Genre: Mystery, Contemporary, Dark Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Sven Kolczynski
25, Polish, amateur car thief… and apparently unkillable.
Being a hero can be painful and seriously hazardous to your health. What can I say? I’m not a smart man. It’s been two weeks since I started following the brown-haired, cheery little puppy. There’s nothing special about the guy. He’s a mechanic, hangs out with a bunch of scary-looking dudes, and never seems to stop smiling. Like seriously, how can one man be so happy all of the time? Okay, fine, the guy is kind of cute, and that smile can make a man weak in his knees. But tell me, is a cute face really worth becoming someone’s next target? Not to mention, this dude’s creepy brother keeps threatening to dismember me if I do anything to hurt his little brother. Like, seriously. What’s wrong with this family?
Oliver O’Maley
29, mechanic, and little brother to Patrick, the crew’s… “information extractor”, which is also a nice way of saying, “scary dude who will unalive you if you don’t do as he says”.
Arg. Who knew that having Patrick as a big brother was going to result in me having to live my life in a protective bubble? Seriously! Everyone on the Crew treats me like their kid brother and won’t let me do anything even remotely dangerous! All I want is a chance to prove myself. A chance to show the guys that I’m more than just Paddy’s little brother. All that changes when some big Polish dude saves my life. Now, suddenly, we are both being hunted. I’m having to fight off assassins in the dark and make sure that nothing happens to my would-be protector or family. That includes stopping my overprotective big brother from murdering the rest of the world in retaliation. We’re a close family. We take things personally.
This is an MM dark romance filled with plenty of heat, steam, violence, and mayhem.
The Review
Oliver “Ollie” O’Maley is the younger brother to Patrick “Paddy” O’Maley, known as the notorious “torturer” for Micky O’Brien’s Crew. Being separated for too many years, Oliver has now come to live next door to his big brother. At twenty-nine, he’s still treated like a kid, but he’s trying to change that. He’s got a good education, thanks to Patrickm and works at Brody’s auto shop as a mechanic. But Oliver wants to prove that he’s more valuable than that. He’s secretly on a collection job with Brody, and if Micky or Patrick find out, there will be hell to pay.
Patrick doesn’t want Ollie to be involved in the crew. He’s afraid that if his enemies found out that Ollie is his brother. it could be used against him and the O’Brien Crew. Most of all, he loves his little brother and would never put his life in danger.
Micky O’Brien and Dominic Rossi are Patrick’s best friends, and have Micky and Dom have gotten wind that Brody and Oliver were out on a run. Micky gives them fair warning, because if Patrick finds out there are bound to be consequences. But Micky has a special job for Oliver. He now has to help Seth, Micky’s husband, with a huge project coming up at The Stud’s Embrace, owned by Micky and husband, co-owner Seth.
Sven Kolczynski, twenty-five, is a loner, has no relatives or friends, and is struggling to get by as a car thief. At eight years old, his life was turned upside down, and he was lucky to find Mrs. W one night while attempting to boost a car. He was blackmailed to do a job, and now he finds himself following a man around and reporting his every move to his blackmailer. Sven finds himself obsessed with watching Oliver, who seems to be a really good person, always pleasant and helping people.
One day while watching this intriguing man, Sven sees trouble. An SUV is barreling towards Oliver, and Sven does the unthinkable and intervenes. Next thing he knows, he’s in the hospital with the mysterious man by his bedside.
Oliver is not about to leave the side of this man who just saved his life. Of course, Patrick and Skylar show up at the hospital, too. When it’s time for Sven to be released, he has no choice – Oliver is going to take him home and see to his care. Feeling guilty and in a complete panic, Sven tells Oliver about the situation. When Patrick hears the news, the crew is immediately on high alert.
Who is this person that’s trying to kill Oliver, and now Sven? What will happen when all hell breaks loose? Who is the evil creature that’s out to “exterminate” the O’Brien Crew? Who of the crew is ready to dance with the devil?
Dante hits it out of the park with Defending You, the fifth book in the “Rough Edges Series.” This epic story gives new insight to the O’Brien Crew and how it came about, the men and their “Better Halves,” their legal and illegal businesses, and how they give back to their community. We also get an in-depth look into the relationship of the two brothers, Oliver and Patrick. There’s danger, mayhem, unspeakable, gritty torture, suspense, crazy fire balls, chaos on home turf and a twisted plot of Patrick’s. And that’s why Patrick is known as the “TORTURER!”
The Better Halves are so much fun too: Seth, Skylar, Scott, Des and they love of the O’Brien Crew: Micky, Patrick, Dominic, and Cillian. Then there’s Brody, who we hear so much about in this book. He just may be getting his own story, which will be an eye opener.
Defending You is the best book in this series. I loved every bit of this gritty, action packed, dangerous, explosive thriller of a story. The teasing and the banter also add a lot of humor to the story. I highly recommend Defending You and the entire series. I’m curious to see what Dante has up his sleeve for the next thriller in the “Rough Edges Series.”
The previous books, in order, are: Laying Claim – Micky & Seth; Protecting His – Dom & Scott; Devouring Sin – Patrick & Skylar; and Avenging Des – Cillian & Des.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
