For a Mountain Mercenary and a desperate woman, love becomes a dangerous refuge in New York Times bestselling author Susan Stoker’s novel of heart-gripping suspense.Mountain Mercenary Hunter “Meat” Snow has a mission: eliminate the human traffickers scouring the barrios of Lima for vulnerable prey. But it’s Meat who’s taken down. Separated from his team and beaten within an inch of his life, he’s … an inch of his life, he’s left for dead. When he wakes, it’s to the intimate care of a beautiful stranger who knows all about survival.
Zara Layne was a child when a brutal murder left her orphaned and abandoned in Peru. Ever since, she’s fended for herself on the streets, outrunning its predators. Trusting men is not in Zara’s blood…until it warms to the exhilarating touch of the wounded hero who promises deliverance. As each other’s rescuers, they return to Colorado for a new normal.
But when Meat disappears, Zara discovers how ruthless the past can be. With the help of the loyal Mercenaries, she’s drawing on her own skills of endurance to find him. And for Zara, there’s no danger great enough to come between her and the man she loves.
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Omyomyomy. Ha, I knew who Rex was going to be and it’s very appreciated that it hasn’t been made a big deal about it. Now I’m restles for Rex’s hopefully HEA. Anyway, this book’s about Meat being literally rescued from certain death by tiny Zed, but only Zed is a Zara, that he – even delirious and in pain – instantly recognices. Reading about what Zara went through makes me wonder whether this is just a fictional story or whether there’s a little truth in it as well. Nevertheless it’s very emotional to keep track of Zara’s daily struggles to re-fit into modern society. A great, amazing and emotional story about to strangers that meet and are ment to be together. Fantastic. And all the other Mercenaries have a huge role in this story as well, so you get to know how they and there significant other die for themselves. Well, one of the best series I’ve ever read. To bad it’s about to be over with Rex’s story…
New release from Susan Stoker.
New release from Susan Stoker!
Couldn’t wait to read this book about Meat, after what happened to him in the last book. They had gone to Peru to rescue children who were being used for sex trafficking. Zara was a child of ten when her and her parents were in Peru for vacation and her parents were murdered in front of her. Now she’s 25 and had a hard life surviving in Peru, with no way to get home. She happens to see what happens to Meat and Black and asks the other women to help her. She manages to get Meat in her cart to safety. There is a lot of danger, new begininnings, love and a surprise for some at the end. I had my suspicions about the bartender for a while. HEA.
Darn! I knew this book would be intense with how the previous book went, but Susan did not disappoint! The things Zara endured were off the charts. The set up for the next book has me itching for information on Rex. I could not put this story as I was up til 5am to finish reading because I had to know more. I highly recommend this story to others
Wow! Every time I think a Susan Stoker book can’t get better, it does! Meat & the Mountain Mercenaries unknowingly saved Zara from a horrible existence after her parents were killed 15 years prior and brought her back to the United States after she and her friends saved him and Black. Then she starts the task of acclimating to being home, since she hasn’t been there since she was 10. Who can she trust? The real surprises come at the end, including what comes next for the Mercenaries in Defending Raven.
This may be the best book of the series. Zara and Meat were fabulous. And…..I KNEW IT! I can’t wait for the next book.
DEFENDING ZARA is the sixth instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult MOUNTAIN MERCENARIES romantic, military suspense series focusing on a group of former soldiers and Navy SEALS who call themselves Mountain Mercenaries, headed by the mysterious ‘Rex’. This is twenty-five year old Zara Layne, and Mountain Mercenary Hunter ‘Meat’ Snow’s story line. DEFENDING ZARA can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary. 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).
Told from several third person perspectives including Zara and Meat, DEFENDING ZARA follows in the wake of a rescue assignment in South America that went terribly wrong. Beaten and fighting for his life in Lima, Peru, Mountain Mercenary Hunter ‘Meat’ Snow would come face to face with his future, his would-be rescuer, a young American woman thought missing and killed years before. Enter Zara Layne, missing American heiress, and the woman with whom Meat would fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Meat and Zara, as they struggle to reunite with Meat’s mercenary team, and the potential fall-out as Zara’s return to America and civilization comes with threats of a different kind against our story line couple.
Zara Layne has been missing and presumed dead for close to fifteen years but all efforts for a rescue were stopped years before. Alone and hiding in plane sight, Zara would be friended by a group of women who battle the odds in order to survive. Her parents murdered, and a ten year old Zara left to fend for herself, our heroine struggled to make it on her own. Hunter ‘Meat’ Snow knew immediately his dishevelled savior was more than she presented to the world but he had no idea about Zara’s history, including the life she once had, or is currently trying to hide.
The relationship between Zara and Meat is one of instant attraction but Meat is in no shape to enter into a relationship. From his injuries to the ongoing struggle in Lima, Peru, Meat will convince Zara to return to the States, in an effort to reclaim the life she was forced to leave behind. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The numerous secondary and supporting characters include computer guru and; Grayson and Allye (Defending Allye #1), Ronan and Chloe (Defending Choe #2), Archer ‘Arrow’ and Morgan (Defending Morgan #3), Lowell ‘Black’ and Harlow (Defending Harlow #4), Kannon ‘Ball’ Black and Everly (Defending Everly #5) , as well as the mysterious ‘Rex, the leader and handler of the Mountain Mercenaries. We are introduced to Zara’s ‘friends’ in Peru including Mags, Bonita, Carmen and Daniela; her grandparents back home, and grade school friend Renee.
DEFENDING ZARA is a story of survival; of one woman’s struggle to survive ; and one man’s efforts to protect the woman with whom he would fall in love. The premise is engaging and captivating; the slow building romance is seductive ; the characters are energetic, colorful and strong. Like most of Susan Stoker’s heroines, Zara Layne has battled the odds. There is always something about her heroines that requires a rescue or protection but in the end it is the heroine who rescues the man that she loves.
This wonderful story about Meat and Zara made me cry a few times. The wonderful characters in this story and the beautiful friendships Susan is writing about makes you wish they were your friends. Meat is on a mission and he finds Zara . Her story is heart breaking. I loved it .
Awe, stun, shock
Defending Zara is the next book in the amazing series Mountain Mercenaries and let me tell you, you don’t want to miss this oneOn the one hand, I want to do this review justice by telling you all a little about Zara and Meat but on the other, which is probably where I’m leaning towards, I’m going to not say a thing
The only thing I will say is that the awe, stun and shock factors are big….and I guessed one of them a while ago Happy reading and I can’t wait for Rex’s story next
Such a beautiful, tremendous personal journey!
This story hits the ground running with Zara and her friends in Lima, Peru rescuing a badly-beaten Meat and risking everything to nurse him back to health. As Meat is healing, he discovers that Zara was abandoned there in Lima when she was ten years old after the murder of her parents. Now fifteen years later, he knows that once he gets back to his team, their new mission will be to get Zara back home.
The first part of the book gives us a no-holds-barred look at the life of the very poor barrio residents, then transitions to the cutthroat media frenzy surrounding Zara’s return and the vast inheritance she finds waiting for her. There are plenty of vultures hoping to separate her from her money, and the Mountain Mercenaries have to keep one step ahead of those who mean her harm.
Throughout all this, we get to see Zara adjust to a life of comfort and plenty after so many years of living in abject poverty. Her relationship with Meat is so pure, so sweet, regardless of the circumstances that brought them together. He’s her partner and champion, and provides the perfect emotional safety that she needs as she blossoms into the person she was always meant to be.
This is a well-written, exciting story with a strong emotional foundation and a heartwarming romance. The surprising twist at the end hints at a long-awaited break for one of their team, and I can’t wait to read about that in the next book in this thrilling series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.