Deserving Henley by Susan Stoker

POV: 3rd Person Multi
PoP: 48%
Tropes: Co-Workers; Romantic Suspense; Single Mom; Tortured Hero; PTSD
Series: The Refuge book 2
Type of Series: Series of Standalones
Rate:  5/5 Stars
Release Date: January 3rd, 2023

Henley and Tonga are perfect. These are two imperfect people that have tortured pasts. Each have dealt with them differently, and have formed new lives because of these pasts. Henley is a therapist and single mom to Jasna, who is the best addition to this story. She works at the Refuge with Tonka and the other owners. The two of them have been attracted to each other since they met, but haven’t moved forward with anything. Tonka is still essentially hiding and not dealing with some of the events that have caused his decline of life. This story is one of healing, and one of how there are some people in life that are inherently bad. We get to know the baddie early on in the book and see things from his perspective through the story, and what his goals in life are. Stoker uses this tactic every once in a while, and I always enjoy it. This time the baddie is given a name and a “purpose” for the bad in him. The addition of Jasna in this story works extremely well, she is on page just the right amount but doesn’t overtake the story. Even with the way the story plays out she still has just the right amount of page time. The relationship between Jasna and Tonka is heartwarming and so sweet.

The men of the Refuge, as well as the women, are dynamic and a mix of personalities that blend together perfectly. And as usual with Stoker’s stories the epilogue gives us a sneak into the next story.