Outnumbered

I found my self devouring this book turning page after page, needing to know, to find answers and to see how it would all come together. Outnumbered is unique and suspenseful with a heaping helping of crazy to top it off. All things that I crave in a great book. Throw in the isolation and harsh conditions of Northern Canada and you have the makings of one hell of a book. And while I really, really enjoyed this book, it was missing that extra umph that sent it to another level.

My connection to the characters was lacking the intensity I needed and overall, I felt that the author missed the opportunity to really kick this story up a notch. The whole time I was reading this story, I felt this book was leading to something shocking and extraordinary and I couldn’t wait to discover what it was. So when I got to the twist and read the ending, I was left feeling unfulfilled. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good but I felt as though the author held back and played it safe. This may be one of those cases where my expectation of what a book should be, clouded my vision of what it was.

I’ve read quite a few books written by this author and she always manages to surprise me with her ability to tell addicting stories. This 5 star story was amazing.

Bishop lives in the remote area of northern Canada. Having been to prison for a lengthy of time, he craves solitude. One day he finds a woman on the side of the road with the name of Seri or Netti or maybe there’s a third one.

This is a psychological suspenseful story that was highly addicting. A great page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat. I never knew what was real and what wasn’t. An unique storyline that flowed well. Great characters.

Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I highly recommend this story.

“Open up a little, Bishop.”

I appreciate it so when I find a new author whose imagination and writing captivates me as a reader as in the case of this gripping tale set in the wild frozen subarctic tribal lands of Canada.

What I also have come to appreciate more and more is the diverse opinions expressed in the reviews of many of my dear Goodreads friends. Often, I keep them in mind or will read them after I read the book. Taken all together this creates a richer experience for me. If there is an opinion with which I agree I know more about why I agree and it also helps me understand my reasons for my disagreement with a particular opinion or assertion.

I was enraptured with the hero, Bishop Harp, and I loved being in his head as the story is told from his point of view in the first person. He was just so decent and kept himself isolated from others because he truly believed from his, not abusive childhood, but “terrorized”, childhood and adolescence that he was defective and a murderer. He found it difficult to be with normal people without wanting to bash their heads. That this could be because he was never socialized normally as a child or young adult is something he does not consider, at least until he meets her.

His kindness is on display from the start when he tries to turn his back on the tiniest of souls, a not yet weaned kitten bravely making his way from his shed to the front steps of Bishop’s cabin. He never wanted a pet, let alone a cat, but he could not turn his back on the brave mewing little fella. And so begins his healing. He learns the joy to be had caring for a little ball of fur that cuddles and purrs.

His next rescue is Seri found nearly frozen to death near his hunting grounds. He purposely chose his isolated cabin in the subarctic Canadian territory because he expressly wanted to be by himself. He tried living with a woman who was a member of the tribal people. While she was the one who taught him many things when he arrived in this area regarding survival, hunting and…ahem…other skills, he never felt completely at peace living with her as he did by himself.

I found the writing to be marvelous and ingenious. The mundane tasks for survival were so interestingly explained. The dangers of being caught unaware just mere feet from your cabin’s door in the dark in a snowstorm, sheer terror. The climax of the story was gripping. Even more than this was the drama occurring inside of the cabin with the shifting dynamic between Bishop and the revelation that he was hosting more than one woman in his isolated home. His realization of this is a stunning mixture of acceptance and a will to understand all these women. More than this, is his desire to keep them safe.

“Fear is only in our heads, but we still feel afraid. Anger exists inside of us, but we still lash out. Only inside of us does love exist…or devotion or emotional pain. Does that make it less real?”

There is a beautiful pivotal moment for Bishop when he fundamentally changes and begins a reset of his emotions and thoughts. It is after Seri keeps asking him to “Open up, Bishop.” He tells her of his troubled childhood and who and how he murdered someone. He cries his eyes out and he has never cried before in Seri’s arms.

“I’ve never told anyone about this,”

As anyone who as ever suffered trauma compounded upon trauma knows, the human mind and heart retreats to unusual places and pain shows itself in altered, often destructive thinking patterns and behaviors often for years. The best help comes from that one special person placed in our path who the traumatized person knows understands and can lift the burden of the millstone of trauma. Often this special person is also damaged themselves in some way. Herein is the genius of this book.

After this night, Bishop begins to change. The demons in his head quiet. The women in his cabin are a challenge, a mystery, they’re welcome and they’re now invited. This broken woman is healing him. Words from her mouth are like balm to soothe a wound.

There is one other clue that Bishop did not have an accurate assessment of his true nature and that was that he had some real bedroom skills. He knew how to read a woman’s body and liked giving a woman pleasure. It was…something he understood…he knew how to communicate sexually. The erotic passages were lovely and exquisitely intricately written.

So yes you will meet two Bishops in this book. One Bishop before he cried and the other bishop when Seri helped him lift off the millstone of guilt and incorrect thinking about who he is. He changed and pledge to keep her safe and what was left unsaid is that “he loves her…all of her”. He gets prepared to defend his women from a murderous criminal. Seri’s healing begins the moment this murderer is neutralized.

The only thing to say about Outnumbered by Shay Savage is buckle up, you are in for quite a ride! I knew from reading the synopsis it would be a different romance, and I was right! Shay Savage had me under her spell from the beginning. My mind is still reeling somewhat!

Bishop isn’t the social type. He has found some peace living in solitude in Canada’s Northwest Territories. He lives off the land, and he is fine with that, especially after spending many years in prison. He has a few people in town he talks with but never developing any kind of deep relationship. One woman will turn the idea of a relationship on its head. When Bishop returns home after a day of hunting, he finds a woman, Seri, in major distress. Before he can get any answers, she passes out. When she awakens, he will do what he can to help her move on, but as he spends more time with her, she begins breaking down the walls of his heart. Yet, there is something strange going on with her, her moods switch very quickly…almost as if there is another person inhabiting her body. When you discover Seri’s story, your mind will be blown!!!

Speaking of characters…Bishop and Siri are possibly the most diverse and complicated characters I’ve ever met. Bishop is really a good man deep in his soul, but because of his past, he believes he is quite the opposite. His solitary existence is because he feels as if he needs to protects other. He thinks he is a danger to anyone around him. However, Seri, gives him some peace, and he finds himself slowly trusting her and loving her. She will definitely test how deep his love runs for her.

Now to Seri…there are so many sides to her. She, like Bishop, has not had the best life. She has experienced pain in her past which directly influenced the adult she would become. My heart went out to her, and I, like Bishop, found myself falling in love with her. If two people deserve happiness and peace, it’s definitely Bishop and Seri!

I know when I pick up a Shay Savage book to read, I don’t judge it by the synopsis. She always has some twists in store for me, and this book is no different. It is her unique way of writing and her characterization that pulls me into each and every word she writes. For instance, I felt like I was right there in the harsh Canadian Northwest Territories with them. I could clearly see each thing in my mind, and she does it in a way that doesn’t bog me down. It just adds even more depth to the book. Her writing also tugs at my emotions, whether it’s happy or sad. She makes me feel what the character is feeling, and that makes me feel a deep connection with the book and the characters. Her endings are always fit who her characters are!

***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***

4.5″ Iris-Seri-Netti stars
You can’t help who you love !
Ain’t that the truth. Could be a woman older than you, who wants to make you feel. Or could be a Damsel in Unknown Distress, who is dumped outside of your cabin, in deep snow. Bishop Harp finds Seri McGuire in a snow bank outside his remote cabin deep in the mountains of Alberta, Canada, and the basic instinct of an Alpha Male to play saviour kicks into gear.
He’s actually met her before in Whatì, shopping for his winter supplies. Seri is on the run and destitute, stealing donuts to keep alive. The good Samaritan in Bishop helps her pay for them and imagine his surprise when he finds her outside his cabin some 90 miles away!!!. You can’t let a woman die in snow, much like he rescued Solo, his cat, from sure death.
Immediately it’s two strangers in his cabin and he’s already outnumbered. It does nothing for his natural tendency to lead a solitary life, away from people, civilisation, towns, hiding in a mountain cabin with no electricity, phone, any means of communication. Just him, his thoughts and his past, ruminating on life and his past mistakes
Too many years locked away in close quarters with the other murderers, thieves, dealers, and all-around criminals took its toll on my ability to socialize with “normal” society, not that my childhood was normal.
His life takes a serious turn for the worst. His “gatecrasher-s” bring an avalanche of problems with them. Something he’s ill-equipped to handle, cause he’s neither a psychiatrist or a meteorologist!

“It’s taken me a while to figure that out. We’re both where we are because of the actions of other people. We defended ourselves the best ways we knew how, and we’re not to blame for that.”

Trouble is, he managed to land himself not one, not two, but three women all at once, and they’re unpredictable in the worst sense. Their “Appearance” is linked to her emotions. Stress, rebellion and helplessness make them take turns as if on a carousal

“Iris is our strength. Seri is our heart. (Netti) I am the negotiator.”

It’s too much for poor, simple Bishop to handle. His own violent memories and impulses keep him disturbed at all times, add this to the compounded triple threat, and he’s done for. The cabin is too small and cramped for 4 people at once, plus the cat.

“Seri is the woman who lives with me. Netti is the woman who only appears when the situation is too intense for Seri to handle, and Iris…Iris is the woman who seduces me. I stare at the solitary figure by the fire, feeling completely outnumbered.”

I won’t go into detail of the story more. The topic really intrigued me, the mind is still unexplored territory by humankind, who’s set foot on the moon and explored space. Yet brain is still a mystery and uncharted waters. I have read a fantastic book on this topic before and have seen several documentaries, watched interviews of people suffering from Multiple Personality Disorders or Dissasociative Identity Disorders( if that’s even a correct term for it).
It’s very scary and also fascinating to see multiple people compartmentalising the mind, while sharing the body. Spooky!!! Who appears when and how and how shay/Bishop dealt with them is so weird and amazing at the same time. I was very confused and so was Bishop, scratching our heads, lotsa times. But her writing has clarity, which made it easier to unravell the knots.

“Seri, then Iris, and then Seri again. Did I just have a threesome?
How much more messed up could this be? ”

The story is set in beautiful Yellowknife mountain in Northwest Canada and Shay paints a very picturesque scenario , complete with stunning landscapes and eerie calm snowfileds
When past and present collide,there’s bloodshed and secrets are hidden hastily in the forest.
The white snow covers all !!!. Yet the ending is beautiful and sweet and as mesmerising as Mother Nature in her full glory !!
This was my first book by shay, though the pace is unhurried and slow,her writing style is very descriptive and very meticulous. It paints a very vivid picture. Her research and attention to details is fascinating. All this making it a riveting read. It’s more of a Romantic thriller than pure erotica, and I loved it very much.