Taylor Greyhawk & Brian Flynn had an ill-fated relationship while in high school. Between the difficulties caused by the family feud and Taylor's commitment issues, it was doomed. Years later Taylor is a pilot and Brian is smoke jumper. They are caught in a forest fire and have to ditch the plane to survive. In the time following, they have to fight to survive, try to get rescued and deal with the feelings they still have for each other. Taylor and Brian make a believable couple. Both are flawed people and there are real problems to overcome instead of silly misunderstandings.. We get to see the other family members in their respective clans and how they are all getting along. It helps to have read the other books in the series but not necessary. There's nothing unique here, it's all pretty predictable but Johnston does a good job with it and her fans should enjoy it.

Absolutely fantastic! I love this book so much! The characters were amazing and the story was so well written. The drama! I just loved it so freaking much! This story took me back to my love of romance. It reminded me of the first romances I read growing up. (made me a little nostalgic). It was all about the story and the characters (both main and side characters). This story reminded me why I love romance. I could feel these characters and feel for what they were going through. I didn't have to force myself to keep reading. Once I started the book it was so hard to put it down. The romance, suspense and drama made this an amazing book. I'm so excited for the next!!!!
**begged for a copy from netgalley**

Jan 30, 2018
Donise rated it
it was amazing




Shelves: arc
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. After reading, Brian and Tag's story and learning about some of the other characters in the King Brats series, I am ashamed to say that I have not read the other books before this one, BUT I plan to rectify that error ASAP. I want to learn more about the two fathers and why they are enemies; more about the pranks between their offspring when they were teenagers; and especially more about the romances that have and are blossoming between said offspring now that they are adults.

Take Tag and Brian, who were young lovers and adversaries 15 years ago, and now find themselves thrown together in a dangerous situation from which they must survive. Brian, a smoke jumper, and Tag, the plane pilot, are first thrown into and must survive a wildfire and then the "sparks" that have been revived between them. They must not only overcome their own obstacles, but those of their families, especially the ongoing feud between their fathers.

Ms. Johnston has done a wonderful job of developing these characters and I am grateful for this opportunity to be introduced to them and find an new series to fall in love to. I look forward to the next book and Vic's story

Strap on your parachute, because your heart will be free-falling in this action-packed romance. Part second-chance, part feuding families, part survivalist - this book has it all, right down to surprises, family drama, and secrets unveiled at exactly the most inappropriate time. Taylor - Tag to Brian - is flying the smoke jumpers into a dangerous fire, with Brian staying on board as her last-minute spotter. The fire is out of control, forcing an emergency evacuation that nearly kills them before they even get close to the fire. The first part of the book, how they survive the fire, how they readjust their relationship during this intense time, and how they are rescued, is simply amazing to read, gut-wrenching in its honesty and realism. But after the rescue, just when you'd think things would get easier, the real drama begins and their hearts are tested almost to their limits.

These two really have all the cards stacked against them, so much that even they start to believe there's no chance it could work out. Everything seems to be trying to keep them apart - their family, their recovery, their own insecurities - throughout their roller-coaster relationship.

We also get a few side stories about the romances and marriages of other members of the Flynn and Grayhawk families, which only add to the overall story without making the reader feel like they've missed anything by not reading other books in the series.

Tag and Brian are soulmates in the truest sense, and their HEA is hard-won and heartwarming. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this captivating book. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book through NetGalley.

In the synopsis of Surrender by Joan Johnston, it states the book to be “a sizzling contemporary Western romance,” it most certainly is both sizzling and fiery. This is not just in the romance aspects of the story but also in the action. Survival against the acts of nature make this an exciting read.

I have only recently discovered Joan Johnson’s book, so I am not familiar with all the rivalries between the Grayhawk and the Flynn families, but the animosity seems to be longstanding. Taylor Grayhawk and Brian Flynn find that a struggle as well as the massive wildfie that they find themselves battling.

Surrender has all the ingredients for an instant success: amazing writing, engrossing scenes, genuine characters involved in a complicated relationship, and a story that is emotionally charged. Joan Johnson has given the reader a dynamic story in Surrender.

I love disaster stories, so the fact that this book opens with a plane about to crash into a wildfire had me hooked from the start. Taylor and Brian have a history from high school along with a long feud between their families that make a relationship challenging. While fighting for their lives they bond, but once they are rescued new problems follow. I loved the interaction between Taylor and Brian until close to the end of the book. I thought Taylor needed to do a little apologizing of her own instead of leaving it all to Brian. Other than that I enjoyed the story, sighed at the happy ending, and want to know more about the secondary characters and how their stories end.

*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for. Expected publication date is February 27, 2018.


Book eleven in the Bitter Creek series and book three in the King's Brats series which of course are intertwined with one another. In the interest of full disclosure I fell in the love with the Bitter Creek series years ago when I picked up the very first book The Cowboy and have enjoyed each new installment since then. I love series where we get to follow a family through multiple generations. Joan never disappoints when it comes to this. For this installment we get Taylor Grayhawk's story as she finds her way to one of the "Flynn boys." Being members of two feuding families has to be tough but thanks to the overlaps of the couples from the first two books things are a tiny bit smoother by this point. These two are trapped in a forest fire after having to jump from a dead plane. Their survival is amazing with lots of plot twists, and after the rescue is just as intriguing as the two of them fight their feelings for one another. If you enjoy excellent contemporary romance novels with a western flare to them (they are all set in the Western United States) you really have to try this book or the whole series in my opinion. I loved every single minute of this book so I give it 5/5 stars.

King's Brats #3, Bitter Creek #11. Three years! That's how long I've been waiting for this book to come out; waiting to find out what happened up on that mountain between Taylor and Brian. Oh, but this book was so much more than I thought it would be, so worth the wait. This is probably one of the few drama based almost soap opera like Contemporary Romances I like. But unlike soap operas this series has HEAs it just has the endless drama with different people and not the same poor people over and over again, and if it does it doesn't completely ruin their HEA except for maybe Cricket and Jarrett, they were my favorite couple and that was just mean even if it did turn into some really good books down the line. Anyways I digress. I have missed maybe four books in the entire series and having read most of the books I don't know if this would be good for a stand alone, for this the first two books in the King's Brats part of the series should be read; they are all connected with an overall story arc.

The Greyhawks and the Flynn's and been feuding for years, but for a brief couple of months Taylor Greyhawk and Brain Flynn were happy. They were secretly dating until Taylor's insecurity broke them up after that it was prank war between the King's Brats and those Flynn Boys. Years have past Brian is a firefighter and smoke jumper and Taylor has become a pilot. In the latest wildfire Brain is filling in for Taylor's spotter before he jumped when the fire flares up and damages both engines on the plane. Brian and Taylor have no choice but to jump together. Only nothing goes right once they land Brain is attacked by a bear fleeing the fire and the cave the plan to seek refuge in gets closed off by a fallen tree before they can bring in all the smoke jumper equipment Brian pushed out the plane before they jumped. They are trapped in the cave for a few days, in that time Brian and Tag, as Brian calls her, have plenty of time to talk about the past and what happened and what went wrong.

In the meantime Aiden and Leah aren't giving up on their siblings and continue to search even after everyone else has given up. In their search you discover they have a secret of their own and since they are alone Aiden feels it's the right time to sort it all out, in other words apologize and beg forgiveness. Tag and Brian after the fire has finally passed discover another way out of the cave and start to walk, unfortunately the wound Brian got from the bear has become septic and they in a race against time to find help before he dies. While Brian is sick with fever he admits everything to Tag and she reciprocates. But getting out of the woods is only the start of their problems they have a whole new batch of different problems once they get rescued.

Overall, the first part of this book was so intense and edge of your seat. People who are about to die always find it easy to communicate and finally reveal feelings they couldn't otherwise express, that's exactly what Tag and Brian did only when they got rescued they became shut off again, one because of families and another because they're silly, well they have reasons and it does lead to some good drama, heartbreak and steamy make-up sex. I can't wait for the next one. I've been a fan of Joan Johnston for almost two decades and I never get tired of her writing.

Joan Johnston hits the mark with Surrender weaving a tale of danger heartache and a family drama with love conquering all, Surrender sets a thrill ride pave from the beginning of the book and catches the heart strings through out as Tag and Brian fight for their lives both physically and emotionally. Taylor and Brian are caught between their families because of some feud that their fathers have had for years, While teenagers they start dating and fall in love. Taylor or TAG as Brian calls her because of her initials breaks things off before they can become too attached because of her childhood.. Tag is a pilot dropping off smoke jumpers and Brian is a smoke jumper who for the trip became her spotter. When circumstances cause them to jump out of the plane and a fire area they take shelter in a cave. They think they're going to die in there until they find a way out.. Mean while Brian's brother and Tag's sister are searching for them. Adrien and Leah are keeping secrets of their own from the family. Also there has been 1 marriage between a Flynn and a Grayhawk already, Still everyone can't seem to get over the feud between King's Brats and the awful Flynn boys all the while keeping their secret relationship with the enemy. While Tag and Brian are in the cave they confide their fears and secrets to each other. The start hiking out to a greener part of the forest so that they can find help. Brian injured by a grizzly bear is fighting an infection in his leg but is still determined to make sure he saves Tag even if it costs him his own life, When Brian can't go any farther because the infection has taken over Tag keeps vigil and tries to keep him alive. Just about when she's giving up she hears someone respond to her yelling for help., Adrien and Lean have followed their trail and have found them. Taking them to the hospital, Tag wakes up wondering what has happened to Brian and goes looking and finds him still near death. After she recovers and goes home she spends everyday at Brian's bedside until he wakes up and the doctor tells him that he almost lost his leg and that he will probably never walk with out a cane again. Feeling despondent Brian lashes out at Tag and sends her away. Telling him she would return she decides to make a house ready for them to live in as she tries to get Brian to realize they belong together. When she doesn't return Brian knows what he did was wrong but want to be strong again before he goes to her. When he can't take the way his family is treating and heads to town and runs into Tag they start living in her house that she fixed up for them. Every time she has the chance to tell Brian she's pregnant she can't do it. Tag gives Brian some tough love which he takes as a challenge and leaves to prove himself, Neither one contacts the other and Christmas comes and Tag goes to her family ranch and realizes that her sister has brought the whole family together and Brian is told that his other 2 brothers are coming for supper instead because they're at the Grayhawk ranch. Tag tells her family she's pregnant with Brian's child but still hasn't' told him when his brothers come and tell him., he's in shock. Tag and her sister Vick share a secret that Vick has been keeping, Leah tests Adrien love for her by having him do something he thinks is impossible. When the impossible happens Leah is really scared and asks for time. Brian takes his test for getting to be a firefighter again and then shows up to talk to Tag where she reveals a secret. A truce is called while they get married. I'm looking forward to the next book in the King's Brat series by Joan Johnston who is an absolute favorite of mine. I can't wait to see how Leah and Adrien story comes out and how Vick and Sullivan come together. Am anxiously awaiting Vick's story.

Joan Johnston has always been a go-to author for me when I need a solid, dependable read. She knows how to tell a good story with characters that seem very real. I was very intrigued by this book based on the description, even though I'm not usually a fan of reunited lovers storylines. I was not disappointed.

I almost felt like I was reading two different books. The first half of the book was a gripping, tension-filled adventure of survival. Taylor Grayhawk and Brian Flynn have a history. The Grayhawk and Flynn families have been fueding for decades, stemming from a long ago argument between the two family patriarchs. Neighboring ranches meant that Taylor and Brian had plenty of exposure to each other over the years, including an ill-fated teenage romance. They are thrust back together when the plane Taylor is piloting goes down in the middle of a forest fire.

Their situation is beyond dire and Taylor is forced to rely on Brian's firefighter experience to help them survive. The near-death experience forces them to put their past aside and work together to find a way out. I absolutely loved this part of the book. The way the author described everything about the crash, the way they fought for survival, and their subsequent rescue was exhilarating. I loved the way they worked their way through their issues, both past and present, and allowed their feelings to be rekindled.

The second half of the book chronicles Brian's recovery from the injury he sustained during their ordeal. There was a lot of push and pull between Brian and Taylor.... one minute they are feasting on each other with their eyes, the next they are pushing each other away. There were also a lot of side stories having to do with their respective families. I liked how Ms Johnston incorporated Aidan & Leah's story into this book, but I felt a lot of the other issues could have been left out or not taken up so much space .

I haven't read any of the other books in this series, so I missed out on some of the back story. I feel like I might have had a better grasp of the Grayhawk and Flynn family dynamics if I hadn't started with this one, and I would have been able to appreciate more the way the two families resolved their differences.

Overall this was a great read.... I just wish the story had kept up the same level of intensity and emotion throughout the entire book.

Surrender starts with a terrifying accident: Taylor Grayhawk and Brian Flynn go down in a flaming plane crash and what follows is a harrowing story. The story is about the crash, yes, but it is really all about Taylor and Brian as they have a history from long ago. The “history” between them deals with their feuding families and a short dating history from their teenage years. I won’t recap the story; you should read it for yourself. I will tell you that both Taylor and Brian fought their attraction, again, and again, and sometimes it was heartbreaking. Other times, I wanted to shake ‘em up a bit and have them grow spines to stand up to each other and their families. The story of their struggles is truthful and real and that’s what makes the story, at least in my opinion. And their siblings? They make these two look like angels! Great story that kept me reading until I was finished. I freely read and reviewed this book through NetGalley, #Surrender #NetGalley.

This was my first read by this author. I loved the storyline, full of suspense, drama and second chance romance. There were several times I felt like I missed something but if I kept reading, which I did, I found the connection explained. My "What?" moments is the only reason I gave this book only 4 stars. I also discovered this is part of a series of books, which you don't have to read to enjoy this book, but in my opinion you should so that all the side characters actions make more sense. I will be looking to read more from this author from her backlist and from her coming attractions.

I have read Joan Johnston for years. Always enjoy her books and this one was no exception. Seems like most of them are involved in a feud of long standing. LOL - who doesn't enjoy a generation or century old feud. I enjoyed reading about smoke jumping. Glad we have men & women to do this. Not something I would want to do. The teenage love affair revisited was very enjoyable. You don't have to read all her books to enjoy this one, but why wouldn't you.

I love Joan Johnston western stories and I’ve read almost all of her backlist of historical western romance titles, but this is my first outing in reading her contemporary western romance and to make it even harder on me, this is the 11th in her Bitter Creek series. I wish I read at least a few before I hit this one.

That said, I have to say that the characters and the plot are well written and developed, but the fast and furious pace is what makes this read thoroughly enjoyable.

This second chance at romance story is chock full of excitement, intrigue and sensual romance. Just a wonderful story of survival and determination.

Melanie for b2b

Couldn’t wait for this one! Loved it! Surrender is the latest installment of the King’s Brats series it is the story of Taylor and Brian, dealing with a devastating forest fire and their personal obstacles. I loved the cave scenes and the way they supported each other, Joan Johnston is a master storyteller. Can’t wait for the next installment of the King’s Brats series, Sullivan’s Promise

Surrender by Joan Johnston was a great read, it had everything! The Greyhawks and the Finns are known enemies that have neighboring ranches, the two owners have been enemies for years. This caused the 3 Greyhawk girls and the three Finns to take up the war and trick and tease each other, pull pranks and just be ornery-all six of them. This is the story of Taylor Greyhawk and Brian Finn.

After spending a brief time as boyfriend and girlfriend in high school, Taylor stays away from Brian Finn. She has gotten engaged 3 times and broke the engagements all three of them. Brian Finn got married, but has been divorced for a year, when this book takes place.

Brian is a smokejumper firefighter, it is his life. In the last year Taylor has flown a twin otter plane and has dropped smoke jumpers over many forest fires. They both have seen each other for the last year but neither one has made any overtures to talk to each other.

There is a bad fire raging over the mountains and forests and Taylor has to fly a bunch of smokejumpers over the fire and get them low enough to jump. They all make it out except Brian, and he refuses to jump and leave Taylor as both her engines have caught fire from a huge fire gust that hits her plane, and the plane is going to go down. Taylor has no parachute and does not want to risk Brian, she flies over the fire but he will not jump until she jumps with him with him using one parachute-his! As Taylor gets more freaked out, Brian grabs her and jumps out of the plane with her.

What follows is a absolutely grueling time for both of them, and they have so many things happen to them, have to ward off an animal attack and go underground to survive the fire, and they do not believe they will survive. They have hardly any food and water.

They finally make it back home after Brian's brother and Taylor's sister find them with no time to spare! They are both in bad shape, and neither knows if they will ever get back the love they lost.

Read this book and find out what happens, and see if there will be a second chance for love! I gave this book 5*****stars. I loved all the angst, the danger, the never ending plot twists and most of all the love these two characters have for each other.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review. I found this book a riveting and intense story full of suspense and danger. Brian and Taylor knew each other as teenagers, but because of the feud between their families they were unable to remain together. Years later they find themselves in a dangerous situation and though they try to rekindle their romance, past hurt and their miscommunication and stubbornness keep them apart. The family dynamics play a big part in this story and it was interesting to read the side stories. A wonderful second chance romance with a great ending.

Another delightful story from one of my favorite authors.

This is the third book in the King's Brats series. I read the first two and I think number three is just as good as the first two. This is the story of Taylor Grayhawk and Brian Flynn. Taylor is a pilot who drops smoke jumpers into forest fires and Brian is a smoke jumper. Taylor's plane develops trouble just after she completes a drop. The only other person on the plane is Brian. He decides the only way to save themselves is to make a tandem jump. They end up very close to the fire and the only way to get to cover is to seek shelter in a cave. Brian is is injured by a bear just before going into the cave and that injury provides the back drop to the book. They survive the cave, being caught in a severe thunder storm and Brian almost dying because of an infection in his leg. I don't want to say to much to give away the book. Taylor has a sister named Leah and she falls for Brian's brother Aiden. Quite a bit of their story is also told in this book. I love books by Joan Johnston. She makes you feel like you are a part of the story. I am looking forward to the next book.

Fabulous story! Cannot wait for the next installment.