Halo (Part 1: Episodes 1 to 6)

Cameo has missed out on a lot of her life. Whisked out of the country at birth by her cruel father, the General, she was deprived of her mother, her twin, and her half-Lakota heritage. Now, at the age of thirty-nine, she has recently reunited with her wily mother, escaped her father, and is hoping to make a fresh start in the land of her birth. Just outside of Denver, she meets Rebar, a handsome and instantly smitten ex-Marine engineer who happens to have ties with both Cameo’s father and her twin. In fact, he mistakes her for Camille! Cameo adopts her sister’s codename, Halo, and together with Rebar, she battles the mysterious General, who has been directing Rebar’s troop of eight military operatives to execute his own shrouded agenda. Will Cameo be able to unravel the truth about her lineage and achieve justice for the General’s victims?

This creative military suspense romance comes with fast cars, sexy operatives, and enough intrigue to require a scorecard. The extreme masculinity of all the men Cameo encounters is notable and emphasized by Rebar’s stance on homosexuality. The pacing is drawn out, partly because Cameo’s romantic interludes and shifting alliances interrupt the high stakes action, and partly due to the episode format, which breaks the flow and divides the story into arbitrary portions. It is difficult to invest in characters who are thinly drawn, some of whom have toxic personalities. Readers may be disturbed by trafficking, violence, multiple cheating, and a narrow interpretation of what constitutes PTSD. Cameo’s adventures take many tumultuous twists before Part 1 ends with a soft landing and hopefully with the right guy!

Joan Lai