Release Blitz ~ Fracture (Unbreakable Bonds Series #6) by Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott (Reviews + Excerpt + Giveaway)
Title: Fracture
Series: Unbreakable Bonds Series #6
Author: Jocelynn Drake & Rinda Elliott
Publisher: Drake & Elliott LLC
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 71,000
Genre: Romance, Thriller/Suspense
Add to Goodreads
Synopsis
After three years, Snow and Jude’s relationship is still passionate and strong. They’re getting ready for a romantic vacation at home when Jude receives a horrifying call no one wants to receive. His youngest brother was found barely clinging to life. While Jude’s family is rallying around Jordan, Jude is determined to find out what happened to him.Snow and Jude follow the clues, investigating a side of Jordan’s life none of them knew about…and is far darker than any would have believed possible. They get pulled deeper into the seedy side of life, while echoes from a past Snow thought he walked away from return to offer an unexpected insight into the cause of Jordan’s injuries.
But someone else has noticed their involvement and is furious, putting them both in danger. The risk is high but so is Jude’s determination to find the truth—though the knowledge could very well fracture his heart.
Trigger Warning: This book has a scene that some might find triggering, but the triggers are also spoilers to the plot, so they can be found at the front of the book.
Excerpt
Snow rushed through the emergency room with Jude. His heart was pounding so hard it was like he could feel it in his throat, threatening to choke off his airway. A sinister nagging voice in the back of his head kept repeating, Three years, three years, three years.Roughly three years ago, he’d run into this same hospital to find one of his best friends on the floor, his entire world falling apart because his wife had been killed in what had appeared to be a car accident. And he hadn’t been there to operate on her. To save her life.
Melissa Ward had been light and laughter and happiness. She’d brought joy to all who knew her.
And Rowe Ward had been devastated to lose her. They all had been.
They’d nearly lost Rowe to his grief.
Now Snow was running through the hospital where he and Jude worked nearly every day. He was vaguely aware of familiar faces registering surprise and flashes of sadness as they passed by, but it didn’t matter. They stopped only long enough to find out that Jordan was in surgery and that Jude’s family was already in the surgical ICU waiting room.
“Snow,” Jude said in a low, shaky breath as they waited for the elevator to ascend to the correct floor. That broken sound gutted him.
He reached over and wrapped his hand around the back of Jude’s neck, pulling him tight against his taller frame. “We’ll figure this out,” he replied, forcing the words past the lump in his throat while telling himself that this was not going to be like Mel.
Jordan was a strong young man. Not even twenty-one yet. A good guy who loved to laugh. Definitely not the sort to seek out trouble. This had to be nothing more than him being in the wrong damn place at the wrong damn time. The doctors on call would be able to fix him up and get him safely on the mend.
But he couldn’t give Jude promises that he couldn’t keep or offer fake platitudes. Jude had worked as a paramedic for several years now. He’d been the paramedic first on the scene for Mel. He knew how quickly things could turn bad with nothing anyone could do to stop them.
“My brain won’t accept it. Not Jordan.”
“I know,” Snow said. “But he’s young and he’s strong. That works in his favor.”
The elevator doors parted, and they were quickly moving again to the large, quiet waiting room.
Purchase at Amazon
5 stars
Loved, loved, loved this!! I am pretty much obsessed with the Unbreakable Bonds/Ward Security books, so I was very excited to dig into this story. And Jude and Snow did not let me down.
This story was exciting and sexy. There were emotional parts and suspenseful parts and of course bits of humor trickled in to lighten up the seriousness of the story. It seems like none of these guys are able to live a quiet life but the support and brotherhood that comes from these crazy missions that they find themselves on just makes me love all of them that much more. They are not afraid to poke fun at each other but as soon as someone needs help they are all there. It is hard not to love all of these guys.
Also the new addition to Lucas and Andrei's family had my heart melting and seeing Jude and Snow being so sweet with each other was lovely. This book was a great addition to the series and I cannot wait to see what other shenanigans these guys get up to!
** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
4 Stars!
Worth delaying bedtime over, especially as I was reading blurb-blind. A solid addition to the series.
I've read all the books in the UB series, but tbh, I thought that book 5 wasn't an essential read; it was decent enough, but didn't read organically - this, however, does. We're suddenly right back bang in the middle of what made the UB series so good (I can take or leave Ward Security, the UB spin-off), and this is a roller coaster of a ride. Make sure you have an hour free before you dive into this, as it's high-octane stuff that you won't want to leave.
I wonder if the authors have been watching police procedurals and thrillers and have maybe taken a little walk on the dark side, as this is their darkest book in this series. It is really well done, and it is believable, and pretty much everything segues seamlessly. And in Jordan, who was about 12/13 years younger than Jude, I wonder if there's a future lead for a UB book. No, the guy isn't gay or bi - well, as far as can be made out here - but he has a strength of character, a stubbornness, and has experienced something here that's life-changing. I suspect he won't let it break him, and if he's anything like his brother and if he has the tenacity of his mother, Anna, then there may well be hope.
I've read all the books in the UB series, but tbh, I thought that book 5 wasn't an essential read; it was decent enough, but didn't read organically - this, however, does. We're suddenly right back bang in the middle of what made the UB series so good (I can take or leave Ward Security, the UB spin-off), and this is a roller coaster of a ride. Make sure you have an hour free before you dive into this, as it's high-octane stuff that you won't want to leave.
I wonder if the authors have been watching police procedurals and thrillers and have maybe taken a little walk on the dark side, as this is their darkest book in this series. It is really well done, and it is believable, and pretty much everything segues seamlessly. And in Jordan, who was about 12/13 years younger than Jude, I wonder if there's a future lead for a UB book. No, the guy isn't gay or bi - well, as far as can be made out here - but he has a strength of character, a stubbornness, and has experienced something here that's life-changing. I suspect he won't let it break him, and if he's anything like his brother and if he has the tenacity of his mother, Anna, then there may well be hope.
So, the tale starts off with a mystery and gets darker and more dangerous as Snow and Jude, and later of course, the rest of the UB guys, investigate. It all felt really organic, with every discovery and every lead feeling plausible and well thought out. I liked how Snow considers Jude to be as physically and mentally strong as the 'professional' UB guys and that there was no 'I'm the boss of you./You're not the boss of me.' The guys were focused and there also wasn't any of 'it's my brother, so...' stuff from Jude, and I particularly liked the bit where there was talk of 'our family', which came about after a passing comment. Nothing about this tale felt faux or fabricated, and I can't fault the plot.
Some parts of this review might be considered spoilerish, so please hover with your mouse over the blank space if you want to read it. Proceed at your own risk)
The tale does, however, lose 1 Star for me because the aspects of the denouement were a little too rushed and too easy, despite this being the UB guys to the rescue, and also because of a sudden change of mind that Snow had, that for me didn't quite feel true. I'm sorry to have to criticise the tale a little, but there was just too much of an about-face, without enough time to properly consider the meaning and consequences of that decision, and coming from Snow, it didn't work for me because of the way it was done, just like when 'I love you' is spouted during a sex scene. I didn't doubt that his heart was in the right place, but after years of no, no, no, there needed to be a lot more discussion and thinking before announcing a snap decision, though Jude was completely on board with it.
So, the denouement - yes, I know the UB guys are kick butt and have amazing resources at their disposal, but it just seemed a little too 'getting it right first time', because it just happened too fast that they'd find their one missing UB guy in the first place they looked, when there were just a few too many components to be considered and discarded; it just felt too... convenient. But, the way things happened, and for the person who took lead in one scene, it was justification and it was a kind of 'for my family' feeling. And, being family and the sense of what family means, runs strong in every UB guy, so yes, I bought that. That that person is going to be affected by what he did is a given, and I was pleased to hear mention of therapy in their future. I do think, too, that for Jordan and what he went through, and for the infodump of medical stuff and medical consequences at the start of the tale, things got glossed over and weren't addressed. Again, to me this felt like rushing, because, slight Spoiler here, there had been talk of damage to his spinal cord when he was found badly beaten, and yet at the end of the tale, he was out of his coma and sitting up and nothing was said (I don't think I missed it) about his medical prognosis or future life, with him having lost an essential part of his anatomy. That missing part is going to be life changing, irrespective of how old and how fit/unwell you are, so to not at all go there... felt rushed and as if the tale was skipping to the ending.
Back to the good - it was also nice to see the various characters in the series living their lives to the fullest now that the darkness/darknesses from their pasts have been obliterated; at least, it seems like that's what has happened, but never say never with these guys. I think that with the storyline of this tale, there's more darkness that could be unearthed, more greedy baddies that could come out of the woodwork, because it is a vast, horrifying, underground network that's been discovered and who truly knows how deep these things can go? What added to the plausibility of the plot were the hints of Snow's dark personal past that we've had, especially his love of pain and kink in sex, so yeah, I went with the flow.
I liked how the previous leads were brought into the tale organically, and not in a 'let's throw in glimpses of every single UB former lead', as was the feeling that I got with book 5. And, for a particular couple, it was beautiful to see how their lives had changed, how a certain cementing of their relationship, which at times to me has felt a little uneven, emotions-wise, has made them even more solid, more contented and more settled. The D-thing we get introduced to is unbelievably sweet, and made me see that couple in a different light. And, some magic words between a couple are mentioned; again, I can't spoil this and mention names, but, that I believed in. And that is what makes me think that this isn't quite the last UB tale that we'll be reading.
Overall, this is an excellent addition to the series, but I just wished the solid pace of the tale wasn't speeded up in the last part. It felt like the authors were rushing a little to the finish, and tied things up a little too conveniently. That sort-of-throwaway paragraph about a strategic phone call wasn't the best-placed in the tale and in fact, had me wracking my brains to see if that MO worked, and about timings and mobile phone records and the efficiency vs inefficiency of cops. But, that's on me with my beta-reader brain and black-and-white thinking, and for the sake of what's a really good tale, I'm prepared to go with the flow.
ARC courtesy of the authors and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
The tale does, however, lose 1 Star for me because the aspects of the denouement were a little too rushed and too easy, despite this being the UB guys to the rescue, and also because of a sudden change of mind that Snow had, that for me didn't quite feel true. I'm sorry to have to criticise the tale a little, but there was just too much of an about-face, without enough time to properly consider the meaning and consequences of that decision, and coming from Snow, it didn't work for me because of the way it was done, just like when 'I love you' is spouted during a sex scene. I didn't doubt that his heart was in the right place, but after years of no, no, no, there needed to be a lot more discussion and thinking before announcing a snap decision, though Jude was completely on board with it.
So, the denouement - yes, I know the UB guys are kick butt and have amazing resources at their disposal, but it just seemed a little too 'getting it right first time', because it just happened too fast that they'd find their one missing UB guy in the first place they looked, when there were just a few too many components to be considered and discarded; it just felt too... convenient. But, the way things happened, and for the person who took lead in one scene, it was justification and it was a kind of 'for my family' feeling. And, being family and the sense of what family means, runs strong in every UB guy, so yes, I bought that. That that person is going to be affected by what he did is a given, and I was pleased to hear mention of therapy in their future. I do think, too, that for Jordan and what he went through, and for the infodump of medical stuff and medical consequences at the start of the tale, things got glossed over and weren't addressed. Again, to me this felt like rushing, because, slight Spoiler here, there had been talk of damage to his spinal cord when he was found badly beaten, and yet at the end of the tale, he was out of his coma and sitting up and nothing was said (I don't think I missed it) about his medical prognosis or future life, with him having lost an essential part of his anatomy. That missing part is going to be life changing, irrespective of how old and how fit/unwell you are, so to not at all go there... felt rushed and as if the tale was skipping to the ending.
Back to the good - it was also nice to see the various characters in the series living their lives to the fullest now that the darkness/darknesses from their pasts have been obliterated; at least, it seems like that's what has happened, but never say never with these guys. I think that with the storyline of this tale, there's more darkness that could be unearthed, more greedy baddies that could come out of the woodwork, because it is a vast, horrifying, underground network that's been discovered and who truly knows how deep these things can go? What added to the plausibility of the plot were the hints of Snow's dark personal past that we've had, especially his love of pain and kink in sex, so yeah, I went with the flow.
I liked how the previous leads were brought into the tale organically, and not in a 'let's throw in glimpses of every single UB former lead', as was the feeling that I got with book 5. And, for a particular couple, it was beautiful to see how their lives had changed, how a certain cementing of their relationship, which at times to me has felt a little uneven, emotions-wise, has made them even more solid, more contented and more settled. The D-thing we get introduced to is unbelievably sweet, and made me see that couple in a different light. And, some magic words between a couple are mentioned; again, I can't spoil this and mention names, but, that I believed in. And that is what makes me think that this isn't quite the last UB tale that we'll be reading.
Overall, this is an excellent addition to the series, but I just wished the solid pace of the tale wasn't speeded up in the last part. It felt like the authors were rushing a little to the finish, and tied things up a little too conveniently. That sort-of-throwaway paragraph about a strategic phone call wasn't the best-placed in the tale and in fact, had me wracking my brains to see if that MO worked, and about timings and mobile phone records and the efficiency vs inefficiency of cops. But, that's on me with my beta-reader brain and black-and-white thinking, and for the sake of what's a really good tale, I'm prepared to go with the flow.
ARC courtesy of the authors and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
Meet the Author
Jocelynn Drake and Rinda Elliott have teamed up to combine their evil genius to create intense gay romantic suspense stories that have car chases, shoot outs, explosions, scorching hot love scenes, and tender, tear-jerking moments. Their first joint books are in the Unbreakable Bonds series.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | eMail
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment