Smoke Signals

**An ARC was provided by the author for an honest review** Smoke Signals is the second book in the Tulsa Thunderbirds series and it is a raw and gritty tale that is also full of tenderness, understanding and hope. What happens when you go to Vegas for your best friends wedding? You get married, right?! Well, in the case of Ray "Razor" Chambers, that's exactly what happens! Razor encounters a woman that he realizes is in way over her head and part of what he notices is a woman who needs help and compassion. Can he step in and give this woman the stability she needs? Saying that Viktoriya Dubrovskaya has had a rough life is putting it mildly. Her father pushed her to leave her native Russia years ago for her own safety, but things have not gone as she had planned. She's been dealt a hand that forced her to use her body just to make ends meet and that has pushed her into pure survival mode. When she sets her sights on Razor in the casino in Vegas, she doesn't realize that this chance encounter is going to change her life in ways she could have never imagined. After Razor marries Tori to help with her visa issues, he realizes that the scars she bears are deeper than he could have imagined. Can he break through the suit of armor she has armed herself with and can Tori let her past go in order to move forward? I am so glad we were treated to Razor's story. I'm really not sure I could love Razor more than I do after finishing this book. We knew him as Babs' best friend, but he was so much more and this book was fantastic. Catherine Gayle is known for tackling issues in her books and this one is no different. There are serious issues dealt with in this book including trafficking, pornography and abuse, but they are handled with care and I applaud Catherine for continuing to focus on real-life issues.

A person never knows how much they can endure until they are not given a choice. Will it be faced with strength and integrity? Will it cause a breakdown that is hard to recover from? Smoke Signals is a story of courage, hope and kindness. Viktoriya is at her lowest when she meets Ray. This girl is in a foreign country with no way to take care of herself. I cried because she truly was alone and didn't have anyone she could on but herself. A good person with no options, she is willing to degrade herself and is on the verge of giving up on her dream. Ray proves to be her guardian angel. Despair begets a safe haven for these two troubled people. Haunted by a past he can't change, he will do whatever he can to protect Viktoriya from enduring what he faced in his youth. When all is said and done Catherine Gayle's powerful novel shows that one good deed, one big heart can make a difference. An act of kindness has the power to heal. I received an ARC of Smoke Signals in exchange for an honest review. Have the hankies close by.

Oh goodness this book pulled at my heartstrings. The relationships in this book have been my all time favorites. There are so many good ones...Razor and Tori, Tori and Tallie, or Razor and his Momma. They were great,and all very different. This books has several tough subject matters and the way Catherine describes them is very real. It was very easy to get caught up in this book, whatever emotions the characters were going through I was right there beside them. I received this ARC, for an honest review.