Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

I have really enjoyed this series. The characters are a group of good guy mercenaries that work for a former child star billionaires. The plots are inventive, the romance hot and the suspense edge of your seat. "Honor Avenged" just didn't have the same feel. The angst was on he high side and the process of getting the hero and heroine together was a lot of work for the reader. I love a good friends to lovers tale, but Danny's ghost just created all kinds of woe for this couple.

Leah Giancarelli has a lot on her plate. She has been a widow for almost a year and life with three children is just plain hard. She blames HORNET for his death and has leaned on Danny's best friend, Marcus, to make it through her grief. Eaten up with lust for Leah and guilt over that, Marcus disappears. When someone tries to Leah and a mysterious stranger gives her a flash drive and tells her to trust no one, she has to find Marcus.

Danny was his best friend, a brother in all ways but by blood. Marcus always knew that Leah was Danny's girl and when Danny dies, Marcus is devastated. Being around Leah and wanting her is tearing him apart, so he disappears.

Leah tracks him down, but a hit team is hot on her trail. Together they have to face both Danny's death and their growing feelings for each other, while staying alive. 3 1/2-Stars

Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 05/23/20

Leah is in very real danger – except she has no idea just how much or just how close it is. Reeling from the death of her husband and a newfound attraction to their best friend, she is just trying to take things a day at a time as a single mom to three. When she ends up abducted and sucked into the life the HORNETs live and breathe daily – a life her husband was going to turn to – a life that got him killed, she is thrust into a world she had no understanding or appreciation for. When the only two choices are live or die, there really isn't any decision to be debated against. With the HORNETs as her incoming rescue, she is less than thrilled. They are who she blames for everything her life has become. In fact, the only thing they have in common from her perspective is their love for Marcus – and now the fact that she is in peril, abducted and whisked away to a strange land, with only Marcus and the HORNETs to save her leaves her begrudgingly accepting their help. But through all of the craziness and scheming is something much deeper than anyone could have ever anticipated and Leah might be the key to unraveling it all and taking down some seriously devious crime bosses in the process. All she has to do is stay alive, figure out a way to trust the HORNETs, and convince Marcus that their attraction is so much more than the betrayal to her husband and his best friend that he stubbornly insists it is. No big deal.

Marcus is hopelessly in love with Leah. He probably has been for as long as he can remember, but since Danny got her, he never allowed those feelings to manifest. With Danny gone and his connection to Leah growing stronger, it’s getting hard to resist her. But each break feels like disloyalty toward his best friend and he doesn’t want to suck Leah into the deception with him. She’s just grieving, not really feeling anything for him anyway. So he does what he does best and runs – far away – even from his team. But he eventually returns at Leah’s request and immediately turns personal protection detail out of necessity. Except this threat ends up being so much bigger than anyone thought and he needs his team desperately if they are to have a chance of survival. It looks like he’s got a lot of decisions to make. Leah’s safety is the priority, but then he’s got to figure out what to do about his position within the team, and then his future with Leah. That is, if she’ll even speak to him again after they make it out of this harrowing experience she’s been an unwilling participant in.

I feel the need to preface this review by saying that I have not read any of the books in the HORNET series. There is very clearly a lot of carryover from the previous books and I feel it would be in the best interest of any reader to enjoy this series in order. Not to say that I did not enjoy this book. I most certainly did. However, I also know that when I eventually get around to reading this series from the beginning, I will definitely have to read this book again just to keep up on where everyone was and what was occurring. The book works as a stand-alone, yes. But after reading it, I can say with certainty that I know it would have been even better having come into the story with all of the back knowledge in place. As it is, I am left with a lot of questions. Intrigued as well.

While this book is about an elite security team that puts their lives on the line to do the ugly jobs no one wants to think about, it is also a story about overcoming loss and learning to move on. Leah goes through several emotions during this nerve-wracking experience, but when she finally emerges on the other side of all the bad, she has a newfound understanding of life. Not only to appreciate everything you have and not take anything for granted but also new respect for the things the HORNET team does and the people they come into contact with. This enlightenment even transfers into a new direction for Leah’s life that goes beyond just her and Marcus – a direction that could very well place her on HORNETs radar again in the future. I’m just saying. For Marcus things are quite a lot different. He already knows what he wants and is fulfilled with his chosen career path. What he has to realize and learn to embrace is that he is not stealing Danny’s life away from him. He is stepping into a place where there is an absence felt on a molecular level that only he can fulfill. And there couldn’t be a better person for that role. At one point I wanted to knock him upside his head, but the depth of emotions that he went through was gut-wrenching. While I experienced aggravation at the guilt and alienation Marcus wallows in and thrusts at Leah, it was also relevant and appropriate to the situation. Ultimately, I actually ended up enjoying the strife. They didn’t just fall into bed and try to play house, which made me connect to both of them on a deeper level. I also adored Marcus’s freaky great encyclopedia in his head of movie quotes. What a fun and unexpected quirk of this rough and fearsome special ops soldier.

As far as the characters…dang, there were a lot of them! Marcus’s mother stole the show for sure. She is a bad-ass in her own right and has some crazy capable skill. If ever I was in trouble, I’d for sure want that woman at my back. Alexander Cabot – let’s just say he’s been through some shit and what’s coming next is going to have one hell of an effect on HORNET. Then there is Mercedes who we have ascertained is Alexander’s sister. Also that she has some crazy sparks with Ian. She’s the enemy but seems to have turned informant when it suits her. Even begrudging teammate at times. But make no mistake – she is still on the wrong side. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a book in the future for Mercedes and Ian with Mercedes defecting to the HORNET team. She reminds me of Navabi from The Blacklist. When I picture her, that is who I see – so much about those two characters are eerily similar. Then there is Ian. Good grief that guy! He will probably end up with the best book of them all. He’s a puzzle – he’s definitely a mystery and has secrets he’s guarding. Those secrets seem to have something to do with Defion. Since this is my first book, I did not get a clear picture of Defion or how they impacted the team members, but it is definitely some shady, nasty company that no one walks away from. Ian, Alexander, and Mercedes have ties to them and there doesn’t seem to be any love lost between any of them and the evil business. But back to Ian … while there are parts of him difficult to assimilate, he isn’t all that difficult when you break it down. He prefers to be alone and refuses to acknowledge that he needs this team just as much as they need him. He doesn’t do friends, or feelings. He acts like it’s some big inconvenience to be a part of the team. But he is quick to react whenever necessary and despite his tendencies toward violence, his teammates are always at his sixes, keeping him in check. It frustrates the hell out of him, but I believe he secretly craves the connection. For all outward appearances, the guy is only comfortable with his four-legged partner, Tank. And that may be true on some level, but he also needs the link to humanity his team provides. His attraction to Mercedes is going to be a sticky situation and I look forward to reading how it all eventually plays out. I’m clearly just a bit enamored of this fascinating character. Believe me when I say these are just a few of the massive cast of characters assembling to create this fantastic world.

If I had a regret, it is whole-heartedly that I did not start this series at the beginning. With so much obviously carrying over from one book to the next, I strongly recommend reading in order. Now, I did make my way through this book with little difficulty, but assimilating so much information with no back knowledge from the previous books was daunting at times. I did make my way through everything, but there were a few areas I re-read just to try to keep the people and events straight. So please heed my advice … READ IN ORDER … if the other books are half as good as this book, then it will be time well invested. Ms. Burrows has created a fantastic group of men and women within this amazing operative team that each have their own strengths and weaknesses. When melded together as a cohesive unit, they are pretty much unstoppable. I loved that each member was so unique, yet vital to the success of the missions. The depth of emotion experienced throughout this book was unexpected but welcomed. I can tell there is a ton gearing up for the subsequent books in the series and I am excited to see where Ms. Burrows takes these talented, feisty members. Ms. Burrows and the HORNET team series is firmly in my top 5 special ops book series as of, well, immediately. Now to find the time to read the whole series … I will endeavor to make it happen.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/Entangled in exchange for an honest review.

This book is fairly clean for a military romance.  It's actually more adventure than porn and that's the way I like them.  There is some graphic scenes of torture and death.  There are some scenes with the less fortunate people that have to live through hell just to get through a day.  There is swearing but there is also a good ending.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book.  I felt deeply for the couple in this book.  They had a pretty hard time of it, but when a husband and friend dies unexpectedly, you will have a more than tough time.

Marcus was supposed to watch over Leah and the kids for his best friend Danny.  Supposed to.  He couldn't stand up to his grief and work through it in order to be a help to anyone.  He was a sad state of affairs, running from every feeling he had and hiding them from himself.  Leah was alone and fighting to stay afloat.  Fighting and
fighting to stay afloat, because that's what moms do.

The adventure in this book was pretty spectacular.  The premise was a secret investigation that Danny was handling and the wrong people had control over the situation and killed him.  The bad guys were really, really bad guys and decided to come after Leah because she *might* know something.  Leah doesn't know who to trust and those that she's supposed to be able to trust, can she?  It was a good story.

This was a fast pace and suspenseful read. Leah lost her husband in a Hornet mission. Marcus was her husband's best friend. Marcus feels immense guilt over his feelings for Leah, but she's now in danger and he can no longer avoid her. I loved this book and can't wait for the next in the series!

To say I loved this book is putting it mildly. This story is SO good. You won't be able to put it down. Marcus and Leah's story is so amazing. So many emotional aspects to this story: heartbreak, sorrow, grief, anger, friendship, love. I guarantee you will love it. Just when I think I have found my favorite HORNET story, a new one comes out and it is another fantastic addition to the series. If you like romantic suspense, you won't want to miss this series. You will not be disappointed.

This is my first book by the author and clearly I've jumped deep into a series that might almost be ready to end if I read it right. I like action, adventure and the story is definitely a thrill ride with the bad guys showing up at every turn.
While I understand that every story needs a starting point what I don't understand is why Leah becomes a focus a year after her husband's death. Then there's the trope of the husband's best friend who's been like a brother to them now steps into the vacant spot on the widow's arm. Marcus is a tortured soul and after a while that can become old.
The pros are of course are a well paced story where the action keeps coming and keeps the reader turning pages until the very exciting finish. I absolutely cannot wait to read the story of Alexander Cabot and how his next interaction with the Hornet team turns out under the guidance of his nemesis.

A Spectacular Suspense . I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy through Netgalley of Honor Avenged . Wow ! This is story is such a pulse pounding intense story .
Marcus DeAngelo's world turned upside down his best friend was killed by a sniper and he will do whatever it takes to get answers to who did it and why . Marcus is really on a downhill spiral and he's out of control . His team and his best friends widow Leah and children need him but he feels so much guilt over his death and also the heated kiss he shared with Leah the night of the funeral he runs and hides . He avoids everyone and their calls .
Leah has been trying to cope with her grief and her children's . When men try to shoot her and another gives her a drive and helps her get away tells her trust no one in uniform go to Marcus and Hornet . After the men come after her again Marcus's mother sends her after Marcus for help . Danger soon follows and they must solve why and whom is behind everything with Hornets help . Marcus and Leah's chemistry cannot be ignore as danger escalates . This story is a definite nail biter . I loved reading it . I highly recommend taking the time to read .

Hopefully you've read the rest of the books in the series and if you haven't go back right now and start them. I know the description says that these can be stand-alone but honestly these stories are so interlinked and they clearly build on each other.

Holy wow, this is a non stop globe trotting action packed and at times disturbing story, be prepared. Leah Giancarelli is trying to balance her new normal of single mom of her three children. Life after the murder of her husband has been difficult. When trouble comes her way and her life is threatened she reaches out to the one man she never expected to, Marcus.
HORNET had been his family, but after the death of his best friend he can't find solace in anything other than a bottle. Walking away may be the only way he can save himself. Marcus only has one goal, find the one responsible for the hit and make them pay. When Leah ends up on the beach in the middle of Indonesia his ghosts have come for their due and all hells about to break loose.

Not having read the earlier books in this series put me at a disadvantage with a Honor Avenged. While it’s billed as a stand-alone within a series, there was too many characters and backstory issues in the first 40% of the book for me to sift through. I was more distracted by Ian and what was going on in his mind to be interested in the Leah/Marcus plot.
Which is a shame, because I did find the story intriguing and the characters interesting. But by the time the action started for me, their possible love connection was just getting in the way. I like the writing, I enjoyed the team’s connection to each other, but the romance left me bored. While I was unaware I was reading a series book, I’ll stick to my own rule of reading books in order from now on.

Talk about action packed and emotionally gripping! I loved this story for Marcus and Leah! My heart went out for all they went through after Danny was killed. But the way they took care of each other was hopeful. Leah, despite being scared out of her mind, proved how strong and courageous she really was. She would not give up and fought with all she had. Marcus was a great man, who in the beginning, was so lost and could not handle his grief. His pain resonated through the pages. I was so glad he felt the need to heal and start living again. His mom, Regina, oh how I loved her. She is feisty, take no crap, hard core protector, such an awesome character. As with the other HORNET books, the teamwork and camaraderie between the team and their significant others plays a huge part in why I loved this book so much. The action, the twists, the intensity of the situations is just impressive. I really look forward to the book for Ian. I am so much more intrigued with him in each book.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through Netgalley.

Hello, I’m NICUnurse Stephanie and I’m a romantic suspense book junkie…and darn proud of it! Tonya Burrows is a new-to-me author, but I’m always up for new adventures with new friends, and if you add hot, tortured heroes with guns, I’m definitely all in.

Honor Avenged can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read any of the other books in this author’s HORNET series, and while there were times that I was more than curious about the minor characters’ stories, but there was no point in the story where I felt lost. I’m also a series junkie, so at some point, I’d love to dive into the first 5 books in this series. But my TBR list is long and daunting so it could take me a while.

NICUnurse’s Rating: The first couple of chapters felt like they drug just a little. But this really could just be me. This pandemic and sheltering in place stuff has had me in a strange headspace, and I’ve had a harder time falling into stories than I normally would. So that’s not just a line I’m using so it doesn’t seem like I’m trying not to offend authors. It’s truly been a thing. But, I digress (See! I’ve also been easily distracted!). Once I finally was able to be fully engrossed in the book, I had to make myself slow down my reading because I wanted to know how this was all going to play out so bad, and before I knew it, the clock read somewhere around 2 am. (This has become a bad habit for me.) Needless to say, I finished it pretty quickly. It was totally entertaining and the suspense was on point. I’ll be looking for more books from this author in the future.

I give Honor Avenged by Tonya Burrows a solid 4 out of 5 stars!

Really enjoyed this book! I need to go and read the first five in the series now.
I have read the first in the spinoff series (HORNET: Class Alpha) and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was mention and appearances by many of the HORNET crew in that book so I didn't feel lost reading book 5 in this series.

This story will pull at your heartstrings. A widow and the dead husbands best friend. The guilt one feels over his death. The struggle of finding ways to move on after the death of a beloved husband. Add in an FBI informant, mercenaries trying to kill you, a mercenary you don't know whether to trust, kidnapping, a crazy doctor, a mysterious villain and more and you have one fantastic suspense! There's also a romance brewing where one tries to deny their feelings, a hot shower scene and finally some for two deserving people.
The story will have you turning the pages, wondering WHO, laughing and possibly crying....have tissues ready for the epilogue. *sigh* So good.

I'm looking forward to when I have enough free time to devour the previous books in this series.

Honor Avenged is book six in the HORNETS Series Tonya Burrows. It is a romantic suspense that has characters carrying around a tremendous amount of emotional baggage in addition to the danger that comes their way. The characters are realistic in that tough men like Marcus would seem likely to hide their emotions then think that they are dealing with them through alcohol and isolation. I can’t imagine a suddenly single mother who wouldn’t fill like falling apart but would need to hold it together for her children’s sake. Leah is a great character as she works through her unexpected tragic life changes. Even the children’s response to their father’s death seems realistically heartbreaking. More so then usual in the series the intense feelings are as strong as the suspense.

Also it is a story of suspense with a twist as the story evolves. Just when the characters think that they know exactly who the bad guys are something new happens keeping them on their toes as well as me turning pages to see how it all fits together.

The love story also has elements of loneliness, loss, having to remake your future, guilt and regret. Even more the characters learn the art of surviving a tragic loss, discovering a hopeful future, finding love and forgiveness.

The HORNET crew make appearances when the team needs to work together but it stands well as a stand-alone.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an unexpected surprise for me. I’ve been trying a lot of new authors and genres and this was my first special operations romance and I loved the mix of angst, steam, and action. It was interesting, never boring, and had a mix of great characters.

Blurb: Leah is a newly single mom who is forced to go on the run when a group of mysterious shooters try to kill her. Leah is pretty sure the sharp shooters are after intel from her late husband.

Leah wants nothing to do with HORNET, the group she blames for her husband’s death, but she is forced to lean on someone. Leah uses HORNET for protection and ends up resurrecting old emotions with Marcus, her husband’s childhood best friend.

The two try to navigate their feelings of loss and guilt, while continually trying to outrun the bad guys.

Although the writing is action packed and the characters are well developed, I had a hard time becoming completely invested in this story. I’m not a big fan of third person and I’m the type of girl who likes more romance and less action.

Almost every chapter is filled with shootouts, secret operation plans, and death. This book is the perfect fit for someone who loves spy movies. A well written book, just not my cup of tea.

We waited a fair bit of time for this story and boy was it worth the wait! Tonya once again pulls us into the world of Hornet with an action packed love story. The angst these two have over solving the crime and being together is an exciting journey.. Another win by one of my favorites!

After the death of Danny, his best friend and his teammate, Marcus is struggling and his only driving force is exposing who was behind it and ensure that they pay the consequences. The guilt and regret that he feels not only about Danny’s death but the feelings he is developing for his widow Leah have him distancing himself from everyone until Leah finds herself in danger in well.

After the death of her husband Leah is focusing on ensuring that her children get the financial and emotional stability that they need. When they find themselves in danger due to husband’s past there is nothing she won’t do to keep them safe even if that means asking Marcus for help.

This story takes us on an action packed adventure filled with intrigue, twists and romance as Leah and Marcus find a way to heal from the past together.

At long last we get Marcus Deangelo's story in this high action, romantic suspense, paramilitary series. I really enjoy this series with it's brotherhood of team members and their adventures into finding love. It is a close fellowship that were concerned when their teammate Marcus went off the rails and disappeared when his buddy Danny died in a training op. This series is addicting!

Marcus Deangelo is just plain lost when his life long best buddy dies on a HORNETs training mission. He just wants revenge and will do anything to achieve that end, even cross the line. The story starts when he's tracked down Mercedes Raya, girlfriend of the hitman, and he's desperately trying to break her to find the guy who shot Danny. He gets enough out of her when his team finally catches up with him. During the story we find out Mercedes is-was part of Defion, the rival PMC - Private Military Contractor. Mercedes is trying to locate her brother Alexander Cabot who was Danny's CI - confidential informant. When Xander saves Leah Gancarelli, Danny's widow, he gives her a jump drive that sets the story into action.

Leah Gancarelli is just trying to cope after being widowed with three children. She, Danny and Marcus were friends from childhood, and she knows the world Marcus introduced Danny to is the cause of his death. While showing a house, she's trying to sell, she's thrown into Danny's world. Now that she and her children are threatened she seeks Marcus to protect her. The story grows and gets huge from that point on. Leah doesn't want to be drawn into HORNETs world that she blames for Danny's death. Marcus is riddled with guilt and grief he's barely functioning. His life has taught him to run from emotions and stress. The team will do everything to save them. I love this series!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounding up...

Getting back into Tonya Burrows’s HORNET—a private military group made up of disastrous misfits—series is always a treat.

‘Honor Avenged’ shows how far these men have come as a team as an emergent threat looks to carry the team’s missions into a potential abyss. But the answer is still this: the team is still very rocky in places and they haven’t quite gelled together like a boy band’s high-pitched and sweet synchronised tones. Yet this is also Marcus Deangelo’s story and one tackles the hint of the forbidden as he and his dead best friend’s widow Leah Giancarelli suddenly fight an attraction that had supposedly never been there before, more so because both are ridden by guilt and grief even as they find themselves entangled in bad black-market organ-trading business.

As a standalone however, ‘Honor Avenged’ did pose some issues: there was a clear narrative arc that has continued over the past few books and will continue at least to Ian’s story, and as an RS read, it’s primarily (and perhaps rightly so?) action-driven. There’s a spine-tingling and riveting story to tell, some twists and turns, a bigger plot to uncover and more loose ends to tie up after all, with some pockets of snarky team interaction that I really liked.

This did however, mean that Marcus’s and Leah’s time together felt compromised at times. Their emotions and vulnerabilities roiled in their own heads rather than get talked out; these were explored a little but as much as I’d expected as Burrows juggles action with angst and the complicated feelings of emotional betrayal. The repetition of Marcus running away both emotionally and physically, leaving Leah somewhat adrift soon becomes a familiar but tedious thread that simply made me wonder if he had enough balls to be a man about it, then the confession that he’d always loved her seemed to diminish the new thing they were building and felt like a flimsy excuse for going through scores of women while she was married to his best friend.

Still, ‘Honor Avenged’ is quite a shining one in this series as you get the feeling things are hurtling towards a train wreck of a conclusion—my own reservations and nit-picking aside—and it’s well-written and enough to spend a few hours going through that ride.

Well, OH MY GOD! Burrows has really done it this time. She's been steadily getting better and better and the HORNET series just keeps twisting and turning and shining. Honor Avenged picks up well after Reckless Honor and it has just a taste of Fragmented Loyalty, the first book in her spin-off series.

I admit, I was pretty peeved at Marcus at the end of Reckless Honor but that stopped very quickly because Marcus is a mess, not just a little bit of a mess, but an all the way, needs an intervention, hot mess. And the more hurt a guy is, especially a big tough guy like Marcus, the more I fall for him. Yeah, Marcus was all over the place emotionally, and for good reason. His best friend is dead and it's all his fault. His widow and kids need support but Marcus just can't do it. Watching him fall apart was heartwrenching.

Leah is barely getting through her days. With Danny dead, she has to take care of their kids, keep them afloat financially, and somehow make it all work. Without support from Marcus and with minimal support from others, it's a tough slog. But no way is she taking help from HORNET. They are the ones who caused all this heartache and pain. She'll find a way to make it work.

But a surprise visit from an informant and some gunshots later, all bets are off. Leah needs help and answers. And she gets help from, of all people, Marcus's mother. But after that, it's not a roller coaster, it's worse! Anything more would be a spoiler, frankly, so here is my best with no spoilers.

It will gut you, rip your heart out, horrify you, and leave you bleeding out on the floor wanting to cry. It will take strong men and women and turn them inside out, destroy you and remake you, offer love and hope, and then start all over again. If you have been reading this series, this book take it all up a notch or a hundred. If you haven't been reading this series, read it just to read this book.

This is an ugly book in some ways; exposing truths we may not want to see. It is a painful book, not just in dealing with Marcus and Leah, but watching others we've come to care for have their worlds ripped apart too. But it also offers hope in the small, kind things, and redemption in the big picture.

But for me, mostly, it means I am equal parts eager and terrified to read the next book. The finale is going to explode!

Honor Avenged is the sixth book in Tonya Burrows’ Hornet Series. This book was awesome. It checked off all my boxes. Law enforcement suspense ✅. Fantastic storyline✅. Great, well developed characters✅. Action-packed✅.

Widow Leah Giancarelli is just trying to figure things while adjusting to her new as a single mother. Marcus, her late husband’s best friend, has been there for her since the beginning but when the two share an explosive and impulsive kiss, Marcus’ guilt forces him leave Leah and Hornet behind. But Leah’s husband’s death was just the start and now someone will do anything to figure what she knows. Will Marcus be able to put his guilt aside and save Leah? Will his love for her save the day? Read it and find out!

All the books in Tonya Burrows’ Hornet 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. I can’t wait for the next book!

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