“This really hit hard”“A powerful story for the times we live in”* * * * *Sergeant James Spears isn’t heartbroken because he doesn’t have one. His heart was ripped from his body when the love of his life was killed in an IED attack in Syria.Ironic, since James is an elite soldier whose speciality is neutralizing bombs.Explosive… bombs.
Explosive…
Ordnance…
Disposal…
Other bomb disposal officers say EOD stands for ‘Every One’s Divorced’, but to James, all he can hear is ‘Every One’s Dead’.
When he meets the flighty, shallow socialite, Lady Arabella Forsythe, he detests her on sight. She’s everything he despises, and the complete opposite of the woman who stole his heart and buried it with her.
Arabella is sleepwalking through her life. Nothing holds her interest for long, not bingeing on champagne and cocaine, sleeping with princes and peers of the realm, not even her own family who are desperate to rehabilitate her.
When two lost souls meet in the grim underbelly of a world that most people avoid, they recognize each other’s shattered reflections. And maybe hatred is the other side of love.
Codename: Sleeping Beauty
Book 2 in the EOD Series #standalone
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What a magnificent book Bombshell (EOD #2) is, and it’s such a page-turner too!! There’s nothing I didn’t love about James and Bel’s story: it’s intense and it hits more than a raw nerve when it comes to James’s line of job and his previous relationship with Muslim Amira. Beautifully written with great respect and burning passion, Bombshell is a must-read if I ever saw one.
– James was trying to drink himself to death but his friend Clay tracks him down and pulls him back to life. Clay has gotten a job to search and destroy munitions left behind in war torn areas of the world and he wants James to help. James decides that will be a great way to commit suicide and still do some good. He went through with drawls cold turkey. Arabella is a lot like James but she is the poor little rich girl who has never really felt loved. Her father dumps her in Nagorno for three months. She finds out what it is like to not have anything but to fit in. There is a lot of saddness in this story with a lot of real life truth. James fights his feelings for her and they do a lot of head butting but eventually chemistry wins. There are a lot of twists, turns and surprised that keep the interest and entertain. There are thefts of explosives, attempted rape, and running from the authorities. Arabella finally goes home to her Dad’s and stands up to him and builds the charity up that James works for. She turns him into a public hero that he doesn’t appreciate. Bel and James finally get together and they go on working on riding the world from destructive iud’s from previous wars.
I haven’t read the first book in the series but I will be going back as it seems there was some backstory to James. However, it didn’t detract from the story here. It’s a story of redemption, forgiveness, finding oneself and of course, love. James and Arabella are lost but find something in each other that neither expected. It’s a great story and the growth and connection they develop is beautiful to read.
At last, we can now find out what happened to James after the tragic ending in book one, Tick Tock. The first book made me so sad and my heart broke for James. If you haven’t read Tick Tock, I strongly recommend that you read it first.
Eighteen months after that tragic event in book one, we find James still grieving for his loss. His career and the love of his life are gone and he is still plagued with nightmares and drowning himself on alcohol. Thankfully his friend Clay got something up his sleeve that might just break James’ downward spiral. Will James finally get to live his life again and find happiness?
What I love about this author is that she packs her story with so much information and technical details on whatever the subject is, I end up feeling like I took a short course on EOD lessons 101 and I love it! In this case, the HALO Trust and its mission is the main subject alongside James’ story. The introduction of Arabella as James’ new love interest is the complete opposite of Amira from the previous book and she is a welcome and refreshing change. To be honest I felt that Amira loved her “mission” more than she loved James one of the reasons why I wasn’t keen on her. Although Arabella started out as a fluffy, privileged socialite she later on develops a backbone and changed her life for the better. She is a good influence on James and although theirs is a slow burn romance I felt it sets the perfect pace.
The author whilst giving us James and Bel’s story also as an added bonus educates us on the after effects of war, the victims and the ugly government politics. James and Arabella’s story not only entertains but also educates and is uplifting. I almost cried when he finally broke down and shed tears, I felt his pain through the pages of the book. That’s how powerful the words of this author are, so well written and never disappoints. I am so glad that we finally get the closure to James’ story and we also get to see the other characters, Clay and Zara. This book is really the bomb (no pun intended)! I highly recommend it.
Although Bombshell is the second installment in the EOD series, there’s absolutely no reason why it can’t be enjoyed as a stand-alone. Harvey-Berrick’s pulled out all the stops and by her bringing out the big guns; excuse the pun, at no point in this explosive story is confusion apparent. Yes, she’s rounded up protagonist’s tale very well indeed and before I go any further, I have to mention the impact this book had on me. The vividly portrayed narrative is incredibly lifelike, making me feel as if I was alongside James in every nerve-wracking scenario. Also, the author’s knack of evoking the reader’s emotions with her masterful prose draws you in to such an extent that putting the book down was for me, a feat in itself. Yeap, it’s not one of those reads you shouldn’t start at daft o’clock!
James is a shadow of his former self, his deep sense of loss is so tangible that my heart bled for him. He’d always put his life on the line and so to speak, lived in the eye of the hurricane as an EOD technician under the harshest of conditions. But the life he knew and the future he yearned for were whisked away because of uncontrollable circumstances in such an unfair way that I was left distraught. And although I didn’t like how the military treated him, it was correct. Stepping in to help, James’ trustworthy friend insists that getting back into the field saving lives just might be his salvation. James’ unwavering loyalty towards Clayton seals the deal regardless of his doubts.
Before, when the war was a reality, it wasn’t only James’ destiny which became a target. Figuratively speaking, the bullet ricocheted at its lethal whim, giving the feeling of utmost desperation, failure…even death. Never did I disagree with his heartfelt issues. Too easy to imagine how much he’d suffered, one more of my main concerns was how he’d be able to cope with more pressure. Hadn’t this guy had enough? Apparently not because the welfare of his mostly female team was a constant worry. Trying to put right the wrongdoings of others regardless of all the hurdles, James’ selfless job is to prevent injuries. Yet I still felt like I was walking on tenterhooks since a new day meant a new challenge in hazardous terrain…nothing’s ever straightforward.
I was a tad impatient to see how the gal who had everything but nothing would stomach the bitter surroundings she was thrown into against her will. At the beginning of the story, my opinion of Arabella wasn’t that high. She came across to me as an attention seeker with a rebellious streak and a live and let live attitude. One of her many outrageous actions caught her between a rock and a hard place, the punishment dished out leaving no room for negotiation. A lesson had to be learnt…hmm, but would the development of events be beneficial? Interesting. I honestly thought she’d be in for the worst awakening of her life, especially seeing as she’d been handed everything on a silver platter. Did I underestimate her? Well, yes! She literally caught me off-guard and everyone who worked with her, too. Not Clay though. This guy saw the best in her a mile off.
Would Arabella at the very least, be able to make friends with James? It wasn’t difficult for me to see how she felt about this guy who guarded his feeling, whose nonchalance towards her, hurt. The attraction which does go further wasn’t all fireworks and butterflies, either. If you’re prone to getting teary-eyed like me, you’ll need to have a tissue or three handy as there are a couple of really touching scenes in this slow-burn romance.
But what I found captivating was the author’s descriptive account of what goes on behind bomb-damaged zones and how a nonprofit organisation dealt with issues such as technical manpower, coordination and equipment. It is a real eye-opener, bringing home to the reader just how the lack of intervention from the right places is. Her knowledge is shared with the readers in clear lingo and I have to add that her storytelling from a dual perspective is true to her spoken word as she’s only used Americanisms when necessary. I loved the banter between James and Clay. And the attention given to her characters not only drove the story forward at a very agreeable pace, but also transported me to a world which hopefully one day will be safer. Bravo, Harvey-Berrick!
Second book continuing James Spears story, he is down on his luck contemplating ending his life. Clay shows up and convinces him he can do good in the world with his bomb disposal skills. He cleans up and has a purpose.
Arabella is a spoiled rich girl who’s dad pays her no attention until he commits her to 3 months working with the Halo Trust folks who are cleaning up unexploded bombs. It is dangerous and primitive.
I love how Arabella grows as a person and James finds a way to become hole again.
So Beautiful.
There’s another world, very different to the one we are accustomed to, very harsh and difficult. There’s danger, violence and poverty. And the remnants left in the soil from many previous wars that are still killing innocents. This is the underlaying message I got from this book. While we enjoy hot baths, cold water, fresh food and new clothes on a routine basis, there are people working on EOD’s, cleaning mined areas so that the agriculture and economy of the country can prosper. They bathe in tepid water, wear the same few items of clothing they have for months at a time, eat stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and spend days under the hot sun, using metal detectors, clearing fields. And then there’s also the politics and corruption of the civil servants who want to extort them from the munitions excavated.
James Spears started in this book as an alcoholic looking for death at the bottom of a bottle. His friend Clay found him and gave him a new reason to live, save lives disarming EOD’s in all these forsaken countries
Arabella Forsythe is another example of a poor little rich girl. Raised with no other expectation but marriage to further her father’s business ambitions, she’s made it her life ambition to party like crazy, get into trouble constantly, all in a ploy to gain attention, to buy love from her friends and lovers. When her father finally gets sick of her shenanigans, he volunteers her to work in James’s camp. Rejected by James and most of the campers, she’s rescued by Clay who puts her to work. As Arabella faces her situation, the rejection of those around her, the lack of respect, lack of money, lack of options, she takes a hard look at herself. The admiration she felt for James, Clay and Zada make her decide to do better, be better, and thus she embarks in an upwards direction.
The love story between James and Arabella is tortuous because James insists on staying loyal to his dead girlfriend Amira. He’s stubborn and closed-off, but not so much to reject sex. It’s as he starts to really see Arabella and starts to respect her that the book moves forward.
Reading this book is hard because the reality these people live is dire. And yet they live in hope and optimism, depending on the generosity and acknowledgment of the public to the plight of the nations impoverished and torn by war. It’s really an eye-opener, a beautiful and angsty love story, a brilliant read. It’s not easy to read but necessary, to burst the over-protected bubble we live in and realize what’s out there. I was very impressed by the vast knowledge the author had on this theme, and how brilliantly she made her point.
Harvey-Berrick is an author I can always count on to evoke a vast array of emotions while also making me think and broadening my world view. Bombshell is no different, and I was eager to read the rest of James’s story, after having first met him in Tick Tock. This book was everything I expected and more, touching my heart deeply while keeping me on the edge of my seat as I devoured it in one sitting.
When we catch up with James again, his life is a spectacular disaster. He has lost the love of his life and is slowly killing himself with alcohol. His only friend, Clay, manages to find James, three sheets to the wind in a dingy pub, and gives James an offer he can’t refuse. And when I say “offer,” I mean Clay, in his easy-going but determined way, pours James into a cab, takes him to a hotel and gets him dried out. Clay is now working for HALO Trust and is in need of the best EOD man around, which is James.
HALO Trust is a charity that disposes of land mines and bombs in areas where the war is long ago over but danger still lurks. Be it an unsuspecting pedestrian who takes a different path or a child chasing a butterfly into a field, the work HALO does makes a difference in the lives of people worldwide. And although James is more dead than alive, taking the job with HALO gives his life purpose. The intense concentration required in carrying out his job offers some relief from the crippling loss, pain and emptiness in his heart.
Bel, Lady Arabella, or Harry to friends, has the life every gal would envy. She lives in a castle and has all the material possessions a lady could ever want, but for her entire life, she’s been denied the one thing she desperately craves: love and attention from her father. Her nights of drugs, partying and landing in the drunk tank are over when her father “volunteers” her to work with HALO Trust. It wouldn‘t seem that a poor little rich girl who lives to party and an EOD soldier who doesn’t care if he lives or dies would have anything in common, but as they layers are pulled back, James and Bel’s empty, fractured hearts recognize themselves in each other.
Both of these characters were profoundly deep and complex, and they surprised me at every turn. Just when I thought I could predict their next move, another piece of the puzzle clicked, showing a new side. Both are so tragically broken that watching them find their strength, summon their courage and move towards healing and become their best selves makes for an immensely satisfying reading experience. James and Bel owned my heart through every step of their heartbreaking, beautiful, inspiring journey, and their story is one that will stay with me long after the last page. With explosive chemistry, perfectly placed humor, devastating poignancy and a critical world issue showcased, this phenomenal, must read is one you won’t want to miss.
Riveting, poignant and real.
Bombshell is the ultimate conclusion to the EOD duet. Picking up where we left off in Tick Tock, Jane Harvey-Berrick once again is meticulous as she guides us through the seemingly never-ending pain that James Spears continues to endure. It’s 18 months later and his world is still dark. And what ultimately gives him a glimmer of light is the friend he has in Clay Williams who not only forces him to clean up his disheveled appearance but gives him the lease on life he never saw coming.
Harvey-Berrick thrusts into the world of the Halo Trust. Created to search and destroy mines left over from horrid conflicts all over the world, primarily in 3rd world countries, James finds himself knee-deep in his new mission and is adamant about staying focused and heartbreak free. His pain bled on every page and his gruff nature, albeit understandable, was often misplaced. I loved that he truly needed a swift kick in the pants and the wildly wonderful surprise that arrives in the form of one Lady Arabella Forsythe, seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.
Told in alternating POVs, the poor little rich girl and the brave yet reticent soldier made quite the pair. Oh my goodness. There is a treasure trove of feelings both Arabella (Harry to her friends) and James just can’t seem to fight. From their very first meeting, there was an intensity I could feel through my Kindle that only got deeper with time. Late-night passion that came out of a desperate need neither could ignore, was white hot! And their surroundings, their exhaustion from day long Tasks and denying their feelings just made their trysts even more incredible. The juxtaposition of their nighttime lust to their wretched daytime conditions was executed brilliantly.
I appreciated Harvey-Berrick’s dedication to these brave men and women and the difficult jobs they perform on a daily basis. Her love of this cause shines through and her research is evident as we get details about missions that had me holding my breath right along with James and his team. It’s like I was right there with them as mines are detected, diffused and ultimately destroyed. I was beyond transfixed and truly impressed by these heroic acts.
The love story that is James and his Bel is a rough one. There is a world of hurt that I wasn’t sure James would ever survive as his recent memories were still at the forefront of his mind. Not to mention how hard he could be on Bel and her own determination to find her way in the world without anyone’s help, even James’s. She is truly kickass when it counts and it was great to see. I was rooting for them wholeheartedly as their pasts finally loosened that tight grip on their hearts. But it’s a hard, hard road to any semblance of happiness.
Clay and his wife Zada, who is Amira’s sister from Tick Tock, are pure joy. The way they complete the other in both heated glances and whispered smiles stole the show more than once. They seemed to know when to be playful and when to be stern with both their friends and colleagues. Thank goodness for them and the support they gave James when it was needed most. I adore them both.
This book is truly in a class by itself. As I fell hard for James and Bel’s love story, I also learned a great deal about the HALO Trust and found a new appreciation for this incredible charity and the work they do. Jane Harvey-Berrick poured her heart and soul into this story and it shows. I applaud her wanting to tell their story and for making it extremely heartwarming and easy to read.
Bombshell can make a difference and I’m thrilled being privy to such extraordinary words.
5+ stars all the way!