Review: The Way of the Brave by Susan May Warren

My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it

Synopsis

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?

Leap into action with this high-octane, breakneck new series from bestselling author Susan May Warren.

My Review

This book reminded me of that movie Vertical Limit with Chris O'Donnell and Robin Tunney- hikers stranded on a snowy mountain and when a rescue team went to save them, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Although in the movie only a few made it back alive, have no fear, there is a less gut-wrenching ending to the book!

There is a strong cast of characters that all have heavy burdens from their pasts, and while some are running from their feelings, some are facing them with anger, and some are relying on God's grace to get them through. The main characters are Jenny and Orion who have a second chance at love, but we also have scenes from the perspective of Jake and Aria, new acquaintances with instant attraction, leading into the next book where they will feature as the leads. And at the end of the book in the "coming next" section we hear from Ham, the leader of the SAR team and also their spiritual mentor. I appreciated his counsel to his team and to Jenny, starting them on a path to understanding how God works in their lives. The big universal question of why do bad things happen to good people is explored in thoughtful and profound ways. Orion and Jenny have such a struggle with this and the experiences they have on the mountain make them face the answers they are both avoiding and yearning for. While I felt a little stir-crazy that the majority of the book takes place on the mountain (interspersed with flashbacks to Jenny and Orion's early relationship), this is a strong beginning to the series and I'm so excited to see what comes next for these amazing and memorable characters!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

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Don't miss the upcoming book in the Global Search and Rescue series . . .