Title: Surrender
Author: Joan Johnston
Format: ebook
Genre: romance, second chance, firefighter, rancher, wilderness survival, forced proximity, enemies to lovers
Standalone: yes-ish
Part of a Series: part of King’s Brats
POV: Taylor, Brian, Aiden, Leah
Steam Level: steamy
3.5)5

It’s been a while since I’ve read Joan Johnston. Overall Surender was a story of survival, resilience, and learning to trust in love. At times I got frustrated with both Brian and Taylor. The addition of some of Aiden and Leah’s story is why it’s not really a standalone. Their story is not done and unnecessary for Brian and Taylor’s story.

I received this book for free from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This starts out exciting from the beginning with a raging fire and a disabled plane going down and nothing to do but jump...into the fire. Taylor Grayhawk is flying the smokejumpers when her plane engines catch fire and she is going down. Brian Flynn jumped on board to help spot for her at the last minute when her spotter didn't show up and now he is demanding she jump with him. They jump together using one it is a wonder they land in an area still not on fire. Minutes later Brian is attacked by a bear and injured but the bear runs off and they find the den but are trapped by a falling tree. After a week trapped they finally find a way out and nearly starved and with Brian injured they are able to travel a ways trying to survive. This time together brings them closer and reinforces their feelings they thought were forgotten over the years. Close to death, they are rescued but will they survive once home? Will the love they found in the wilderness survive?

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

These two characters have a chemistry that these two have denied for years. After a one night stand. But after they are given a push they learn the not only have to forgive each but themselves as well.

I enjoyed the storyline of this book, plus very good chemistry between Characters. ☆☆☆☆☆rating. Thanks Netgalley for this free copy.

The main story, a romance between Taylor and Brian (hello panty-melting cowboy!) are fabulous. I loved reading through their struggled from their past romance to their family feuds, I adore a great second-chance story. Having said that, the book itself dragged in places. I expected a more complicated plot because I am a fan of Joan Johnston,there were too many sub-plots that diverted attention and a few too many ups and downs. Not enough consistency. I'll definitely keep reading the series though!

Surrender by Joan Johnston was a very well written story with some suspense, adventures with some exciting twist and turns. This was a thrilling rollercoaster ride that just kept you hooked till the very end.
A second chance romance, Brain and Taylor have a history they were once involved but thing took a turn. Now they are in a struggle for their lives, will they work together? Can they find There way back to each other?
I definitely recommend this book.

I enjoyed the book but felt it lacked a little luster and because my review would be below 4stars (3.5stars is where I have it), I'm choosing not to post a public review on vendor websites.
I apologize for any inconvenience.
I think this one just didn't meet my expectation after having read and loved Blackthornes Bride

An interesting story about two people who at one time many years ago were a couple only to break up. Brian Flynn went on to marry someone and divorce and Taylor Grayhawk wonders why they broke up. Today though as they are flying together and after the hot shots have jumped out. She is wondering why he is still in the plane. After a few awkward moments they have no time to hash out the past when the storm takes a sudden turn and the plane is going to crash. With the fire and the wind she is hoping she can just put it down somewhere. After the crash and Taylor taking care of Brain’s injuries they find a cave to spend the night in. From it is a matter of survival and also reliving the past and the why it ended between them years ago, and could they get back together again. While all of this is going on. The fire is still raging, then people realize that they are missing and start a search and rescue for them. Of course just when Taylor thinks everything is going good between them they are found and because of his injuries he is flown out. Now she is left with doubt and what might be, still she wants to see Brain but not knowing what is waiting for her at the hospital or if he will remember anything is scary. What will happen between them and will there be a them? Read this good book and see what happens. The author also does a good job in the writing about survival in the woods.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC. This story moved along pretty well. It didn’t feel stilted like some other stories can be. The characters were likable and the back story was fleshed out enough to get a good feel for them. This one of the few books that I’ve read that has secondary stories that get this much page space. I am looking forward to reading more about the residents of Kingdom Come and Lucky 7!

I received an ARC for an honest review.
A great story filled with suspense and adventure to start, ending in sweet love. A dual story for Taylor with Brian and Leah with Aiden.
Taylor and Brian defy the odds of all the craziness thrown at them. Leah and Aiden work to set their family's dislikes aside. Love conquers all!

Surrender is the eleventh title in Joan Johnston's Bitter Creek series, but only the third one I've read thus far. It's also the first smokejumper novel I've read and it starts out like a forest ablaze, literally and figuratively, and it gets 4 stars from this reader.

Taylor Grayhawk, the heroine of this novel, is a corporate pilot and as the novel opens, she's dropping smokejumpers off in the middle of a huge forest fire in Yellowstone National Park. She's got one man left in the plane, Brian Flynn, who used to be her high school boyfriend, and who is now also acting as the spotter for the other smokejumpers, since the regular spotter never showed up. Brian asked Taylor to fly lower so he could make his jump safely, but she flew a little too close to the inferno and burned out her engines. Her plane is going down and she can't find a place to land. Brian spots a tiny meadow, and pretty much forces an unwilling Taylor to ditch the plane and tandem jump with him into it. Not long after safely jumping into an area not yet ablaze, Brian has an encounter with a grizzly who claws one of his legs. They end up finding and moving into the grizzly's deserted den, with a few, but not all of the supplies Brian had managed to grab before jumping, because no sooner do they start moving the supplies, Brian realizes realizes that a gigantic tree is coming down and the two barely make it inside with their lives as the tree falls right over the entrance to the small cave--and that's just the beginning of their problems in this edge-of-your-seat, second chance romance, because with very little food or water, Brian's injury, Taylor's fear of the dark, the blocked entrance, and no way to call for help, these two have a long, hard road to safety, one that nearly ends in death.

While this novel can be read as a standalone, I'd suggest starting at least a few installments back, as I did, because there's a lot of background information and characters who show up in this novel and knowing a bit more about the Grayhawk v. Flynn feud, which is mentioned but not fully explained here, would give you a better understanding of the interrelationships in the long history of these families, some of whose members have ignored the feuding patriarchs, fallen in love and married in spite of it all. Also, the on again, off again, second chance romance between Brian and Taylor isn't the only romance in this novel--there's family drama everywhere you look, from a silly bet made by Brian and his brother Aiden about Leah, Taylor's older sister, which is filled with angst and regrets, the search for their missing siblings, the mysterious brother, Matt, who was barely introduced in an earlier novel, who shows up 20 years after disappearing somewhere in Australia, to claim the family ranch that Leah's been managing and which she planned to inherit, and there's so much more. And, with all of this going on, we're still in the middle of Brian and Taylor's attempt to survive the fire, Brian's injuries, their rekindled romance, and their attempt to get out of the cave and find a way to reach the medical care Brian so desperately needs.

While I can't find fault anywhere in the first half of the novel, I did have an issue with the two Flynn brothers, Brian and Aiden, in the latter half of the novel. Both men have managed to become emotionally involved with Taylor and Leah, respectively, but once the two lead characters are rescued, and are recuperating in the hospital, these men go from being strong, and brave to acting like spoiled children and deeply hurting the two women who love them. While I understood where Ms. Johnston was going by complicating and throwing a monkey wrench into these two relationships, Brian, more so than Aiden, really lost any admiration and respect I had for him by being unnecessarily self-centered and deliberately hurtful to Taylor, and although there is an HEA ending for the two couples involved, Taylor was certainly way more forgiving than I was about Brian's shoddy on-again, off-again treatment of her. To this reader, he went from being a hero to a zero.

All in all, this was a very good, gripping, sexy, angsty, and page-turner of a read, and Ms. Johnston is and always has been an excellent writer, but the immature behavior of both feuding families, and the behavior of all the main and secondary characters, especially Brian, who is, after all, the supposed hero in this novel, kept me from loving it. Finally, for readers new to this series, I wish the author had, at some point, explained the reason(s) for the feud.

I voluntarily read and advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

I love this series and all the characters. Intense scenes during the jump and fire. Love that there was a dog with floppy ears on her bed. I also have a dog whose name is Floppy ears that is black and white spotted

Taylor Greyhawk is piloting the smoke jumpers in to a big fire. Brian Flynn is the spotter for the team. When the engines flare out and they are about to crash he decides to tandem drop them on to a spot that is still green before they can crash. A bear escaping the fire tangles with Brian on his lower leg as it goes by. They find the cave the bear had been in and make that their home to wait out the fire. As they are going in a tree comes down and blocks them in the cave. Old attractions take control for awhile but Brian tries to control his feelings. Their survival does not look good but after 6 days and Brian's leg getting worse they find a way out. Can they survive until found? Can they find the love they lost? Leah & Devon will not give up looking for them. Can the families get past their bad blood?

This is an exciting and action packed story that draws you in from the very start. The story line is engaging and full of danger, suspense, adventure, drama, twist, betrayal, emotional struggles, romance and tension. The characters are well defined and captivating. Taylor and Brian have chemistry and a bitter past. This is a second chance romance that has family tension, secrets, and unresolved issues. I found this book very entertaining and it kept my attention until the very end. It is well written and I highly recommend.

Taylor and Brian were long ago high school sweethearts who find themselves in a terrible situation as the book opens. Will they make it, will they rekindle their romance? These were the questions that came to mind as I read this book. It seems like one thing after another is in their way. To find out what happens, pick this one up and read it. It is a great book with real characters that are easily relatable. I recommend this book to all who love a good story. 💝

When reading the descriptions of them being trapped in the cave and the subsequent events, i was physically uncomfortable. Well-written action, believable reunited exes romance, and overall a good plot.

Love this series. Enjoyed reading Tag and Brian’s second chance at love. Emotional read not only about love but family loyalty when tested. Similar to Romeo and Juliet. Also enjoyed reading about Aiden and Leah. Looking forward to Eve’s story. Recommended read.

ARC for honest review with no compensation received by Netgalley

This was my first book by Joan Johnston and will not be my last!

When feuding between powerful families, the Flynns and Grayhawks comes to play you find many sub plots, that has adventure, suspense, secrets, second chance romance, and a raging wildfire to bring out the best and worst in people and hopes for some happy endings and new beginnings!! Can Taylor and Brian help bring peace to the feuding families or will it all go up in smoke??

This is my first book of the Kings Brats series so I was a bit lost with the ongoing romance of all the sons and daughters of King and Angus, but Johnston does a wonderful job of back story on the other couples. So I'm eagerly going back to pick up the two novels before because I just love these two feuding families.