Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Vespar

SERIES: Order of the Black Knights #3

AUTHOR: Thianna Durston

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 4, 2017

BLURB:

Special ops turned professional killer, Vespar McKauley is hired to take out Marcolm Rogers, son of his employer’s worst enemy. But Marc isn’t like any hit he’s ever done. He’s just twenty-one, he goes to a private university studying English Lit, and for fun he plays computer games with his friends. No drugs, no partying, no crime. The day he bumps into Marc and looks into his azure eyes, the world drops out from under him.
With his father in the Chicago Crime Syndicate, Marc and his mom have stayed out of the limelight, hiding from those that might harm them. He figures he’s safe at a small liberal arts university all the way across the country. Only midway through his senior year, he feels eyes on him and the shadows encroaching. Just as he’s about to run, he meets Vespar and experiences an instant attraction. When Vespar tells him he’s in danger and offers to protect him, Marc wants to believe him. But he’s been hunted before, and this time he isn’t sure he’ll get away. Especially when he finds out he is Vespar’s target.

REVIEW:

Now this was what I was looking for in these stories. This one I really liked. There was a good plot, suspense, some angst, and all the good stuff. And things were not just sex and that’s it. So far out of this series, this one is the best to me.

With the urges to kill that Vespar had, the military seemed like a good fit. But it ended up not working out well at all. So he turned to becoming a hitman. The problem is, his mark. When he got into this profession, he decided and said off the bat that he would not harm Innocents or children. When he sees his mark, it throws him completely off his game. He knows there is more going on than what is being told. Marcolm is just a sweet young man, who doesn’t get into any trouble, doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t drink. Nothing. So why is there a hit on him? Vespar finds out Marcolm is being used as a pawn in the crime syndicate game. Marcolm, being the grandson of the head of the Chicago syndicate, got away from the family with his mom when he was very young. And they are stopping at nothing to get him back. But enemies are using Marcolm as a way to get even and Vespar decides he needs to protect Marcolm. He will stop at nothing to keep this young man safe, even if it means turning himself in. Marcolm brings something to Vespar no one else ever has. Peace. And it’s time to bring the hunters down.

So often in books, the bad guys are just that. Bad. They never get a chance at redemption. They never WANT to change. Even though Vespar was a Black Knight, he was different from the beginning. Even though he had the urge to kill, he always had a purpose. As he was younger, he never killed animals for sport like so many did. Like people like him did. He made use of his kills. The meat was used to feed his family, the hides used for clothing and such. When he got on his own after the military, he wouldn’t even kill people just to kill. No Innocents. No children. Only people that are deserving. And for someone that is supposed to be bad, I love him. Because even with the urges he has, the sense of good is still there. The sense of right and wrong. So when he ‘runs into’ his mark, Marcolm, he is thrown for a loop, because there is no way this young man could be a mark. This young man who does no wrong. What throws Vespar even more, is that for the first time in his life, the urges are gone. Just touching the skin of this young man brings him a peace he has never known. And he fights it at first. Surely this can’t be right. But the more he is around Marcolm, the more he realizes he needs this man and he wants to save him and protect him. He wants to be a better man for him. Someone who is deserving.

Marcolm is the sweetest little thing ever. He’s used to being on the run, but he thought he finally had a chance at a somewhat normal life. He’s months away from graduation and he’s so excited. But lately he feels like he is being watched and he hopes that he will at least get to finish school before he has to run again. He just wants a  normal life. To be left alone. When he ‘runs into’ Vespar, he even has hopes of maybe having a date. Marcolm falls in lust the minute he sees Vespar. He has never seen a man like him. Every thought is about him. So when Vespar shows interest in him as well, he is overjoyed. As they spend a little time together, Vespar ends up telling him part of the truth. That he is being hunted and Vespar wants to protect him and teach him to take care of himself. Marcolm has no choice but to believe him and go on the run again. The more time the spend together, though, the more the chemistry becomes heightened. And the more Marcolm is actually falling in love. But being hunted and lies that were omitted have a way of coming to light and things are just going downhill in every way possible. He feels betrayed and doesn’t know who to trust anymore. It’s so heartbreaking. Marcolm just wanted peace and the man he thought was loving him too.

Redemption can come in many ways. Righting a wrong, protecting someone, etc. You just have to take the opportunity to use it when it comes upon you. That’s what I love about this book. Someone who was supposed to be bad took the chance to do good. To do something right and make things better. He took a chance on himself and let feelings he never thought he could feel come to fruition. This is such a good book. All about forgiveness, love, redemption and goodness. Of course you can’t have good without the bad, but good overcomes.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

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