Release Blitz ~ Valor (Until You Book 4) by Karrie Roman (Review + Excerpt + Giveaway)
Title: Valor
Series: Until You, Book 4
Author: Karrie Roman
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: January 14, 2019
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 85800
Genre: Contemporary, law enforcement, shark photographer, kidnapping, attempted murder, older MC
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Synopsis
Years ago Asher Winsome almost lost his life in the jaws of a great white shark. It was the scariest moment of his life—until his four-year-old nephew is kidnapped. Called home to be with his family, who see him as the black sheep, Asher must rely on every bit of his courage if he’s going to help get his nephew back. But this is not an ordinary kidnapping. And the outcome will leave Asher running for his life.
Former FBI agent Alec Banner buries himself in his work to forget everything that’s missing in his life. His job, at a private company run by an old friend, locating missing children can be tough and brutal, but Alec is no stranger to working with the worst of humanity. From the minute he’s called to help on the Winsome kidnapping he knows something is different.
Thrown together under such difficult circumstances Asher and Alec are drawn to each other’s unrelenting courage even in the face of their fears. But a relationship begun under such impossible stress can’t survive. When his job is finished Alec runs from Asher and his growing feelings, but the danger hasn’t passed, in fact it has only just begun. And both men will need to be brave if they are to survive.
Excerpt
Valor
Karrie Roman © 2019
All Rights Reserved
Prologue
Jesus Christ, he couldn’t get out of that happy, fucking home quick enough. The fact he’d put a bullet between the eyes of an abusive monster less than twenty-four hours ago wasn’t what had Alec Banner’s heart aching, his breath stuttering, and his legs itching to run. No, he’d had little trouble doing that.
What had him fleeing from the company of a man he considered his best friend, and three other men who’d become very important to him, had been all the fucking love wafting around the room—infecting everyone but him.
Alec had been friends with Ben Cronin for well over a decade. Though they’d lost contact for a few years, they’d reconnected close to a year ago. These days, he spent plenty of time with Ben. They’d been working together for several months now, locating missing and abducted children. Working at Chasing Hope was grueling, but very rewarding. Alec didn’t regret leaving the FBI to join Ben’s company at all.
It wasn’t Ben he was fleeing, though. Nor was it Ben’s partner. Ethan was a fucking dreamboat, but Ben was the lucky asshole who’d snagged his heart. Alec had no problem admitting he had a tiny crush on Ethan. Would it ever cause trouble between him and Ben? Fuck no, because no matter what, there was no way Alec would ever do anything about it. Alec Banner had a lot of faults, but disloyalty wasn’t one of them. He’d pine away for Ethan like a miserable bastard until he—hopefully—found a dreamboat of his own to love.
No, despite his messy feelings, the reason Alec was fleeing Ben’s brother’s house before he completely fucking lost it was because he couldn’t stand to see how happy the two couples there were. He’d witnessed the love between Ben and Ethan for months, and despite them going through a really rough time, they’d been going through it together. Alec had seen firsthand what it should be like to have a real partner. Someone to love, to care about. Someone who’d have your back no matter what.
Instead, he was expected to fucking sit back and watch how happy Ben’s brother, Cameron, and his lover, Zach, were? He couldn’t do it. Selfish maybe, but he was nearly forty years old and he’d had one boyfriend who’d lasted six months and a nine-month relationship with a woman, which had been explosive but ultimately fizzled out because she wouldn’t walk down the aisle with him. Her refusal had hurt like hell at the time, but looking back on it, years later, he was so glad Heather had rejected him. He was pretty sure he’d be a divorced father of three by now if she hadn’t.
Here was Zach, who was twenty-fucking-two and had found the love of his life in Cameron, and try as he might, Alec couldn’t shake the jealousy. He wanted that; he wanted what those men had.
There was only one thing Alec knew of to help when life went to shit, and that was work. He never turned to the bottle or eating his feelings when he was miserable, like some people did. Alec’s choice of pick-me-up was to tuck his head down and his ass up and get stuck into as much work as possible.
He pulled out his phone and thumbed through his contacts. Ryan Lowe was near the top of his list. Ryan was the brains and bank behind Chasing Hope, the company Alec worked for locating missing kids. Ryan had told Alec earlier he may have a job for him, and as he hit the call button he hoped to god Ryan did. Alec desperately needed something to keep him busy.
“Alec, how’d it go?” Ryan answered without preamble.
Alec knew Ryan would have heard from Ben or Ethan that they’d rescued Zach from Cameron’s crazy ex, but he wasn’t exactly sure if they’d have told him how far they’d gone, so he offered only a concise answer. “Good. All done. What else have you got for me?”
“Well, I’m sure we’ve got a case, but I’m waiting to hear back. I’ve already got Jacey putting a file together for you. Little boy, four, was taken this morning from his local park. The family is affluent and well-known in their community. The mother is certain there’ll be a ransom demand. She wants the cops called, but she’s getting pushback from her husband and the in-laws. I think you should head out to them ASAP, see what you think and be ready to act.”
His phone beeped as Ryan spoke, likely to signal the arrival of the file from Jacey. She was an absolute genius with technology, and he expected she’d have provided him with information, not only about the immediate family but the extended one, including friends, staff, and coworkers. Knowing Jacey, he’d even get information on the people the parents went to kindergarten with. She’d have dug up whatever dirt there was to find in a short amount of time, and no doubt she’d already be digging through old data to find even more.
“Got it. Where am I headed?”
“Del Mar. Get a flight to San Diego. I’ll get a hotel booked for you in Del Mar and text the details.”
“On my way.”
“Hey…you okay, Alec?”
Ryan was a sweetheart, tender and caring and far too innocent for this line of work. And yet he’d dragged himself into the misery of missing kids because he wanted to help—and found himself in a position where he could. He was one of the good guys, but Alec worried how it would all affect him. Alec had been dealing with scum for years; he knew the horror stories, and he’d hardened his heart to them, but Ryan? Alec worried about him.
“Tired, that’s all. I’m fine, Ryan, but thanks for caring.”
They exchanged a few niceties regarding Ryan and his partner, Lucas. Alec repeated several more times that he was, in fact, all right, despite the events of the past twenty-four hours, when Ryan asked before hanging up.
Alec made his way to the airport and settled in to wait for his flight. Getting in and out of Cody, Wyoming, wasn’t always easy. He didn’t mind curling up on one of the uncomfortable chairs common to most airports while he waited, though. He pulled out his tablet and opened the file Jacey had sent him.
The Winsome family of Del Mar wasn’t simply affluent, they were filthy fucking rich. The patriarch was one Edmund Winsome, who was a founding partner of one of the biggest law firms in Southern California. Matriarch Phyllis Winsome had brought her family’s considerable wealth to the marriage and together they had built a formidable empire for their two sons. From the images Jacey sent, they were an austere-looking couple who screamed wealth from every perfectly coiffed hair on their heads.
Oldest son—and father of the missing boy—Kane Winsome worked for his father’s firm. He hadn’t quite made partner yet, but from what Alec read, he was well on his way. Alec found the photo Jacey had sent and studied the image of Kane Winsome. He was a younger version of his father. Light-brown hair was cut to within an inch of its life and was gelled into what was probably the latest style, steel-gray eyes glared at the lens, and thin lips pursed to show their impatience with whomever had taken the photo. Alec tried not to judge a book by its cover, but if he had to, then the title would be Pride and Prejudice. A more modern day Fitzwilliam Darcy he couldn’t imagine finding.
Kane’s wife, Madeline, came from a wealthy family herself, though not on the scale of the Winsome’s wealth. She worked as a florist and could not look more opposite to her husband if she tried. She had a mane of flowing, dark, almost black hair that perfectly matched her dark skin. Her eyes were a deep brown but were lit by what Alec suspected was her natural joie de vivre. It was hard to tell from a photo, but she looked petite. Alec had no doubt she would be a lioness, though, when it came to her loved ones. While her husband glared and pouted at the camera, Madeline Winsome laughed and flirted with it.
He scrolled to another image—this one of Kane and Madeline together each holding hands with a toddling child he assumed to be the missing Jack. The photo must be at least a year old given that Jack was now four. The family looked—happy. Gone was Kane’s stern face, replaced with a beaming smile, his gaze fixed on his son. Madeline looked the same as in the solo photo as she, too, stared at her son. The little boy was adorable. His smile matched his parents’ as he seemed to be frozen in an attempt to take an ungainly step. The photo captured more than a simple image of family—it portrayed love, purely and simply.
Alec would read the file more thoroughly on the plane and over the days to come, but for now, he only wanted to get a feel for this family. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the hell they must be going through.
Movement around him alerted him to the fact that his flight was boarding. Alec took his place in line, greeting the staff politely as always. He was a firm believer in catching more flies with honey than vinegar, and a pleasant exchange with airline staff had him either sitting in an exit row or with an extra beverage more times than he cared to remember.
He made his way to his seat, delighted to see an almost empty flight. With luck, the two seats beside him would remain vacant so he might be able to get a couple of hours sleep. He settled in and took another look at the files while he waited for takeoff.
Next in the file was the second son, Kane’s brother. As Alec skimmed his bio, he realized instantly that Asher Winsome was the black sheep of the family. He too had studied law, as his father and brother had, but Asher’s most recent job was listed as marine photographer, location—varied. Interesting.
Alec scrolled to the attached photograph, his eyes popping like some kind of cartoon character. Jesus Christ, he’d never seen anyone more gorgeous. Asher Winsome was drop-dead stunning. The photo wasn’t even a good one, so he could only imagine how devastating the man would be in real life. His hair was a few shades darker than his brother’s, and he wore it long, just scraping his shoulders. His gray eyes were lighter than Kane’s. Alec couldn’t wait to see them in person to find out if they were as silver as they appeared in the photo. His smile was crooked and shy; his entire demeanor coy. Alec was insanely jealous of whoever had taken the photo and coaxed that look out of the man.
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4 Stars!
This is the first book in this series that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. Having been introduced to characters from the previous stories, I will definitely be going back and reading those as well.
Former FBI agent Alec Banner excels at his job working with his best friend Ben Cronin at Chasing Hope locating missing children. Now that he’s seen his friends falling in love and settling down, he realizes he wants the same thing. However, his job isn’t exactly conducive to a serious long-lasting relationship.
To his parents' dismay, Asher Winsome lives his life the way he wants working as a marine photographer specializing in sharks. His world is turned upside down when he learns his young nephew has been kidnapped from a local park and he heads home to be with his family. Meeting Alec, the man hired to help safely return Jack comes at a bad time but Asher can’t just ignore the connection they have.
Getting Jack back is really only the beginning though and Asher and Alec won’t be able to just ride off in the sunset. When Alec makes a mistake and pushes Asher away, both men end up going their separate ways. In the end, the kidnapping isn’t all that it seemed and they’re left with some unanswered questions. Not to mention the question of what Alec and Asher want.
Overall, I liked Asher and Alec together. I wasn’t completely sold on their initial connection in the beginning, it felt a little too much lust at first sight and inappropriate timing but as the story progressed, I found myself really wanting them together. This was a good romantic suspense story heavily balanced between the both with a lot of family drama and humor laced in.
The men had great chemistry and quickly moved into the sweet category that worked well in the second half of the book. I thought they were a good couple and I was happy with how things turned out in the end. I’m curious to whether there will be more books in the series and if so who they might feature, so I’ll be on the lookout for more.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
4 Stars
A great intro to this author. A kidnap - and more - tale that doesn't go down the TSTL trope, where the leads lose their big heads, let their little heads take over and have sex whilst it's all going down around them. Sooo refreshing!
There's nothing I hate more in a romance where there's serious danger and suspense going on and yet the leads still manage to take a timeout and find an old shack/wardrobe/ruin for sex. It kind of makes a mockery of the seriousness of the tale, and makes the leads come across as... airheads, tbh, whether it's in a MM tale or a MF one. In this, I was so glad to see that the danger was real, that the professional lead - Alec - was professional, and the lead related to the kidnapped child - Asher - set aside his family's... issues... and manned up and came home to help out. Their attraction was clear, and it was obvious that they were going to get it on at the earliest opportunity and I appreciated so much that the author made that feel, and come across as, integral to the tale. Them getting together was a needed release for Asher, and it was something that worked well given the circumstances of the tale. And yes, there's a fair amount of getting it on in this book, but it's not at the expense of the tale, and the tale would have stood on its own without any sex. It had a solid core to it, it had decent fringe stuff happening, and it had people who muddied the waters. My only criticism is that not all issues got dealt with. There were blue blood parents who put reputation, money and keeping out of the media above the kidnapped child's safety, and there was an under-the-thumb son who manned up and broke away from the apron strings, and things did turn out for the best, but it kind of felt like the author brushed a lot aside. I would have liked to read more about the blue bloods getting a taste of real life, learning the value of family and love, and the manned-up guy finding the courage to make his stand. His wife, the kidnapped child's mother, was made out to be a stronger character than her husband, and she was, but we were more told than shown that, and I'd liked to have seen more of her in action, especially against the blue bloods. I don't think that that would've distracted from the tale, and I do think those oldies needed a lesson or few. But, it didn't spoil the tale - I'm just being greedy.
What I also liked a lot about this tale is that the bodyguard aspect was done well, as well as the investigation, and there was none of the 'I'm the boss of you/You're not the boss of me' stuff. The guys were mature, aired their differences and dealt with it. Alec wasn't made out to be superhuman and perfect at everything, and Asher had a strong will that made Alec, Alec's colleagues and the bodyguards take him seriously. And yes, Asher was headstrong enough to cause some damage, but his intentions were good and things worked out for the best. Thankfully, none of Asher's actions were of the TSTL variety, but simply those of an independent guy who wasn't prepared to let anyone else get hurt at his expense. And, he had courage and cunning, for all the right reasons.
Refreshingly, there was no instalove in this, and even the instalust got delayed, meaning that when the time came for the guys to get it on, they were already getting to know each other. I liked that even at the end of the book, adding to the realism, and respecting the pace and focus of the tale, the guys were *starting* to say they were falling for each other, not that they'd fallen for each other, and were wondering how to make an 'us' work. Yes, there had been time to get to know each other, but their lives were so very different, money wise, career-wise and more, and they were realistic about things. No magic wands were waved in the making of this book, thank you very much.
We do get to see an epilogue in the tale, though there's no firm timescale on it, just that it's been a few months/weeks, and again, the guys are taking it slow. They're together, but they're not rushing into the whole HEA. I liked that. It made them sound like mature men who both wanted something, and were prepared to work for it and wait for it, rather than rush into something that could fizzle out and burn if they didn't talk and compromise.
This was an excellent intro to this author, and I will certainly be reading more from her.
ARC courtesy of NineStar Press and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
There's nothing I hate more in a romance where there's serious danger and suspense going on and yet the leads still manage to take a timeout and find an old shack/wardrobe/ruin for sex. It kind of makes a mockery of the seriousness of the tale, and makes the leads come across as... airheads, tbh, whether it's in a MM tale or a MF one. In this, I was so glad to see that the danger was real, that the professional lead - Alec - was professional, and the lead related to the kidnapped child - Asher - set aside his family's... issues... and manned up and came home to help out. Their attraction was clear, and it was obvious that they were going to get it on at the earliest opportunity and I appreciated so much that the author made that feel, and come across as, integral to the tale. Them getting together was a needed release for Asher, and it was something that worked well given the circumstances of the tale. And yes, there's a fair amount of getting it on in this book, but it's not at the expense of the tale, and the tale would have stood on its own without any sex. It had a solid core to it, it had decent fringe stuff happening, and it had people who muddied the waters. My only criticism is that not all issues got dealt with. There were blue blood parents who put reputation, money and keeping out of the media above the kidnapped child's safety, and there was an under-the-thumb son who manned up and broke away from the apron strings, and things did turn out for the best, but it kind of felt like the author brushed a lot aside. I would have liked to read more about the blue bloods getting a taste of real life, learning the value of family and love, and the manned-up guy finding the courage to make his stand. His wife, the kidnapped child's mother, was made out to be a stronger character than her husband, and she was, but we were more told than shown that, and I'd liked to have seen more of her in action, especially against the blue bloods. I don't think that that would've distracted from the tale, and I do think those oldies needed a lesson or few. But, it didn't spoil the tale - I'm just being greedy.
What I also liked a lot about this tale is that the bodyguard aspect was done well, as well as the investigation, and there was none of the 'I'm the boss of you/You're not the boss of me' stuff. The guys were mature, aired their differences and dealt with it. Alec wasn't made out to be superhuman and perfect at everything, and Asher had a strong will that made Alec, Alec's colleagues and the bodyguards take him seriously. And yes, Asher was headstrong enough to cause some damage, but his intentions were good and things worked out for the best. Thankfully, none of Asher's actions were of the TSTL variety, but simply those of an independent guy who wasn't prepared to let anyone else get hurt at his expense. And, he had courage and cunning, for all the right reasons.
Refreshingly, there was no instalove in this, and even the instalust got delayed, meaning that when the time came for the guys to get it on, they were already getting to know each other. I liked that even at the end of the book, adding to the realism, and respecting the pace and focus of the tale, the guys were *starting* to say they were falling for each other, not that they'd fallen for each other, and were wondering how to make an 'us' work. Yes, there had been time to get to know each other, but their lives were so very different, money wise, career-wise and more, and they were realistic about things. No magic wands were waved in the making of this book, thank you very much.
We do get to see an epilogue in the tale, though there's no firm timescale on it, just that it's been a few months/weeks, and again, the guys are taking it slow. They're together, but they're not rushing into the whole HEA. I liked that. It made them sound like mature men who both wanted something, and were prepared to work for it and wait for it, rather than rush into something that could fizzle out and burn if they didn't talk and compromise.
This was an excellent intro to this author, and I will certainly be reading more from her.
ARC courtesy of NineStar Press and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
Meet the Author
Karrie lives in Australia’s sunshine state with her husband and two sons, though she hates the sun with a passion. She dreams of one day living in the wettest and coldest habitable place she can find. She has been writing stories in her head for years but has finally managed to pull the words out of her head and share them with others. She spends her days trying to type her stories on the computer without disturbing her beloved cat Lu curled up on the keyboard. She probably reads far too much.Website | Twitter
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