Shatter

Shatter is Ashton “Snow” Frost’s story.
All 4 of these are guys pretty fucked up, which makes for delicious hurt/healing/comfort. Snow is a cold, hard, bossy trauma surgeon with a “one-night-stand only” rule. He also never fucks co-workers, which is his main reason for not wanting to start anything with coworker, EMT Jude Torres. But Jude will have none of that. Nope. He goes after Snow and eventually gets him.
All this can be learned from the blurb so let’s get right down to business. I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK. It hit my top 3 holy-shit-this-is-so-awesome buttons.
Hurt/Healing/Comfort
Snow has had a rough life. On top of a horrible childhood in an ultra-religious home, he’s a military man who has seen death more than he cares to admit. And Jude knows all about the comfort. Oh yes indeed.
Dirty talk
Both of these men had ridiculously filthy mouths. Hot. As. Fuck. (Hot enough for the Blanche Devereaux Spray-bottle Gif of Greatness™.)
Wall sex
Oh yes, there is wall sex. Repeat, there is wall sex. And it is glorious.
This is a 5+ star read. My second of the year, Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish being my first. This is about as close to perfection as they come for me.
Can this be read as a stand-alone? Well, it can be, but I think that once all 4 books are out, it will be a must-read series and you really should start from the beginning. And since this book is still 3 weeks from publication, I am highly recommending you read Shiver now. For more back story, check out the authors’ Unbreakable Bonds webpage.
Fuck yeah, 5+ stars. Don’t miss this one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Snow—Dr. Ashton Frost—is a master surgeon and rules the hospital. He’s arrogant, in control and is always barking out orders. No wonder he’s known as the “Surgeon General” amongst the staff.

Jude Torres, paramedic, is bound and determined to get to know the General in spite of Snow’s one main rule: never become involved with staff. The doctor piques Jude’s interest with his barking of orders and no-nonsense attitude. But, he also sees something else in Snow, and Jude soon begins changing Snow’s view about his rule.

When Snow is with his closest friends, he’s really a different person. We see him become vulnerable and struggle with guilt and seek out forgiveness from his friend. When a nemesis from Snow’s past reappears and causes devastation in his and his friends’ lives, Snow sets out to finish what he started. As Snow and Jude become involved, Jude finds himself drawn into the dark world of human auctions. And Jude’s family is an eye opener for Snow—there’s no escape from Jude’s mother, Anna Torres. The Torres family is a wonderful addition to the storyline.

I started to worry after a few chapters, but of course, that snarky detective, Hollis Bannister, is back. Hollis still has his eye on Ian. Between Lucas and Snow, they are driving Hollis crazy, but I think it’s fifty/fifty. Oh my, are Hollis and Snow going to become BFFs?! When Snow and Hollis do some investigating together, Snow finally sees Hollis in a different light. Hollis’s character really starts to develop here, showing uncertainty and vulnerability.

Drake and Elliott bring us the second thriller in the Unbreakable Bonds series. Shatter is fast paced, suspenseful, and takes us into the dark recesses of Ian’s past, and I liked Snow’s perspective on each of his friends. Shatter is also a story filled with a variety of emotions and heartbreak—it’s a tearjerker. There were moments with Snow and Rowe Ward that give us more depth into their connection. What I feel makes this a unique story, though, is that all the MCs from Shiver are back, and Drake and Elliott take us through different phases of each characters’ relationships and friendships—a new love, love growing, love lost, and a special bond. The characters become more solid and are not just skimmed over; they all have major roles to play.

I highly recommend the Unbreakable Bonds series, starting with Shiver. And yes, there’s a wee teaser from Drake and Elliott at the end—book 3 is titled Torch. I think I know who Torch may be about, but I’ll have to wait to find out, and I’m really looking forward to it.