True Valor

Uncommon Heroes #2

by Dee Henderson

Heroes get a new meaning when you see inside their lives. Gracie is a Navy Pilot; Bruce works Air Force Pararescue. With dangerous jobs—often away from home—they write love letters. When Gracie is shot down behind enemy lines, Bruce has one mission: get her out alive.

Uncommon Heroes: Welcome to a world where friendships go deep, loyalties stand strong, and uncommon heroes perform the toughest jobs in the world. Dee Henderson's military romance series provides a detailed passage into the world of the military and homeland heroes, and those they love.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Military Fiction, Mystery

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Dee Henderson is the author of 27 non-fiction and fiction titles, including Jesus our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Truth and the Life, The Good News Project, Taken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. For details visit: DeeHenderson.com

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely a favorite. I like it more than the first book for a couple different reasons. The romance was more realistic, Gracie and Bruce sharing a relationship through letters during a lot of the book. The flying and SEAL work just blew me over.

Sometimes the army and Navy terms confused me, but I really like how Dee Henderson makes everything sound realistic. I loved Gracie's cousin, Wolf, who made me laugh. The scene where Gracie crashes over enemy lines was the best. Another reason why I liked it: the flying.

The faith based theme to the book is great, especially with so much action and the kind of jobs the main characters have.

On the last scene in the book I thought there was too much kissing. Yeah, they were apart for awhile, but still! Other than that the romance was more low-key in this book which I preferred and no detailed kissing.

Personally I would have preferred if Gracie hadn't been so, "Flying is my life," kind of attitude especially after she is injured after the crash. It didn't really feel like she was surrendered to what God would want. She does decide to give it up if Bruce wanted her to, but he doesn't.

Onto book 3 :)

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Military novel about a romance during the Iraq war. I had an expectation for more plot and action; what is mentioned in the story's blurb is a short incident that is past the halfway point. The main content of the novel is from letters Gracie writes to her cousin and then to her love interest, his best friend. I did enjoy it better than the first book--there was nothing I actively disliked--but it was intensely boring.

[Mackenzie Dare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! It’s a good, clean love story with lots of intrigue and action. The author is obviously knowledgeable about navy seals, and aircraft carriers which makes it fun to read and 100% believable. I love how Dee Henderson really draws you into the story and makes you feel like you are right in the middle. I loved reading it! Though I’m a little behind on posting my review, this story really only took me about two days to read because it was so captivating. I really wanted to see what was going to happen next and loved the action scenes. They seemed so real. My favorite part is toward the end when the reader gets to hitch a ride along with Gracie on her bomber as she flies full speed ahead into mortal combat.

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as action packed and full of suspense as the O'Malley series or the first book of the Uncommon Heroes series. In the beginning I struggled to truly follow all the characters because it jumped between the character's real name and military name.

I enjoyed the book, but did not loved it as much as Dee Henderson's other suspense books. For me it was more a fictional biography of life in the military. I enjoyed Bruce and Tom stories.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author writes an excellent book .. hope many more avid readers (like me) discover her.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book, and struggled with how to rate it. I chose 3 stars, because, honestly, there were a lot of forgettable parts to this book. Normally, I find Dee Henderson's jargon and descriptions immersing, but in this book, it seemed to be on overload. My imagination had a hard time processing, because a lot of the jargon was not in the glossary. I'm very much a word-lover, but military-specific wording is not part of my vocabulary. I loved the story about Gracie and Striker, but there were a lot of chapters that just weighed this book down. This was the first time I didn't absolutely adore one of Dee's books, so it's not stopping me from finishing the series :).

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focused on two main branches of the military: Navy pilots and Air Force Pararescue. Grace is a Navy Pilot and Bruce is an Air Force Pararescue. Grace is best friends with Bruce's sister, Jill; and Bruce is best friends with Grace's cousin, Wolf. Can a relationship develop between Grace and Bruce who are on different deployments?

The extensive research that Henderson did is obvious in how well written this book was. I felt like I had a front row seat watching Grace during her flights and following Bruce through his rescue missions. I enjoyed watching their relationship slowly develop, and the best part of all was their letters back and forth to one another.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading the others in this series.

[Faith]

6/7/25 ~ DNF. Not bad, just not enjoying it and would rather be reading something else. Main guy is giving creepy stalker-ish vibes with the way he went about learning more about the girl by basically researching her instead of just getting to know her personally. Made me feel icky. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Sarah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading "True Valor" just as much as I enjoyed reading the previous novel in the Uncommon Heroes Series, "True Devotion." Since I am -- and always have been -- an absolute sucker for series, it was so wonderful to have a connection back to Joe "Bear" Baker and his lovely newlywed wife of two years, Kelly Jacobs Baker. However, I was also thrilled to meet and form a fast friendship with another Navy SEAL in that same unit, Tom "Wolf" Yeats. After meeting Wolf, I was introduced to his brave, fabulous cousin, Lieutenant Grace Yeats; his beautiful, endearing girlfriend, Jill Stanton; and Jill's older brother, Bruce "Striker" Stanton. And, may I say...I fell in love with this foursome immediately!!!! ;-) Throughout the pages of this novel, these four individuals demonstrated friendship, respect, love, and appreciation for one another, as well as the job that each one held. They also embodied the true meanings of the terms patriotism and sacrifice in a very powerful and heartwarming way. Then, of course, the entire plot of "True Valor" was filled with adventure, rescue, and romance that ALL kept me hanging on the edge of my seat. Like me, if you are a reader who enjoys seeing all the aforementioned elements of a story; hold a deep respect and appreciation for brave men and women who serve in the military; and gravitate toward a work of fiction that is saturated in the importance of developing a loving, trusting, and enduring personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I would hope that you would enjoy this novel just as much!!!! ;-) Bravo to Dee Henderson!!!! This is another great work, and I can not wait to finish the rest of this delightful, inspiring series!!!! Thank you ever so much again, Ryan, for sharing this recommendation with me.

[Penelope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful & touching deployment romance between two seasoned military personnel trying to make a relationship work when separated by incredible miles, months of loneliness, and unimaginable danger. I absolutely loved their story, which was presented at times through personal letters between the FMC and the MMC.

The FMC, Grace out of Norfolk, VA is a navy pilot with rotating 6 month active duty deployments. The story begins shortly after her loss of a loved one in a car crash. The MMC, Bruce, is an Air Force active duty pararescue jumper. His team, and others like him, are called in for extraction and medical assistance when military aircraft crash or other military personnel require in-country rescue. Bruce and his team are based out of Pensacola, FL with 16 wk or more deployments. True Valor is a story about Bruce & Grace’s (as well as their friends, Wolf & Jill’s) long distance romance and growing friendship.

This is an amazing and touching tribute to the many military men, women, and families who actually live such moments. I recommend True Valor to anyone to appreciates military romance novels. This is a Clean read as it contains no questionable language or sexual situations and is suitable for either YA or adult readers. True Valor was originally published in 2002, but I felt the situations and the romance held up very well over time.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. It was not action/suspense, and it was romance, but it was super sweet. Bruce and Grace getting to know one another through the old fashioned letter. It was great. I liked the emphasis on the important things in life; the focus on the people you love.

There really isn't that much action or plot to this book, just sort of following along as Bruce and Grace do their jobs. As much as the military stuff could get a little hard to follow, I just didn't try to follow the code too much and it was fine.

The camaraderie was fun. Wolf and Bruce are so fun together and Grace and Jill added some fun moments too. I love reading about close friendships.

That part when Bruce shows Grace the built-in bookshelves... SO JEALOUS!!! I want. That is literally one of my dreams, to have a library in my house when I grow up.


Second time through: I finally figured out why I love Dee Henderson’s books so much. It’s because the relationships are based on getting to know someone at a slow and steady pace. It’s the kind of relationship I like and would want to have. It’s not all fireworks and emotion and physical attraction. These people have depth.


2025: The older I get the more I think “relationship goals” is like this. Comfortable around someone. A deep trust. Not raging emotions and burning attraction. I’m not saying emotions and attraction are wrong but this is more what seems nice to me. I’d love to write letters in a relationship. It sounds wonderful. Probably because I can write things I’d never be able to say out loud.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in Dee Henderson's Uncommon Heroes series focuses on the love lives of two military people. Grace is a Navy pilot. Bruce is an Air Force Pararescue Jumper. The two met through relatives. Grace's best friend is dating her cousin. Grace's best friend's brother happens to be Bruce.

The story is about how two people in the military, two different branches of the military, can fall in love and have what amounts to a long distance relationship.

Many letters written by Bruce and Grace included scripture references at the end. The actual verses accompanied it, so the reader does not have to look it up. It's right there, which is nice and convenient. The front of the book includes a map of where the two are stationed in and around Turkey and Iran. I liked being able to see where they were and not trying to inaccurately place them in my head.

I did have a hard time at first keeping up with who was who since many nicknames were used. Bruce is Striker. Tom, Grace's cousin, is Wolf. They have coworkers nicknamed Pup and Bear. I had to reskim the beginning, but I finally got it straight and was able to keep it that way through the rest of the book.

The Uncommon Heroes series is not as good as the O'Malley Series, but it is suspenseful and appealing in its own right. The books are only loosely connected, so it's not so much a series as a set of books with a common theme. If you're a fan of Dee Henderson this book will not disappoint.

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this was not at all what I expected. I picked it up because I really wanted romantic suspense. There was literally no suspense in this book. It's just a romance. Most of the book is told through letters and it's just the two characters getting to know each other. They were adorable, and their romance very sweet. I enjoyed Gracie's flying. Both the characters felt very much like all of Henderson's other characters, but I still enjoyed them.

I'm giving it four stars for the plot, but I wish I could give the author a two-stars for sticking it in the wrong genre.

2022>> I enjoyed this better the second time since I knew what I was getting into. I feel like there was a lot more technical language in here than needed, and it got boring, but otherwise, it was a good book.

[AlegnaB † · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not have much action and wasn't very interesting. There were too many letters between the main characters because they were hardly together in person. I also didn't care much for the main female character, because her career as a Navy jet pilot was the most important thing in her life.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, Jill and Tom "Wolf" and Grace and Bruce "Striker". I know it wasn't intended but Grace and Tom's affection for each other sometimes had me cringing (their cousins). The letters were nice but eventually got boring for me.

I was confused by some of the details regarding the war. "Iraq is saber-rattling again, annoyed with Kuwait's latest OPEC position and still irritated with Saudi Arabia over some mosque decision." -> not exactly sure what this means. The switching between using real names and their "call signs" was also confusing at times.

Learning more about their jobs as a Navy SEAL, Naval Aviator, and Air Force Pararescue Jumper was interesting and informative.

"Nothing is about what you will find." <-this phrase confused me. I think it was referring to some shopping one of the characters would do.

Overall, I enjoyed the story.

Rating: PG -war situations
Language: clean read
Recommend: yes

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

[Kaziah Mustard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took me awhile to get into. I didn't feel like the story grabbed me at the very beginning. It was a good book though and the military setting was different from my normal reading.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 1 out of 5]

*Update* I was not as generous this time reading through. Everything I mentioned in the previous review still holds true and felt exaggerated this time. This book did not survive round two of the purge from my personal collection.

I tried really hard to like this book as much as the first in the series but I just didn't. There's too much in this book that is disjointed, unconnected and without driving force. Rather than saying that there's anything wrong with this book, I'll say that there wasn't anything right. I never really connected with Bruce or Grace. The relationships between Bruce, Jill, Wolf and Grace, while explained briefly seemed to hint at a backstory not given in this book. The plot meandered through several months (maybe a year?) of the character's lives without having any really antagonist or driving purpose. That's the part that bothered me the most. I like my books to have a climax (at least the fiction ones). Without a proper climax (including a build-up to that climax and a denouement) the book flops around like an invertebrate. Thankfully the rest of Ms. Henderson's books don't suffer from this particular problem. It has enough to recommend it to keep it in my library but it's not one that will get another read through (probably).

[Kirstin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really want to like this series, since my husband is a veteran and I like the idea of books set within the military community. But the writing and character development are so superficial - it reminds me of when my high school teachers told us to show instead of tell, which these books do not do. In addition to depth, I also feel like they lack creativity or much interest. Both books feature a female protagonist who lost her husband/boyfriend during a mission that their romantic interests in these books are haunted by. Of all the possible narratives, I don’t know why the author would choose something so similar. I feel like the female protagonists are also infantilized in a way - like in the first book when a grown woman has a teddy bear collection. In this book, I had a hard time believing the characters were supposed to be modern-day and in their 30s because of the way they conducted themselves. The letters written between the two protagonists are so bland and benign that they felt platonic and so it was a surprise to me that they were supposedly indicative of courtship. I have a copy of the 3rd book in this series but after reading the 1st and 2nd ones I don’t think I will bother.

[TheModestMillennial · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm finally starting to get used to Dee's writing style, certain patterns and word usages not bugging me as much. That being said, I was less than impressed with this story.

Even with the close calls, crashes, and other disastrous happenings, the book lulled me in to a lethargic apathy. I had a hard time maintaining interest in the story due to the slow pace of the plot. Most of the time, I feel like there was a definite lack of passion (or any emotion at all) in Grace and Bruce's relationship, seriously wanting for any romance. Bruce's "fascinating" questions seem pretty basic. Isn't "dreams for the future" a first or second date inquiry? I'm glad the characters were in love with each other, because I lost all interest in both of them.

I did, however, love how much encouragement they shared with each other, especially the use of biblical truths to get through the hard times.

I have a thing about not finishing a series, so here's to hoping the third book is vastly better than this one.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read maybe a dozen books by Dee Henderson and loved practically all of them giving them five stars. I did not enjoy True Valor nearly as much. she did not develop her characters enough, it was very surface in terms of their emotions, relationships, and their faith,; the scriptures used in this book did not resonate with me and the constant use of Air Force jargon which I did not understand made it a difficult read. My husband was navy and I have read Henderson's books about submarines, and solar systems and other technical areas with unique jargon and enjoyed them. She touches on some hard issues in this book about laying your life on the line for your country, the impact it has on loved ones, and the controversy of the U.S. entering into warfare in other countries. Yet it seemed almost as impersonal as a newspaper article.

[JaneReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, and I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it. I felt like it sometimes jumped scenes with no warning, and all the details of what was happening during the missions in Turkey/Syria overwhelmed me at times. I did not like how character names and character nicknames were used interchangeably, I kept guessing who was being referred to. My favourite part was definitely the letters exchanged between Bruce and Grace, I loved watching their relationship develop through the letters. I really enjoyed the side characters of Wolf and Jill and how the four of them interacted. While I was happy with the last scene I didn't like the last line. It was good, but I need to know what the decision is.

[Jeremiah]

This piece was intricately done by Dee Henderson and its very nature mirrors the life our brave men and women go though as they serve our countries and keep us safe by putting their lives in the line. but as love comes into the mix and two soldiers are drenched in love and cannot stay without taking to each other talk of letter writing an art we've lost thanks to social media. The choice of words and the candid ability Dee employs to take you to the front-line yet bring you back home full of love away from explosions and was is unprecedented. Just amazing

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is volume two of the Uncommon Heroes series. This story does not relate very much to True Devotion which is volume one. It can be read by itself without depending on True Devotion and what you read before. However, you learn much about flying a jet and the danger of flying off an aircraft carrier and also the danger of landing on the carrier. There is a lot of excitement in the story as you read.

[Emily Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second Review:
First quarter/half of the book is just full of so much military/plane information that I didn’t care about or understand. Once it moves past all of that, the book is so good.

Original Review:
I couldn’t put this down. I loved all the letters they wrote. Some of the military content was confusing but still good.

[Jen Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 - I really enjoyed the first book but didn't like this one as much. It was focused a lot on the tactical of their jobs, less on the love story (compared to the first book). I also found the overly affectionate relationship between the cousins strange and made me cringe a little.

[Tamara Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this too long ago to give a good review. But, this is one of my all-time favorite books and favorite series.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like the detailed research Dee does on her books. Loved the book

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd read 2025: This was a lot slower than I remember - definitely wanted more action!

[Pelican Rapids · Rating 2 out of 5]

seemed like a more male-oriented book