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In this new series, Alexandra Ivy introduces us to five men, all former military. These men were all serving in Afghanistan when they were taken as prisoners and tortured. Together they escaped and their time together forged a bond stronger than any mere friendship. They are now brothers. Upon returning to the United States, they have agreed to put their specific skill sets together and created ARES Security.
They are still putting the finishing touches on what will be their headquarters, when Rafe Vargas gets a call. The realtor has a buyer for his grandfather’s house and he needs to go the small town of Newton, Iowa, to clear it out. Rafe is having dinner at a local diner when he sees a young woman who is getting quite uncomfortable with the nosy waitress’s harassing questions. He comes to her rescue and tries to distract the waitress. After a few more chance meetings about town, Rafe finally learns that the woman is the daughter of the man known as the “Newton Slayer.” It has been fifteen years since her father was arrested for the murders and killed in prison. Is it luck that brought them both back to the same small town, or is it something more?
More than just Annie and Rafe have been drawn back to Newton. Someone has started where the Slayer has left off and women are again being abducted. Is that the same person who is leaving gifts for Annie? Rafe is by nature a protector. Yet, he is drawn in by more than his desire to protect the lovely Annie. The more Rafe gets to know her, the more sure he is that he wants to take her home with him to Texas.
As Rafe and Annie hunt for the missing women, they start to unravel more and more of the mysteries from the past murders. There was more going on fifteen years ago and someone wants the truth to stay buried with all of the victims. As the dangers to Rafe and Annie increases, Rafe’s partners won’t let him face them alone and are all coming to Newton to assist. But will they be too late?
THOUGHTS:
This was a great first book of the new series. The story itself drew you into the mystery of who is abducting women and does this have anything to do with the murders 15 years ago. Although there was a bit of insta-love between Annie and Rafe, we do get a bit of background on these characters and an understanding from Rafe’s other partners that it would be very much Rafe’s nature that once he fell in love, he would fall hard. Because of Annie and Rafe’s natures, we can forgive the swiftness of the forever love and focus on their chemistry.
As a first book, it also does a great job introducing us to the other partners in ARES. We spend enough time with them in assisting Rafe that we come to know them and like them. We also get a brief peek into other happenings to peak our interest in future books: one partner has a lost love he won’t discuss and another is receiving threatening letters that may or may not go back to what happened to them in Afghanistan. We also don’t get any background of what exactly happened to them in their imprisonment. Whether Alexandra is saving that for another story or she has decided that we don’t need to have explicit details of their torture, we’ll have to wait to see.
Although I am a fan of Alexandra’s Guardian’s of Eternity series, I never got into the world building on her Sentinel series nor had a chance to check out her Bayou series which she co-writes. I like her writing and am looking forward to more on this series. In jumping to a contemporary story from her usual paranormal, I now have another group that I can share this author with.
If you like books such as Maya Banks’s KGI series or Elle Kennedy’s Killer Instincts, you should definitely give this a try.
Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 29 December, 2015: Finished reading
- 29 December, 2015: Reviewed