Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: No Filter
SERIES: No Shame (book #1)
AUTHOR: Nora Phoenix
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 290 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2017
BLURB:
Indy will do anything to prevent his mobster ex from finding him. Their last encounter left Indy recovering for months in the hospital, and ever since he’s become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Determined to stay under the radar, he takes on a new identity and moves from place to place. His life has no room for friendships, let alone love, so he keeps his heart firmly closed. After all, he has nothing to offer but a damaged body and a broken soul. Plus, he’s so done with men. Until he meets the man who breaks through all his defenses.
Former Army Medic Noah came back damaged from his last tour—in more than one way. Between supporting his best friend-with-benefits Josh who’s struggling with PTSD, dealing with his own issues, and the stress of his job as a physician assistant, rebuilding his life seems impossible. There’s little time for what Noah needs, let alone for what he wants. When he meets Indy, Noah discovers what he wants more than anything: for Indy to stay. But how will a relationship with Indy work when Noah needs Josh as well?
Indy never expected the strong, confident Noah to be as damaged and broken as himself. But what will happen if he starts letting Noah in? Indy knows he should run to protect Noah and Josh.
Noah needs Indy to stay more than anything. But will what little he has to offer be enough to make Indy trust him and stay?
No Filter is a steamy M/M romance featuring an open relationship (no cheating!) that ends with a HFN, but with the promise of a HEA. It’s the first book in the No Shame Series, and is not a stand-alone novel. It contains hot sex, a hint of a ménage, lots of talk about hot sex, flashbacks of said hot sex, and…Oh well, you get the idea. Also: trigger warning for mentions of sexual abuse.
REVIEW:
This is a brand new author that I fell onto by accident but am glad I did.
Indy has escaped to unfathomable. He was a young teen when his mother sold him to a drug lord mobster. He has experienced some of the most horrendous and unspeakable things to stay alive and is on the run disguised as a girl. When he is accidentally at the wrong place at the wrong time his life changes. He realizes that the man next to him during a robbery is in the throws of a PTSD episode. So, with all his might and jujitsu training, he takes the man down…not an easy task for a man as small as he is. When he passes out at the scene, from saving him from a fall, he is transported to the local ER. There he meets the roommate/boyfriend (???) of the man he saved. Noah is so thankful that this woman (?) saved his best friend during the robbery. He will protect Josh from anything, like he has tried since they were young. When the men, who have figured out that Indy is not only a man, but needs their help, they take him home with them. “No Filter” is the story of these three broken men who form a bond and try their best to help each other through life.
First and foremost I have to give a major warning: although it is recalled through an explanation of why things are the way they are, there is rape and torture in this book. This can be a major trigger for people. I know I wasn’t prepared for the graphic nature the explanation took.
These men are very damaged. Indy by his captor. Both Josh and Noah by their time in the armed forces. And they deal with their damages in very unique and unorthodox ways. That being said, this book hooked me and reeled me in. You can’t help but hope for the best for these men but I was on my toes with concern for their safety. Indy’s ex is definitely after him and he is in grave danger.
If you you are hoping for ménage I can’t say that is what you get. The three are caring and involved with each other. They have even seen each of the other two have sex or pleasured each other but I can’t really label this as ménage. More like they just watch. And there is A LOT of sex in this book. I haven’t heard of hard sex to relieve pain before so that was a new twist for me.
Also, if I were a betting person I would guess that this author has watched a lot of the television show “Gray’s Anatomy”. She uses it several times as an explanation of why Indy knows so much about medical conditions.
I know this doesn’t sound like my typical type of book that I would choose but it got under my skin and made me keep reading, even if at times I was a bit fearful to. This is a HFN but the author has promised that I will get (eventually) my needed HEA. This is the first of at least 3 books in this series and I was pleased to read that they are due out about once a month. That’s good because, even though I wouldn’t officially call this a cliffhanger, it did kinda leave me hanging on what will happen next. I will say that I am hooked and can’t wait for Josh and Connor’s story to unfold along with where Indy and Noah go.
RATING: 
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