Reviewed by Roberta

 

TITLE: Transcend

SERIES: Fillmore #1

AUTHOR: West Thornhill

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 264 pages

 

BLURB: 2nd Edition

When Gael Astley is rescued from his life as a sadist’s sex slave, he enters a world he never knew existed and discovers he’s quite a different man than he thought. For instance, he has the powers of telepathy and telekinesis—but he doesn’t know what that means for his new life. With the help of the one person he knows he can trust, Gael embarks on an intense training regime that leads to a new career as an agent for Fillmore, a top-secret paranormal group.

Jason Phillips, a member of the Fillmore team, has secrets of his own. Though he tries to distance himself from Gael, both men feel a strong pull toward each other. Meanwhile, threats from Gael’s past put him and others at grave risk. If Gael can overcome his insecurities and trust his abilities, and if Jason can trust Gael with his secrets, they might find a way to keep everyone safe—and possibly grow their attraction into something more.

1st Edition published by Silver Publishing, January 2012

 

REVIEW:

Wow, this book had so much going on and I was really glad that I got the chance to review it.

Gael Astley has had a rough life.  He was kidnapped by his mother at 2 yrs old and later abandoned and put in an orphanage.  Next he is claimed by this man who claimed to be part of his family, he’s not in the least.  From there Gerard drugs Gael and prostitutes him out.  Always keeping him drugged so that he won’t fight the abuse that is heaped on him.  Holy Hannah, reading about Gael’s past made my heart hurt.  I had tears in my eyes reading his story.  But then he’s saved by Rick, a therapist who works for the Fillmore Agency.  Rick helps Gael find his balance in life again.  He’s getting better everyday.  Gael starts to show an aptitude for having multiple telepathic gifts and is now working for the Fillmore Agency.  Gael is such a wonderful young man.  I really liked that after everything that he’d been through, he was stronger than he thought just by staying strong and making a life for himself.  Gael still has panic attacks, but he works his way through them and remains so resilient in having a life of his own.  Gael is so loving, giving and kind.  I just love how watching Gael mature and find out who he is.

 

Jason Phillips is a lion shifter who works at the Fillmore Agency.  Jason’s home life wasn’t the best either.  Once Jason came out to his family, his siblings who loved him and supported him.  His mother and father on the other hand…not so much.  His mother has always wanted him to marry another female shifter and live the life that she dictated him to have.  He moved away from his family and made a family of his own with the agents of the Fillmore Agency. Jason is this really loving and loyal guy.  He’s so steadfast and wants to protect Gael with everything that is in him.  Jason loves the people that make up the family that he now has and he would do anything to keep them safe.

 

The story was one of hope and love and family and really it was about strength.  I loved all the themes that were in this story.  The author really wove such a wonderful story and I was hooked from the first word.  Poor Gael and all that he had gone through and how he kept finding his strength.  I loved the way that Jason helped Gael to become stronger.  I really liked seeing Gael and Jason learn to rely on each other and yet, still remain individuals.

 

There was some suspense-ish stuff going on.  I mean, you know who is doing the stuff, but it’s the how it gets resolved was pretty damn good.  I really liked the way this part of the story played out.  I was really vested in how this issue would be resolved and I was really happy.

 

I will say that I loved seeing the growth of not just the MC’s but the secondary characters as well.  Kyle had some issues that need(ed) to be worked on and he’s working on it.  Rick is such a great character.  Rick’s empathy and strength kept everyone moving along towards the future.  Tink  is just one of the greatest female character that I’ve seen lately.  She’s totally snarky, witty and you can’t predict what she’s going to do next.  It was so much fun watching all of the characters interact with each other and make it work.

 

The flow of the story was excellent.  I have to say that I was never jarred out of the story.  I was wrapped up in what was happening and wanted to make sure that Gael and Jason got their HEA!! This is one story that you will truly enjoy reading.

 

*WARNING*

I will say that this book dealt with abuse of both mental and physical of a child.  I will say that reading about happened to Gael hurt my heart and I had tears in my eyes.  So please be warned.

RATING:

 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

ARe