Retribution broke my heart several times throughout the story. The loss that put Hawke on the path to becoming a Protector, a story made worse when he reveals to Ronan the true extent of all he lost that fateful night. The constant state of looking over his shoulder that Tate has lived in for the past two years, all while trying to do the best he can as a single dad. Matty’s illness – something that is one of the worst bits of news a parent can ever receive and an emotional landmine for me personally. The guilt Hawke feels for his attraction to Tate. Tate’s feelings that he and Matty will never be enough for Hawke, no matter how badly he wants for them to be the family that Hawke so desperately needs. Talk about an emotionally read… or I should say, emotionally exhausting listen – my hats off to Joel Leslie for his narration of Retribution. My heart hurt so bad at times, I don’t know how he managed to perform it. The man never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve only had the pleasure of enjoying the first three books in The Protectors series and I don’t know how Kennedy keeps upping her game. The connection between the men. The love for Matty from so many men – both Protectors and non-Protectors. The action and suspense. The sex. This series just keeps getting better, with each book becoming my new favorite. Even as much as it hurt me to listen to parts of Retribution, it was a beautiful sort of pain because I knew (or hoped) that things would work out in the end, with Tate, Hawke, and Matty getting the happy ending they deserved. Then the authors goes and one-ups it with an even better ending than I anticipated.
While I know the author hopes to have more books in the series on audio, I’m torn as to whether I want to wait and enjoy the next book on audiobook OR if I need the next story badly enough that I’m going to tackle the book. Decisions. Decisions. I just don’t know what way I’ll go.
GOODREADS NOTE: I’ve tagged this installment as bisexual because of Hawke. However, I actually think Hawke is more demisexual than bisexual as he’s only ever been attracted to his wife and Tate. But I don’t want to add yet another shelf that I’ll feel the need to go back through recent reads to add them to it.