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Review
4 stars
This is the second book in the EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) duet, and continues the story of bomb disposal officer, James Spears, in a dramatic, heartfelt, intriguing and suspenseful story that is beautifully written and had me captivated from start to finish.
James went through so much in the last book (so did readers!), and when we see him again, he is a shattered man, drowning in grief and guilt, and completely without the will to live. And then his friend and colleague, Clay, arrives to pull him out of his misery and give him purpose again by working with a de-mining group removing landmines in a former warzone in remote Azerbaijan.
Lady Arabella Forsythe could not have a life more different from James. Raised in wealth and privilege, she is a spoiled socialite who does nothing but drink and party. But when her mostly-absent father tires of her antics, he skips rehab and ships her off to the middle of nowhere to work with a charity whose work progresses his own selfish business needs. It’s a massive culture shock for Arabella, and while she takes in her new experience with eagerness, she finds herself drawn to the broody soldier who completely ignores her.
What is it about women that make us want to fix men who are broken?
James hates Arabella on sight. Her blonde, sunshiney persona grates on his permanently foul mood, and he writes her off as spoiled, shallow, and everything that he despises. She is also the polar opposite of the woman that he lost, and he wants nothing to do with her.
Arabella is a wonderfully complex character. Sure, on the outside she appears shallow and self-absorbed, she’s known no other life or way to be, but secretly she dreams of more, she’s just been trapped and bound by her controlling father and sees no way out of her cage.
Both lost in their own way, James and Arabella come together unexpectedly, finding comfort and a release from the stress of their situation together. But their hook-ups are quick and emotionless, and that’s the way James needs it to be, refusing to lose his heart again, and determinedly staying focussed on his job.
When you’ve been a soldier, when you’re faced death, that’s not where it ends, because I don’t think the living ever get to go home. Not really.
James and Arabella’s story is emotionally heartwrenching. Their personal experiences would be enough to carry the story, but what makes this book so suspenseful and intriguing is the setting. The work that James does is dangerous and intense, and what makes it all of the more intense, is that it’s real. The work he is doing is real, the danger, the violence, the injuries, it’s all real, and it’s terrifying and devastating. There are millions of landmines buried in warzones around the world, and when the war is over, militaries don’t take them with them, they are left behind, and it’s a slow, expensive and dangerous job to remove them, and it’s only done by a few small non-government groups.
Harvery-Berrick has done her research on this subject, and she tells her story well, getting to the heart of this issue and making it personal as we meet local people, watch the work being done, and come to understand the environmental and political issues that make this work so important but so dangerous, and prone to corruption. And it’s in this setting that Arabella finds her passion – not only for James, but for a life that is more, and it’s an important journey for her that is beautifully written.
I’d been so lost, so untethered, but coming to a place so few cared about, I’d found something precious.
But while Arabella is uplifted by her experiences, James remains locked inside his emotionless world, refusing to let anybody in. And though we see glimpses of affection, of him coming to care for somebody again, and his gentle and tender side, he is so broken by all that he has been through, that a relationship seems impossible, and it’s heartbreaking to watch.
“Don’t you get it? Guys like me don’t do relationships because we can’t. You think you can fix me, but you can’t. What if we did the whole marriage and kids thing…”
I was stunned, but he didn’t notice.
“…and five years from now something sets me off? I’m a ticking time-bomb, and you do not want to be around me when I explode.”
It’s a rollercoaster of emotion, and there is so much growing and changing that both James and Arabella go through. They need it – to finally move on from the past, find their way, figure out what they want, and claim it on their terms – but it’s not an easy journey to get there.
“I’ll wait for you, James.”
“That’s all I need to hear.”
Thankfully though, this book does come through with the happy ending that was missing from the first one. Individually, the find their way to a good place, and the romance lover in me was super satisfied with the love story and how everything wrapped up.
“I love you.” …
“You love Amira,” she said carefully.
“Yes, but I love you, as well. Very much. I want to live, and I want my life to be with you.”
This was a great end to the duet, and a gorgeous ending for both James and Arabella. It was a long and difficult journey, so seeing these two lost souls finally find their happy was so special, and I loved their story.
4 stars.
EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) series
