Reviewed by Jenna
TITLE: Yakuza Courage
SERIES: The Way of the Yakuza #2
AUTHOR: H.J. Brues
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 336 Pages
BLURB:
Ex-Navy SEAL Brendan O’Farrihy enrolls in kendo classes to investigate a Honolulu dojo acting as a front for a yakuza syndicate. Or at least that’s what Brendan’s client, Senator Harris, believes. Through his kendo instructor, the cocky, short-fused, gorgeous Kinosuke Yonekawa, Brendan learns the criminals who are supposedly using the senator’s son, Kenneth, to expand their activities into the US, seem to have severed any yakuza connections. The jaded, soul-scarred former soldier is captivated by the loyalty these gangsters show each other and the way they protect Ken like a tight military unit. Brendan wonders why the senator lied to him, and what the yakuza are shielding Ken from.
When Ken disappears, Brendan suspects foul play and decides to help the man he is falling for, Kinosuke, and his friends, find Ken. But when Kinosuke discovers Brendan has been on the senator’s payroll, all bets are off.
REVIEW:
Yakuza Courage is the second installment in “The Way of the Yakuza” series. In addition to being a beautiful and erotic romance, this book was packed with action and intrigue. The story begins shortly after Ken, Shigure, and their yakuza crew set up in Hawaii where they begin their new lives working as martial arts instructors. Though the yakuza crew gave up their ties to all illegal activities when they left Japan, their arrival in the U.S. gets the attention of a government entity. An Ex-SEAL, Brendon, possess as a martial arts student in order to investigate the crew, but on his first day undercover, he falls for his Japanese instructor, Kinosuke. Despite their cultural differences and Kinosuke’s issues with anger and shame, their relationship moves quickly. However, nothing is easy for the two. When Brendon’s seemingly routine investigation is twisted into a political plot, their relationship becomes mangled to the point that it appears they will never be able to repair it.
As the plot thickens, the Ex-military crew and the yakuzas are drawn into political conspiracies, dodging bullets along the way until they ultimately turn the tables on those conspiring against them. Since Yakuza Courage focuses mostly on Kinosuke and Brendon, I really missed seeing Ken and Shigure. However, there were enough glimpses of them to make me feel nostalgia for Yakuza Pride. Even though I wasn’t initially sold on Kinosuke, the relationship between him and Brendon was very hot and by the end, I was dying for them to come back together. In addition to the romance, the culture shock aspect was very real and believable. In the first book Ken was looked down on for being a foreigner. So I loved seeing how the Japanese characters strove to find a place in their new home in the U.S. This aspect was especially interesting since the yakuza were now the foreigners and had to come to terms with the shame of their perceived drop in status.
Overall, this book was very awesome and I look forward to reading book three. I highly recommend Yakuza Courage to anyone who loves M/M romance mixed with action and adventure.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Book Review: Yakuza Courage by H.J. Brues […]