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I was provided a complimentary copy of the audio by the narrator in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This series has been on my TBR pile for a while now, and I purchased Absolution, Salvation and Retribution maybe a year ago while they were on sale, and yet they stayed on that darn TBR pile collecting dust. When Joel Leslie offered an audio copy in exchange for a review, I jumped at the chance because I knew this would jump start me into reading this series.

First let me start by saying this is not a light romance. There is a lot of death and grief and trauma and violence in this story. If that’s not your cuppa, you should probably skip this one as there are no unicorns frolicking in the fields here. 😀

Wow, where to start. I have not read book 1 yet, and I believe these are meant to be standalone novels, but I do think reading book 1 would have helped because I think certain elements are tied together. Regardless, I was fully able to immerse myself into this traumatic tale and feel connected to Ronan and Seth. The truth behind what happened to Seth’s brother (and Ronan’s fiancé) is truly tragic [gay bashing (hide spoiler)] and mark’s a turning point in Ronan’s life – from trauma surgeon to avenger. With the help of another, Ronan is able to exact revenge on those responsible for his fiancé’s death, and thru the years, Ronan drafts others like him who have suffered tragedy with no legal justice. This new life has changed Ronan in so many ways that he hardly recognizes the man he used to be.

Seth, who is young and innocent, has been in love with Ronan for years, never once believing Ronan could return those feelings. And Ronan does his best to stay away from Seth because he doesn’t want to taint Seth with the blood on his hands (vigilante justice). This was a true roller coaster of emotions and the action is non-stop. I am excited to go back and read book 1 to see what I have missed and then I will continue with this series.

Joel Leslie did a great job with the narration. I personally think this book would have benefited from dual narration, allowing Seth’s character to have a younger voice (not as deep or gravelly and Joel’s is) and give better separation between Ronan and Seth. But all in all, wonderful job – the emotions and tensions were all there, I knew what the characters were feeling because it came across in Leslie’s voice.

4 stars.