Anika Jones has her future carefully plotted out and is checking the boxes, one by one, despite the bumps thrown in her path. This last one is a challenge, but she manages to stay on track; her salon is thriving, and she just bought a house. Unfortunately, when one of her employees runs into trouble, she inevitably gets sucked in, throwing her carefully paced life off-balance. It doesn’t help a friend, who’s been ghosting her for a year, suddenly makes an appearance.
He was born to pig farming, but for Noah (Hog) Hodgekins fighting fires is his calling. He wasted too many years honoring a legacy he wants no part of. But now that he’s finally free from family obligations, there’s nothing holding him back from pursuing the life he’s been dreaming of. The first step is mending bridges with the one person who is central to that future, but she comes with her own challenges, family and otherwise.
Instead of treading carefully to gain her heart, he ends up throwing caution to the wind when her recent string of bad luck lands the FBI on her doorstep.
#oncall #operationalpha #freyabarker #arc #buonoamicipress
This was another great read. Being back in Durango always feels familiar, like visiting friends. I love the intertwining of the different series, you always run into friends from other books. Like Bill Evans, Tony Ramirez, Brick and Mel. In Captivating Anika, former Side characters Anika Jones and Noah Hodgekins (you don’t remember who he is? he’s better known as Hog.) get their chance to go from friends to lovers.
And yes, it went well. Hog is known from previous books as a calm and steady companion, and he proves every bit of that in this book. He protects Anika and gives her stability. A hero who can steal the heart of any woman. Nice and handsome. In this book the main characters are opposite to each other. Hog with his bad childhood, in Anikas is full of love and protection, with a touch of helicoptering.
Hog with his strong, healthy frame and Anika with a diagnosis that is incurable and causes a lot of pain and disability.
But they fit together perfectly, giving each other security and the most important thing: a person who has your back and whom you can love without restrictions.
Add to that a great suspense plot about an abusive husband and Anika who comes to the rescue of the poor man’s wife, who is her employee, and you can’t put this book down. And the suspense continues because the FBI is also interested in this jerk of a husband. So Anika has to fear for her life, which brings Hog into the game of saving lives and winning hearts.
I loved all the previous books and this one too. Great mature characters showing strength and their vulnerable sides. I love that Freya Barker s writing style brings every little bit of everyday life to life in a vivid and exciting way.
