The Heart of a Hero (Global Search and Rescue #2)

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

The Heart of a Hero (Global Search and Rescue #2)

Author:

Susan May Warren

Publisher:

Revell (a Division of Baker Publisher Group)

http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/revell

Publication Date:

June 2020

Format:

Paperback

Length:

352 pages

OVERVIEW

Six months Jake Silver rescued an amazing women, Aria Sinclair, from an avalanche in Alaska. They didn’t really hit it off after getting off the mountain though, and it’s been months since they spoke to each other. Then while staying at a medical conference in in Florida, a category 4 hurricane hits Aria’s hotel. Will Jake get to her in time… again?

Warren turns from writing about the brutal thrills of ice and snow in the prequel to a tropical setting in this book. Fortunately, she finds plenty of dangerous ways for the heroes to get in trouble, and this book is just as thrilling as its predecessor. She also fleshes out ideas that were hinted at in the previous story, which gives the story even more emotional weight than the previous one. A pulse-pounding, relentless thriller.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

4 stars

Suggested Audience

Christians looking for adventure-thrillers with a touch of romance.

Christian Impact

In the previous book Warren set up the two main characters as having areas of brokenness they needed to face. Silver has to learn to forgive himself, Sinclair has to learn to believe God is really out there protecting her. The life-or-death situation they are thrown into creates unique opportunities to explore these themes. The fact those kind of ideas come up makes sense, seeing as the characters are literally forced into corners where they have to face their fears in order to survive. However, Warren mostly explores these ideas through dialogue – Silver or Sinclair bump into Christians, those Christians talk for a while about their beliefs, and then the narrative starts going again. This exploration method makes sense, but it’s a bit awkward. One could have had the main characters talk with each other about their beliefs, have them speak a little bit and cover the rest via inner monologue, or have them perform actions which symbolically show they’ve become free. Relying so much on dialogue makes the book feel a little bit clunky. This is particularly true since the Christian characters use analogies and explanations that the readers have likely heard many times over in Sunday school and other church settings.

Note: This is the second book in a series. To read the ECLA review of the first book, The Way of the Brave, go to: https://eclalibraries.org/2020/04/02/the-way-of-the-brave-global-search-and-rescue-1/