Willow

by Ronie Kendig

Synopsis:

To save her, he must become the evil he fights.

Aftercare specialist Willow Metcalfe joined Mission: liberate Everyone to help trafficking survivors navigate the healing process. When Mile's Obiora Compound is attacked by the Nigerian mafia, she's taken, hostage. Against nightmarish odds, she and the victims attempt an escape - and are thwarted.

A decade after leaving his beloved homeland, Chijioke "Chiji" Okorie returns to find his sister and fight for his own country. Believing a global trafficking ring behind her abduction and a string of kidnappings across Nigeria, he goes undercover to find the head of the serpent and his sister. Chiji is stunned to discover among the hostages a familiar face - a friend's sister, Willow. The woman he vowed years ago to marry.

The man who has interfered with her escape attempts seems... familiar, kind - but Willow knows better. He reeks of the warrior ethos that has devoured many a good man. Engaged in an impossible battle and losing at every turn, Chiji is determined to complete his missions - all of them. Even if it kills him.

My Take:

Willow was actually my first ever Ronie Kendig book and I was not disappointed. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The content was definitely more series than any other Christian fiction I’ve read to date but I actually loved it. I’m a huge Criminal Minds fan and while that’s not what the show is about, I was more than prepared and then enthralled by the story’s premise.

I didn't, however, know how to pronounce Chiji’s name. I hope I said it correctly in my mind the whole time but until I see Ronie in an interview, I won’t know. Regardless, the characters and their relationships kept me hooked and wanting more. For me, it was a character and plot-driven story and that’s what I like to read. I didn’t quite connect with Willow’s character, but I don’t always with the main character and that’s ok for me.

I’m ready for the next book!