Review – Bound to Break by SE Jakes

Bound to BreakPublisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out Today
How I got this book: eARC from publisher

Four men fighting against their pasts…and for each other.

Several years after washing up on a beach in South Africa with absolutely no memory—not even his name—Lucky would rather not remember his past. Based on the number of scars on his body, it couldn’t have been anything good.

Then a man claiming to be his former Navy SEAL teammate walks into the bar and insists that Lucky’s real name is Josiah Joshua Kent. Turns out he’s been listed as KIA, and since he’s not dead, he’s now AWOL—and under suspicion.

Discovering Josh is alive throws Rex, and his relationship with Sawyer, into a tailspin. Rex can finally lay to rest the nightmares of the night he couldn’t save his teammate. And Sawyer is faced with his worst nightmare—a relationship threatened by a very real ghost from the past.

As Josh begins to piece his memories back together, another man with a shadowy connection to his past—and maybe his heart—holds the key that could free him. Or send him to a traitor’s fate.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

Dear lord this book had so much going on, so many feels!! But it was SO GOOD!

Lucky has no memories from before he washed up on shore in South Africa, and keeping a low profile is what he intends to do. But when a man walks into the bar where Lucky bartends and claims he was an ex-Navy Seal everyone thought was dead, Lucky’s life blows up in ways he never thought possible. Now, under suspicion of being turned, Lucky has to head back to the States and undergo therapy, and lie detector tests, and more.

Rex was once Lucky’s partner, but after four years of believing his partner dead, he had moved on. Now that Lucky’s back, Rex’s relationship with Sawyer is being threatened and neither man is willing to say goodbye. But Lucky’s return isn’t the only thing threatening Rex and Sawyer’s relationship. The terrorists who captured Rex’s Seal Team in the first place are back, and looking for revenge.

I can’t stress enough just how much was going on in this book. Not only did we get TWO romances, but there was also the speculation around Lucky’s allegiance, the mystery around the terrorist organization that held the Seal Team, and the big conclusion that shocked even me!

Let me start with the two romances because they were so totally different, and both were so amazing! Rex and Sawyer had been dating awhile, but were still stuck in that unknown phase. Are they serious, can they be together outside of a war zone, do they have a future? And answering those questions all while having the unknown factor of Josh (Lucky) hanging over their heads was so well done. I loved these two together, and was so glad that they got their HEA.

Lucky and Dash were another story. Poor Lucky is struggling with his memories, but the attraction to Dash is too much to overcome. I loved that these two had way more obstacles than the normal couple, and yet at the end of the day, none of it mattered. Despite the fact that they barely knew each other, they knew enough to know that all the other BS, the drama, the angst, wouldn’t be enough to tear them apart. For that, I loved these two more than I ever thought possible!

The mystery surrounding Lucky and retrieving his memories was left a little unsettled for me. I wanted him to get his memories back, and was a little bummed that never happened. However, the way it all tied up at the end was amazing and shocking and awesome and everything I can’t even put into words. Jakes did a fabulous job of knocking me out of my socks, and I loved it! I never saw it coming, and although I felt like I got hit with the broadside of a barn, it was awesome!

All in all the sixth book in the Men of Honor series is probably my favorite Jakes book to date. I loved the fact that there was so much going on, so much action and backstory and threads to unravel. Although there were times when I struggled to keep up with all the characters, all the backstory, it was 100% worth it. I loved both romances, I loved the mystery that surprised me, and I can’t wait to go back and do a Jakes re-read!
I give Bound to Break a B+

2 thoughts on “Review – Bound to Break by SE Jakes”

  1. I usually must read series in order, but–not having heard anything about the previous five up to now–I wonder…

    Other than my usual compulsion to start at the beginning, is a new-to-the-series reader going to feel utterly lost if she reads this one first?

  2. @azteclady: I usually read things in order too, but for some reason I skipped one or two books in the middle of this series, and I followed along just fine. I think you’ll be fine if you start with this one! 🙂

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.