Title: Against the Grain
Series: THIRDS, Book 5
Author: Charlie Cochet
Genre: Paranormal Urban Suspense
Length: 7 Hours and 58 Minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (October 22, 2015)
Narrator: Mark Westfield
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: As the fiercest defense agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition.
Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart.
Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a recon agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate.
Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.
Product Link: http://amzn.to/1TdF9q0
Reviewer: Lisa
Review: To enjoy the overall effects of this series I would suggest starting with the first book, because let me tell you they rock. This series just keeps getting better and better even after listening to them over and over. Which is exactly what I did with this story. There is so much action, suspense, a bit of a mystery, hot sex, twists and turns in this that my attention was captured from the moment it started.
Charlie gives you an entertaining story with hot men and two very feisty girls, then adds in danger and excitement. Not to mention the humor from Dex, which always rocks. I couldn’t wait to hear about Ash and Cael from the moment I opened the first book. You could see right from the start that there was something there, just the right amount of heat. However the fear was still there. I loved getting to know Cael just a bit more also. He is my favorite of them all with his cute cheetah fir.
Ash and Cael had been friends from the start, when Cael flustered and the coffee went all over. Ash just couldn’t say a bad thing to him. He was attracted from the moment he saw him, but his past keeps getting in the way. He had been with a boy when his twin was killed. He felt guilty and punished himself many times over. From then on it was just screwing women, that is until Cael. He wanted so much more.
Cael had been adopted by Tony but not all of his life was good. He tended to pick asshats for boyfriends, with one of them on the top of the worst list. When he shows up, it is intent of pain that pushes Ash closer. Now the whole team knows about them, Cael fears that Ash would never really move forward.
What really surprised me about this story was Tony’s reaction and attitude, it was a blast. Then there are the twists and turns in this story that had me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who was the bad guy. Now I must admit though that I do wish there was more action involving their Therian side.
The first few books had it, but this one not really as much which I missed. I loved how Dex gives Ash hell and tells him to treat his brother right or it was going to be Alaska. Dex is always fun to have around.
Mark did a wonderful job with the story but for some reason it didn’t come off as good as the first four books, but still didn’t divert from the story itself. He brought the characters alive and made them sound just as I imagined them to be. However with all of the men’s voices in this audible you could tell that Mark was trying to make them different but didn’t really catch it.
I loved the ending and the shock that they had. It had me laughing my ass off at it. I loved that Ash worked through his problems and he got a surprise of his own that had me smiling. I can see myself listening to this more than a dozen times, and I say that because I have already listened to it four of those dozen times. I had so much fun listening to this and can’t wait for book six. Charlie rocks the THIRDS world.
I would definitely recommend it.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *