NOT A HERO (Sons of the Survivalist #1) by CHERISE SINCLAIR

‘When a man bleeds to save your ass, you know you got no finer a friend.’

Cherise Sinclair has been one of our favourite Authors since we first picked up her Shadowlands series back in 2011. She became synonymous with our early love for kink; strong heroes who loved with abandon and emotion as well as wonderful heroines who had just the perfect balance of vulnerability and strength. Her writing is mature and thrilling with a penchant for high thrilling drama that is always spot on and never overdone. There’s no question, her books always keep us riveted and entertained with the sporadic dash to the freezer for a cool down.

“Solitary isn’t healthy for herd animals. But in your case, you’ll want to indulge in quiet time, too, or you’ll feel like people are crawling inside your skin.”

Not a Hero is the first book in a new series, with characters introduced in a recent Shadowlands novella, Defiance. Shadowlands being our favourite BDSM series by this Author, if you’ve not read it yet, you seriously must if you too have a penchant for kink and heroes that are simply to die for, with storylines that’ll keep you up reading into the late hours.

‘How long had it been since he’d enjoyed a woman – let alone one who worried about him? The combination of sweet and sexy was irresistible.’

Excited to embark on a new journey with this Author we immediately became swept up in the story, connected with the characters, whilst intrigued by what was unfolding. Again, the writing had us hooked and the characters even more so. Whilst our expectations weren’t quite met in some areas (no BDSM!) the trademark suspense and drama was totally on the money. This is entirely on us as we weren’t expecting it to be so tame and lukewarm in comparison to Cherise Sinclair’s usual recipe of fiery heat and domination which she writes ever so well.

‘He smiled. Her personality was a fascinating mixture of brilliance and logic and enthusiasm and compassion.’

Gabe, alongside his three foster brothers, was rescued at an early age from an abusive foster home. Brothers in arms up against a vile man, stood together in defiance when one of them was taken down. On that same day Sargent Mako comes upon them, rounds up the boys and takes them with him to Alaska where they become a dysfunctional family unit, but a family unit nonetheless with an unbreakable bond of brotherhood. All bearing individual scars and varying degrees of internal brokenness. After the death of their beloved PTSD suffering father figure, the solitude seeking Gabriel disappears until Mako’s last written request changes the path of his four grown-up ‘sons’.

‘Audrey was a nerd – a brilliant one, true, but…a nerd. Socially inept, somewhat clumsy…That was who she was.’

Audrey, a sweet and shy librarian gets unknowingly involved in something which puts her directly in the path of violence and evil. She becomes privy to criminal activity, she has no place being a part of. With a death sentence hanging over her head and escaping a brutal beating, she goes on the run with a fake ID and ends up in a small town called Rescue, Alaska. This is where she meets Gabe and despite the reluctance of both her and him, falls for the controlling laid back Chief of Police who is hiding his own story and barely healed scars.

‘Because, one kiss…or one summer for that matter, wasn’t enough. He wanted more. A lifetime sounded about right.’

So what happens when an introverted book nerd meets an antisocial ex-mercenary?  One is running from the ugly side of the law, the other is a copper. Well, an intense attraction occurs yet both are broken by life and their similarities too hard to ignore. Loyalty, protection, love and compassion.

‘Gabriel was a guardian angel, the messenger of God. She’d said she knew her son would someday be a protector. A hero.’

Not a Hero is the first book in a new series, so not only was it an introduction to an abundance of new characters and their entwined lives in a town called Rescue, but it’s also the story of Gabe and Audrey. Whilst their romance at times took a backseat to this introduction, which is often the case in a book one, we did feel by the end that we were as much part of Rescue as everyone else. Such was the brilliance of Cherise Sinclair’s writing, by including us in her story through living it alongside every one of her characters. We fell in love and will be here, first in line, when the next instalment releases. What always makes Cherise Sinclair stand out was once again on display, yet the one thing that was missing, which left us wanting, was what we love the most about her stories. We’re crossing our fingers for a return of just that in the next book!