Fighter – A Survivor storyDedication and smarts have given Blair Cummings a leg up in the Bureau. His job is all-consuming but rewarding. It doesn’t leave much time for a love life though, not that Blair believes in love. In his early thirties, he’s only ever been in one long-term relationship due to his inability to commit to anything other than his job and his family.Born into a family that’s … into a family that’s as successful as they are hateful, Howard Manning Tullor Junior ran so far away from his last name that he wound up in the arms of Satan himself. Freedom comes at a high price but it’s one Mannie is willing to pay, setting him on a path that leads him to a quiet, laid-back FBI agent.
Their attraction is unexpected, and yet, welcomed. Blair seems to have finally found something worth fighting for, but Mannie, still haunted by ghosts of the past, wonders if he’ll ever be able to move on. The two are working toward their future, but can a budding romance survive when past and present collide?
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The author has added another fantastic, grab-you-by-the-feels, powerful, heartbreaking yet hopeful, raw, gripping, intense, enthralling, fast paced, emotionally charged, action packed, smoking hot, and totally awesome tale to this marvelous series. Filled with mystery, more twists and turns than a roller coaster, and keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat tension, it had me hooked from beginning to end. I ended up with a massive book hangover because I just could NOT put it down. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I just listened to the audio and it was fantastic! Nick J Russo gives a fabulous narration with great voices and emotion!
This is the third book in the series and I recommend you read in order so you know each key player.
Also, it is written Manny’s POV so you do get his back story, then Blair’s POV so you get his back story then as both men’s world collide you get their romance so it’s like three books in one.
Manny’s story is a bit harsh, there is violence but it’s handled well.
I loved all the characters and we get more Taylor and the other guys.
If you like hot detectives, good friends, fast-moving romance, and some good man-sex this is for you!
I received a copy of this book from the author, I was not required to give a favorable review. This is the third book in the series, and you should read the first two to understand everything that is happening in this one. This book brings together so many of the story lines and gives you closure on so much. This is has to do with Mannie/Junior and Blair and the conclusion of all the abuse that he had suffered before he got away, but it also answered questions about what also happened to Shannon in the previous book. But it also brings Blair and Mannie close. They hadn’t met before this but Blair could see Mannie had a lot of left over fears and being in hiding helped. But now they need to explore the feelings they have for each other, but also help Mannie make closure from his father & grandfathers abuse. I so enjoyed the ending of this story.
T.M. Smith’s Fighter is the third book in the Survivor Trilogy. It is a contemporary m/m romance that mixes suspense, drama, steam, humor and sweetness. The story is entertaining and well written, drawing the reader in and keeping them interested. The characters, primary and secondary, are great and make you care about their fates. Blair and Manny are great together and I highly enjoyed their story.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
Manny is afraid of every shadow, every noise, even though he escaped his prison and is safe at the moment fro his tormentors. Blair, the FBI agent he meets when he goes in to tell his story, is completely captivated by the damaged young man and decides very quickly that he needs to be the one to take care of Manny. Things move rather quickly after that first meeting and the reader will not be disappointed with the direction the story goes in. The only thing I might have liked to see done a bit differently was to take more time to build their relationship, their trust and their comfort level with each other before taking the step into deep feeling and intimacy. But I am not complaining because the characters are totally loveable.
The excellent way that the author wove these 3 stories together made me glad I took the time to read them in order. These characters are all damaged in some way, some much more than others. The way they meet and interact with each other made the stories very real and impactful. Reading of the damage, psychological, emotional and physical broke my heart, but I cheered as each couple found something in each other that began the mending process from all the trauma.
**I received an ARC and am leaving a completely voluntary and unbiased review.**
3.5 Stars
Fighter is the third installment in the Survivor series and it absolutely needs to be read in order, as some events that happen in this book overlap with the previous ones.
I liked Mannie, my heart broke for all he had to endure. No one should have to go through something like that, especially being so young. I was glad he found such a loving partner in Blair, who definitely deserved his HEA. They were sweet together and seemed to bring the best in each other.
I also loved catching up with the leads from the first two books in the series and that the loose ends from the main storyline were resolved.
That said, unfortunately, I struggled a bit with Fighter. First of all, it had been a long time since I read/listened to the first two books and I would’ve have welcomed a couple of paragraphs as a reminder of who was who and what had happened before at the beginning of the book. I read a lot of books, so I’m bound to forget things here and there. Another thing and this is more of a personal preference, was that this book was more telly than showy, and there were long paragraphs that disrupted the flow of the scene.
Overall, though, the book was entertaining and as I expected, all the loose ends were tied up in the end and it all worked out, so there’s that. If you’re a fan of the series, you simply can’t miss out on this book for that fact alone. I know I was glad I didn’t.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
I have been with this series from the beginning and this is a must read. This book is full of action, heartbreak, suspense and drama. It’s an emotional roller coaster that I didn’t want to get off and kept me captivated from the beginning. Mannie has suffered big time and I was pulling for him to get a break. Blair is an FBI Agent is wounded helping solve a case that ultimately ends up being centered around Mannie. Blair realizes Mannie has had trauma in his past and he dons kid gloves when interacting with Mannie. I love them as a couple and can’t wait for the next installment of this series!
12/14/19 Edited to add my comments on the audiobook.
Audio book performer Nick J. Russo is fast becoming a favorite of mine. He’s done all of the audio books in the Survivor series and I’ve loved each of them. Fighter has several particularly heart-wrenching scenes and the emotion that the character is feeling comes through in his performance. He has distinctive voices for each character and he does great female voices. I look forward to listening to many more of his performances.
Below is a copy of my original review from when the book was released back in August.
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So good, made me laugh and cry.
Fighter is the third book in TM Smith’s Survivor series and some of the events overlap with the first two books, Survivor and Lover. You might be able to read Fighter OK as a standalone (the author does a good job of telling you things you need to know from books one and two) but for best enjoyment of the story you really should read Survivor and Lover first.
Mannie suffered unspeakable things at the hands of his family, and later by a man who said he loved him. Blair, an FBI agent, was wounded helping to solve a case that ultimately lead them to Mannie (Howard Manning Tullor, Jr.) who had been missing for years and was presumed dead.
This is kind of an insta-love story but I’m OK with that. Blair is taken with Mannie from the moment they meet and he knows that Mannie is someone he wants to get to know better. Knowing how much Mannie has suffered, Blair uses kid-gloves when approaching him. The tenderness he feels towards Mannie really comes out on the pages of the book.
I was pretty much glued to my e-reader, except when real life things forced me to put it aside. After things in the story settled down, I admit to waiting for another climax in the story and wondering what it could be and if it would ever happen. Maybe my head just wasn’t in the right space but I didn’t guess what the “thing” ended up being. Props to TM Smith for adding a twist that made this engrossing story even more so for this reader.
I should also note that the sexy time between Blair and Mannie is off-the-charts hot! I understand that Fighter will be out as an audiobook before too long and I can’t wait to listen to it.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com*** (posting on 8/30/19)