Fighting for Hailey (Redemption Harbor Security #1)

Katie Reus

Blurb:

She’s the one who got away…

They grew up together, dated for years—but when Lennox had a chance at a college scholarship and a new life, Hailey abruptly ended things. She wanted him to have the life he deserved, and with her track record knew she’d just bring him down. Now they’re both grown and she runs the new branch of Redemption Harbor Consulting, heading up their security division. But her past is about to collide with her present in a big way, and she can’t outrun her demons any longer.

This time, he’s playing for keeps…

Years ago Hailey joined the military and ruthlessly cut all her foster siblings out her life. Now that one of them is in danger she’s back—and Lennox isn’t letting her push him away ever again. One of their own has been kidnapped and with the clock ticking, they have no choice but to work together to find him before it’s too late. But the threat is much worse than they imagined. It will take all their combined skills—and breaking through Hailey’s walls— to unravel the clues in time to save him.

Themes: Contemporary, Second Chance

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

So, I was truly surprised when I started this book because I’m going to be totally honest with you, when I hear Katie Reus is releasing a new book, I don’t bother reading too much about it, I just assume I’m going to want it. That said based on the design of the cover I thought this was another book in the Red Stone Security series or one of the connected ones, so I was so thrilled to learn it was a spinoff of one of my favorite of her past series and that I would be getting to see some of my favorite characters again! So, all of that meant that I enjoyed this new addition to the Redemption Harbor series with their new group of folks and their quirky way of looking at the world in shades of gray and I cannot wait for more in the series. Katie’s ability to take characters with tragic and sometimes terrifyingly backstories and make them into such strong and heroic individuals is beyond amazing and a skill that never ceases to amaze me.

Hailey West gave up her found family when she ran from them as a young woman though she never stopped loving them and when one of her brothers is kidnapped right off the street she will do anything to get him back safely, but she knows it will bring her face-to-face with the others. Jesse Lennox never imagined that when he went looking for his kidnapped brother he’d find the love of his life—the woman that walked out on all of them years ago and seemed to have never looked back. But now that he has her in his hands, Jesse is not going to let Hailey out of his sight ever again. While working with the authorities and her team to find their brother, Jesse and Hailey quickly come to realize that their feelings have never died and the passion between them still burns brightly. But can they get over not only the heartbreak of Hailey leaving but also the reasons that she left in the first place in order for Jesse to finally claim the woman who stole his heart at sixteen and never gave it back. It will take ever thing they have to save their brother and get over their hang-ups but Jesse will do whatever it takes and he will never stop Fighting for Hailey.

These two are one of those odd couples that you can see why they were pulled together, because opposites truly do attract sometimes and Jesse’s solemn nature and Hailey’s irreverence are just made to mesh together like puzzle pieces. I loved getting to know Hailey, not only seeing her with the brothers of her youth and Jesse as they found their groove together again, but also with her new Redemption Harbor family. She has so many issues from her past, but while she obviously allowed them to stop her in her relationships she didn’t let it stop her from becoming a serious badass wit ha little bit of a crazy streak. She is sassy, outlandish, loving, strong, plucky, and determined and willing to do anything in order to get her brother back. She is also willing to do just about anything to protect the man she loves, even stupid things that hurt her, if she thinks they are in his best interests. I could see myself really enjoying having Hailey as a drinking bud, as long as I didn’t let her lead me into too many crazy escapades. Jesse on the other hand has spent the majority of his life trying to find calm in the chaos and he only seems to truly find it when he is protecting and caring for those he loves, including the woman that actually creates the most chaos for him. He devotes so much of his time, money, and skill to helping those that can benefit from all three because he understands what it means to be in need of help and that makes him a truly great man in my book. He is sweet, loving, smart, courageous, funny, and strong and obviously the strength of their found family. I loved seeing him as he found so hard to make Hailey see that she belonged with him and should never have left, but more I loved seeing him allow her to come to terms with her mistakes and how he helped her see the flaws in her reasoning.

Fighting for Hailey is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time simply because it has it all, humor, passion, action, love, and intrigue all wrapped up beautifully in a storyline that is totally believable in the evil of today’s society. I was so happy to get to see these two lovers get their second chance at love and family and look forward to seeing more of them in the rest of the series, especially the nest novel which looks to be a doozy. Hailey is one of those women that truly flies by the seat of her pants and manages to come of smelling like daisies more often than not and I envy that about her. She has loved and lost, but she knows that when she gets a second chance with Jesse she can’t pass it up, especially when he doesn’t really give her the chance to walk away. Jesse is the kind of guy that will give up the shirt off his back for someone in need, but the ones thing he is unwilling to give up again is Hailey and I loved watching him give his all for her. As these two work through their issues, building trust again and reestablishing their deep love, they managed to kick butt and take down a huge criminal ring and still rescue their brother so really what more can you ask for in the end. The passion between these two former lovers explodes off the screen from the very first second these two enter one another’s orbit again, like a firebomb being fed oxygen and I don’t see that dying anytime soon. I am dying for the next story because the heat and interest between Cash and Reese was palpable through their every interaction and I cannot wait to see what finally pushes that to the breaking point in their book. Katie manages to always find the heart and heat we all want to have in our own lives and allow us to enjoy a small piece for ourselves through her writing and Fighting for Hailey is just one more example of that flair.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.