Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Fighting Instinct
SERIES: L’Ange: Book Two
AUTHOR: Mary Calmes
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 224 Pages
BLURB:
L’Ange: Book Two
Only a privileged few know L’Ange’s head of security Arman de Soto is a shifter, and even fewer know he’s been systematically killing off a pack of werewolves. The reason for this vengeance is a secret Arman trusts with no one, quite the opposite of his obvious longtime pursuit of the château’s overseer, Linus Hobbes. Despite Arman’s reputation as a loner, the only thing he needs to complete his life is Linus. Predator and prey just don’t mix—but Arman won’t give him up.
Linus has lived alone for more than seven years, sheltered at L’Ange under an assumed name and hiding secrets of his own, including his terrifying attraction to the most dangerous man he’s ever met. Arman knows Linus should be afraid of the predator stalking him, but Linus is still drawn to him like a moth to a flame, no matter how much he tries to deny his instincts. It’s not until Linus’s past and Arman’s crusade exposes their secrets and opens L’Ange to attack that Arman realizes waiting any longer is a risk he just can’t take. So he’ll have to take his quest to the source of the threat in a gamble to protect L’Ange, Linus, and any future they might have together.
REVIEW:
I’ve been waiting for this book since I first read, Old Loyalty, New Love. I had such a girl crush on Arman after the Phoenix scenes. I just loved him so much!! I liked his ambiguity in the first book. I couldn’t wait to see what his book had in store.
Arman de Soto is this wonderful blend of danger and sweetness. Arman is the head of security at L’Ange and he’s been doing it for sometime. He’s still in the Marine reserves and he works with his teammates that he met in the Marines. Arman is just GONE over Linus. I really LOVED how he was so gone over this man. I really liked how Arman saw himself as this predator who doesn’t care about others. Who is filled with so much anger and vengeance for the wrong done to someone who he cares about. Arman thinks of himself as so hard (and believe me he is) but this man is really this caring guy who will move heaven and earth to protect those in his care. I love that he has his own insecurity to deal with and that Linus is truly the only one who can help him see just how freaking wonderful he is!!
Linus Hobbes…I don’t even know where to begin with Linus. Linus is a stag shifter who has had this horrible past. I mean HORRIBLE!!! Linus is this really strong person and you really get a better sense of who he is in this book. In OLNL, Linus was this aloof, well-groomed man who you got to see for brief moments. But in this story…you get to really see who this man is. What his past has done to him and how it changed him. I was with him from the moment he stepped on the page until the very end. I really found myself falling for this guy. After all of the hurt and trauma that is his past…this man is much stronger than you’d think. I loved watching him grow in such a short amount of time. To see Linus fill with self-confidence and see himself as he truly is. I really loved watching the transformation in him.
The secondary characters in this book…Wow, I just Loved Them!! The team that works security with Arman, his Marine Recon team…these guys…what an AMAZING bunch of guys. These guys have Arman’s back in any way, shape or form. They are 100% good guys. I loved each and every one of them. Jagger Schulz, Luke Blaymore, Hastings Lange & Scott Chau. These guys are truly brothers in arms. I really liked them A LOT!!! You get to see Quade and Roman in this story. It was good to see them and to see that they are still going strong. Jon Slade, the hustler that we met in OLNL, is in this story and I actually really liked him in this book. I liked him in the other book, but this one…LOVED HIM!!
Now, the sex scenes in this story were really HAWT!! I have to say that Mary does great sex scenes, but between Arman and Linus…WOW!! These two strong men are so very sexy together and they fit together. I really liked that even though they were attracted to each other…that they didn’t just jump into sex. They actually have a foundation together and it’s so freaking wonderful!!
This book was better than I even expected. The complex characters that appear in this story are not all good nor are they all bad. The writing in this book is AMAZING. You feel each and every emotion that the characters are feeling. When you read about Linus’ past…trust me…you’ll want to open a can of whoop ass on those that hurt him. I liked that it was just after Old Loyalty, New Love. That is was just a wonderful continuation of the L’Ange crew. I have to say that I still Love Arman. In fact, I love him more than I did in OLNL. This guy just makes my heart happy. He’s the Anti-Hero Hero!!! He’s an amazing man and that’s what did it for me. I will say that it took a while to find out what kind of shifter Arman is…it was driving me crazy the wanting to know…good job on that Mary!!!
Now, I will give you a word of caution, there is a bit of past captivity and past rape in this story. They briefly talk about it and it’s off page…but I really want to give that caution in case this is a trigger for you.
I promise you…READ THIS BOOK!! I would say to read Old Loyalty, New Love…as this is one of my new fave books, and then read this book as you’ll have some knowledge of these characters.
P.S.- Mary…I know that you’re going to do Jon’s story next, I just KNOW IT!! PUUULLLLLLEEEESSSEEE?!?!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
I’ve been waiting for this book – thank you! It sounds just as good as I hoped.