Janie Crouch

I love these second-generation Linear Tactical books just as much as the originals. The characters are realistic, with believable fears and insecurities. Colton and Ella's story drew me in from the beginning and kept me hooked.

Ella is the daughter of Cade and Peyton O'Conner. She is content living out of the spotlight, running her bakery. She is as sweet as the pastries she bakes, calm, kind, empathetic, and supportive of her friends. She has also had a crush on Colton all of her life.

Colton is the son of Boy and Girl Riley Harrison (Phoenix). Like his father, Colton is an extreme sports enthusiast with a vast online fandom. He has a big stunt scheduled for the same weekend as a friend's wedding.

The book opens just before Theo and Eva's wedding (Hero Unbound). Ella prepares the food for the reception with the help of two friends who are bridesmaids. Right away, the reader gets a look at Ella's insecurities about her looks. She is curvy and sees herself as plain, which causes her to turn down the invitation to be a bridesmaid, too. She's happier in the background, out of the spotlight. We also see Colton as he prepares for his upcoming stunt while thinking that his activities don't give him the rush of satisfaction he used to experience.

We then move on to the reception after the wedding. While talking with Lincoln, his very literal, no-filter friend, the revelation that Ella has a crush on him stuns Colton. He and Ella have been friends since they were kids, and he has never allowed himself to think of her that way. Now that he knows, those latent stirrings are front and center, and he can't stop thinking about her in a whole new way. Ella doesn't know how to react when she realizes Colton is flirting with her. I loved watching him overcome her hesitation with his genuine admiration and obvious attraction to her. But after seizing the moment and giving in to her feelings for Colton, Ella's insecurities reignite when Colton mutters something as he falls asleep. I ached for Ella, but I also wanted to shake her for quickly writing off such an intense connection.

I felt terrible for Colton, who was shocked to discover Ella was gone when he woke up. He is hurt and confused but also has a stunt to perform and must concentrate on. His focus becomes critical when the stunt goes terribly wrong. I was on the edge of my seat during this part because, though I knew he would live, I had no idea what the long-term effects would be.

I loved watching the relationship between Colton and Ella develop. It has its bumps while both work through their issues. I loved Ella's empathy and support as she sensed the turmoil he suffered while dealing with the aftereffects he didn't want to admit to. At the same time, Colton must get past Ella's self-doubts to convince her of his feelings for her. There are lovely scenes of them together, from working together at her bakery to helping out at Bear's camp. There is a bump in their progress when an incident causes Colton to question Ella's motives. He deserved a kick in the pants for what he said and did, and I loved seeing it delivered.

Dealing with a stalker complicates Colton's life. From slightly creepy letters of adoration, it soon escalates into more threatening communications. I could feel Colton's determination to stop the stalker before it could escalate further. It felt like old times to see the Linear Tactical people of both generations come together to help. Figuring out the stalker's identity was convoluted enough to keep me guessing until the end. The final confrontation was a nail-biter.

A secondary story dealt with the camp that Bear ran for siblings of kids with cancer. He intends to give the kids who frequently get overlooked because of their siblings' medical needs a chance to have something that is all theirs. My heart broke to see how they step back and don't make waves for their families. I loved watching them lean into the various aspects of the activities. I especially enjoyed seeing the effect it had on Ella and Colton. Colton found it particularly valuable as he contemplated the changes he wanted to make in his life.

The ending was fantastic. I loved watching Colton try to make it up to Ella for his idiocy. The ending scene was adorable.… (more)

Hero’s Prize by Janie Crouch
Linear Tactical: Oak Creek #3

Colton and Ella grew up together as children of couples in the original Linear Tactical series. They have known one another since they were in diapers and are close but not as close as at least one of them might prefer them to be. In this book we find out if the longtime crush of one will find the catalyst that will propel their friendship into more.

What I liked:
* Ella O’Connor: business owner, baker and sweet maker, calm, peacemaker, intelligent, listens, supportive, loving, kind, caring, has had a crush on Colton for a long time
* Colton Harrison: adventure lover, extreme sports professional, popular, media influencer, questioning his life, thinking about his future, and so glad Logan shared info with him
* That both main characters had flaws, seemed real and were easy to visualize, relate to, and care about
* The romance element of the story and how the relationship grew
* The side story of the camp for siblings of cancer patients and wondering if and how this will show up in the future
* The stalker portion, finding out who the baddie was, and that the person was caught and dealt with
* Lincoln Bollinger: Colton’s cousin, computer savvy, savant, very literal, tuned into numbers and math and patterns, aware, verbal filter sometimes iffy, would like to read his story in the future
* Getting to see the characters of previous books and find out how they are doing AND hoping there will be more books in the series
* The plot pacing, setting, and writing
* That there was a happy ending for Ella and Colton and there is another book coming soon

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how difficult it must be for families with children that have cancer and how the disease impacts not only the child but the entire family

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by this author? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review

4-5 Stars… (more)