Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Fletcher
SERIES: Fire Lake #2
AUTHOR: M Tasia
PUBLISHER: Borough Publishing Group
LENGTH: 196 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 18, 2021
BLURB:
BLOOD BROTHERS
Fletcher Daniels has family. The family he chose. His Navy SEAL family.
Those who share his DNA are dead to him, except his brother Kyle.
When Kyle disappears, Fletcher is forced to confront his “blood” family, whose mere presence makes going through Hell Week at BUD/S feel like a walk in the park.
Saving Kyle is fraught with intrigue and betrayal. With his real “brothers” at his back, and the addition of a tough sheriff who’s decided Fletcher is his, they uncover unthinkable crimes.
Elias Cooper thought he’d left military maneuvers behind when he retired from the Marines and became the sheriff of Marshall County. Working with Fletcher and his team brought it all back.
Now, Elias will do everything and anything to keep the man he loves alive, especially when the pain in the ass doesn’t want the help.
Two tough men with hardened hearts come to learn the meaning of community and love.
REVIEW:
Except for his brother Kyle, Fletcher was estranged from his blood relatives. Instead, the former SEAL ran Lake House Investigations with his chosen family of Navy Brothers while also playing a confusing game of romantic cat and mouse with Sheriff Cooper. When news of Kyle’s disappearance reaches Fletcher, he, and his chosen family, plus a very protective Sheriff, go on the hunt, starting at Fletcher’s childhood home. What they find is something no one ever expected.
Fletcher is the second novel in the Fire Lake Series. The story opens to a dramatic page-turning start to Fletcher’s world. Then things slow down for a bit while we get to know the man and the dynamics surrounding his relationship with former Marine Sheriff Cooper. Fletcher has his chosen brothers, who form a masterful, tough, not to be messed with family. When one of their own is in need – they are there with all the experience and technology that retired SEALs have at their disposal.
The technical aspects of the story are not bad, and worldbuilding suited my reading tastes. Fletcher and Cooper admired each other for a while, and when they finally get together, there is an element of Insta-love-declaration and commitment. To date, this is a feature of the series – which can be a bit of a marmite component. But, love it, or hate it, there is no denying that Lake House Investigations know what they are doing, are tough dudes, and rarely get blindsided.
Sheriff Cooper is a protective soul, especially when it comes to Fletcher and (other than Kyle) his asshole family. There is lots of quiet support and a number of mushy (occasionally explicit) moments that show that this story isn’t all guns and technology. Fletcher’s unwavering commitment to his brother was awesome.
Through the pages, the band of brothers encounters drama, family confrontation, homophobia, and a shit-storm surrounding Kyle’s disappearance, which I’m not going to go into because that would be spoiling the story. I found that some elements could only occur within the confines of book covers, and while a couple of things made me pause for a minute, they were no less entertaining.
Overall, a tough-guy, good-guy – all against the bad-guy, entertaining read with some tender bits to show that everyone has a soft side.
RATING: 
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