Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Ben

SERIES: Assassin’s To Order #2

AUTHOR: JP Sayle & Lisa Oliver

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 263 Pages

RELEASE DATE: April 22, 2023

BLURB:

Has Fate taken science and shown it who’s boss, when everything about Nico and Teilo is not what it seems?

Ben was happy looking out for the wider shifter population in his role as acting council lead. Then one particularly complex case involving the assassin program unfolds, making him question what he’s doing. When Ben comes across a photo, it sends him on a race home to Paraguay to fight for the shifter’s ultimate gift—his mates.

When the scientists leave Teilo and the others to rot in their cages—disappearing without a word—Teilo is ready to give up. Every waking minute of his life he dreams of freedom, a life he wants to share with Nico. Teilo doesn’t understand their connection, he just knows he can trust it soul deep.

Nico knows nothing else but life in a cage and his skills to bestow death on those the Devil wants dead. The only person who keeps him from going feral is his cage brother, Teilo. The man scientists use to get Nico to comply with their demands. Kept in their animal forms, with no food or water, they both know the end is coming for them.

That is, until a strange cat visits their basement…

Finding each other is just the beginning. Teilo and Nico have to heal, and Ben has a responsibility to the council. Can the three men untangle the binds that hold them and find the answers before someone else has to suffer the same fate?

Ben is a gritty MMM Paranormal Romance story. The book includes scenes of graphic violence and intimacies between three men (none of which are blood related). We intend it for adults only—please store your e-content responsibly and enjoy.

REVIEW:

While examining paperwork acquired from the shifter council archives, Ben sees a picture that has him hastily returning to his home country of Paraguay. His mates, Nico and Teilo, are being held in cages – part of an assassin’s program, and Ben’s senses tell him they are close to death.

Ben is the second novel in the Assassin’s To Order series, and I am so glad the authors decided to do this spin-off. I love the stories. Knowing what came before gives a more in-depth reading experience because there are some updates and interactions with the Thalassa family – but at a stretch, one can do without. In this installment, I was given a brutal yet heartwarming treat. Also, Ben’s family is introduced, whose diverse personalities could feature in future stories as another powerful family alongside the Thalassa boys.

The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Ben, Nico, and Teilo. I can’t honestly say much about the technicalities as I was too engrossed in the story. Worldbuilding centers around the conditions, people, and upbringing of the assassin’s within the program, which was bloody and cruel – kudos to the author for how these areas were written.

Ben, Nico, and Teilo form a triad relationship. Nico and Teilo don’t know how to live in the world; all they’ve had are cages and a leash, surviving from minute to minute with no hope of planning for the future outside of the next kill. Yet, despite their background, Nico is the protector, and every time Teilo kills, his soul has an emotional backlash. Both have intimate feelings for the other, but they can’t act on them through bars. Their only education was how to scope a mark and kill – reading, writing, sex-ed, personal interaction, and development are deemed unnecessary. So, when they gain freedom, cuddling, and ice cream are big things. Ben is their teacher, guide, and whatever they need him to be.

The story is a brutal, no-holds-barred account of the horrific life that the shifters, specifically Nico and Teilo, have endured. Ben helps bring them into the light, and this is a beautiful journey. However, as is the nature of these stories, the oppressed have talents, and retribution is on the cards alongside some lovin’. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story – and judging by the epilogue, there’s another in the series to look forward to – wuhoooo.

RATING:

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