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A review by kindlelovingmom
No Holding Back by Lori Foster
4.0
First in a new series, with a heroine who is a survivor and a fighter, and a hero who lives and breathes the family business: busting up human trafficking rings.
Sterling (Star) Parson drives her semitruck across Colorado, as a cover for what she's really doing: searching for women she can help. She has a passion and drive to help trafficking victims, and she uses her trucking routes to hide her pursuits. Star is a loner, and she's never needed, or even wanted, anyone to help her, until she walks into Cade's bar.
Cade McKenzie isn't just a bar owner, but most people don't notice or care. Until Star. She walks into his bar, and all his responsibilities, and hopes for secrecy, go out the window. He knows she is up to something, and he wants to help her, but he isn't at liberty to spill all his own secrets to her either. How can they work together, if they're both determined to keep doing everything their own way?
Cade and Star were drawn to each other from the start, but they were each wary too. Star had no attachments in her life, and was in no hurry to change that. Cade didn't have the kind of life that made it easy to have a relationship, but he couldn't get Star out of his mind. They both had to figure out that the other was worth the risk of getting involved, and I loved watching them fall into each other.
Cade's family dynamic was fascinating, and his brother Reyes had an irreverent sense of humor, which I enjoyed. I was fascinated by the family's backstory, and how they got into this line of work. I can't wait to get to know the family even better as their stories continue on, with Reyes' book next!
I enjoyed this story quite a bit, though I will say that while this book had a similar feel to the author's Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series (which is an all-time favorite of mine), it didn't feel nearly as FUN as those stories. I'm hoping, based on what I've seen of Reyes' personality so far, that his story might bring some of that fun back.
Content Warning for mentions & mild depictions of human trafficking, on and off page, in discussions and flashbacks.
ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club
Sterling (Star) Parson drives her semitruck across Colorado, as a cover for what she's really doing: searching for women she can help. She has a passion and drive to help trafficking victims, and she uses her trucking routes to hide her pursuits. Star is a loner, and she's never needed, or even wanted, anyone to help her, until she walks into Cade's bar.
Cade McKenzie isn't just a bar owner, but most people don't notice or care. Until Star. She walks into his bar, and all his responsibilities, and hopes for secrecy, go out the window. He knows she is up to something, and he wants to help her, but he isn't at liberty to spill all his own secrets to her either. How can they work together, if they're both determined to keep doing everything their own way?
Cade and Star were drawn to each other from the start, but they were each wary too. Star had no attachments in her life, and was in no hurry to change that. Cade didn't have the kind of life that made it easy to have a relationship, but he couldn't get Star out of his mind. They both had to figure out that the other was worth the risk of getting involved, and I loved watching them fall into each other.
Cade's family dynamic was fascinating, and his brother Reyes had an irreverent sense of humor, which I enjoyed. I was fascinated by the family's backstory, and how they got into this line of work. I can't wait to get to know the family even better as their stories continue on, with Reyes' book next!
I enjoyed this story quite a bit, though I will say that while this book had a similar feel to the author's Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series (which is an all-time favorite of mine), it didn't feel nearly as FUN as those stories. I'm hoping, based on what I've seen of Reyes' personality so far, that his story might bring some of that fun back.
Content Warning for mentions & mild depictions of human trafficking, on and off page, in discussions and flashbacks.
ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Megan from Alpha Book Club