Defending Morgan

Mountain Mercenaries, Book 3

By: Susan Stoker

Narrated by: Stella Bloom

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

Protection leads to passion in New York Times bestselling author Susan Stoker’s dangerously hot Mountain Mercenaries adventure.

Dispatched to the Dominican Republic to rescue a kidnapped child, former Marine Archer "Arrow" Kane makes a startling discovery: another hostage - Morgan Byrd, a very beautiful and very well-known missing person who disappeared off the streets of Atlanta a year ago. She’s brave, resilient, and unbroken. All Arrow wants to know is why she ended up in a shack in Santo Domingo. All he feels is the desire to protect.

Morgan is done being the victim and is determined to find out who hates her so much that they want her gone - but not dead. Until then, she has Arrow, an alpha stranger who’s offering a warm and safe place to hide. But as the passion between them flares, so does the fear that whoever took Morgan will do anything to get her back. For Arrow, protecting this woman with a mysterious enemy is the most dangerous mission of his life. And it’s worth every beat of his heart.

©2019 Susan Stoker (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“Stoker thrills with the sizzling hot, fast-paced, and occasionally heart-stopping third contemporary Mountain Mercenaries novel…Stoker sensitively deals with tough subjects such as [assault] (and its devastating aftermath) and parental kidnapping, and draws readers into a richly woven tale, ably setting up the next story. This series is perfect for romantic thriller aficionados.” (Publishers Weekly)

These Characters! Wow!

The Mountain Mercenaries series is chock full of men whose super powers include looking and acting like demi-gods while treating women as their personal goddesses. Sign me up, please. But this particular addition to the series probably has the single strongest female protagonist so far, and she's truly impressive.

Morgan was not the target for the MM team that night. They were after a young girl taken by her non-custodial father, and they found her. Right behind a very protective Morgan, who was ready to give her life to save the young girl. That's when the men of the Mountain Mercenaries realized they were looking at a woman who was kidnapped a year ago: a woman they had no idea they would find there.

Morgan had no idea who kidnapped her, or why. So even though she's back in the US, her ordeal isn't exactly over. Good thing Archer has taken more than a passing interest in her, and is going to go above and beyond to ensure that she's truly safe while they do some digging into the past to find the person responsible for her nightmare year of captivity.

As Morgan navigates a new life post-captivity, she shows amazing strength and resilience, along with a beautiful heart as she chooses a life of healing and forgiveness. She won't let the bad guys win. She's also going to do everything in her power to help the young girl she was captive with, who continues to struggle even after returning to the States. Morgan shows her strength in everything she does as she overcomes one hurdle after another in a situation that could knock a lot of people off their feet for good. She may not feel like she's a champ, but she won't stay down on that mat for long. She's amazing.

Archer, as well, is an incredible man of patience and wisdom as he helps Morgan overcome her past terrors and move into a new life. Wow, do we need more men like him. What a gift. Together, they're unstoppable, and may just be my favorite couple of the series so far.

Not one of my favs..

Morgan has been missing for a year..just by happenstance, the Mountain Mercenaries find her while on an op for someone else. When they save both parties, Arrow found that their new hostage is well know . Getting her back home is on,y 1/2 the battle. Finding who wants her dead and getting her to realize that she’s his, that’s a whole other story.

Ok, the general concept of the Mountain Mercenaries meant that we were going to be involved in some hard, in some instances, triggering scenarios, but for me, there are some things that can’t be rushed or “pushed aside” for the sake of the story.

Morgan was held captive, repeatedly raped, starved, and brutalized..just the fact that she was attracted to another man never rang true for me. Even if her attending therapy and talking about her ordeal was part of the story, none of it rang true for me in the short time the story was written. I mean an awful lot occurred I; the span of about 2 months..then 6 months later. While I understand that people heal differently, this just didn’t work for me.

Now with that said, I didn’t hate the book. The twist of who wanted her captured and gone was crazy. I’m still digesting that one. Otherwise, I enjoyed the book.

Needless to say, we’re all waiting for Rex’s book and I can’t wait to see if my guess of who he’s is correct.😄. On to, the next book.

Enjoy!

Loved

I loved Arrow and Morgan and all the Mountain Mercenaries characters. I can’t wait for the next book in this series. I would recommend all of Susan Stoker’s books.

Fantastic series

I am really enjoying this series. While each book focuses on a new couple we still see interaction between all of the previous couples from the series. I love seeing each of these alpha men fall for their woman.

I must say, these books are hot & intimate

zthe stores are almost relatable. I'm enjoy each book. This one, I'm marking as one of my favorites on my list❤💟❤ Very Touching. Great writing!

Amazing...! :)

Took me by surprise!...but not too hard to believe....:) I'm estranged from my mom....It was hard for me to believe at first that a mother could do this to their offspring....but I was used a an entrapment tool....and I was also kidnapped as a child and survived....physically....as I grew up in my childhood I realized that when it came to me or my mom's love I was always second, maybe....when I run into people who've a special relationship with their mom, it's hard for them to understand my relationship with mine. yea I wouldn't be human if I wasn't jealous of people who have a great relationship....but it just hurts sometimes the way people think of me. Always questions "Wonder why her mom doesn't love her?" "Is she able to be a mom herself?" and on and on....I really appreciate this story because I could identify with it....in a lot of ways....especially the really great parts like a wonderful man....:) I am married to a wonderful Peter Pan with a brilliant & beautiful daughter and I love being a mom.... Oh and thank you so much for the info. at the end of the book. :)

😱😱😱😱😱

Chapter 15: Got me like 😱😱😱😱😱

I can't believe it. The kidnapper was her own MOTHER 😱😱😱😱😱😱

Interest Story line

The events of human trafficking is such a reality few of us realize. This story brings tit o life, (Sadly) But it's a good story.

Steamy suspenseful romance

This book is a solid 4.5 star book. The characters were well developed. While the previous one in the series I gave a solid five stars this one I nicked it a little bit just because of – I’m not really sure. While it was still a very good book I just felt the need to ding it I half a star because I think the middle love it became a little discombobulated. Look forward to reading her next one. The narration was excellent.

this was a great read

this book was deep and it shows how you can go through hell and come out on top

Loved it!

Thought I knew where the plot was going and I was right but I still enjoyed the ride to get there!! Good story. Love the characters. Well written.

I enjoyed the book Defending Morgan

I enjoyed listening to this book and how the story evolved. Without giving the plot away it concluded with an unexpected twist.

A great listen

There are a few authors I read or listen to that have me going back for more, there are also a few more that have me not only going back for more of their books but also rereading their books (I may just wear my tablet out yet) and susan stoker is one such author. I have read and listen to a fair few military romances and felt slightly let down because it was always the same alpha guy and slightly submissive female etc.

But what susan does is she builds the characters profile for us, she builds their physio, builds, their feelings and emotions until you are so emerged in the story that you feel like you are there in the story walking along side the characters and listening to what’s happening. I felt Morgan’s vulnerability from the start of the story, the way the author built up the layers to give us a heroine we could love, admire, feel vulnerable with and walk along on her journey as she comes back into the real world after a year away after being kidnapped.

We get Archer, although a little Alpha like I was complaining about earlier, he wasn’t overly alpha, either in his job or with Morgan because he wants to save women and children. But hot damn at the ending of the story. It wasn’t who I thought it was and was blinkin sure it was someone else. A fantastic audio book within this series and I really can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Another fab listen

Love everything about this series.
The story line is very descriptive allowing you to be able to visualise the situations and characters, it’s almost like your there they are your friends and your part of what’s happening.
Narration is good very clear, good pace and intonation.
On to look for the next in series...