Heroes and Babies He can’t save everyone… saving his daughter from his crime boss ex, Owen Michaels is on the run with the baby in tow—fleeing both the killers who are after him and the US Marshals Service deputies assigned to protect him. When his desperate flight lands them in the midst of an inferno, the man who saves them offers hope for more than just survival.
They might have escaped a blazing forest and a hail of bullets, but both men will need to risk their lives—and their hearts—to give a little girl a loving family… if they can make it out alive.
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Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book two in the Heroes and Babies series, but you do NOT need to have read book one, In Safe Hands, before you read this one. There is (or I didn’t pick it up) no relation between the two books, save the Hero and the Baby! But I recommend you do read it, because its bloody brilliant!
Lucas couldn’t save his son, who died in a fire 3 years ago, but saving Owen and baby Mia goes a little way to help. But Owen in clearly running, from what Lucas doesn’t know. His protective instincts are out the roof for Owen and Mia, and Lucas will do anything to keep them safe.
Book one got me out of a bit of a book funk and blew me away, and book two did too!
Lucas’ pain isn’t immediate obvious, and it takes time for the full picture to become clear. I mean, two thirds of the book before you get it ALL laid out for you! And not everything is how you think it’s gonna be! Love being kept on my toes.
The attraction Lucas has for Owen is also slow to become clear, sort of sneaking up on him. While Lucas was married to a woman, he doesn’t question his attraction to Owen, and just runs with it.
Owen’s pain is equally slow in coming out, and it’s not easy reading, not at all. Owen’s attraction to Lucas is powerful, but Owen questions whether that is just the situation, rather than anything real. When they finally get to the “good stuff” though, Owen knows who he wants, he just hopes Lucas feels the same.
Because of the creeping up on Lucas thing, it is not especially explicit, but then again, it doesn’t need to be. It is hot though, it just takes a long time, right till nearly the end of the book!
Again, we get to hear from the bad guy, although said bad guy isn’t quite as bad as one would think, just a man in a really bad place. It is quite graphic, the level of violence that occurs but I think the IS needed, for Owen’s fright to be fully explained, for you to understand what it is he is running from.
Both have guys a say, and you know that makes me happy! I wasn’t sure if Owen would, at first, but he does. Both voices are different, and well written.
I am, currently, listening to book one, and I was hearing Michael Pauley narrate this, so I would hope he does narrate this as well as he does book one!
5 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Edited to add my comments on the audiobook released 7/31/20.
Audio Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5
Fantastic story and fantastic audio performance.
I read and reviewed this book when it was first released as an ebook back in September 2019. I’ve been a huge fan of Victoria Sue’s writing (all genres) since I read my first book by her back in the summer of 2016 and she has never let me down. I became a huge fan of John Solo’s audiobook performances just over a year ago and he has never let me down either. When I found out that John would be performing this audiobook I couldn’t wait to listen to it. The combination of his voice and Victoria Sue’s words were magic to my ears; I listened to this in one evening without stopping.
Below is a copy of my review from when I read the book last year.
A baby, a dog, a hot firefighter – and a twist I didn’t see coming.
In Safe Keeping is a very touching story with a huge amount of suspense. While there is a certain amount of violence, and horrible acts are committed, they are never gratuitous and are used to emphasize the serious nature of what the characters are facing.
The blurb does a great job of describing the story so take a minute to read it. I alternated between being on the edge of my seat because of the suspense and horrified at what Owen had gone through and was still going through. The story touched all of my emotions.
Victoria Sue knows just how to keep you guessing about what is going to happen and then throw in a huge twist that I did not see coming. Actually, make that two twists. I maybe should have seen the second one coming but I didn’t.
If you like a thrilling story, with wonderful characters, you can’t go wrong with In Safe Keeping. I’m not sure what direction the next book in the series is going to take but I’d love to see a story written for Lucas’s brother.
An advanced copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
Worth waiting for
I certainly wouldn’t want to have to live through what Owen did to find true love; however, he did find Lucas because of it so I think he’s won the lottery. Emotional, suspenseful, Owen and Lucas will grab hold of your heart. I am so happy with all the connections forged in this book. Never a dull moment, a truly adorable dog, and a beautiful beginning await in this book
Lucas is a firefighter who lost his son and wife in a fire. His wife was running away from him because of his job. While working the fire at the motel, the other firefighters found them…along with Lucas’s brother (who survived but was injured). Lucas blames his brother Mark for everything and hasn’t spoken to him for three years. While clearing an area of wildfire, Lucas comes across Owen and a baby girl hiding out in a cabin. He does manage to save them, but realizes there’s something wrong. Owen and the baby disappear from the hospital before Lucas can ask them what’s wrong. Then he finds out. Owen is on the run from a gangster (Damien) who murdered baby Mia’s mother—Owen’s friend—in front of Owen in order to control him. Owen is supposed to testify at a trial against Damien, but he has to survive first—which isn’t easy since people in the marshal’s office and in the police department are on Damien’s payroll. The only person he can trust is Lucas.
This is the standard person in jeopardy trope, but that’s not a bad thing. There are lot’s of twists and turns along the way and internal and external conflicts galore. The characters are realistic and believable, the situations plausible, and the ending is satisfying. I love that when Lucas is hurt, he turns to the one person he stopped trusting—his brother. That was really good.
Things I liked: The characters. They are realistic and I love the dog and the baby combination, especially when she calls him B-bee (dog’s name is Bailey). Nicely done. I love that the brothers resolved their issues and that the bad guy gets his (okay, not really giving anything away. You know in this kind of story that’s going to happen!). I also like that the author gave me a bit of a surprise as to who was working for Damien. I didn’t expect what happened there (definitely not giving that away!). I loved the baby having the men wrapped around her little finger, and them accepting it. I liked the romance. It was sweet and developed slowly, though they were in constant danger. Both men had issues, but overcame them to build something worth having.
Things I didn’t like: Not much. It’s a sweet, standard romantic suspense story with lots of action, nastiness, happiness, and more.
Recommendation: Definitely recommend to anyone who likes M/M romantic suspense. Am going to find more books from this author as she has a good style and gives a satisfying read.
Thanks to Dreamspinner Press for providing this ARC in return for an honest review
https://optimumm.blog/2019/09/12/review-of-in-safe-keeping-by-victoria-sue/
Lucas Attiker is a firefighter living with the guilt of losing his son in an explosion. He’s lived in a sort-of-stasis for the last three years, between his job that he loves with passion, and his painful memory of his baby.
Owen is on the run with his 7-month-old daughter. His ex-boyfriend, a cruel mob boss, is ready to do everything to find Owen. Lucas saves Owen and his baby from a forest fire, but he doesn’t know that it marks the beginning of a clock running against the mafia and the US marshals that are compromised with a mole.
Lucas and Owen will have to survive together if they want to explore the spark that ignites each time they’re together.
In Safe Keeping by Victoria Sue is book 2 in her Heroes and Babies series. This book is a standalone. I really loved In Safe Hand (book 1 in the series), and I was happy and excited to read this new one.
Lucas is a firefighter; and he’s blinded by his pain and guilt about his family death. He wants to save everyone at any cost even with his life, but Owen and Mia brought back memories to Lucas, painful memories that Lucas doesn’t know how to deal with it. I loved Lucas. He broke my heart a million times. He was so hurt by his family’s death—by their loss and his pain—that he didn’t realize what was going on between him and Owen at first. I really loved him. How protective he was of Owen and Mia but in the meantime, how fragile he was facing his past and guilt.
Owen is lost and scared when he meets Lucas. He’s ready to do everything for Mia, at only 23 years-old, he embraces his fatherhood with all his heart and his life. He refuses to give up, but despite his traumatic past, he didn’t hesitate to help Lucas to find closure and peace. Owen is kind with a big heart and sassy mouth. He wasn’t just a victim in all the mess of his life, he was smart and always thinking of Mia’s safety.
They were a perfect match for each other. Lucas was the protector that Owen needed. Owen was the heart that Lucas was missing.
Victoria Sue gives us a beautiful and emotional book. The story and the plot were good, dynamic, funny, and full of feeling with a lot of actions. It was a straight-to-gay book, but realistic. I mean, Lucas realised that he was attracted to Owen when he thought he was straight all his life, and he didn’t jump in bed with him immediately. He didn’t suddenly deep throat him with success or go all the way with him. I loved that, I loved that the author makes her characters evolve slowly, step by step, admitting that he was bisexual and how to approach it carefully for both Lucas and Owen’s heart. It put a deeper connection between Lucas and Owen, more authentic. I loved it.
It was a good read, a very good book that I gladly recommend.
5 Stars for them
I absolutely love Victoria Sue books. She has this way of not only making the book a page-turner, but you can’t wait for the next paragraph or sentence. Be sure to make time to read start to finish because you won’t want to put this down once you start. The book starts with action, great characters, intriguing backstory, and twists. Though I did figure out one of the traitors there were more twists each time you thought the suspense was concluded. I cried a few times both sad and happy. This is a book two in a series but definitely a standalone. I hope book three is about Mark…Please, please, please!
If you like sexy firefighters, angst, cute babies, amazing animals, twists and turns, age gap (May December), suspense, and some light but hot man-sex this is for you. I highly, highly recommend this one!