The Way of the Brave by Susan May Warren

The Way of the Brave

Susie has a new series!

Here’s the summary of book one in the Global Search and Rescue series:

Former pararescue jumper Orion Starr is haunted by the memory of a rescue gone wrong. He may be living alone in Alaska now, but the pain of his failure—and his injuries—has followed him there from Afghanistan. He has no desire to join Hamilton Jones's elite rescue team, but he also can't shirk his duty when the call comes in to rescue three lost climbers on Denali.

Former CIA profiler and psychiatrist Jenny Calhoun's yearly extreme challenge with her best friends is her only escape from the guilt that has sunk its claws into her. As a consultant during a top-secret mission to root out the Taliban, she green-lighted an operation that ended in ambush and lives lost. When her cathartic climb on Denali turns deadly, she'll be forced to trust her life and the lives of her friends to the most dangerous of heroes—the man she nearly killed.

Her skills and his experience are exactly what's needed to prevent another tragedy—but in order to truly set Orion free from his painful past, Jenny will have to reveal hers. They'll have to put their wounds behind them to survive, but at what cost?

And now, my review:

What a read! I could almost see my breath in front of my face, when I remembered to breathe.

We spend much of this book stranded on an icy mountain, and I could feel the cold. Such great descriptions. Susie took us into the minds of both rescuers and climbers. I learned some of their jargon. The story was well researched. I also felt the fear of the stranded climbers.

As usual, we got more than one love story, and I enjoyed that. One of the themes was bravery, of course. Other themes included having a new heart, finding grace, finally being free, and discovering God’s goodness. These were relatable, and as the characters reached toward them, I both rooted for them and sympathized with them.

The romantic, why-not issue seemed insurmountable between the primary MCs (main characters), which kept me hooked. The female characters were doctors or psychologists—great careers. And this led to strong conflict when their training alone couldn’t save them, nor leave them exempt from physical or mental health problems.

I enjoy Susie’s writing, book after book. I would like to see a variety of character voices. Most of the time, they each have the same voice, even in their introspection—both genders. But that element doesn’t keep me from reading her novels as soon as they come out.

With two of the characters, especially, Susie set us up for her the second in this series. We’ll be off on another suspenseful, adventurous rescue. Can't wait!

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, edge-of-your-icy-seat read—this is it.

Highly recommended!

Storm Front by Susan May Warren

Storm Front by Susan May Warren

This spring has been fun for reading some of my favorite authors, Susie May among them!

Let’s begin with the summary:

A tornado has destroyed a small Minnesota community and among the missing are not only a group of students but PEAK Rescue team leader Chet King. Ty Remington will stop at nothing to rescue his mentor, not even when the girl he loved—and lost—walks back into his life. But Brette needs his help more than he knows, despite her stubborn determination to push him away. And when he gets a second chance, loving her just might cost him more than he can imagine.

A blogger for Vortex Storm Chasers, Brette Arnold didn't expect her adventures to land her in the same place as Ty, the guy who she walked—no, ran—from over a year ago. She had her reasons—good ones. The kind that tell her that falling for him again would only lead to heartache. But Ty isn't the kind of man to give up—not on the missing students, or on her.

Life and love hang in the balance in Susan May Warren's breathless story of holding on to hope during a deadly summer of storms.

And now, my review:

I liked seeing the PEAK Rescue team leave the mountains of their usual setting and loved how Susie made this believable—if the problem centers on one team member, the whole team will come help.

Brette is a likable character in this novel. She’s courageous and doesn’t seem to be about to sell out the PEAK team, like she seemed about to do in an earlier Montana Rescue series book. I rooted for her after learning more of her story and seeing her try to be noble. 

Ty is one lovable character! He’s all heart. He follows his gut instincts, and he is often misunderstood because of it. But he’s the ideal guy to have on a rescue team because he will not give up. He cares about everyone the same. He can’t see that he’s a hero, but instead he zeroes in on his past dark moment and calls himself a failure. Really, that’s a lie and it’s all about his perspective. 

As usual, Susie’s research is impeccable. We learn about mesocyclones and other storm terms. My inner science nerd loved this! The storms made for an adventurous element.

I’m enjoying this series, but a word to the reader: please, read these books in order. You may be a little bit lost if you read them as stand-alones.  

Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.