“The Way of the Brave” by Susan May Warren is a wonderful, suspenseful, action-packed Christian romance. The main focus of the book is the story of Aria and Jake, who we first met in the previous book as side characters. (Note: Although I read and enjoyed the first book, I think this one works just fine as a stand-alone. Enough information is provided to fill the reader in on how Jake and Aria met, and what happened to them.)
The romance is excellent. Both Aria and Jake are well-developed characters with defined personalities and unique flaws. The reader can get to know them separately, and enjoy following along as they spend time together, grow closer, encounter obstacles, and respond to them. Both stay true-to-character, never doing anything that doesn’t make sense based on what we know about them.
There is plenty of dialog between the main characters, and it’s easy to see how and why the two come to care for each other. The dire circumstances they face together serve as another uniting factor.
The storyline beyond the romance is fabulous as well! Even though we begin the story at a nice family picnic, danger and adventure are never far away for these characters. Aria quickly finds herself alone and trapped in the middle of a major hurricane, and Jake is off to the rescue. Brace yourself for plenty of action as one dangerous situation follows another.
Having lived in Florida for a few years, I can say the author definitely did her research. Everything about the effects of the hurricane making landfall is accurate, as are the depictions of certain people who refuse to evacuate no matter what. I appreciated this attention to detail, and commend the author for getting everything just right.
The faith-based part of the story is more subtle here than it was in book 1, but it’s definitely present, primarily through the character of Mimi, who always has just the right spiritual insight to share with the others.
One final note: there is a small side-plot involving Ham from book 1 heading off to research something that started in the earlier volume. Just enough information is included about this to set up the next volume in the series, and I have to say I can’t wait to see how everything is resolved!
All if all, five out of five slices of yummy pepper-jack!