Series:
Linear Tactical: Oak Creek (Book 5)
"Survival is always the most important thing."
You don't get far in Oak Creek, Wyoming, home of Linear
Tactical and its gruff and rugged heroes, without hearing that motto.
Free-spirited Joy Davis—opposite of gruff and
rugged—heard the slogan her whole life and generally met it with a roll of her
eyes.
Until the night she was attacked and left for dead.
He's always been her anchor. But now, she's his reason to
fight.
Bear Bollinger, the Oak Creek's rough-hewn mechanic, has
been Joy's protector and confidant for years, waiting for the right time to
make his move.
Watching her struggle in the aftermath of the attack
breaks something inside him. Determined to see her smile again, he steps in to
help her rebuild her shattered confidence.
But Oak Creek has danger closing in.
When a new threat begins to stalk the town, Bear must
protect the woman who means everything to him, even as Joy fights to reclaim
her life and face a danger unlike anything she's ever known.
I've eagerly anticipated this book, and it did not
disappoint. The prologue overlaps the end of the previous book,
Hero's Heart,
from Joy's point of view. We see the blossoming of Joy's relationship with Bear
and the hope for the future. Then comes the attack.
I loved Joy in both books. Before the attack, she was
Miss Sunshine, with a smile or a joke for everyone. With the reputation of
being a "wild child," she was full of spontaneous energy and actions.
A month after the attack, she has healed physically, but mentally, she
struggles. She copes as best she can, hiding her fears from those around her.
The dreams she had before the attack are now buried, victims of her loss of
confidence in herself. She's loved Bear for years, but not even that can break
through the trauma.
Bear, the son of Finn and Charlie (
Eagle), took over the
mechanic garage from his uncle after returning from his time as a Marine. He is
observant and caring and can be lethal when those he cares about are
threatened. He returned from war with secrets of his own that give him insight
into Joy's struggles. He has loved her since she was a teenager and wants to
help her.
I ached for Joy and her struggle to recover. I also
wanted to shake her and tell her to stop pushing away the people who want to
help. Joy is fiercely independent and believes she can get through this on her
own. I also hurt for Bear, who struggles to give her the space she wants. I
loved seeing him finally reach his breaking point and step in after a
particularly bad flashback. He won my heart with his quiet support, encouraging
her to return to following her dreams and helping rebuild her confidence with
his self-defense training.
I enjoyed watching Bear and Joy's relationship progress
as she recovers. I especially liked how in tune they were, with each
understanding how and when to push and when to back off. I loved their ease of
communication, from serious subjects to lighthearted teasing. I liked how Joy
turned Bear's encouragement to talk about what happened to her back at him when
he revealed the secret he kept. As their relationship deepened, there were
flashbacks to their past, especially Bear's issues with the eight-year age
difference. I understood his position from their early years, but it took him a
while to finally get past it. I loved Joy's growth as she healed and regained
belief in herself and its effect on her relationship with Bear. I loved the epilogue,
Bear's emotional speech to Joy, and his surprise for her.
There is a subtle layer of suspense in this book. Rather
than a bad guy they have to hunt down, this occurs at home. A frequent feeling
of being watched slows Joy's ability to move past her trauma. She doesn't know
if the feeling is real or if she imagines it. It didn't take long to suspect
the who, but the why was a mystery until the final confrontation. I loved how
it turned out.
Another mystery affects the entire town. Someone is
stealing odds and ends and junk from local businesses. This perplexed everyone;
it took outside-the-box thinker Lincoln to figure it out. I loved this twist
and how they handled it.
I continue to love the community of Oak Creek. They take
care of their own, and I loved their support for Joy. Characters from the
original Linear Tactical series and the second-generation members of this
series play critical roles. Joy and Sloane remain close friends, and I loved Sloane's
help and encouragement. My favorite secondary character in this book is
Lincoln. His character fascinates me, and I'm excited that he is the hero of the next book. It will take a special lady to partner with him.
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