Fighter

Survivor, Book 3

By: T.M. Smith

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Fighter - A Survivor Story
 

Dedication and smarts have given Blair Cummings a leg up in the Bureau. His job is all-consuming but rewarding. It doesn’t leave much time for a love life though, not that Blair believes in love. In his early 30s, he’s only ever been in one long-term relationship due to his inability to commit to anything other than his job and his family.
 

Born into a family that’s as successful as they are hateful, Howard Manning Tullor Junior ran so far away from his last name that he wound up in the arms of Satan himself. Freedom comes at a high price but it’s one Mannie is willing to pay, setting him on a path that leads him to a quiet, laid-back FBI agent.
 

Their attraction is unexpected, and yet, welcomed. Blair seems to have finally found something worth fighting for, but Mannie, still haunted by ghosts of the past, wonders if he’ll ever be able to move on. The two are working toward their future, but can a budding romance survive when past and present collide?

©2019 TTC Publishing (P)2019 TTC Publishing

A good story of survival and finding love

Audio. I loved Nick J Russo's narration. It added a lot to the story. He gave each character a distinctive voice and lots of excitement and sex appeal. I highly recommend the audio!

This is the third book in the series and I recommend you read in order so you know each key player.
Also, it is written Manny’s POV so you do get his back story, then Blair's POV so you get his back story then as both men’s world collide you get their romance so it’s like three books in one.
Manny’s story is a bit harsh, there is violence but it’s handled well.
I loved all the characters and we get more Taylor and the other guys.
If you like hot detectives, good friends, fast-moving romance, and some good man-sex this is for you!
1 like

Getting a final resolution

In the final book of the Survivor series some questions are answered. As with T.M. Smith books there’s plenty of heavy steamy sexy times and MC moving past previous hurts with the love and support of the other MC. I do recommend reading/listening to the books in order to completely understand the plot. As always Mr. Russo’s narration was super.

So good, made me laugh and cry.

Audio book performer Nick J. Russo is fast becoming a favorite of mine. He's done all of the audio books in the Survivor series and I've loved each of them. Fighter has several particularly heart-wrenching scenes and the emotion that the character is feeling comes through in his performance. He has distinctive voices for each character and he does great female voices. 😊 I look forward to listening to many more of his performances.

Below is a copy of my original review from when the book was released back in August.
* * * * * * * * * *
Fighter is the third book in TM Smith's Survivor series and some of the events overlap with the first two books, Survivor and Lover. You might be able to read Fighter OK as a standalone (the author does a good job of telling you things you need to know from books one and two) but for best enjoyment of the story you really should read Survivor and Lover first.

Mannie suffered unspeakable things at the hands of his family, and later by a man who said he loved him. Blair, an FBI agent, was wounded helping to solve a case that ultimately lead them to Mannie (Howard Manning Tullor, Jr.) who had been missing for years and was presumed dead.

This is kind of an insta-love story but I'm OK with that. Blair is taken with Mannie from the moment they meet and he knows that Mannie is someone he wants to get to know better. Knowing how much Mannie has suffered, Blair uses kid-gloves when approaching him. The tenderness he feels towards Mannie really comes out on the pages of the book.

I was pretty much glued to my e-reader, except when real life things forced me to put it aside. After things in the story settled down, I admit to waiting for another climax in the story and wondering what it could be and if it would ever happen. Maybe my head just wasn’t in the right space but I didn't guess what the "thing" ended up being. Props to TM Smith for adding a twist that made this engrossing story even more so for this reader.

I should also note that the sexy time between Blair and Mannie is off-the-charts hot! I understand that Fighter will be out as an audiobook before too long and I can't wait to listen to it.

A copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author or narrator.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

What an end to the series

I'm so sad to see this series end. My favorite parts of it were all the love ,friendship, and comraderie this group of men exhibited. I hate that the victims had to go through such torture and trauma and violence. but at least it led to love forever and healing with the man (men) of their hearts. Every time they opened a door without checking first I cringed. Thankfully salvation was close behind. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job with voices and expressions.

Series Finale

First I want to say how much I love this cover . The model is absolutely beautiful . This book follows Manny and Blaire as they navigate a relationship together . I am glad Manny found such a loving adoptive family after his harsh beginning . This book doesn't have very much action or mystery like it's predecessors . The twist at the end with Taylor caught me off guard and I am curious about the aftermath . Smith and Russo make a great team this series is worthy of a relisten .

Good addition to the series

I admit it’s been awhile since I’ve read/listened to the first books in this series. As a result it took me quite awhile to get back into the groove of this story as it leans heavily on prior information in those books being remembered by the reader.
This is a great series of hurt/comfort and recovery and growth. I was glad to see all the stories wrap up and to revisit some of our MCs from previous books.
This wasn’t my favorite – but that doesn’t mean it was bad – it just didn’t grab my heart as strongly as the others in the series.
I always love Nick Russo’s narration and he was wonderful as I expect him to be.
Recommended for fans of the series – not a standalone!

Story 3.5 of 5 stars
Narration 5 of 5 stars
Overall 4 of 5 stars

INCREDIBLE!!

I originally fell in love with this story when I read the ebook, having the opportunity to listen to this incredible audio just made me fall in love with it all over again and even harder! The narrator did a spectacular interpretation of this story and the characters. What an incredible story of courage, survival, and learning to trust again. Mannie has been through so much and I'm so glad he found Blair and actually gave him chance. I truly admire Blair's unwavering support, patience, and understanding all throughout. He is there for Mannie 100% and really helps him move on and learn to trust again. I love this story so much I was sad to see it end!

exceptionally excellent

I loved every minute of this audio book. absolutely amazing. Manny and Blair are gorgeous together.

Last book in a wonderful series.

Another wonderful story that sadly, but beautifully, wraps up this wonderful series.
I have read in some other reviews that this cannot stand alone because you would miss crucial parts of the story. I disagree with that: I think it can be read as a standalone, though it's certainly much more enjoyable as a part of the series (mainly because books one and two are so great that who would want not to read them all???).
Mannie and Blair are great characters. I loved how Mannie came back to his full life with Blair's steady patience and how totally Blair devoted all his focus to Mannie's wellbeing.
I also love the theme of chosen family (given that Mannie's biological one is so very awful).
Repeating once again how marvellous a narrator Nick J. Russo is may seem overkill, but seriously, have you ever listened to him? He's incredible!

Rounds out the series nicely

Narration was excellent. I did enjoy Blair and Manny's story--it was sweet and Blair was so protective of Manny. Manny was indeed a fighter and a survivor. The nickname for Manny's grandfather in the story was pretty funny and that man was truly awful. I liked getting answers to questions left from the other books.

Happy Endings For All

Happy endings for everyone.

The first two books in this series are really well done - the author builds this whole dark story, and the characters are complex and even the bad guys are super interesting.

Fighter didn't work for me. The way the story jumps from time period to time period is confusing and it was tough to keep my focus.

In the end I'm happy to get everything wrapped up, and Blair and Mannie's story is really nice.

More contrasting flashbacks needed

This trilogy has been about three survivors of trauma and the law enforcement officers who fall in love with them. This time we follow Mannie was physically and emotionally abused by a partner and left with horrific injuries. His relationship with Blair helps him heal. I liked the concept of this book but didn’t find this as engaging as the first two. First, this is pure hurt / comfort territory, whereas the previous books had more action and danger. I think a good hurt / comfort story is a delicate balance - too much ‘hurt’ feels relentlessly oppressive; too much comfort feels schmaltzy. We were told a lot of things rather than experiencing them through the narrative and I think the author missed an opportunity to give this story more depth by letting us experience more flashback scenes of the abusive relationship. It would have offset all the comfort and given us more insight into how broken Mannie was. I only know how bad the abuse and violence was because some of it was detailed in the last book. Second, Blair was given lots of flowery dialogue as he expressed his love and concern for Mannie. I don’t want to stereotype but it felt at odds with him being an FBI agent and a male, and it jarred each time I heard it. On the plus side, I thought the pace of Mannie’s recovery and symptoms he experienced were well-written. 🎧 Nick J Russo gave the characters life and he paced the story well.

Lovely!

Fighter - Survivor Series Book 3 by TM Smith and Nick J Russo (Narrator)

Reviewed by Shee Reader for Boy Meets Boy Reviews

Find us on the web at www.boymeetsboyreviews.com

Rating 4 hearts

Blurb:

Fighter - A Survivor Story
 
Dedication and smarts have given Blair Cummings a leg up in the Bureau. His job is all-consuming but rewarding. It doesn't leave much time for a love life though, not that Blair believes in love. In his early 30s, he's only ever been in one long-term relationship due to his inability to commit to anything other than his job and his family.
 
Born into a family that's as successful as they are hateful, Howard Manning Tullor Junior ran so far away from his last name that he wound up in the arms of Satan himself. Freedom comes at a high price but it's one Mannie is willing to pay, setting him on a path that leads him to a quiet, laid-back FBI agent.
 
Their attraction is unexpected, and yet, welcomed. Blair seems to have finally found something worth fighting for, but Mannie, still haunted by ghosts of the past, wonders if he'll ever be able to move on. The two are working toward their future, but can a budding romance survive when past and present collide?

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and couldn’t wait for the audio version of this one to land. I was already invested in Blaire and Mannie’s relationship as they crop up in the first two books, and couldn’t wait for their full story. The tale crosses over with the other books in the survivor series and I really like that in a series, that events intertwine as they do in real life, rather than being based on relationships that develop in a consecutive way. Of course, some events follow in sequence, but more than one relationship can develop at once, and I really enjoy the concurrent nature of life replicated in a series of books.

Blair and Mannie have the complications of how they met with Mannie as a victim and Blair the investigator, the fact that they live in different states, and the horrific experiences Mannie has had and can he learn to trust Blair? There is lots of challenge for a new relationship in the story, but much less of the exterior threat that is included in the first two books since one of the villains is in jail and one is dead. The only added threat came from Mannie’s grandfather who turns up near the end of the story.

This is an emotional tale with the struggle for the relationship coming from the characters themselves and whether they can work out their issues, and I found this to be very engaging and I really was rooting for the guys from the outset. My only complaint, If I’m going to be picky, was that Blair seemed a little to good to be true! He had no real character flaws to speak of and as such, this made him a tiny bit one dimensional, but that really is a tiny niggle!

The audio is beautifully performed by Nick J Russo (as with earlier book in the series) and he does an awesome job again with this book. His characterisation is almost tangible and I love having a good book read to me on my commute to work. Nick does another super job with this lovely emotional book.

Highly recommended.

I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

as great as the ebook

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. Nick J Russo is one of the top 5 narrators for me, I can listen without break and have no problems to follow.
I'm just not yet finish with the book, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

A great happy end!

Story: A great book! While missing some of the excitement other books were filled with, it’s a sweet and emotional tale, with a smidge of angst for good measure. I love how this series provides an extended background on the characters and how it shows the progression of both their own emotions and the relationship.
It was difficult to tear myself away from the story!
Narration: a great clear voice with easy to follow cadence and characters differentiation. I loved the audio!