Fighting for Hailey (Redemption Harbor Security #1)
Katie Reus
Blurb:
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.
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