Willow is heartbreaking and brilliant and not an easy book to read. But definitely worth the effort.

Book two in the critically acclaimed Metcalfes series tells the story of Willow Metcalfe, a trafficking aftercare specialist working at a camp in Nigeria. When her compound is attacked by terrorists, Willow and some of the victims she’d been helping, are kidnapped.

After ten years away, Chijioke “Chiji” Okorie returns to Nigeria to find his missing sister and fight to free his country from threats of terror and trafficking. He’s horrified to discover the sister of a friend – a woman he vowed to marry, many years ago, among the taken.

As Chiji works to rescue everyone, the brutality of trafficking comes to light. While not graphic or explicit in any way, this book does come with a trigger warning. The way the captives are treated is brutal, and the response of Chiji and those working behind the scenes to free them, doesn’t pull any punches. However, Kendig is raising awareness of a devastating problem that desperately needs eradicating. I can’t imagine this was an easy book to write. There aren’t many warm-fuzzy moments.

But the ending, ah, the ending. That’ll bring tears to your eyes as tender feelings are finally allowed to surface. Setting us up nicely for book three, Range, Willow is a triumph.