Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: Reluctance

SERIES: Southwestern Shifters #9

AUTHOR: Bailey Bradford

PUBLISHER: Totally Bound Publishing

LENGTH: 63,269 words

BLURB: What starts out as a simple assignment becomes everything Keegan ever feared, and everything he ever wanted.

Keegan has served Marcus, his Alpha Anax, to the best of his abilities. After the deaths of several guards a year ago, however, Keegan is afraid he’s going to unravel at the seams. His worry over keeping everyone safe robs him of sleep and any hope of peace.

And people are noticing. Members of the guards he is captain of think he needs to get laid, or at least remember how to laugh. Keegan thinks they need to learn that there are boundaries they shouldn’t cross with him. When he learns of a security breach by Marcus’ brother Aidan, exposing a flaw in the safety measures Keegan has set in place, Keegan is desperate to find someone to make sure the electronics at the shifter compound are break-in proof.

Marcus and Nathan are worried about Keegan. When they find someone to do the job Keegan needs done, they make sure Keegan is the one to take a short trip to Brazil to pick up the security expert, Olin. But when Olin and Keegan meet, they snap and snarl at each other while fighting the mating bond that keeps flaring between them.

Then something happens that forces them both to depend on each other, and if they’re lucky enough, they might even survive the ordeal. But first they’ll have to escape their would-be captors, and make it through the rainforest, where strange things are bound to happen.

REVIEW: This story was such a fun read. 

Keegan had a hell of a year.  He lost some of his guards in a fight for the throne last year and it’s changed Keegan. He’s always been serious, but now, he’s not sleeping and he’s becoming more paranoid and obsessed with keeping Marcus and Nathan safe at all costs.  He’s finally reaching the end of his rope and he’s not even aware of it.  Keegan is such a loyal, kind and loving man who takes his responsibility to heart and will move heaven and earth to get his job done.  He holds on to each failure and death to haunt him because he doesn’t want that to happen again.  Keegan is in for the surprise of his life!!

Olin is a security specialist who lives in Brazil because of his twin brother, Clark.  Clark is mated to Cory a shifter.  Olin is such a dynamo.  He’s tougher than anyone expects. He’s also such a snarky, sarcastic, lovable guy.  Olin has little man syndrome.  He’s 5’5 and hell on wheels.  Olin gives respect after it’s earned.  Olin is also quite dominant when it comes to his life and especially in the bedroom!! Olin doesn’t even realize that the mate of his dreams is coming and what a adventure it will be!!

The secondary characters in this book were pretty awesome.  I really liked how they showed they were worried about Keegan and even when he put them off and kept hiding how lost he was.  That was truly impressive.  I also liked how Olin’s people showed that they cared.  They even when Olin was at his snarky best.  They allowed him to be who he was and yet they also gave him the truth, even when he didn’t want to see it.  They showed their love and acceptance in everything that they did.

The sexy times in this book were pretty hot. Olin is such a wonderfully dominant guy who allowed Keegan to truly relax and let go.  It was really great to see that this smaller man take charge of this bigger guy who felt the need to always be in control of himself and the people under his care.  To watch Keegan actually thrive and blossom under Olin’s care was pretty amazing.  It showed such amazing strength of character.  I really enjoyed their interactions together.

This book was such a wonderful read.  I really enjoyed the action/adventure part of the story.  It was such a pleasure to see Olin truly be part of a team and give of himself and fight for the survival of the entire group. I enjoyed watching Olin and Keegan snipe and argue as well.  It was a nice form of foreplay between the two of them.  I giggled reading Olin’s snarky comments. 

If you have a couple of hours and would like to read a book that was fun and yet it still kept you truly invested in the story, this is one is for you.  I know that it’s part of a series, yet even not reading the prior books, this book was a great standalone.  You could follow the story and not be lost. 

RATING:

BUY LINKS: https://www.totallybound.com/reluctance?author_id=114