Elizabeth Parkins lived through a nightmare come true—getting kidnapped by a serial killer. Seeking a fresh start, she moves to Texas, but escaping her demons proves impossible when she’s too terrified to leave her own apartment. A small, accidental fire sparks a coping method she’d never expected, and brings an amazing man to her door.
Firefighter Cade “Sledge” Turner’s idyllic life ended the … ended the day his sister was kidnapped. Now he knows firsthand that tragedy can befall anyone, at any time. Meeting Elizabeth on the job was a gift. Cade can envision spending his life with this woman. He understands what she’s been through, is willing to help her heal…though even Cade is unaware of Beth’s new secret obsession.
As Beth takes steps to help herself heal, and Cade attempts to earn her trust and prove his own, they’re both about to be tested—in a way that could see everything they’ve worked for go up in flames.
* Shelter for Elizabeth is the 5th book in the Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.
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It was sweet and romantic as well as dealing with the lasting effects of trauma – a good read.
My favorite read in a long time!
Really enjoying this series! Appreciate that the characters are more mature & the story plots are “different”. Still have a few more to read!
Good read. People struggling with real problems. Love wins!
Different twist to story
It took awhile getting started but was enjoyable
Good read
Good read. Characters are not very well developed. Seem a bit flat. Good story in the series.
One of Susan’s best. Love the characters.
I didn’t enjoy reading about an unbalanced individual . Her actions and self absorbed reasoning seem not a good fit for a happy ending.
Lovd this author
I stopped reading this book as soon as the author had to bring Cable channels into the story!!! I deleted it! Too bad you couldn’t stick to the storyline!!
Elizabeth was a great character who was agoraphobic. I really enjoyed how the author made this condition where she couldn’t leave her apartment. I also felt for Elizabeth and all she went through and how strong she was to try to fix this. Cade was also a great character and seemed to really help her with this. Great secondary characters and a good story. Loved it!
Not a emotional story I was expecting. I didn’t seem to connect to the characters. I loved Cade in the beginning but then his character changed. Was just an ok book.
Beth was kidnapped and raped. Now she has agoraphobia and takes panic attacks. Cade is a firefighter and meets Beth when she accidentally catches her kitchen on fire. She is also a hacker and very good with computers. They start to slowly date but it’s at her house. When she starts playing with fire as a coping mechanism, Cade finds out and says some mean things. She leaves but checks herself into a hospital to get help. Can Cade convince her that he will love her no matter what?
Great story with real life problems. A strong, brave woman and a guy who doesn’t expect to fall in love but does. Steamy.
A minor kitchen fire brings Beth and Cade together but that same element just might have the power to tear them apart. While Beth is struggling with agoraphobia as a result of an intensely traumatic situation from her past, she can’t help but be drawn to the large, handsome firefighter who seems to know just what she needs when the request for medical treatment might take her from the safety of her home. Cade has a soft spot for damsels in distress. He needs to be needed. Lucky for him, his confidence that Beth is someone worth pursuing leads him into his ideal relationship. But when that relationship is tested by hasty conclusions, harsh words, and dangerous new habits, it’ll take more than a chivalrous nature to save what they’re building.
As always, I love the way difficult situations are tackled by this author. In this story there’s counseling, not shying away from bad things, and complete honesty in behaviors. It’s not as simple as that list suggests, it’s much more in-depth considering all that the characters experience and what they have to go through to find their happy ending.
Beth was good, in her head a little much, but overall a great character struggling with traumatic events and their effects. I enjoyed that she was brilliant, relatively resilient, a strong woman who knew what she was doing and why. It would have been nice if she were completely transparent and forthcoming about her newest struggle with the man she was falling for but the fallout from that got her into a place to get the help she really needed.
Cade was solid. Yes, his emotions and mouth ran away from him at times, but still a solid man who knows who and what he wants. I wasn’t a fan of Cade jumping to conclusions and then down her throat. The way he spoke to Beth because of his misunderstandings of what she was really struggling with, the real reason behind her new coping mechanism, wasn’t a way to get his point across or to hear hers either. She pushed for him to open up and talk about what was bothering him really got them into that situation, but I can’t say that waiting until the next morning would have been better either.
Both the reunion and resolution were honest, painful, and full of love and acceptance. The way the author orchestrated their reunion and then tackled the incident from Beth’s past was a surprise and definitely necessary for her characters’ evolution. It opened doors for Beth to see a different perspective, to move beyond what happened and find healthy ways of coping with her situation. It also gave us a sense of “completion” even though the individual struggles aren’t magically healed for anyone that was involved. What it did was bring it all full-circle allowing Beth to incorporate the healthy aspects into her recovery rather than allowing her to continue blocking out the experience and never fully addressing it so she can move beyond it.
Such a great story with a stellar ending. So much happiness and love surrounding them to show that while struggles don’t magically disappear at the words “The End,” there’s always support, compassion, and community backing you while you heal.
Shelter for Elizabeth was a satisfying read. Who doesn’t like a sexy firefighter hero! Just look at that cover. Yummy!
Ok, So as I mentioned in my previous review for Justice for Corrie I’ve had Ms. Stoker on my blog and ever time I would tell myself I’m going to try her books. Just reading the blurbs and looking at the covers gets me intrigued in what she’s written. For those that don’t know me CR is not my normal go to genre, but I do like to give it a try now and then.
Here we have Beth who struggles with agoraphobia. We see her struggles on dealing with the aftermath of her kidnapping and everything that happened during that time. Just seeing her dealing with what happened and then add on her agoraphobia which makes it impossible for her to leave the house, was heart breaking. But, she’s not alone.
Writing about a disability of any type is hard and Ms. Stoker does a wonderful job portraying these different disabilities that several people deal with on a daily basses. It makes her characters that much more believable.
I loved Penelope she was an amazing friend to Elizabeth. It was great to see her have a strong friendship with Penelope and then through Penelope meet Cade and then watch as their relationship grows. Cade is so patient and caring. He doesn’t give up or put pressure on her. He sees how strong she is and helps her find ways to deal. He’s their for the long haul.
Shelter for Elizabeth deals with overcoming fears, becoming stronger, and not letting the monsters win.
Over all I had a delightful time reading. It had it’s ups and downs, it’s sweet and tender moments, and it’s corny spots as well.
Note: Can be read as a stand alone. Books in this series do not have to be read in order.
Rated: 3 Stars
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy provided by Susan Stoker via RockStarLit with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
This is the story of a woman who has a very brutal past. So brutal that she has agoraphobia. While she battles this earth shattering fear and anxiety…a sexy as hell alpha man shows up to help and sees her, really SEES her. He is a very sweet and tender hero, and while he is really helping her with her fear, she does take some pretty big steps backwards.
She also has this wonderful talent! She is a hacker extraordinaire!! As part of her progress and healing, she lives to hack into fortune 500 companies and even Paypal (lol), just to show herself she could do it.
With all of this wonderful story taking place… the hero does need to save his woman.
Can he save her??
Do they get their happily ever after??
Read this 5th story in the Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes series!! It would also help if you first read the story “Protecting Summer” from the Seal of Protection series first.
Susan Stoker has done it again. This book was amazing.
What would it be like to be afraid to leave your apartment? What would it be like to date someone who is afraid to go outside? Susan explored these two concepts in her latest book. One thing I liked about this book though there were many, was how she described Cade reacting to situations when dealing with Beth. He is a man of action, he is someone who fixes and helps people. But what does that do to a man when he can’t “fix” something. I enjoyed watching him be protective and caring towards Beth, but he also would screw up. I felt that this was very important to the story to show that he was human. He loved Beth, but some times when feeling are tense, things are not said properly or taken out of context. As a reader, you never doubted Cade’s feelings for Beth but some of his struggles while he was learning to help her made it feel real.
I would recommend this book and author to anyone!
I loved this story! The author is able to portray serious and real life problems that people actually have without glossing over them and making them disappear with a fairytale ending. You have Beth, who has Agoraphobia (fear of leaving your home or outside areas) from a traumatic experience she’s had, dealing with day to day issues and trying to deal with life. Cade, the firefighter who meets and becomes her boyfriend. The way Beth tries to deal with her problems and live with her choices was heart wrenching at times, but you had to sympathize with her as she tried to take control of her life. I loved how things weren’t “magically” wrapped up with rainbows and unicorns. Ms Stoker is known for her Happily Ever Afters after she puts her hero/heroine through the wringer and this was no exception! I can’t wait to see what she does in the next book!