The Cost of Honor

October 7, 2019
The electric final installment of Stewart’s Black Ops Confidential trilogy (after The Price of Grace) delivers all the fast-paced suspense fans will expect. Tony Parish was taken in by Mukta Parish as a child, the only male welcomed into her large adoptive family of female vigilantes. During a high-risk mission with his adoptive sisters in Mexico, Tony makes a grave mistake that turns the rest of the Parish family against him. To escape, he fakes his own death, flees to Dominica, and reinvents himself as Lazarus Graves. When Lazarus has a kiteboarding accident, Honor Silva, the chocolatier daughter of a notorious Hollywood actor, rescues him. The pair’s sexual chemistry is immediate and intense. Honor’s late mother had some powerful enemies, and when Honor is attacked, Lazarus resolves to keep Honor safe, even if it means becoming Tony once more. Tantalizing intrigue, effective red herrings, and red-hot romance combine into a powerful tale. Readers will be sad to see this heart-pounding series end. Agent: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary.

October 1, 2019

Tony Parish is a member of a vigilante family who seeks to right the injustices of the world. A wanted man, he fakes his own death after a failed attempt to protect one of his adoptive sisters. On the island of Dominica, Tony is reborn as Lazarus and nearly loses his life for real. Local Honor Silva saves Lazarus from drowning and quickly finds herself enthralled with the handsome American...and in serious danger. Honor's inner conflict about her mother's death provides depth to her character. However, the instant connection between Tony and Honor is hard to buy. For an ex-operative on the run, he trusts Honor very quickly and falls for her just as fast. This relationship could have used more of a slow burn to have a more effective payoff. VERDICT Fans may enjoy this fast-paced latest entry in the "Black Ops Confidential" series (after The Price of Grace). Readers who are sensitive to mentions of sex trafficking, child abuse, and child sexual assault might want to look elsewhere.--Amanda Turk, Corvallis-Benton Cty. P.L., OR

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2019
The lone man in a covert sisterhood of vigilantes nearly drowns in the waters of Dominica only to be rescued by a beautiful entrepreneur with secrets of her own. The third installment of Muñoz Stewart's (The Price of Grace, 2019, etc.) romantic suspense series about a secret society of highly trained heroes called the League of Warrior Women picks up exactly where the second left off, which may confuse new readers. Tony Parish had an abusive and violent childhood until his adoption into a league of global justice warriors gave him a family and a purpose. But when he broke the strict family code to save a life, he was forced to fake his own death and flee to the lush, mountainous Caribbean island of Dominica. There, he meets Honor Silva, a local businesswoman with her own family mysteries to untangle. With money inherited from her movie star mother, Honor and her grandfather run "Loco for Cocoa," a cocoa farm, lodge, and agro-touring business. In a familiar plot device, an outrageously high offer to buy the property is followed by a series of "accidents." Tony uses his special set of skills to help Honor get to the bottom of the mystery while trying to evade capture and punishment by the League. To make room for a large cast of characters and Tony's and Honor's parallel suspense plots, the novel shortchanges the romance, telling rather than showing: "She's never felt this way about a man. She'd thought it was a myth, this type of attraction--the kind that drove away doubt and common sense." Typical of the series, graphic violence and explicit sex punctuate talky scenes about the meaning of family, loyalty, and justice. A solid romantic suspense novel in a series that should be read in order.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2019
Tony Parish is the only male adopted into the League of Warrior Women, a secret society of vigilante sisters you don't want to mess with. When Tony's sister gets too personal with a mission, he tries to protect her, betraying his family in the process. Solution? Fake his own death and escape to Dominica under the pseudonym Lazarus. But he didn't plan on almost dying while kiteboarding, or on being rescued by a woman with eyes like quicksilver. Honor Silva has always been cautious. Some would say cowardly. But she couldn't fight the instinct to dive into the waves to save the kiteboarder, who turned out to be incredibly sexy and eager to pay her back for saving his life. The burn between them is palpable, but with Lazarus' vengeful sisters on his tail and a mystery buyer threatening to sabotage Honor's business, the pair feels danger closing in. Thrilling, sizzling, and full of adventure, The Cost of Honor can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, but is better read as a part of Stewart's Black Ops Confidential series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2019
The lone man in a covert sisterhood of vigilantes nearly drowns in the waters of Dominica only to be rescued by a beautiful entrepreneur with secrets of her own. The third installment of Mu�oz Stewart's (The Price of Grace, 2019, etc.) romantic suspense series about a secret society of highly trained heroes called the League of Warrior Women picks up exactly where the second left off, which may confuse new readers. Tony Parish had an abusive and violent childhood until his adoption into a league of global justice warriors gave him a family and a purpose. But when he broke the strict family code to save a life, he was forced to fake his own death and flee to the lush, mountainous Caribbean island of Dominica. There, he meets Honor Silva, a local businesswoman with her own family mysteries to untangle. With money inherited from her movie star mother, Honor and her grandfather run "Loco for Cocoa," a cocoa farm, lodge, and agro-touring business. In a familiar plot device, an outrageously high offer to buy the property is followed by a series of "accidents." Tony uses his special set of skills to help Honor get to the bottom of the mystery while trying to evade capture and punishment by the League. To make room for a large cast of characters and Tony's and Honor's parallel suspense plots, the novel shortchanges the romance, telling rather than showing: "She's never felt this way about a man. She'd thought it was a myth, this type of attraction--the kind that drove away doubt and common sense." Typical of the series, graphic violence and explicit sex punctuate talky scenes about the meaning of family, loyalty, and justice. A solid romantic suspense novel in a series that should be read in order.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.