Hunted by Jaycee Clark

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to read this once before and gave up as I wasn't in the right frame of mind but I am glad I gave it another try.  I was drawn in from the very beginning, it's quite a shocking opener.  Although this has a romance tag on it, there isn't really a romance as such, not the typical girl meets boy and falls in love, it's more a case of boy rescues girl, helps her with her recovery and they gradually fall into a great friendship that has the makings of being a great romance.

This is a book about abuse, kidnapping, prostitution and human trafficking.  It's also about one woman's rescue and subsequent recovery from a vicious man who wants to own her outright.  He thinks that if he can break her spirit she will finally succumb to his demands and be his wife.  She suffers from rape, abuse, forced drug use and beatings.  She is also forced to watch another girl being murdered. 

When Morgan is finally rescued by a joint taskforce, she is scared and terrified that Jezek will find her and kill her.  With the help of John she finally gets home but it takes her a long time to get to a point where she isn't constantly looking over her shoulder.  Although she hasn't told her brothers exactly what she has been through, they help her with her recovery too.

When someone on the taskforce turns informant and lets Jezek know where all the girls from his brothels have been whisked away to, he starts to kill them off.  When John finds out what is happening he returns to keep Morgan safe.  

Jezek is slowly picking off the girls that got away but he also has to be very careful as the girl he murdered in front of Morgan was the daughter of an Italian Mob boss.  When the Don finds out what really happened to his daughter he is ruthless in his punishment.

The author has handled a very difficult topic with care and attention, although she hasn't glossed over any of the horrors of what it must be like to be caught up in that lifestyle.

I would definitely recommend this book to any one who likes a good thriller with a romantic undertone.