Title: Finding His Feet
Author: Sandra Bard
Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Length: Novel (306pgs)
ISBN: 978-1-63477-338-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (18th July 2016)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ – 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Kaden Pace, a soldier injured while on a mission, hides the extent of his damage by wearing his high-tech armor, desperate to prove his worth to his administrators and make himself useful in order to hold on to his independence. But during a simple assignment to escort two cadets across the country to retrieve the armor of a dead warrior, things start to fall apart.
They meet Shun, a young man with a secret, who steals the armor they were supposed to recover. Chasing Shun brings them to an abandoned town, where they encounter even more trouble. Stranded in the deserted city, Kaden finds himself relying more and more on Shun, the person he’d come to capture, while fighting off an invasion from the neighboring country.
But even when he returns to camp, Kaden’s problems are not over. Now he has to find a way to save Shun, whom he’s growing to care for, and keep his team alive as they make one last-ditch attempt to get back the armor Shun stole. Armor that is now in enemy hands, on an island in the middle of the sea, at Ground Zero where it all began.
Purchase Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/finding-his-feet-by-sandra-bard-7271-b
Review: Kaden was orphaned by war, joining the army was for the security of three meals a day, as rumors fly that the Army was going to send anyone who was not ready to join the armored unit back to the orphanages for another three years has Kaden trying out for the armored unit. Injured while on a mission Kaden is now desperate to prove that he is still an asset before anyone realizes the extent of his injuries. Sent on a simple mission to oversee two cadets (Wayland and Bradley) retrieving the armor of a dead warrior, things begin to go wrong.
Shun has one mission in mind, destroy the armor of the man who hurt his mother. Meeting up with three armored warriors gives Shun the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge… but things go drastically wrong when he confides in a friend.
Kaden is a fantastic character; he has a strength of will that just jumps off the page. Shun is a little harder to get a grip on as a character as the story is from Kaden’s perspective, but he seems to be a great man who is a little naïve and a little too trusting with those he calls friends.
Their relationship gets off to a rocky start… what with Shun nicking the armor that Kaden was trying to retrieve! But they quickly start to semi trust each other when they have to work together to get it back from the man who stole all the armor units when Shun is betrayed. Their trust builds quickly though and their physical reaction to each other helps a lot with that, and their relationship does move quickly although it isn’t an easy one.
Wayland and Bradley (the cadets) also play a large part in this story; they have their own problems with each other due to sibling rivalry, both girls trying to prove themselves so it’s gets a little sticky at times as their resentment spills over.
The storyline is amazing, we have fantastic armor that is so much more than any of them realize, then we have the danger that seems to lurk everywhere, there’s loads of action as they try to get the armor back and then we also have a huge great doozy of a surprise that just comes out of nowhere and leaves you gobsmacked as the ramifications hit you.
This is a well-crafted story that shows us the strengths of the characters as well as their weaknesses, it shows a love that begins to blossom in really hard times, it throws you into settings that come alive around you and it reveals treachery from unexpected quarters.
I recommend this story to those who love science fiction that is laced with mystery and suspense, who adore characters who will overcome any obstacles to prove their worth, who love difficult love stories, and an ending that is just the beginning.