Story Rating: 4 stars
Audio Rating: 4.5 stars
Narrator: Mark Westfield
Length: 7 hours, 35 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Amazon/Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Cheetah. TIN operative. SSA. Austen Payne is a lot of things, but one thing he knows he’s not is relationship material. He has very valid reasons for not engaging in anything romantic, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting Osmond Zachary. Austen knows he should stay away from Zach, but time and again, he keeps getting drawn to him.
Zach has the love of his huge family and takes his job as a THIRDS agent seriously. As a bear, he’s the largest of the therians, and he’s very conscious of his size. Ever since he first met the jittery cheetah, he’s wanted Austen to be his. But Austen keeps pushing him away.
When an act of heroism puts Zach on the radar of a nefarious group and his life is in danger, Austen takes it upon himself to protect Zach. That means heading to the Zachary family estate in the wilds. Dealing with all the Zacharys is hard for Austen, especially when they don’t want to listen to him. However, being confined together allows Austen and Zach to actually talk and to finally act on their attraction. But when the bad guys come hunting, they know they can use the Zacharys to get Austen to do what they want. And Austen will do anything to protect Zach and his family.
Like many of us, I’d been looking forward to Austen and Zach’s story since they first met and have been watching the little snippets of their relationship throughout the THIRDS series. This story didn’t quite live up to the potential I was expecting, but it was solid nonetheless.
I loved seeing these two guys finally work through everything that had been plaguing them and finally get together. They both deserve to be happy, and I was satisfied with their relationship. I loved that we got to see inside Austen’s head, finally, and really see where he’s coming from. He’s a much more complex character than I expected, and it was good to understand him better. Likewise, I loved Zach’s patience and understanding with Austen. Really, in that way, they were meant for each other, and, as I said, it was satisfying to see them finally get to that point.
But I did have issues with this book. One was that even though I loved Zach’s patience with Austen, I could never quite understand why, after the repeated and emphatic no’s from Austen, that Zach didn’t ever actually take him at his word. It felt a little bit too much like Zach just had to wear Austen down. I would have liked to see all that addressed a little better. It’s clear Zach sees something in Austen, that potential for a real relationship, but other than one scene that flashes back to their first meeting, it wasn’t entirely clear what. I would have liked to see much more development on this.
While the action side of things was well done, it was also a bit predictable. I didn’t expect much more than that, so it didn’t work against the book for me. However, I had some definite issues with the side characters. In particular, Zach’s family. While there were moments I loved their united front and clear affection for each other, I absolutely had issues with the fact that none of them, especially the brothers, could listen to what Austen said and wanted. Austen was there to protect Zach, and they continually went against his directives. Some might find this endearing. I, however, found it irritating. So it did not work for me.
As I said, I listened to this one in audio, as I have done for the entire series. Mark Westfield is back for this spin off book, and I was pleased. He does his usual good job, and he is the voice of the the THIRDS universe for me. I was really glad that he toned down Austen’s voice from what it was in the main series, so it was still recognizable as Austen, but not as grating to my ear. And speaking of grating, I have to make mention that some of the vocal choices Westfield made for secondary characters really did not work for me. It hit my ear in the wrong way, and I often dreaded hearing them speak. But this was a fairly minor irritation and only brought things down a bit for me.
If you’re a fan of the THIRDS universe, then you’re definitely going to want to pick this one up. And always, I highly suggest you do it in audio.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
Thanks for an awesome review! As always, I’m behind in everything online, and I’m also behind in the Thirds series. I don’t mind mild spoilers like many readers do, so I try to read what I can about the series while I catch up. You did a great job of explaining the book without giving any spoilers though! ? Many “reviews” that are spoiler-free are also free of any useful info, IMO.
My only minor issue is that based on what you’ve said, I think the star ratings are a tad bit high. If there are some grating voices, to the point you dread hearing a character speak, then it shouldn’t earn 4.5 stars for audio, IMO. 4.5 stars is darned near perfect! And a half star means alot in a range of only 5.
If the story didn’t really live up to it’s potential for you, and the action scenes were predictable (a trend apparently in this series as I already tend to skim them myself, lol), certain plot points left unanswered (why Zach kept on keeping on, for example), or certain facts omitted that were irritating (why no one listened to Austen when he’s there to be listened to), then 4 stars for the actual story is a tad bit high. Strictly my opinion, and I LOVE your reviews, so please don’t misunderstand my intent. I get that overall you truly enjoyed this audio book.
I only wish folks weren’t hesitant to give 2.5 stars, 3 stars, or 3.5 stars because they seem like low ratings. They really aren’t; they’re honest ratings. Most books are overrated in this way, getting more stars than the written review supports. Again, IMO. And that’s what reviews and star ratings are; opinions. I get that. I’m only suggesting that the stars better reflect the views written in the text portion of the review. There are tons of highly-starred reviews I’ve read where the written portion is full of “except for this” and “I didn’t like that”, and my mind screams, “then why’d you give it 5 (or 4) stars!?!”
Again, I do always enjoy your reviews for the valuable info given sans spoilers. So I tend to read them even if they’re 4+ stars, which I’ve sworn off reading elsewhere (hello, Goodreads). Plus I gotta read everything Thirds! Thanks again for your review, and I can’t wait to catch up in this series.
Thanks for your thoughts! I think as a reviewer it is sometimes hard to figure out exactly how to match an overall feel for the book and a number rating. We do try our best to have them in sync but it isn’t always easy to convey thoughts through either format. I do appreciate you sharing your opinion and glad you enjoy our reviews! Jay
PS
WordPress isn’t letting me “like” anything, anywhere. And I have an account with them. *shrugs* But, I did like the review very much!