Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Fighter
SERIES: Survivor #3
AUTHOR: TM Smith
PUBLISHER: TCC Publishing
LENGTH: 251 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 23, 2019
BLURB:
Dedication and smarts have given Blair Cummings a leg up in the Bureau. His job is all-consuming but rewarding. It doesn’t leave much time for a love life though, not that Blair believes in love. In his early thirties, he’s only ever been in one long-term relationship due to his inability to commit to anything other than his job and his family.
Born into a family that’s as successful as they are hateful, Howard Manning Tullor Junior ran so far away from his last name that he wound up in the arms of Satan himself. Freedom comes at a high price but it’s one Mannie is willing to pay, setting him on a path that leads him to a quiet, laid-back FBI agent.
Their attraction is unexpected, and yet, welcomed. Blair seems to have finally found something worth fighting for, but Mannie, still haunted by ghosts of the past, wonders if he’ll ever be able to move on. The two are working toward their future, but can a budding romance survive when past and present collide?
REVIEW:
Of the two books I’ve read in the series, this one is the one I think could most easily be read as a standalone. I appreciate this sounds odd from the last book in the series, but I think this one is not quite as enmeshed in the central story as the others and branches out into new territory. It also has the least jumping around timewise.
Of the, two, this was my favourite book, even though the they weren’t my favourite MC’s, that was Rory and Shannon from the previous book. The secondary characters in this were one were delightful. Zoe is my favourite secondary character from both books. She added tremendous energy and both weight and light relief, which is a feat in itself.
There was still some jumping around at the beginning which wasn’t as jarring as the second one and I didn’t think they were a problem this time. There was also a little more pause to allow for detail, character development and a more in depth examination of characters’ feelings and thoughts.
There were still some weaknesses in the writing. There were places where I felt the story was stretched or skipping over events and sometimes the thought processes were stiff. However, this is definitely the better of the two books and I enjoyed reading it very much.
I’m not sure if this is the end of the series.I believe so because a number of loose ends were nicely tied up – some that I hadn’t realised were still dangling. The ending was extremely satisfying for lots of different reasons, and gave me the emotional depth I had been craving. In a sense there was a feeling that the previous book had been a stop gap to get to the ending which I felt was far more fleshed out and “real” that anything I’d read so far.
Please don’t get the impression that I didn’t like book two or that this book is the shining example of perfect writing. Neither are entirely true. However, this is very definitely my favourite book. It was generally very well written, had depth, some wonderful secondary characters, two MC’s well worth rooting for, an interesting storyline and a satisfying ending. It’s all you could want from a romance book. The sex is also very satisfying and had a very real feeling progression from tentative to hot as Mannie came to terms with his past and became ready to grab his future with both hands.
I heartily recommend this books to lovers of romance with honey rather than pure sugar.
RATING: 
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