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.

Not believable

I didn't care to much for this book, I find it hard to believe that Morgan would have moved that fast with all that she had been through. I knew it was one of two people but wow that was something. I didn't like the nickname beautiful for me it just didn't fit. I spent a lot of time shaking my head and saying wow really. I just couldn't see Arrow saying and doing the things he was and Morgan was ok with it. After this book I am going to take a break from the author letting my mind clear. I really didn't care for this book but I do not that the author is a great writer and I have really enjoyed some of her work.


The narrator did a good job, I really didn't care for Rex's voice I liked it better in the first book but beside that I thought she did a great job. There were no repeating of words, no volume changes, there were a couple of places where she paused to long at the end of chapters but besides that it was good. Her character voice are good, her normal voice is very pleasant. You always know who is talking and what they are feeling, when Chloe had a hand over her mouth the narrator made it sound that way. She gives emotions and really makes you feel a part of the audio.

Really liked it, much better (spoilers)

Although this isn't the second book in the series, it's the second I listened to (due to a 2 for 1 sale), and the first book was a big disappointment, so I don't know if it was that my expectations were low or not, but I really liked this book. The story was better written, there were only about two eye rolls in the whole book (thankfully), and machism was much much lower.
Other reviewer had spoiled the ending for me, by saying who was responsible for the ordeal the female character had gone through, but it didn't diminished my enjoyment of the book.
I really really liked the tactful and, I think, realistic way the author dealt with having sex after the traumatic experience, and the way he male character was portrait as patient and comprehensive. It made fall in love with him 10 times more.

SICK

I can't believe all the good ratings for this mess. I figured out who was responsible for Morgan's kidnapping early, The conflicting accounts of her childhood was a great clue.NO GOOD PARENT disparages the other the way this was done. The ending was crap because Morgan should have been the one to take care of the person responsible for her year long imprisonment & constant raping. Maybe not death, but a good best down, prison & then banishment would have worked for me.

Don’t Miss

First off if you need a lot of graphic sex to make a good book then pass. That said this is the most intimate book I’ve read/listened to in while. This series is fantastic. MMM are a group that save women and children, but they aren’t jaded or callous. And while meeting your one & only while that person is a sex slave isn’t ideal, Arrow is impressed with the way Morgan handles unbearable circumstances, her calm, logical approach, but her bravery and protective nature does him in. Arrow has the patience of a saint, understanding, supportive, he’s so close to perfect it’s sinful 😊 Love how these men unapologetically fall for their women, don’t fight or deny it, just steady as a rock. Absolutely truly dream worthy. ❤️‍🔥💋❤️‍🔥

Beautiful overboard

I like these stories. Or I should say I like the premise of the stories. Just know that every one of them are basically the same. This one drove me absolutely crazy with the number of times he used “beautiful’ when talking to Morgan. Maybe it is stupid but it is my review and I thought it was over the top and overdone with someone he knew for a day.

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!

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.

🎧 Archer and Morgan 🎧

Another disturbing villain goes to incredible lengths to punish an unwitting enemy, and the Mountain Mercenaries are there to protect and defend.

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...