Striking Back Series by SM Shade
REVIEW from Sassy Southern Girl Rebecca
This was a great set of books revolving around Striking Back, a company formed by three brothers to help mainly women and children escape from abusive relationships.
1) Everly
Everly Hall is a volunteer at both Striking Back and Building Tomorrow's Child. She grew up in foster care since the age of 5 and has a hard time with relationships. When she meets Mason Reed in a bank robbery she has no idea how much he is going to change her world, but only if she lets him.
Mason Reed is one of the founders of Striking Back along with his brothers, Parker and Alex. He is a former middleweight champion and currently a trainer at Reed's Gym. When he meets Everly he knows that she is what he wants, although he never knew it would take so much to convince her.
As Mason and Everly try to figure out how they feel about each other, Everly begins to receive threats and damages to her property. Can Mason keep her safe while not trying to overwhelm her with how he feels? Will Everly give Mason a chance or are the secrets that Mason is keeping from her too dangerous?
This was a great book and I loved getting to know both Everly and Mason.
Everly is such a great complex character due to her past in the system. She has an amazing friendship with Amy and Ian who are constantly there to help her through her struggles and as sounding boards. I love Ian and he is such a fun character. Everly doesn't have a lot of trust and backs away from Mason several times but we don't really know why.
Mason seems like an absolute dream although at the end of the book with the cliff-hanger I was like WTF - please let it be a mistake!! I loved how protective he was instantly over Everly and how he was going to do whatever he could to protect her and keep her safe once he knew she was in danger, even when she didn't want his help. You know that there is something in his past that makes him want to help women and children.
I loved the little things that went on between Everly and Mason like camping. They had such a good time and it showed how not all girls need fancy things to make them happy!
I was very surprised at who was at the bottom of the attacks. I thought it was going to be someone entirely different but in a way I wasn't surprised although I was mad at the person.
The ending left me wondering what the heck was going on and I can't wait for the next book!!
2) Mason
This is the second book in the series and book 1, Everly, needs to be read first.
Mason Reed is the owner of Striking Back an organization meant to help women and children escape from domestic violence along with his brothers, Parker and Alex. Mason has fallen for Everly but her lack of trust in him has caused him to end things with Everly.
Everly Hall has been through a difficult past that has resulted in her lack of trust in men and the belief that she will never get her own happy ever after.
Will Mason and Everly be able to sort through their respective issues with trust to see the love they have for each other? When someone from Mason's past shows up will that send Everly running for good?
This book was a great conclusion to Everly. It allowed us a real good luck at both Mason and Everly and why they each have certain guards up and why each do not open up about their respective pasts. I loved how they both came clean with each other and how that allowed their relationship to get to a more solid place.
I liked how Everly was able to come to terms with her past in this book and what happened with her family.
There were definitely some twists and turns with Mason and some shocked me for sure. I was so glad with what happened with Cody in regards to how Mason was with the news. I felt so bad with everything that Cody went through and am definitely glad he now has a chance.
The ending with Mason was so heartbreaking and it was sad that he was trying to protect someone else. Everly's news was awesome though and made up for the heartbreaking things!
Looking forward to reading about Parker to see if he changes his "ways".
3) Parker
Parker Reed owns Striking Back along with his brothers, Mason and Alex, and it is own of his jobs to help women get out of difficult domestic situations and help them start over in a safe place. Parker is known for his "man-whoring" ways and is never tied down to the same woman for more than one night. But he has always had a rule to never get involved with a client but he never met anyone like her before.
Macy Tanner has come to Striking Back after being hit by her boyfriend, Allen Pearson. When it is clear her life is still in danger from Allen, Parker vows to keep her safe at all costs. But will Macy lose her heart to Parker?
As Macy and Parker grow closer will he cross the line? Can Parker keep her safe or is his attraction for her a distraction that will cost them both?
This was such a great story and I loved the change in Parker from the first two books to the third.
I had an idea from the second book that something was going to happen between Macy and Parker but this book really took us through everything and how it happened.
I loved Macy right from the beginning when she told Everly what happened with her boyfriend and how she knew she had to get away from the abuse. Macy did not want a cycle to begin and therefore got herself out but I was shocked with the second attack and how it happened and that Allen got away. At the same time Macy had seen a different protective side of Parker and didn't know if he treated all of the womn who came to Striking Back in that manner. Macy wanted to get her life together but wasn't sure if it would include Parker or not.
Parker did such a transformation in this book from the man-whore to someone who could not stop thinking about Macy and maybe having a little trouble getting it up. Yet with everything she ended up consuming his thoughts which resulted in a dangerous situation that he blamed himself for.
The punishment Parker believes he deserves for letting down Macy is interesting as he has no idea how she feels and pushes her away yet this also gives Macy the ability to heal on her own and get her own power back which is so key to women in abusive relationships. I love the strength that Macy finds within herself and it is something that all women need!
The ending left me in such a sad state and I know that the next book will be a much more emotional book with dealing with the boys father, Gene, and Alex picking up the pieces.
4) Alex
This is the fourth book in the striking back series and I recommend reading all of the stories in order as there is a continuation of the story lines through the books.
Alex Parker was in a place where everything was going great. He had a great boyfriend and was trying to settle everything with his dad when a romantic weekend away with Cooper results in him losing the man he loved. Now he is trying to pick up the pieces but doesn't know how and doesn't want to be babied by his brothers.
Ian Turner is Everly's best friend and is a player with the ladies. He can bring home a different one every night and hates the idea of commitment. Yet he is also extremely dedicated to his friends and knows that Alex needs a place to heal on his own without his brothers shadowing over him.
But when Ian is faced with something he never imagined before he turns to Alex for support to help him through what he is facing. But Alex is dealing with his own feelings towards Ian and knows that one wrong move will end their friendship and he could lose everything.
Is it worth the risk?
This was quite an emotional book as there were so many factors in this book that played a huge role in the change in the characters. I don't want to get into too much detail as I don't want any spoilers for the readers!!
I loved Alex from when we first met him in the first book as he was different than his brothers and much more sensitive. Being the youngest he had different memories of what happened with his parents and he really needed closure on the past. Parker definitely didn't support that and Alex had to wrestle with the guilt of going behind his back to see his father.
With the death of Cooper we saw a vulnerable Alex. Ian gave him tough love to help him pick the pieces back up but Alex became attracted to Ian and knew that no matter how much he wanted him he couldn't have him. Yet when the opportunity presented itself, Alex was quick to jump on it, knowing that he could lose Ian's friendship in the process.
Ian was a character that hated to be weak and when he realized what he was going to be going through he kept it a secret although Alex found out. Alex helped Ian through all the highs and lows but when the two go to Hawaii things go from a huge high to the bottom pretty quick. Ian can't come to terms with everything and Alex's worst fears come true.
I really liked the story of Kyle and how he is brought into the lives of Alex and Ian as a way of escaping his abusive father. I love what the Reed family and Ian do for Kyle and make him feel like he completely belongs.
I hated the way that Alex was treated in Mike's Gym for being gay. It still shocks me that so many people have these views and how cruel they were to him. I loved that Alex completely kicked their ass in the gym and in the competition.
I really enjoyed this book and the internal debate that Ian was faced with. I know other people that have gone through what he did in this book and they felt the same way that he did in their feelings and emotions. Ian's whole past was with one mind sight and to challenge that was so hard for him.
This was a great series and I look forward to reading more from this author.
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