Book Review: Word of Honor by Hallee Bridgeman

 

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.

Series: Love & Honor, Book #2 (could be read as a standalone)

My rating:

That...was actually really good! I made what I thought was an unfortunate decision when I requested to review this one before I'd even read the first book, since I ended up disliking that one (read my review here). But, this one did not disappoint! (not that I had high expectations after the first *cough*)

I loved Bill. His personality was fantastic and funny and I really appreciated his character struggles. The arc seemed a bit stiff, but overall, Bill's character was much deeper than Rick's in book 1 (though I really love Rick and wish that we could have another story about him) (but it was really fun to see him in this book too). Lynda, as well, was an epic character. I loved the fact that while she was a kick-butt female agent, she understood her limits and didn't pretend to be indestructible. Put the two characters together and you've got a dynamic duo that's sure to be a hit!

The romance honestly didn't make me cringe (at least, not too much, haha), even though it was enemies to lovers...I think it was the fact that though both parties involved were forced into a situation that neither wanted to be in, they did their jobs and didn't let their attitudes get in the way of the mission. Of course they didn't get along, and of course there were a few times that I wanted to throttle them, but I could see where they were both coming from, and I didn't blame them, and that made all the difference in the world. Kudos to you, Ms. Bridgeman!

The suspense lasted through almost the entire book, and I think that's what made me enjoy it so much; it was much more of a military-suspense-with-a-romantic-subplot than its predecessor. The twists and turns (and trying to keep all the details straight in my pea brain) kept me reading, and overall I just really enjoyed it.

The faith aspect seemed kinda preachy (especially with about 95% of the characters being Christians, and the other 5% being the villains), but it definitely seemed more real to the characters than in the first book; Bill and Lynda both were putting effort into their faith 24/7, and I loved that it wasn't the cliché I-don't-spend-as-much-time-with-God-as-I-should-but-that's-going-to-change-now Christianity.

Overall, this one was great, and I'm seriously regretting my decision to not request the third book for next month!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for promotional purposes. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What was the last book that you thought you were going to end up regretting but didn't?