Regaining Integrity (Code of Honor Book 4) by Brooke May – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Regaining Integrity by Brooke May
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Regaining Integrity is Book Four of the Code of Honor Series. It can easily be read as a standalone but after reading this book I know that I will be going back and reading the first books in the series. The story is told from the POV of the two main characters, Angelica, and Chase. The two first met in high school but because Angelica Reece was a math nerd, she went unnoticed by almost everyone, unless she was being targeted by the school bully, Cera. The hottest boy in school was Chase Thorne and everyone knew it, including Chase, who used it to his advantage to sleep with every girl in his high school class. Cera was Chase’s high school girlfriend and she tormented Angelica every chance she could. Angelica had a crush on Chase in high school, but he never paid any attention to her. That is, until one day when he did something so horrible to her that it made Angelica the laughing stock of the school and ruined her senior year in high school. After that she swore that she wanted nothing to do with Chase ever again.

Fast forward several years and Angelica has flourished from a nerdy wallflower into a stunning young woman. She is strong, feisty, courageous, determined, smart, and fiercely independent. Angelica now teaches math at the local school and Chase Thorne’s nephew Ridge is one of her students. When Chase returns to town Ridge tells his uncle that he has a crush on his teacher so of course Chase needs to meet her. At first sight of Angelica, Chase goes ga-ga for her and becomes determined to date her. He does not recall meeting her before, does not remember her from high school, and certainly has no recollection of the horrid way he treated her. Unlike Chase, Angelica has not forgotten what he did to her and refuses to fall for Chase’s charm when he pours it on thick. She also refuses to admit that she is attracted to Chase as much as he is attracted to her.

This was one of the best second-chance romance books that I have read in a long time. The story flowed beautifully, the dialogue was realistic and natural, and the characters were engaging. I loved to watch how Angelica flourished from a geeky math nerd in high school into a strong, independent woman who exuded confidence. Chase was someone I wanted to smack a couple of times for being so dense, but I could also see that deep down he was genuinely a nice guy. I enjoyed watching his growth as a character and the sweet, sincere, kind, caring man that he became. The character of Cera was infuriating and man did I ever want to slap her a few times. She was cruel, bossy, and really needed to be put in her place. She was a bully in every sense of the word, and I was happy to see that both Angelica and Chase stood up to her on separate occasions. This book had drama, suspense, teen angst, bullying, romance, passion, chemistry, and love. I highly recommend this book!

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