The Rumble and the Glory
(standalone)
Publication Date: June 27, 2024
Genre/Tropes: Military/Second Chance/Small Town/Cult-like Romance
Author: J.A. Huss
Review Rating: 4.5 Gold Stars
Review/Synopsis:
Review:
Soooo many twists I honestly had no idea how the plot was going to turn.
The beginning part of the story truly caught me and reeled me in and then I was held within the second chance storyline of Collin Creed and his old high school sweetheart, Lowyn. I loved how they reconnected over retro decor and his missing decade from Disciple, West Virginia all while there was a strange undertone swirling around them. The entire town seems in on a production while Collin and Lowyn are the main actors, but acting without a script. This is the best way to describe what transpires while these two lovebirds find each other again.
Honestly, at first I was so focused on the re-budding of Collin and Lowyn’s relationship, that the mystery of what else was happening around kept slipping my attention, and yet, I knew what was happening as it was all quite unique. How…I know that Huss doesn’t write fluff for the sake of filling pages. So….while some of the fluff may seem like fluff, I knew to pay attention…Huss is a master of hiding pertinent information in plain sight. 😉 So now you’ve been warned, pay attention.
Now, I’m not going to say that somewhere along the line that Collin lost some of his hero mojo, but he did revive himself, just in time for a fantastic finish. That’s also not to say I wasn’t left with a lot of questions as not everything was neatly tied up by the end of this book, but Huss has promised more stories from this small town. I’m hoping answers are forthcoming within those pages, but until then I’m giving 4.5 stars for this book.
Synopsis:
Collin Creed is a killer. But he’s Lowyn’s killer. And after a twelve-year separation, she wants him back.
Deep in the hills of West Virginia, three small towns have found a way to flourish in the face of extreme poverty. Disciple runs a side-show tent revival that brings in millions of dollars a year. Bishop flaunts traditional ways in the vein of Colonial Williamsburg, luring weary city people to the slow-living lifestyle. And Revenant offers them an experience of sin filled with tattooed bikers and live-music dive bars.
It’s a sacred trinity that worships the almighty dollar and everyone plays their role like a well-trained Broadway actor.
But these hills have secrets, and so do the people.
Twelve years ago, when he was just eighteen and dreaming of a future with his high school sweetheart, Collin Creed learned something about himself. Something so disturbing he left Disciple to join the Marines and didn’t once look back. But all that came to a screeching halt with the congressional hearings, forcing Collin to return home and rebuild his black-ops empire brick by brick.
Lowyn McBride’s heart broke when Collin shut her out and left town without an explanation just as they were getting ready to start their adult lives together. The death of her mother the following year was a make-or-break moment and Lowyn rose to the occasion, giving up her university education to parent her younger sister while building an empire of her own as a specialty antiques dealer.
Anger and desire, guilt and shame—the return of the enigmatic Collin Creed ignites the town and sparks an explosion of emotions inside Lowyn. But he’s not the only one with a secret in his past. Lowyn has always played the good girl to Collin’s bad-boy reputation. But it turns out—she’s just like everyone else up in these hills—not as wholesome and pure as she looks.
The Rumble and the Glory is a cinematic and spicy small-town secret, second-chance romance wrapped up in a cloak of mystery and suspense. It honors the themes of found family, redemptive anti-hero, and is filled with bigger-than-life, morally-grey characters against a backdrop of deceit and deception.
TROPES:
Small Town Secrets
Touch Her and Die
He Falls First
Enemies to Lovers
Morally Grey
Found Family
Second Chance
Childhood Sweethearts
Anti-Hero
Find more of my reviews on Amazon under Kayreader
on Goodreads under Kay Daniels Romance
At Bookbub under Kayreader
or you can follow me on Facebook at Kay Daniels Romance
NEW RELEASE 
Kay Daniels Romance 