Previously, during #CrimeFicFridays,

I have featured the following Romantic Suspense novels by Anna J. Stewart:

I started this concentration in 2021 with the following reviews:
Undercover Heat and Colton on the Run

And continuing in 2022: Gone in the Night & Guarding His Midnight Mistress

I am hoping to read a few before the close of 2024 whilst continuing this series in 2025!

Acquired Book By: I have been actively reviewing for Ms Stewart as a member of her Review Team since 2021. My love her stories began with Return of the Blackwell Brothers – a Harlequin Heartwarming series. The Blackwells have several sequel series and it is a series I will be returning to reading in (2025). From there, I discovered her Butterfly Harbour series, the Honour Bound series and the Hawaiian Reunions series. Shifting into (2025) I will be reading her novels more often and thereby, will be sharing more reviews on behalf of her books as I resume the series I started and continue forward with them in the New Year.

I received a complimentary copy of “Prison Break Hostage” direct from the author Anna J. Stewart in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. Per the badge at the end of this review, I am also a member of the author’s Review Team.

NOTE: All the Press Materials for this series (Honour Bound) were provided by the author, Ms Stewart for use on my blog. Whether she gifted me the books herself or whether I purchased them – as I asked if I could use them as I blog about this wonderfully lovely series.

On returning to this series two years after I found my footing within it.

You might be curious why I took a leave of absence from reading this lovely series – after I had not only become dearly attached to the characters within it, but I had become achingly hungry to read the next story in the series after I finished Guarding His Midnight Witness. For the fuller context of time behind the years, you’ll have to remember my father entered the hospital two years ago this November, 2024 and exited into long-term care. Aside from the upheaval that provided my family – I also was having issues with my chronic migraines and with my vision; until I realised at long last late last year I was in dire need of Progressive lenses and that, dear hearts changed my life this year. The glasses afforded me a return to reading without straining my eyes to read the words and without the fear of bringing on another migraine, too.

If all things were equal, I would have come back into this series earlier in (2024) – however, as it was overall a hard-won kind of year, I am returning now instead. I felt re-inspired over Summer to pick up the threads of my blog and my socially bookish chatterment online – especially via the portals of #bookstagram and BlueSky. The latter of which happily has a much larger book world community on it now than even before Spring! Whilst taking literary vacations into reading Spookified books in October (via #SpooktasticReads) and Space Opera in November (via #SciFiMonth) you could say I was primed to re-enter my wanderings into Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers this December!

So much so, it sparked a renewal of interest to showcase a featured set of reviews for these lovely stories as I renew my joy of #CloakAndDaggerChristmas! Thereby, I might have lost a few years but not my love, appreciation and JOY of reading the Honour Bound series. I’m itching to share my reactions about this installment of the series and progressing forward into books six through eight!

a few notations about the series

from “guarding his midnight witness”:

There is a wicked enveloping of night in the opening pages of Guarding His Midnight Witness wherein you can feel the chill in the night air as much as the emptiness of walking the street alongside a seasoned detective. I’ve come to love how Stewart chooses to illuminate the scenes within her novels and when it comes to the Suspense ones in particular, it is how she tucks you close into a scene with her descriptive narrative which gives the best impression of ‘where’ she’s taking us both visually in the moment and throughout the length of the story. I especially appreciated in this installment how she elected to talk about the climate – how oppressive heat can change your mood and how welcome a cooler night is between Spring and Summer.

Jack McTavish is one of those kinds of blokes who doesn’t want someone else to tell him about his own story – on the level that, in this particular case, having suffered a greatly traumatic injury and has thus recovered from it (be sure to read the harrowing details at the end of Gone in the Night) – he doesn’t want others to treat him differently, walk on eggshells or even insinuate he’s half the bloke he was before the incident. He has a self-preserving grit about him which serves him well as a detective but he also has an internal strength and fortitude about him that means business; which is why he doesn’t like the effect of everyone’s supposed kindness towards him to sound as if it holds more pity than sympathy. You can immediately tell his state of mind but you can also recognise he’s a survivor – which is why seeing him back on the job questioning the call he was dispatched on felt good to see him back at what he loved to do.

Greta on the other hand was an artist with a sharp mind who just happened to stop Jack in his tracks so to speak on first meeting! I had a good smirk over how these two had instant chemistry even if they were meeting under more serious circumstances. I loved how ethereal Stewart penned Greta’s personality and presence in the scenes with Jack and Bowie (his short-term partner, whilst his partner is on holiday) as it evoked Old Hollywood and the artist eras of the past where creators like her could be isolated from society whilst they allowed their muses to find them. She was the kind of artist who appreciated being round people but she needed to find the solace and solitude away from them in order to create her art. I respected that and she was one of those characters you felt you could connect with as soon as she started to talk.

My favourite mysteries and suspense novels have one thing in common: interesting and beguiling characters who keep you turning the pages! In this instance, Greta is a no-nonsense kind of woman who feels it’s her duty to help Jack solve the mystery despite his best intentions of disentangling her from being so directly connected to his own case. The irony of course is that he too would like to stay in her constant company but for a different reason altogether which matched her own inclinations as well. It was definitely one of those meetings of the mind where despite the events which brought them together it was the connection, the instant bond and the chemistry they shared which meant more than the dangers lurking in the shadows. They were a wicked good match for each other especially since they shared something in common which united them: wounded souls with a desire to find the light and joy they felt was missing out of their lives.

Ooh my! The ending on this one – it truly eclipsed my heart because I was expecting a shocking surprise and I was given more than one by the time the story concluded! It was such a satisfying ending though – I didn’t want it to stop because I had become so connected to Jack and Greta! Theirs was one of those old-fashioned romances where neither of them felt they’d ever find someone and yet, their connection to each other was marred a bit by an evolving case and a crime which needed to be solved. Stewart pulls at your heart-strings with this one – from her capacity to write such an intricate and spellbinding psychological suspense to knitting a brilliantly lovely romance with two characters you’ll not soon forget. I ached to read more chapters of this one – hardly able to put it down even for an hour, much less a day whilst in the end, my heart cheered for Jack and Greta all over again. They truly had an incredible journey – one that only Stewart could have conceived and given us.

-quoted from my review of Guarding His Midnight Witness

The Honour Bound series:

NOTE: I personally spelt honor as *honour* however, if you follow the feeds socially or socially engage on platforms be sure to use the American spelling #HonorBound to find other readers who are sharing their bookish reactions to the series. I am only spelling it differently as I review it on my blog but note the official title all the same. For me, honor is honour but that’s just a personal quirk.

More than a Lawman (book one)

Reunited with the PI (book two)

Gone in the Night (book three) | (see also Review)

Guarding His Midnight Witness (book four) | (see also Review)

Prison Break Hostage (book five)

The PI’s Deadly Charade (book six)

Deadly Vegas Escape (book seven)

A Detective’s Deadly Secrets (book eight)

View the list and keep tabs on this series via Fantastic Fiction!

Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• #CloakAndDaggerChristmas 2024