heart broke for him when his family was faced with a shocking tragedy, that was almost hard to even read about.

Melissa and her sister, Lola, were separated as children after their father killed their mother. As an adult, Melissa has been searching for Lola for a long time. When she tells Phil about Lola, Phil calls on two of his buddies, and the three of them track her down. Melissa’s reunion with Lola was fraught with fear and emotion. Her husband is not a good man, and as the pages flew by I became more and more anxious, knowing that there will be a confrontation, constantly expecting it, and when it finally came my adrenaline was pounding.

While faith and Christianity are a theme throughout the series, this entry explored that a little deeper than the first two books. Phil and Melissa attend the same church, and faith and acceptance play a large part in Phil’s emotional journey. His faith in God’s plan for him, his acceptance of God’s love, and eventually of Melissa’s love. A journey that I profoundly enjoyed taking with him and Melissa. The next book comes out in February, I believe, and I will be eagerly awaiting it.

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

Goodreads Synopsis: When she was just five years old, Melissa Braxton watched her father take her mother's life. Separated from her sister, Lola, at that time, Melissa grew up with a strong desire to help those stuck in abusive relationships. It's why she became a family therapist and opened a domestic abuse shelter.

After losing a leg to a gunshot wound in the line of duty, Phil Osbourne has felt like a man without a purpose--until he hears Melissa's story and decides to use his Special Forces contacts to track down her missing sister. He knows what he discovers will break Melissa's heart. What he doesn't realize is that helping the women reunite will bring the cartel down on them like the Category 5 hurricane striking Miami.

Bruised yet not quite broken, Melissa and Phil battle the storm and the cartel, calling on strength they didn't know they had to escape death, save the innocent, and--just maybe--find healing in each other's arms.

Word of Honor (Love and Honor, Book 2)

 

HALLEE BRIDGEMAN

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, 2022.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

First line: Even in the late-spring night, with the hint of light still in the sky, the headlights did little to cut through the fog.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: We met Bill “Drumstick” Sanders in the first book, and I liked him, despite his reservations about the hero and the heroine getting their happy ending. In fact, he was a bit rude to his best friend, basically telling him that marriage and the military is not a good mix and having a wife causes a man to lose his focus. So I was pleased that this second book was about Bill and eager to see him eat those words.

Fittingly, the heroine is a woman whose heart he smashed into a thousand pieces ten years ago, after a year long relationship. Now she’s an FBI agent, whose partner was killed in a mission gone wrong. She’s the only eyewitness to the man heading up an ecoterrorist organization, and when Bill’s team is brought in to help with the investigation, she finds herself in Kuwait, working undercover – masquerading as husband and wife with Bill.

There’s not as much actual action as in the first book, but again we get a great character study. When it comes to relationships, family or romantic, Bill has a lot of baggage to unpack. And even though it’s been ten years, Lynda still harbors a lot of anger over how Bill suddenly broke off their relationship, still not knowing why. The slower pace of this book provides more opportunity for Bill and Lynda to get to know each other again. Bill truly regrets how he handled things with Lynda when they were younger, and he’s grown a lot as a person since those days, but the issues are still in his head. If you read the first book, you already know that Bill and his team leader, Rick, have a close brotherly friendship, and I loved the few scenes between them here, as Rick gently supports and nudges Bill to some realizations about his life and what he wants. For Lynda, it’s about overcoming her hurt feelings and seeing Bill for the man he is today. The author did a wonderful job bringing these two together and having them slowly work through their painful past.

Oh, and of course there’s the mission! While I said there isn’t as much action as the first book, there is still enough to keep the story moving at a decent pace. Lynda is very analytical, and watching her create her boards and piece together the events and the players was fascinating.

And then, when they are back in the US, the danger suddenly ramps up to a shocking incident that took me completely by surprise.

My only niggling complaint is that the characters point at each other a lot. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

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

Goodreads Synopsis: FBI Special Agent Lynda Cutler is investigating an ecoterrorist organization in the Alaskan wilderness when her partner is taken captive and murdered before her very eyes. The only person who can identify the key players, Lynda gets assigned to take part in a joint operation in Istanbul to take the organization down.

As a woman in a Muslim country, she'll find it much easier to move around undetected with a fake husband. Unfortunately for her, the man assigned to play the role is none other than US Army weapons specialist Bill Sanders--the man who crushed her heart into a million pieces back in college.

With a cargo bay's worth of hurt and baggage between them, these two consummate professionals must play their parts perfectly if they hope to stop those responsible for bombing oil pipelines, killing innocent civilians, and threatening to destabilize the oil markets. But love long buried has a way of resurfacing at the most inopportune times--and protecting Lynda has become Bill's primary focus.

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.