Blood & Thunder: THIRDS Book 2, Charlie Cochet

The plot becomes deeper, the action more intense, and the explosiveness bigger.  In all the ways.  Sometimes bigger isn't always better.  With how crazy things get in this story I'm wondering how the series can truly be sustained because, I mean, where would you go from here?  How much bigger can you get?  How many more secrets can be exposed, bombs set off, life-threatening situations for the MC's, near saves and near misses...just where do you expect to end up when you've already blown the roof off in only book 2?

While things are ramping up from the fallout of Hell & High Water, there's more we get from Sloane.  I think a lot of it is necessary because of what we lacked so much from before.  He's still as tight-lipped as ever and dismissive and cold and a bit of a jerk...okay, a lot of a jerk.  But we're also seeing something softer, much more vulnerable, and something that might be worth redeeming.  He's not there by the end of this one, unfortunately, but there's a lot more here to root for than before.

Oh Dex.  I'm still in love with him, that's for sure.  I do wish he didn't become a little more of a doormat though.  Sloane's hot and cold routine is wearing thin, especially because they're so incredibly hot between the sheets.  What we were lacking in sexual scenes in book one, we're making up for in book two in spectacular fashion.  What I liked about that was that even though I'm annoyed with Dex continually taking it (figuratively and literally) from Sloane without receiving any kind of deeper intimacy over and over again, he's not oblivious to what's going on.  He knows how deep he's getting and acknowledges that it's not the best situation and sees the likelihood of a miserable outcome for him.  Doesn't excuse it at all, but the awareness is something I'd expect in the very least from someone as intelligent, insightful, and strong-willed as him.

I'm still absolutely invested in this world, especially because I have a feeling that the direction of book three is going to take us somewhere a little more emotional, a little more insidious, and a little more quiet.  Not that we shouldn't expect plenty of shifty goodness, bedroom shaking, and explosion detonating moments along with ridiculous Dex-antics to love, but definitely quieter than all the crazy we've gotten thus far.  I'm definitely in for more of all of it.  Plus, I still have a little hope that Sloane will get his act together and be worthy of Dex.

*$4.99 on Amazon!

Action. Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy.

When a series of bombs go off in a Therian youth center, injuring members of THIRDS Team Destructive Delta, and causing a rift between agents Dexter J. Daley and Sloane Brodie, peace seems unattainable. Especially when a new and frightening group, the Order of Adrasteia, appears to always be a step ahead. With panic and intolerance spreading and streets becoming littered with the Order’s propaganda, hostility between Humans and Therians grows daily. Dex and Sloane, along with the rest of the team, are determined to take down the Order and restore peace, not to mention settle a personal score. But the deeper the team investigates the bombings, the more they believe there’s a more sinister motive than a desire to shed blood and spread chaos.

Discovering the frightful truth behind the Order’s intent forces Sloane to confront secrets from a past he thought he’d left behind for good, a past that could not only destroy him and his career, but also the reputation of the organization that made him all he is today. Now more than ever, Dex and Sloane need each other, and, along with trust, the strength of their bond will mean the difference between justice and all-out war.