Hallee Bridgeman: Honor's Refuge

 By Kelly Bridgewater

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.

 

My Thoughts:

Honor’s Refuge by Hallee Bridgeman was much better than the previous two books in this series. The plot still had a lot of down time, but there were moments thrown in where the readers were actually paying close attention to Melissa and Phil’s story as they tried to help one abused victim. The climactic moment near the end of the novel was a struggle for the characters, but it was nice to see Phil in action even though he has one less leg. Melissa is a brave woman who puts herself in the line of danger to help abused women to escape their abuse partners and learn how to move forward. Bridgeman does a good job at showing the guilt some of these women feel from their abusers. Of course, what romantic suspense novel would be without a touch of romance to the story. It was not overwhelming, but the happily-ever-after moment at the end of the novel was predictable and unoriginal. I wish romantic suspense novels would stop ending like that. Overall, Honor’s Refuge by Hallee Bridgeman had more suspense with a touch of romance.

I received a complimentary copy of Honor’s Refuge by Hallee Bridgeman from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Hallee Bridgeman: Word of Honor

 By Kelly Bridgewater

FBI Special Agent Lynda Culter 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.

 

My Thoughts:

Word of Honor by Hallee Bridgeman had an interesting concept and suspense right from the opening chapter. Readers will be delighted to see the innerworkings and the laying of the plans and how they were going to intercorporate these elements into their plan. The weapons used were interesting to follow also. While the characters were uncover, they were trying to capture the bad guys, but the plot featured a lot of planning and moving around behind the scenes. Not many bullets flying or running from their lives. They visited a mosque three times a day for prayer, noticed the participates, and then returned nicely to their hotel rooms. If the characters are in a foreign country, eventually, something should give them away. Enough to have them on a run as they try to sabotage and capture the villains. On the other hand, the romance is between a pair of people who were in a relationship ten years ago, and now must be in a relationship again. Questions unanswered and emotions rekindled. Overall, Word of Honor by Hallee Bridgeman was too slow for a romantic suspense for my taste. I need more action.

I received a complimentary copy of Word of Honor by Hallee Bridgeman from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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