Forever Strong was the first book I’ve read in the True Heroes series but I will definitely be catching up and reading the others soon!

When the book begins, Ying Yue has just been rescued. She was kidnapped in Malaysia and found by the Search and Protect team in Hawaii. After the police are finished questioning her about her kidnappers, Zu Anyanwu is taking her to the hotel where her father is staying to drop her off. However when they get there - she recognizes one of her kidnappers in her father’s security team. Zu and his dog partner Buck along with the rest of the Search and Protect team are working with Ying Yue to understand what is really going on and keep her safe.

There are a lot of things I really loved in this book - both of the main characters, the great scenes of seeing the working dogs on the team, the side characters I can’t wait to learn more about from their own books - but I don’t think I have ever lusted so hard over a setting.

As I read this - it’s January in NY/NJ - the part of winter when it just feels constantly cold and gray and blah. But you know where I just was through the power of this book? In Hawaii. More specifically in Zu’s amazing home - with walls that open to ocean views, a built in hot tub, amazing showers, an inner courtyard because the house was built around an old tree. Sigh. Everything about this house is so dreamy. Please can I just live there now?

Also - I really really really hope Pua will get a book. I love her so much and felt she totally stole the scene in every scene she was in.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the advance reading copies.

4.5 Stars




Ying Yue is a woman I would want as my friend. Kind, honest, willing and able. She will go above and beyond for those she cares for and will not just take an answer at face value. Ying Yue is not afraid to ask questions. Wisdom and strength are come in layers for this beautiful woman. For a woman who has been through one of the most terrifying things you could possibly imagine, she knows when to keep her witts and knows when it’s safe to break down.




Zu Anyanwu is a man of few words and a lot of purpose. Owner and founder of Search and Protect, Zu takes pride in his job and his ability to focus. Along with his canine partner, Buck, they put their lives on the line for the safety of others. Zu is a bit of a mystery man, purposefully to keep his head in the game at all times.




Piper J. Drake starts Forever Strong with a blaze of action that continues until the very last pages. Ying Yue and Zu make on fine pair. From the moment of meeting, in the most terrifying of times, a connection sparked and became something deeper in a blink of an eye. Trust was gained and gave out of fear and need, that need became a beautiful bond formed with life shattering chaos coming from all sides. Zu and Ying Yue’s  passion is tender, deep and intimate giving a softness to the harsh reality around them. Ms. Drake flawlessly combined a fast paced, high action, dangerous tale with amazing characters and a tender romance leaving this reader completely satisfied.

The story starts off bam right from the beginning and readers are running along side the two leads as they are and figure out why someone is trying to Kidnap Jiang Ying Yue once again. Why they are working on her father security team.
The lead characters are strong and able to take care of each other. The romance follows in a flow that works with the book as well as a normal flow that readers come to when reading Romantic suspense novels.
The characters act as readers would expect. Piper J. Drake is known for her action pack romance stories with the help of a K9 animal. Sometimes the dog take background and lack a character development other times they are one of the principle characters. Every book is different enough and reader will enjoy this stand alone book in a series.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of the book.

A strong hero finds love with his match, this was a action packed thriller of a romance book. Highly recommend!!!

I've really enjoyed getting to know the men, women, and canines of Search and Protect in the previous books. They're all a little different, but they're a solid team who can get things done to facilitate the best outcome for everyone involved. To be honest, Zu's been a bit of a mystery up to this point. He's extremely dedicated, magnificently competent when it comes to planning ops and keeping his people safe, and he's kept himself somewhat apart from the others overall. Not in a bad way, mind you, just in a focused sort of way.

Rescuing Ying Yue and having her challenge him (again, not in a bad way) with her intelligence and understanding, reveals another facet of the man who leads the team. He might make a misstep or two along the way, but he comes to realize that she's the one for him and he can either choose to step up and see if things will work between them or potentially lose the best thing that's ever happened to him.

As for Ying Yue, for all she's been through a terrible ordeal and she has to figure out how to get her life back on track, she knows her mind and what she wants. And she wants Zu. The biggest obstacle between them is his nobility and ingrained need to hold himself to a high standard. Which, frankly, isn't a bad thing. A guy who sticks to his guns and is willing to make sacrifices is a good guy to have on your side.

A little danger, a lot of plotting and planning, and some steam between the sheets. Getting to see familiar faces is always fun and watching two highly motivated, intelligent people fall for one another makes for an entertaining read.

Hot guys, smart dogs, Hawaii, danger this book has it all and more. I love that I learn so much from a Piper J. Drake book and this one is no different. This story took me to places and situations I’ve never been and honestly wouldn’t want to go to most of them. I really liked Jiang Ying Yue our heroine. She is smart and driven and stood up for herself but not to the detriment of her own safety. Our hero Zu is smart and driven but also was a bit of a jerk at the start, he made up for it later.
I really enjoy this series and this is a fabulous addition.

This was the first book I’ve read in this series but I had no trouble following along. The books opens with Ying Yue, a nonprofit consultant, recovering from being kidnapped and rescued by Zu, the leader of a security firm. They spend most of the book evading and fighting her kidnappers. I loved the Hawaiian setting and the warm chosen family that made up the security group. The story was engaging without being to stressful. Zu managed to be protective without becoming an alphahole, but Ying Yue’s strength in the face of first living in her wealthy father’s shadow, and then holding her own with an opinionated group of experts really endeared her to me.

The plot took some implausible turns and was occasionally weighed down with too many characters and lots of action detail, especially in the final climax. I got bored and skimmed that part. Also, Zu’s ethnicity is self-described as simply “African” which was extremely annoying, and lazy.

But, DOGGIES! I loved the descriptions of trained search dogs who only bark on command: what would that be like?

Forever Strong is the sixth book in Piper J. Drake’s True Heroes series. This is a high-stakes, action-packed romantic suspense novel with a fantastic storyline, and great, well developed characters.

When kidnap victim, Jiang Ying Yue is rescued by Search and Rescue’s owner Zu Anyanwu and his canine partner Buck, she thought her ordeal was over. But when more attempts are made to abduct her, Zu discovers a traitor in her father’s organization. Together they work to keep her safe, despite the instant chemistry and intense emotions they spark in each other. But with danger closing in, Zu has to learn to keep his emotions in check if he’s to protect the woman he’s come to love.

Drake is a phenomenal writer, who’s story telling ability keeps you hanging as you go page by page. This is a fantastic series. I love that the characters and storylines from the previous books in this series are continued throughout each book. All the books in Piper J. Drake’s True Hero series contain a happily ever after and can be read as a standalone, however, reading it in order will give you a better appreciation for the characters and the series itself.

This is a voluntary review for Netgalley of an advanced readers copy.

I think my favorite part of this one was Ying Yue. She was so strong, questioned everything, including Zu, found so much to love about the crazy Search and Rescue crew and manged to stay strong when she was bait and bad things happened to her. She just kept rolling with the punches time and time again and every time I thought good for you! I also loved that she had no compunction about letting Zu know she was interested in him and had no regrets after things got physical between them. Zu really didn't know what hit him and honestly didn't have a chance of not falling for her.

My second favorite part of this book was Pua. She was so kick ass as a side-kick. I loved how she anticipated what Zu would want, how she calmed Ying Yue when she first showed up, but most important how she kept a calm head when the bad guys came at her. I loved how in the aftermath everyone was so surprised at what she accomplished while in her "time out".

Loved this book! As an animal lover, I enjoy a book that includes an animal as part of the story line. Forever Strong has everything I look for in a book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Loved this book! Actually, I love the whole Search and Protect series. In this novel, we finally learn more about Zu, including his backstory and why he formed the Search and Protect agency. He is an interesting character and I loved seeing him going toe to toe with Jiang Ying as they struggle with their attraction to each other while also dodging bad guys who want to kidnap Jiang Ying.

This is fast paced romantic suspense at its best. The characters are well developed, interesting, and entertaining to read about. I found myself invested in their story and wanting them to get a HEA ending.

Put this one at the top of your TBR list as its' a must read for fans of the genre. The author is on my must read authors' list.