Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Vengeance
SERIES: The Protectors
AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy
NARRATOR: Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 10 hours and 43 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2019
BLURB:
“What if you didn’t have to stop kissing him, Memphis? What if you didn’t have to choose me over him?” (Brennan)
Memphis
At 34 years old, ex-DEA agent Memphis Wheland has lived, loved, and lost…everything. The ultimate betrayal by the man he gave everything to has left Memphis with no family, no career, and a bone-deep bitterness that refuses to release him from its icy grip. His work with an underground vigilante organization is the only light in his otherwise bleak existence. That and the occasional no-strings hookup with men whose only focus in that moment, and for as long as Memphis wants them, is him and only him. No clingy exes, no unrequited love, no relationship drama. Period.
Brennan
With his entire life ahead of him, graduate student Brennan Devereaux wasn’t expecting it to change in the blink of an eye. But when a case of mistaken identity nearly costs Brennan his life, it isn’t just his future that’s about to change, but his past too. Because for years he’s been in love with a young man who only sees him as a friend and nothing more. And while he was content to love Tristan Barretti from afar, he hadn’t expected to be drawn to the mysterious stranger who saved his life and changed it with a simple promise.
I’m not letting you go.
Tristan
At 19, Tristan Barretti should have had the world at his feet. His musical gifts have garnered him prestige as well as admission to the famed Julliard School in New York and he has a family that most people would kill for. But the protective bubble his fathers have kept him in has burst and he’s discovered that life outside his unconditionally loving family isn’t as accepting of a kid born with HIV. A poor decision to find answers to questions better left unasked, along with the complications of living with his disease, have Tristan returning to Seattle and the solace of his family.
Choices
Even though a physical relationship with Brennan was supposed to be just that, Memphis finds himself unable to refuse his young lover’s request to help put a stop to the threat against Tristan. Even knowing full well that Brennan’s heart lies with the man he claims is nothing more than a friend, Memphis accepts the challenge of ensuring Tristan’s safety.
But when the quiet music student stops being a “job” and starts being something much more, Memphis is torn between his growing feelings for both young men and the fear that he’ll be facing an even greater betrayal that he’ll never be able to come back from.
Except none of that matters when the threat that Memphis never saw coming puts Brennan and Tristan in the crosshairs….
REVIEW:
This is the fifth book in the series The Protectors written by Ms. Sloane Kennedy. This fifth book is once again voiced over by Mr. Michael Dean. This beloved series is about a group of men who have sworn to protect those who have been abused sexually, kidnapped and sold through human trafficking, sexually-slaved and other such heinous crimes. They are the ones who take care of those who have escaped the arms of the law. They take care of those who have repeatedly committed the crime even after being incarcerated for it and somehow released again. But these men have also been through so much in their personal lives. They have lived through horrors you and I could never imagine going through, least of all, surviving it and living on with their lives, no matter how hard things get.
Memphis Wheland is one of Ronan Grisham’s trusted men. He is a Protector, through and through. He was just given the authority to lead the other men in the team while his team leader, Maverick James, sits behind the desk, as we say. After saving his partner from his abusive stepfather, Mav has decided to let Memphis take over his role as team leader, with Ronan’s blessings.
A few weeks ago, while watching out for the stepfather’s men outside of Eli’s apartment, Memphis saw Brennan Devereaux enter Eli’s apartment bringing Eli’s dog to wait for Eli’s return home. But what waited for him inside the apartment was a nightmare he never expected. Brennan got shot and Memphis got there in time to kill the other perpetrator while Eli’s dog took care of the one who shot Brennan. That was how Memphis and Brennan met, on Brennan’s deathbed, or so they thought. Fortunately, Brennan survived the attack but he never got to thank Memphis in person because Memphis left immediately after assuring himself that Brennan was going to live.
They met again, though, while Memphis was at Mav and Eli’s newly-leased apartment. He was consulting with Maverick on the jobs that they were going to assign to the men. Brennan was able to thank Memphis when he suddenly appeared for a visit with Eli. Memphis couldn’t deny how beautiful Brennan is but he also couldn’t forget what Brennan told him that night, “tell Tristan that I love him!” Because of his past, Memphis could never fathom acting on his attraction with someone who was clearly in love with someone else.
Brennan has overcome a lot in his young age. Left to take care of a younger sister while looking for their half-brother, who he never knew existed, after their mother died. When his stepfather opted to take care of his sister and not him, he knew that what he has feared all along will happen. His sister was going to be abused. He had no choice but to take away his sister and look for the brother that his mother mentioned. He never knew he would have this chance to a bright future, and he is thankful to his older brother, Zane, and his husband, Connor.
Tristan never knew he could have a future. Born HIV-positive, no one ever gave him a chance in the foster system until the day he met Zane Devereaux. Zane saved him. And his fathers, Dominic and Logan Barretti gave him a new life. But being HIV-positive made him a pariah in his own school after the information came out. He opted to return home and embark on a new career, teaching music to young children.
These three beautiful human beings have gone through unspeakable horrors, survived them the best way they could and started on a new life. But will loving each other pose new challenges for them?
Just when you think Ms. Sloane Kennedy couldn’t come up with a story that can break you, along came Vengeance. It will break you but then it will heal you.
I have so much respect for Mr. Michael Dean. Voicing over characters with all the emotions needed is something that requires talent and empathy. He is able to use different tones, inflections and emotion for each character in every scene. He is able to break you down with all the angst-filled thoughts that each character go through. You will feel the heartbreaking confessions and emotions when each of our main characters recall what they went through.
Excellent writing combined with emotion-filled voice overs will give you the amazing love story you never thought you needed. Congratulations Ms. Sloane Kennedy and Mr. Michael Dean!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Read More » […]