Also by this author: The Way of the Brave, Heart of a Hero, The Way of the Brave, Sunrise, Sunburst, Sundown, One Last Shot
Series: Global Search and Rescue #3
Published by Revell on October 6, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Romance
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Former Navy SEAL Hamilton Jones thought the love of his life was dead. But when he hears she might still be alive, he will stop at nothing to find her and bring her home. When he discovers her reason for staying away, he must choose between her and the nation he vowed to protect.
The first thing I said when I opened The Price of Valor by Susan May Warren was “FINALLY!” I couldn’t start reading it fast enough. The first two books of the “Global Search and Rescue” series—The Way of the Brave and The Heart of a Hero—had led up to this. That being said, you need to read these two before The Price of Valor. There’s too much background material dropped into the other books for anyone to fully understand The Price of Valor’s plot. I just have a couple things to say about this one: “Wow!” and “Can I get a Hamilton Jones in my life, please?!”
Former SEAL Hamilton Jones thought his wife was dead; even worse, he thought he was responsible. Signe Kincaid, though, is anything but gone. When Ham gets the news, he is determined to find her and bring her home…no matter what it takes. She’s always run from him for reasons he’s never quite understood, but he won’t let her this time. When he finally learns why—that she’s been hiding valuable information that could get her killed—he has to decide between his patriotism and commitment to his country or the love of his wife.
The second thing I said as I dug into the novel is probably more telling than the first—“Can’t these characters catch a break?!” Of course not. Why should I ever expect that? I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say this: There’s more to the story than just the protection of valuable information. There’s espionage and love, but like the other two novels, The Price of Valor features a natural disaster. Most people don’t face one natural disaster in their days, much less three. I almost think Warren enjoys torturing her characters, in that respect—aging them fifty years when it hasn’t even been one.
If I had to pick a favorite out of the three, The Price of Valor easily wins. There’s a perfect combination of love, forgiveness, and action that kept me turning the pages even when I should have stopped for the night. My dog kept giving me the stink-eye for the light being on! Warren takes her readers into Hamilton and Signe’s pasts, and it’s never forced. Every aspect of this book moved forward with a natural flow. God definitely uses Warren as His voice, because He spoke to me through The Price of Valor. That’s a very rare thing for me.
However, this book has issues, and like the flaws in The Heart of a Hero, I picked them out in The Price of Valor from my own experiences and education. Signe is a spy—a CIA asset who lived for ten years as part of a terrorist organization. Now she’s on the run, from the terrorists and the CIA. I studied intelligence operations in graduate school, and The Price of Valor just has some issues in that respect. Unlike with The Heart of a Hero, though, I could not turn that portion of my brain off. It always seemed to get in my way—a hurdle I tripped over constantly.
Susan May Warren’s The Price of Valor, though, is a wonderfully written book packed with action, faith, and even more development in the characters readers have come to know in the other books. I loved the message of forgiveness and new beginnings—centered in the mercy of God—that Warren portrayed. The plot moved rapidly forward with no dull moments; each page brought something new and unexpected. The Price of Valor made me smile. It made me chuckle. And, more than anything, it reminded me of God’s love. To Susan May Warren, I have one request: If you write more of the “Global Search and Rescue” series, please let these characters have their happy endings! I’ve grown too attached, and they deserve to rest for a while!