Defending Allye

This is the first book I have read by Susan Stoker and I am hooked. I enjoyed how real her characters and plot are. I was so enthralled with the suspense, romance, and action I could not put down this book! I can’t wait to for the next installment of the Mountain Mercenaries series to come out!

3.75 stars–DEFENDING ALLEY is the first instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult MOUNTAIN MERCENARIES erotic, romantic, military, suspense series focusing on a group of six former soldiers and Navy SEALS who call themselves Mountain Mercenaries, headed by the mysterious ‘Rex’. This is thirty-six year old, former Navy SEAL Grayson Rogers, and twenty-nine year old, dancer Allye Martin’s story line. The Mountain Mercenaries is a spin off from the author’s Ace Security series but you do not have to have read the previous series to understand or follow the current timeline. The Mountain Mercenaries were first introduced in CLAIMING FELICITY (Ace Security 4).

NOTE: DEFENDING ALLYE contains scenes of abuse, torture and threats of a sexual nature, and may not be suitable for all readers.

Told from several third person perspectives including Allye and Gray DEFENDING ALLYE focuses on the hunt for a kidnapper in the San Francisco area, and the person responsible for a suspected human trafficking ring. Grayson Rogers and his fellow Mountain Mercenaries have been handpicked for their current roles by the mysterious, and as yet unidentified, team leader ‘Rex’. Hoping to intercept the hand-off of money, Grayson discovers more than he had bargained for when he finds Allye Martin instead. A quick take-down of the kidnappers, a struggle out at sea, and the rescue of our story line heroine, finds Allye falling for Grayson but not before she reveals she has information that may be important to the team’s investigation. What ensues is the quick building romance between Allye and Gray, and the potential fall-out as a number of women are kidnapped and killed in an effort to draw Allye out into the light.

Grayson Rogers knows lost first hand when his entire team of Navy SEALs was killed leaving our hero the only one to survive. Memories, of the horrific ordeal including the murder of his friends, have forced Gray into an over protective male where it concerns the woman with whom he is falling love. Never again wanting to lose anyone close, or witness the death of someone he loves, Gray struggles with Allye’s demands and need to place herself in harm’s way.

The relationship between Allye and Grayson is quick to develop. From hours alone at sea, to finding herself ‘living’ with the man that calls to her heart, Allye knows that Grayson will protect her against the odds, but Grayson battles between memories of the past, and his ability to stop the woman he loves from becoming a willing target in an effort to catch the bad guy. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Grayson’s fellow Mountain Mercenaries: Ronan ‘Ro’ Cross, Lowell ‘Black’ Lockard, Meat, Arrow, and Ball. Ronan and Chloe Harris’ story is next in Defending Chloe.

DEFENDING ALLYE is a story of action, suspense, romance and love. The premise is entertaining and engaging; the romance is passionate and intense; the characters are colorful, dynamic and animated but the heroine’s need to place herself in danger to ‘save’ a friend and other potential victims screams TSTL (too stupid to live), incredibly destructive and ill-fated. DEFENDING ALLYE is a sexy, intriguing and fated introductory story line in Susan Stoker’s new Mountain Mercenaries series

Grayson Rogers from the Mountain Mercenaries is sent on a mission to gather information on a human trafficking business. On that mission he rescues Allye who was just kidnapped. When the man who purchased her isn’t willing to stop going after her, Gray and his fellow mercenaries work diligently to bring this guy down.

Our main characters, Gray and Allye are what really made this story for me. Despite Gray’s toughness, he was incredibly sweet to Allye. That is almost the perfect combination in character traits for me with a hero. Add in that Allye was such a strong character herself, and these two have become one of my favorite couples.

I will caution that this has some very disturbing scenes. This is about human trafficking and the villain of the story is a disturbed individual. If you can handle that, this story was really good and I highly recommend it.

***5 ‘Karma’ Stars***

Great start to a new series!

Not that I’m all that surprised, but it still needed to be said. Defending Allye has all the things that I’ve come of love and enjoyed from a Susan Stoker book. Well written characters, a great family dynamic a good dose of smexyness and a mystery/suspense storyline that keeps me on my toes and turning the pages until the very end.

I adored Gray and Allye. Gray is all kinds of honorable, protective alpha AF male with a heart. He found a purpose, had it ripped away in the worst possible way, but put him in a bit of a spiral for, but he worked his way out of it and has found another purpose that appeals to his protective, get it done nature. Allye has not has an easy life and it’s caused her to put up a ton of walls around her, but it’s also made her into a strong woman who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid of working hard to achieve her goals. I loved Allye’s strength and how her heart hadn’t turned cold because of what she had lived through. This isn’t to say she wasn’t guarded and a bit cynical, but she was still had a warmth to her, even when she was being snarky and sassy.

Gray and Allye’s journey to their HEA was a lot of fun. It had an insta feel, but considering the situation they were in when they first collided it worked for me. What also worked was that they both realized and acknowledged that fact and still rolled with it. I loved their open admiration and respect of each other and how they balanced each other. Their bantering was a lot of fun and the smexy was HAWT! OMG HAWT! The roadblock in their journey wasn’t a surprise and I couldn’t take sides because I agreed with both of them, but I liked how it all worked out and where they at in their relationship at the end of the book.

I’m a fangirl of the authors, even though I still haven’t read all of her books. But the ones I have read I’ve loved and this one can definitely be put in the favorites category. It had all the goodness I love about Ms. Stoker’s books, but this one had an added little punch and that came from the villian. Now, the author has written some craycray villians, but this one was batshit crazy and he absolutely fascinated me. But with the BSC, triggers are a thing in this one, so be prepared. As for the rest of the Mountain Mercenaries, I’m totally looking forward to getting to know all the guys and see if we ever meet the ever elusive Rex!

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

WOW!!! After reading this Author’s previous series (Ace Security), I KNEW I needed this new series. I’m extremely happy that I’ve picked it up.

Grayson (Gray) is on a mercenary mission. He’s received Intel that there is a human trafficking operation going down and he’s determined to get answers. What he wasn’t expecting was coming face to face with the missing woman he was trying to find. And now? Now they’re treading water in the ocean, waiting to be recovered by his partner. Although it’s not the best setting, he’s learning a lot about this woman. And it’s the first time in a long time he’s actually interested. Too bad he can’t have her.

Allye’s been kidnapped. She’s on a boat in the middle of the ocean, trying to wrap her head around why karma hates her so much. And then something, no, someone is pulling her toward the side of the boat. Now treading water and wondering what the heck has happened to her life, she finds herself surprisingly comfortable talking with this man. Sharing secrets and learning about him as well. But now it’s time to get back to her life. At least that’s what she thought.

This is a jam packed read. Between kidnappings, finding the perpetrator and falling in love, I couldn’t put this down. No, you won’t get specifics from me. I won’t spoil it for you. Everything flowed seamlessly, pulling me deeper in to the story while plunging deeper in love with these mercenaries. Thank the baby Jesus that this is the first book and more is come. I can’t wait!!!!

This is a fantastic new series by Susan Stoker! All of her other books are amazing, and this book is no exception! It is a new series, but not so different than her other series. This is a series about mercenaries, and we caught a glimpse of them in another book. There is, of course, still action and drama. There is a dramatic rescue mission, and Allye is no pushover. I love how Susan’s female characters are strong, and they are not weak and waiting for the males to come to their rescue. Gray and Allye make an amazing couple, and they are perfect for each other.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.

I have been looking forward to Stoker’s new series Mountain Mercenaries and was definitely not disappointed. This new series is a spin-off from her Ace Security series and this book was a hit from the first page to the last. Who does not love a good rescue story that is dicey at every turn, keeps your pulse pounding, has unexpected elements and a hot alpha SEAL who takes no prisoners? That is just some of what you get with this amazing story.

Allye Martin has had a rough go with life, mostly due to her appearance. From her uniqueness, she has always stood out and had trouble. She was bullied, made fun of and called all sorts of names leaving her emotionally and mentally scarred. She has struggled hard to get where she is and has always thought karma was her enemy. It seemed like every time something good was on the horizon, something bad would take its place and it would be worse. Case in point, when she was snagged off the street and held captive on a boat being taken to who knows where. I love the fact that even in the worst of circumstance, she was resilient and kept a level head and was able to help herself and even her rescuer.

Gray Rogers was a former Navy SEAL and current mercenary working with a specialized team of ex-special forces men under the direction of the mysterious Rex. Currently working on a sex trafficking case, an ocean rescue was an unexpected complication to his current mission. Expecting to interrupt an exchange and gather necessary intel to mount a rescue, the strong spirited woman with unique eyes was a surprise. Realizing that she was their intended rescue changed the game and upped the stakes. He was intrigued by her spirit and drawn to her strength and wit. Knowing the man behind Allye’s abduction would try again and stop at nothing to obtain his goal, Gray would do whatever it took to protect her and bring the monster to justice.

The bad guy, Nightingale, was a creepy messed up guy. He was a collector, of sorts, and had his sight set on Allye. He was menacing and depraved enough to have the hairs on your arms rising and goosebumps pebbling your flesh. Stoker definitely knows how to write a villain.

Aside from the main characters, Gray and Allye, the introduction of the rest of the team members had me wanting to learn more about them right away. They all sound intriguing and I know they will have awesome stories to tell.

You can always count on Stoker’s books to entertain you from beginning to end. They are easy to read, full of great characters, romance and suspense. They always involve strong women who can handle themselves and gruff alpha men who take charge and go after what they want. And they include challenges that have to be overcome along with a twisted bad guy to keep you on your toes and guessing. Stoker brings to light problems the average person faces, being weight, self-esteem, speech impediments, etc. and handles them with care and respect. Defending Allye will be a great addition to your book collection.

*ARC copy provided by NetGallery. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are non-biased and completely my own.

I started with confessing that I’ve read most of Susan Stoker’s books. Mostly her RS series. Some are short intense read, some are more lengthy read but no less intense. This one was the lengthier one, and I have to admit that I prefer Ms. Stoker’s lengthier ones, no exception for Defending Allye.

The characters, main or otherwise, were full rounded and the storyline was nicely paced. Gray and Allye both were straightforward persons, and I always love that kind of characters. I don’t really care for coy personality.

The storyline itself, though being used quite often, was still interesting. Some gruesome descriptions that might trigger strong reaction from some people. So be warned! It was quite intense, spaced with sweet (kinda) moments of their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait for more from Mountain Mercenaries series.

I was provided a complementary copy by the author / publisher through NetGalley, but this in no way influenced my thoughts or opinions.