Enhanced World: Book Three Gael Peterson has spent years hiding behind the enhanced abilities he wears like a mask, even though he is an important, confident member of the FBI’s exclusive H.E.R.O. team. The hurt and betrayal of his mom’s abandonment and his father’s fists are secrets buried deep beneath the ugly scars on his face, and he doesn’t trust Jake, his new regular human partner, with any … human partner, with any of them. In a world where those with special abilities like Gael’s are regarded as freaks and monsters, it won’t be easy for him to rely on Jake to have his back, especially when the abilities of a vulnerable nonspeaking enhanced child make that child a murder suspect.
Tempers rise and loyalties are challenged, and when the serial killer targeting the enhanced finally sets his sights on Gael, not only will Gael have to trust Jake with his secrets, he might have to trust him to save his life.
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Ah, the sweet anticipation. Good news for fans of Victoria Sue’s Enhanced series, our patience has paid off. Beneath This Mask is out in audio, narrated by the sensational Nick J. Russo, and it is worth the wait! This is Gael’s tale in the continuing story of the agents in the FBI’s H.E.R.O. team, and the series must be read in order.
One of my favorite aspects of the Enhanced series, aside from the sweetly smutty sex, is how well developed the plot lines are. Victoria Sue pulls out another excellent story with Beneath This Mask. There are some heavy subjects covered in this one, and this wonderful author works her magic to tug on your heartstrings. The delicate topics are important aspects to the continuing story arc, but if you’re sensitive please check the tags.
From the very beginning of this series Gael has intrigued me. Between his unusual abilities, his stoic demeanor, and his incredibly heartbreaking backstory, this hunky enhanced agent has quite a fan club! I know I’m not alone in wishing for him to find a little romance. As soon as Jake was introduced at the end of the second book, I knew he’d be the perfect man for Gael.
Between his scars and his history of past abuse, Gael can’t imagine anyone being attracted to him. Jake sees beyond the physical when he looks at Gael, and he’s got it bad! Gael does everything he can to avoid the handsome former ENu agent, but Jake isn’t giving up – and his persistence pays off. These two are adorable together, and when they finally work it out, oh boy the sparks start flying.
It feels as though the bigotry and prejudice toward enhanced humans is just getting worse. Not only are folks going out of their way to avoid the enhanced, they’re also rushing to accuse them of every crime that occurs. This unjust behavior reaches a new low in Beneath This Mask when the suspect is an enhanced child with special needs.It’s no surprise Gael would reach out to this child, but also that he’d become a champion for him. Just another example of what an amazing guy he is, selfless and brave. A true hero.
I’ve been waiting a long time now for my man to get his happy ending, and it feels like this book was over way too soon. I’ve got my fingers crossed we’ll get another installment in Gael and Jake’s story, after all Gael still has a lot of trauma to work through and their journey is a good one.
Beneath This Mask is another excellent episode in the Enhanced series and if you haven’t given this one a go, I urge you to start with Five Minutes Longer. This isn’t your typical Sci-Fi Romance, and Nick J. Russo’s creative and upbeat narration is the perfect compliment to Victoria Sue’s fantastic story.
Family
Wow this book along with Jake and Gael was a heartbreaker but oh my gosh, the feels it left me with. Endless love, joy, hope and the overwhelming need to hug the ones I love. We learn the culprit’s identity and although that didn’t surprise me, what did were the glimmers of sympathy I felt for a truly disturbed person. Although I think those were for the person’s past and not as they are now. Intense and emotional I loved this book.
Independent reviewer for Divine Magazine, I was gifted my AUDIO copy of this book.
This is book three in the Enhanced Series. I wouldn’t say it was necessary for you to have read books one and two, but it might give you a better reading experience. It would also give you a a better experience of these men, and just what being Enhanced means.
Gael doesn’t want a regular human partner, especially not one from the task force they have all come to hate. But Jake is different, he’s not got that inbuilt hatred the others seem to have. When Jake and Gael come across a non-verbal Enhanced child, who later becomes a murder suspect, Gael has to put his feelings aside, even if they threaten to be his very undoing.
Oh Gael, Gael, Gael! My heart bled for this man, it really did! He’s in a whole lotta pain, and he hides it from the others in his team, who are his family too. But Jake?? Jake sees, really SEES Gael, and Gael isn’t entirely sure he wants to be seen.
While there is the murders of the Enhanced as the back story, what I particularly loved about this one, was the emotions involved between Gael and Jake. With the emotions involved with turning, and the aftemath of that. Gael’s history wasn’t the best before that point, but it became a whole lot worse after. Jake has his own demons, and when Gael finds out what that is, he lashes out, quite LITERALLY. But he does come around, once the awful truth becomes clear.
It’s not as explicit as books one and two, but it doesn’t need to be. I did find it a little more graphic, though, but I think that really IS needed.
When Gael is caught by the one doing the murders ( I knew! I knew when that person first showed up, I KNEW they were no good, that something bad would happen!) his feeling for Jake, his own abilities are used against him, and Gael has to trust the guys find him in time. And after that, when Gael pulls away from Jake?? That boy pulls out all the stops to make Gael SEE Jake, he really does. That Jake wants a family with Gael, and all who come along too. And I cried then, great heart wrecking sobs, because it’s such a beautiful scene!
We are introduced to Sam, AKA Angel, who pushes ALL of Vance’s buttons and then some! Can’t wait for their story, really can’t. But I’ll wait for the audio, don’t wanna flip between reading and listening.
Again, Nick J Russo narrates. This above mentioned scene? When Jake makes Gael SEE Jake?? I have no doubts, none at all, that it’s the way that scene was deliver by Russo, his NARRATION, that wrecked me! Reading would not have had the same impact, not for me, anyway. Russo KILLS it, he absolutely does.
His voices are clear and consistent across all three books, he has a way of getting so much emotions across, that really is beyond compare. I love his narration, so please keep them coming!
5 stars for the book
5 stars for the narration
5 stars overall
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I was going to give this less than four stars BUT THAT ENDING. I cried.
I desperately missed having Talon and Finn (especially Finn) as the main characters, but I loved Gael and Jake quite a lot. I love a good ol’ size difference and power imbalance in my couples, but even though we don’t get that here, I adored the dynamics between these two. I loved that Gael was the one in need of care and protection and my heart literally shattered for him so many times. Jake was a gem, always there to take care of Gael, always open to getting better and understanding more of the Enhanced. He also had a deliciously protective side and ugh, I loved them together.
The story was riveting, complex and action-packed: the murder plot was heartbreaking and the big villain reveal (although I kind of expected it), and all that ensues, was still shocking.
Talon and Finn will probably remain my favourites, but I adored following these two and getting to know them better. Book #4 is about a different couple, but BOY am I excited to read Vance and Eli’s stories.
This is book three of the Enhanced series and does need to be read (or listened to in order). Wow oh wow this series gets better and better. Just when you think the last one couldn’t be topped pun intended) it does. Gayle and Jake are new partners and Gayle fought against having a normal partner knowing it was futile. But Jake’s ex job makes him dislike him more. Then they get called on a school for special needs kids and Gayle meets a small special needs boy Derrick that is also enhanced. They bond quickly. Derek is blamed for murdering the transport driver taking him home from school and then the plot thickens…and twists.
I sat on the edge of my seat, nibbled my nails and was scared to death at times for poor Gayle. Holy cow! All I can say is read (or listen to this book(series)
The narration makes it even better. Nick J Russo gives the story a special boost, adding more excitement, intrigue and great voices.
I would rate this 4 stars.
This is the third book in the Enhanced series focusing on Gael and his new human regular partner Jake from book two. Gael can read or speak any language, is good with computers, and has skin that can act like armor. Jake was SWAT before transferring to ENu, the police unit for dealing with enhanced. Gael has managed to mostly avoid Jake because of training, but now there seems to be a serial killer targeting enhanced and they are going to the crime scenes. Gael was convinced they couldn’t work together and asked to switch partners so just as they start to bond, Gael is partnered with Drew while he is waiting to hear back about a new job, while Jake is partnered with Vance. Gael still moves in with Jake when he gets evicted. In fact poor Gael has a lot of emotional things going on in this book as he finds out what happen to his mom after she left.
Out on a call they meet Derrick, an enhanced that can only communicate through a tablet. Gael is one of the only people who Derrick communicates with. There are two murders having to do with Derrick and since his ability is electrical, Adam is let out of prison to help. Adam is then partnered with Eli.
As the investigation involving the murder of enhanced humans heats up, so does the relationship between Gael and Jake. But trust is fragile and this unit hasn’t quite gelled yet so there are many ways for outside influences to hurt them all. As the threads of the cases start to weave together, they realize too late how everything is connected. I don’t like to give too many spoilers, but as a warning this has torture scenes. I don’t know how the author will start book four, but I don’t see how the unit won’t have low moral and confidence after everything that happens. At the end, Detective Samuel Piper quits vice and joins the unit to partner with Vance.
So there are some hot sex scenes and an emotional connection between Gael and Jake, but some violence too that I didn’t like. I think I would have liked to see the emotional connection stronger first before a sexual element was added. What happens to Gael is heartbreaking and traumatic, but even in the end his trust of Jake seems too low to make this work–counseling needed all around. It was clear in books one and two that someone was leaking information about the team and this is finally resolved in a very damaging way. I would hope this draws the team closer together but it also has the potential to damage their relationships with other law enforcement agencies. I can’t wait for book four.