Hero's Risk by Gina Azzi

Insanely emotional and heartfelt, Beau and Celine had me on the brink of tears a couple times but left me smiling in the end, and I loved every single up and down. In the fifth installment of the Tennessee Thunderbolts series, we find Beau dealing with a lot of feelings from both his severe PTSD from his time spent serving in Afghanistan and given that his ex and childhood/high school sweetheart is coming back to their hometown for a few months for work. Celine’s an actress that’s set to play what could be her biggest role yet in the place she grew up where so much of her heart still is but so is her long-lost love. Eight years prior, things abruptly ended between these two, but neither have ever gotten over the other. Now with Celine being back in town and still close with Beau’s family, they’re back in each other’s orbits, which doesn’t exactly go smoothly. Can they reconcile the past and get along all these years later, or will too much time apart and everything else Beau’s dealing with get in their way?

This story had me feeling all of the things, and the emotion literally jumps from these characters. Both Beau and Celine never got over each other, and it’s like you can feel their heartbreak. I’ve always thought that one of the saddest things is to watch love die, and that’s what these two did for so long. To say their past is difficult would be an understatement, but to see how hard their relationship has become and then to watch it develop again is riveting. I couldn’t get enough of their story, even when it didn’t seem like things would or ever could work out.

And the characters are beyond loveable. Like all of them. Though my favorite aside from either Beau or Celine would have to be Beau’s grandmother. She’s darling but assertive and all around cheeky. Loved her. Celine’s a sweetheart, too, and you can easily see how it would be hard for Beau to ever get over her. But I think my favorite is Beau. He’s a genuinely good guy that’s always done right by everyone, but now he’s reeling from all the horror he’s seen from when he was overseas and the state we find him in when this story begins is fragile but he’s trying so hard to hide it. There were moments that my heart hurt for him, and I love how his character is written.

This second-chance romance is absolutely gripping, and everything Beau and Celine go through to get their HEA make this a fast-paced must read. I adored this story and can’t wait to see what’s next for the Thunderbolts.