val·or: great bravery in the face of danger, especially in battleOnce, Jackson Richards had it in spades. As a member of the United States Special Forces, he fought alongside the bravest and most capable men he’d ever known.Then one mistake landed them all in Hell.For six months, he fought. But one terrible day, his captors learned the full extent of his skills, and that sealed his fate.Tortured … learned the full extent of his skills, and that sealed his fate.
Tortured and broken in conditions that made Hell look like a five-star resort, Jackson Richards died, and Isaad was born. Shaped into a weapon for the wrong side, he’d forgotten who he once was. Who he was meant to be.
Until the days his captor imprisoned Joey Taylor.
Helping Joey and her marine escape reminded Jackson of the man he used to be. And now, he’ll fight. For himself. For the friends he thought he lost in Hell. And for Cara. The woman with a secret he can’t ignore.
If he’s strong enough, he’ll leave Isaad behind. Maybe then, he can take back his true name.
Ripper.
WARNING: This book contains scenes of torture and implied sexual violence that may be disturbing to sensitive readers.
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I received an Advanced Reader Copy. I am voluntarily leaving a review. I hardly leave five stars when I review. It has to do more than be a great story, it has to leave an imprint on me. I love this author and she always gives our service men and women the respect they deserve while showing us the costs of their service. But this book, honestly, I have lost the words for, it was that amazing. This is not your regular romantic suspense story, we do not meet the heroine ( and she is a heroine) until chapter twelve. You will meet Ripper and experience his life from his capture to his rescue. This is a standalone in the series, but you get a better understanding of the secondary characters if you read the series in order. Just get this book!
Fighting For Valor is book six in the Away From Keyboard series by Patricia D. Eddy. This series really is better if read in order. Each book is about a different couple but the characters from the previous books do play a very large role in this one. I have read the three previous books. I just haven’t read books one or two yet.
Jackson Richards or Ripper as his fellow special forces brothers call him, has been presumed dead for six years. He along with his brothers, were held prisoner in the underground caves in Afghanistan for six months before he disappeared. Ry and Dax were told he was dead. But in reality, after discovering his skills with technology, he was taken miles away to a compound where he would be drugged, tortured, brain washed, starved and abused over the next six years to get him to comply with his evil captor, Abdul Faruk. Ripper can’t even remember his previous life. He was told his attempt at rescue caused the death of his brothers. That he was wanted for treason. He only knows the name he has been given by his captors, Isaad. Until events from the previous book came into play. Until he helped to rescue the doctor, Josephine. And in doing so, his broken mind starting putting the pieces back together, and he remembered. He promised himself, he would get out.
When Ry and Dax realize that their brother is alive, that they left him behind all those years ago thinking he was dead, they immediately plan a rescue operation. Because there will be no other acceptable outcome other than bringing their brother home. Once home, for Ripper, reintegrating into normal society is more difficult than he ever imagined. His PTSD won’t allow him to stay in any kind of confined spaces, even his own apartment.
Caroline (Cara) Phillips has been in Seattle for well over a year now staying under the radar as much as possible. She is on the run. And those that seek her want her dead. She spends her days waitressing and her nights doing what she truly loves, cooking. Although the food truck she is cooking in might not be her ideal choice for where to cook. It’s on her way home one night after getting off the bus that she first saw him sleeping in the doorway of a church. He was a beautiful man. He didn’t look homeless but why else would he be out here sleeping?
Both Cara and Ripper are drawn to each other. Ripper hasn’t been able to connect with anyone up to now, can’t stand the touch of another person. But something about Cara calms him. Little did these two know that there is much more that connects them.
This book was pretty gut wrenching. Although it is not necessarily graphic in nature, you know exactly what tortures Ripper is enduring. My heart broke for him. And when he came home, it broke for him all over again in his struggles to adapt. But the kindness and warmth of a beautiful woman gives him hope. Also, a bond between him and a German Shepherd that no one wants, gives Ripper the drive to try harder to overcome his fears. When Cara’s life is in danger, though, nothing else matters, and once again, Ripper remembers the man he was, the man he still is.
Patricia has once again managed to completely immerse me in her story. I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. It was difficult at times, but also filled with hope. There was such a sweet connection between Cara and Ripper. And don’t get me started on Charlie, the German Shepherd. Patricia continues to awe me with her writing and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
“Together. Brothers. Always.”
Overall Rating:
Patricia D. Eddy came into my reading life accidentally. I periodically sign up to read ARCs through a service as a way to find new authors. I receive an ARC copy of a book, and I offer “an honest review” in return. I came to her with her Away from Keyboard series with Ryker and Wren’s book. The way that she created romantic suspense that left me on the edge of my seat whether in the bedroom or in action grabbed me. Even more, her ability to craft a hero who seems so broken that no one can connect with him pulled at my heartstrings. When Wren finally connects with Ryker, I was done. Finito. Eddy had me “hook, line, and sinker.”
Then, she did it again with Dax and Evianna’s story. And again with Ford and Joey’s book. It doesn’t matter if she offers new characters and situations; I gobble her words, usually in one sitting. She has this skill of characterization and storytelling that engages you from the beginning to the end. She crafts moments where your heart is pumping, worried that the hero or heroine won’t make it through the tense, dangerous situation and back into the arms of their soul mate. It’s that fear, that tension, that drives her stories. Underneath it all, you hear the moral: brokenness does not exclude love. While her characters find this bit of truth in extreme situations, this message resonates with her readers: you can be a lot or a little broken and love can still find you, if you’re open to it.
With Fighting for Valor, Eddy’s newest offering, that message is central; it’s explicit. In Ryker, Dax, and Ford’s book, her readers are familiar with Ripper, the com specialist. In the first two books, we believe him dead. Until he isn’t, as we realize in Ford’s book. For six years, Ripper has been held captive and brainwashed into a different identity. He’s been tortured, abused, manipulated, and broken. His memories of himself as Ripper or Jackson Richards are so faint that they come to him quietly in his dreams. One day, he is rescued, and he must find himself again except the years of abuse threaten to derail any future. He meets Cara on the street one night, a woman who holds her own secrets and “brokenness.” Their souls call to each other, and they find comfort together when they cannot find it anywhere else. Unfortunately, Cara’s secret threatens to undermine their burgeoning love. Can Ripper push through his broken pieces to save Cara? That’s the storyline, and it’s a big one.
What sets Fighting for Valor apart from the other books in the series is Ripper’s background. Eddy warns you in her author’s note at the beginning of the book that she has to take the first 12 chapters to provide us Ripper’s story. It’s so well told that you cannot help but fly through it. If you are someone who isn’t a fan of backstory, be forewarned; it’s a big part of Ripper’s book. Personally, I loved it. If you haven’t read any of the other books in the series, you might consider it tedious, but I doubt it. Eddy crafts all of the major feelings through Ripper’s story: horror, anguish, frustration, and worry. Ripper’s story isn’t a pretty one, and it might trigger folks with abuse in their background. But providing us with his story is necessary to see his growth through the story progression.
When he finally meets Cara, he has struggled to make connections even with his “brothers,” Ryker and Dax. He has isolated himself, but Cara’s ability to bring him comfort when no one else can makes her the treasure of this book. I loved that she could “see” Ripper. That she could empathize with him out of her own personal struggles and provide him with ways to begin healing. As a character, Cara is equal parts vulnerable and strong. One minute, she’s cowering and the next she’s ordering Ripper into comfort. I love that her brokenness matched to his makes them complete, and I think it’s the reason that Fighting for Valor is my favorite of the Away from Keyboard series to date. Easily, my favorite. Oh yeah, and there’s a dog in this story. An amazing one. Dogs always make the story a little better.
Eddy’s style is fluid; it’s visceral; it’s real. As I stated earlier, you will finish this book in one sitting if you allow yourself because her storytelling draws you into a world of danger and love. The men of her series love deeply once they allow themselves to, and I think it’s a lesson to all of us that making one’s self vulnerable to be loved brings greater joy than the pain of trauma. Even if you haven’t read the other books in the Away from Keyboard series, you can pick up Fighting for Valor today, and you won’t miss anything. But you would miss out on reading the beauty of Ripper and Cara’s love and the start to their healing as they love each other through their broken pieces. Read Patricia D. Eddy’s newest book, Fighting for Valor.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. My o my o my – holy f****** sh**. The author writes a little introduction, that Ripper and Cara only meet at chapter 12, well that’s almost a quarter into the story, but that doesn’t bring the story itself down even a little because as the Reader you need to know about Rippers time in Hell and even after to get to understand him. Both Ripper and Cara are beautifully bend but never broken. A very great story of trust, finding your way back into life and brotherhood. Absolutely amazing. Another great story in the Away from Keyboard-series.
This is one of my most loved series. I have been waiting for Ripper’s book for so long and it didn’t disappoint. It made me cry! That is so rare for me. Actually it wasn’t anything bad that made me cry…read the book and you’ll see. I loved watching the relationships build. It may sound so very wrong, but I love how beautifully broken the characters are, broken yet not unlovable. And I have to say that Charlie steals all the scenes he is in! This is. Brilliant addition to the series.
This book broke my heart and it was hard to read in one sitting. Special Ops don’t leave a man behind, but the one they did, they thought was killed. He had been held by the enemy for 6 years. Brainwashed, abused, beaten and humiliated. When Ryker discovers he’s still alive, they move heaven and hearth to get him back. Cara has her own medical and personal problems as well, but they fit each other. You will need to take a break, have a box of tissues and think about what our shoulders go thru when they are captured.