The Strategist by Nadia Han
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

The Strategist is the fifth book in the fantastic ‘WaterFyre Rising’ series by Nadia Han. I have been captivated by this series right from the beginning, since first devouring The Mastermind- and this book certainly lived up to expectation.
Ms. Han certainly knows how to weave an enticing story, the way she has deftly woven each book, focusing each instalment on its own particular ‘couple’, but also building a gripping, overarching storyline that wends its way through the series- building on what has come before, and instalment by instalment, painting a much bigger and more intriguing picture/story.
‘The Strategist’ is an engrossing contemporary romantic suspense with a former Navy SEAL, a bit of a billionaire romance element, intrigue, dramatic developments, danger, chemistry, sizzle, angst, tension, secrets, forced proximity, emotion, family, friendship, intensity, mystery, violence, action, the Triad, sinister enemies, agendas, evil bad guys, a powerful criminal organisation, trauma, pain, hope, healing, a dynamic & multilayered storyline, and superb characters (& more).
This is Arrow Holt and Vivian Vo’s story- whom we have both met in previous books, as Arrow has been an integral part of the Waterfyre family since the beginning, and Vivian is friends with the Waterfyre women. Vivian has huge secrets that have shaped who she is and the path her life has taken. She is haunted by the past and has trouble trusting, building a wall around her heart in the process. Arrow had pursued her in the past, but she had rejected him as her plans don’t include love and romance. But she is drawn to him, and running into him at a wine expo only fans the embers of attraction into flames.
Arrow has his own scars and memories that haunt him, but Vivian seems to have a way of soothing his demons- and Arrow wants more. He is a brilliant entrepreneur whose strategies have made him a formidable opponent- and extremely rich in the process…. He now uses his strategic mind to dismantle every wall that Vivian had built, and to devise a way to make her his. Add in a dangerous quest, agendas, intensity, sizzling chemistry, and searing passion- and their story becomes unputdownable- and one of the best of the series.
As mentioned, even though each book has its own couple and storyline, all the books combined help to build a much bigger picture, providing morsels of information on the other recurring characters, the backstories, overarching storyline, and all the intriguing Waterfyre details. The whole Waterfyre element is what really hooked me into the series in the first place, and that combined with the exciting storylines, help to make this series stand out from the crowd.
The story was a little slow to build momentum, to begin with – but as the story progressed, and after only a few chapters, the pace really picked up, the intrigue kicked in, and the story completely captured me and had me gripped tightly all the way till the end. I read the whole thing in one sitting, as I needed to know how everything would play out in the end.
I loved meeting the intriguing new characters who have joined the Waterfyre family and can’t wait to read their story (Coming in Book #6 – ‘The Protégé’ – which is set to be amazing!).
Happy Reading!

Thank you, Nadia Han!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

View all my reviews