What a great conclusion to Owen and Penny’s story. If you haven’t read Aftershock I would recommend reading that book first so you understand the dynamic between these two and what its taken for them to finally get to a point where its possible for them to be together.

Owen and Penny met after an earthquake left them buried under a freeway. She was 16 and pregnant and estranged from her Mexican American family due to the pregnancy. Owen was 19, in prison and part of a white supremacist prison gang with racist tattoo’s over his body. But Owen was part of the gang for survival only and he became infatuated with Penny during their ordeal and ended up saving the group trapped by managing to escape and get help. After getting out of prison Owen wanted to better himself and Penny’s father played a part in that but with a stipulation that he wasn’t to ever be more to his daughter than a friend.

Five years later Owen is part of Penny’s father’s security team as he is now running for president. Owen’s been assigned to guard Penny and Cruz, her son he helped deliver. Penny and Owen both have feelings for each other but just have just silently pined for the other for their own reasons. The three of them are kidnapped by Owen’s brother and group of other gang member and taken to the Badlands and held for ransom. They manage to escape and during there trek through the desert we learn more about the horrible childhood Owen had and the atrocities done to him in prison. Those things have made Owen have intimacy issues and it takes Penny’s love for him to help him start to work through them.

Normally we see the woman in a book being the one that’s been sexually abused and the effects of that. In this book its Owen who has the deep emotional scars from what happened to him in prison and all the mistakes he made that got him there. But through all of that he still has the kindest heart and you root for him on every page he is on. I am so happy we finally got Penny and Owen’s story as they both deserved a happy ending to all the heartbreak that came before it.
( )

{Reseña a terminar]

Qué se yo, si bien es bastante genérico y tiene mucho más de lo mismo...a la vez, también cuenta con pequeños detalles que lo hacen único--al menos para ser un romance yanqui.

Cosas como ésta:

"He handed her his cell. “Remember to speak English. This is America, even if it looks like Mexico.”
“Mexico is part of America.”
“What?”
“Mexico is in North America, along with Canada and the United States.”

BRAVO!

¿Entienden? Hay pocos productos yanquis donde los malos no son latinos, esas caricaturas despreciables completamente distorsionadoras de la realidad de hoy (holaaa?? quienes son los máximos consumidores de droga en America...quienes avalan el tráfico de drogas?? Los yanquis no son santos, nadie es santo ni es negro y blanco).

En este caso la protagonista es latina. Y, lo mejor de todo, tiene un padre latino a punto de consagrarse presidente de EEUU (a pesar de ser republicano). No sé, me pareció un detalle excelente en medio de tanto racismo contra los latinos en el 80% de las novelas románticas (y el fetichismo a veces insoportable que se hace de nuestra cultura... en realidad no sólo de los latinos, sino también de los franceses, rusos, irlandeses, etc etc etc Ya saben, el típico estereotipo del latin lover con bigote que habla siempre con voz ronca o el italiano mujeriego--ese estilo de ofensas. No todos los autores cometen atrocidades, pero a veces el hecho de que sólo resulten atractivos por tener tal o cual acento, bailar tal o cual danza folclórica... es demasiado ofensivo.... PERO DE NUEVO, no todos, algunos la hacen bien). Incluso los villanos se salen un poco de la norma: son skinheads-nazis-rednecks. Ahora, esos SI que dan miedo! E incluso tampoco son malos-tan-malos que parecen un chiste salido de película de acción novela clase D. Al menos uno demuestra tener una personalidad algo compleja ('algo').

En fin, no fue perfecta, tiene bastantes defectos pero, a pesar de todo, es bastante original y entretenida. ( )

Owen Jackson
Penny Sandoval

Part of me is sad this is over. I really enjoyed this book and this series. The stories are so real and interesting. The characters are so great and complex. Little Cruz stole my heart. I look forward to more and more from Ms Sorenson. 4 Stars

Read With Me: Badlands ( )

“Badlands” by Jill Sorenson

It’s been a little while since I’ve read a great romantic suspense. I’m glad I picked this one up. “Badlands” has it all: suspense, danger, and definitely romance.
Penny Sandoval is the daughter of a presidential candidate and has a young son. She is kidnapped and unfortunately, her son Cruz is taken as well. Her friend and bodyguard Owen Jackson tries to stop the kidnapping and ends up getting involved. And...it’s Owen’s own brother Shane who’s responsible.

The three of them are at the mercy of Shane and his cohorts. They want money in exchange for Penny and Cruz’s lives. But what about Owen? Both Shane and Owen are ex-convicts, hardened by a harsh upbringing, but Owen has retained his ability to still care. Shane on the other hand, is too cynical to overcome his past.

Penny witnesses Owen’s beating and believes he’s dead. The first chance she gets, she escapes with Cruz. But they’re in the Badlands, an austere, unforgiving desert, and they have very little water and no food.

Owen isn’t dead and manages to escape and find Penny and Cruz. He must keep them alive, but at what cost? Will he have to kill his own despicable brother, who despite everything he’s done, he still loves? Will Owen have to make a choice: a woman and son that he loves or his own blood?

If they all survive, will Penny want him, an ex-convict with seemingly nothing to offer? Penny is unaware of Owen’s true past. While she knows of his prison stint, she has no idea what he endured while there or anything about his cruel father’s unrelenting punishment. Things that can break a man and turn him sour to some of life’s wonderful things, such as love. If Penny sees him for who he truly is, will she want him?

Sorenson tells a story of unconditional love, sacrifice, peril, and heartache. You won’t want to miss this romantic suspense.

Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “The Other Side: Melinda’s Story”

4 Stars

Badlands can stand alone but is better if you read the books in order. So you can see the changes in them.
I have read all three books so far in the Aftershock series and have seen Owen and Penny grow and make changes in their lives. When we first met Owen he was a bad guy but it didn't take long for his true self to shine. Owen chose to help instead of destroy and think only of himself. Owen came from a poor rough background and made some mistakes. Since the earthquake he keeps making the right choices even if they are hard. He has proven to be a worthy hero time after time.

Penny was a unwed teenage mother. She will do anything to protect her son. She is trying to make up for hurting her family. She keeps putting others first in her life.

Cruz is a cute loveable child. He wants to protect his mom. He also wants a dad and would be happy if it was Owen.

Their are other strong characters in the book that you wonder about them what side are they really on.

Besides strong characters that I like there is plenty of drama, danger and action. You don't want to put it down.
Their are some sex scenes that I skipped over. Their is some hard things that happened to Owen in his past.

I can't wait till the next book in the series comes out Backwoods in 2014.

The setting for this book is the Badlands. Which I did not know much about before I read it. Dry hot desert area.
Pacing was good. I did not find any slow boring parts. Every time they handled one problem soon another came up.

I was given this ebook for the purpose of giving a honest review by Netgalley and Harlequin.

publication: December 31st 2013 by Harlequin HQN 384 pages ISBN 9780373778348 ( )