In the Solace

Metahuman Files, Book 6

By: Hailey Turner

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Built to carry you. 

Jamie Callahan is looking forward to spending the rest of his life with Kyle Brannigan. They’ve overcome impossible odds, and the only thing left to do is walk down the aisle together. Despite the happiness they’ve earned, their enemies haven’t all disappeared. 

Make it to the other side. 

Colonel Liam Wessex is thrilled his best friend is getting married, but it’s just further proof that his own life is breaking apart. With his classified identity revealed to the public, Liam is struggling with the transition into civilian life. Becoming reacquainted with MI6 Agent Oliver Archer forces Liam to reconcile his past actions with a future that just might be the answer to all of his problems. 

It’s not over, it’s just the start. 

Oliver thought he’d done enough to cut Liam out of his life. When their professional lives collide, he’s forced to accept the fact that Liam is no longer the spoiled prince he once knew. When terrorists target London and the unthinkable happens, Oliver and Liam learn that second chances come with a price neither can afford to pay. 

In the Solace is a 99k word steamy gay sci-fi military romance with a HEA and concludes the series. This is a direct sequel to In the Requiem and Fire in the Heart. Listening to the previous books in this series would be helpful in enjoying this one.

©2020 Hailey Turner (P)2020 Hailey Turner

the book was great but....

I find myself a bit disappointed with the ending. no spoilers but still...feels unfinished.

Brilliant and perfect

Perfect ending to a perfect series. The only thing that would be better was if we ever got more of all of these characters. One of my favorite series ever. Loved getting to know Liam more in this one.

Boudreaux Does it Again!

Just listened to all 6 books in the series, and the narration was AMAZING!! The team of Turner and Boudreaux is WINNING!

Excellent performance

I read this series and listened to the last book on audible. The narrator really brought the story to life. I enjoyed this book the most. The series is good, you don't need to read the series to enjoy this book - but it helps to have the background info. The author does a good job of giving the reader the basics. I liked the series, but this one was my favorite.

This whole series was excellent!

Intense. The plot reads like a mash up of X-Men and a CIA/Special Forces type thriller, only with super $exy scenes and a romance sub-plot. This story finds our heroes across the pond, focusing on Jamie and Kyle’s British counterpart, Liam (the Queen’s grandson), and the last remaining bad guy- the former CIA director who is now a fugitive with a crap ton of deadly chemical weapons for sale to the highest (and deadliest) bidder. Bad guys come out of the woodwork. The story is filled with tons of action, harried and grisly things happen to our beloved heroes, and the love connection is hard won after all. Greg Boudreaux gives a stellar performance, switching it up from American and Russian accents to British and Irish. Fantastic!

enjoyable wrap-up

3.5

An enjoyable wrap-up to the series. I just wish I could pinpoint why I didn't love it more. "In the Solace" features, Liam and his adjustment (or lack thereof) post In the Requiem.

Refusing to accept that leading his metahuman team in the field is impossible and dangerous now that his identity is known, Liam is stubbornly digging in his heels about leaving. He's also stubbornly trying to make amends with Oliver, an MI6 liaison and former friend who's been haunted by a "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" type bet and hates Liam's guts. When intelligence chatter confirms that former CIA director Bennett and Reborn IRA leader, Murphy are on English soil, Liam and Oliver are forced to work more closely together, and as the danger escalates, both men become aware of what really matters.

The action and writing are signature Turner, and appearances from Jaime, Kyle and later Katie are welcome, and I enjoyed the closure the series receives regarding Bennett. Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with the romance/Oliver's character. I guess I feel like I really didn't get enough insight into who Oliver is outside of his hostility towards Liam. Most of his character is defined by that bet. Yes, the reader gets to see him interact with his loving family and his dedication to his job, but most of his presence/character beats are vitriolic recriminations and repudiations of Liam's apologies. Until, on a dime, it's unleashed desire that leads to sex.

When that happens, the action really kicks into high gear and Liam and Oliver's budding relationship is backburner-ed, so any opportunities for showing more aspects of Oliver's personality are left behind. I didn't dislike Oliver or think that he is completely two-dimensional, I just felt like there was too much about how the bet/his feelings for Liam shaped Oliver's hostility and not enough non-Liam related pieces of who Oliver is. Had I not decided to read the preceding novella, I'm not sure I would have been invested at all in Oliver.

Despite my inability to truly connect to Oliver or the development of his relationship with Liam (which really colored my overall enjoyment), it was good to see Liam get his HEA, be reunited with some of the gang and get complete closure on an epic series. Well worth a read.

Well written & excellent narration

This series of books was very well done, with well developed characters, interesting storylines and sub-plots. The narration really made it all come together with impressive dialects that really made the characters unique. Overall, one of my new favorite reads.

Lovely!

I was a little uncertain, reading other reviews, but this book functions as both epilogue and bridge, as well as giving Liam his own story. it's possible to move on from here, but after tearing through all of the Metahumans series, I am eminently satisfied with this wrap-up. I loved the entire adventure from beginning to end.

Fantastic

A great performance by Greg Boudreaux of Hailey Turner’s book. The story has it all action, sadness, love, and humor. Greg uses his voice land timing to take each moment to the next level. A fitting finale to the series. I am going to miss his inverse and can only hope we are allowed to revisit in the future,,

Fantastic End to a Fantastic Series

I have loved this series from the very first chapter of the first book. I had previously read all the books. Now having listened to the whole series there will be repeat listens in the future. I was happy to learn more about Liam, although he appeared in other books we didn't know much about him. Thank you dear author for that. And a Huge Thank you to the Amazing Narrator

Delicious British twist!

Story: Getting enough of the Metahuman Files is obviously impossible. With Alpha Team in reserves, we get a great British twist on the series and Liam's story. He was a very intriguing character throughout the series and I'm really glad we got to meet him better and see a culmination of the series with a fresh set of POVs.
Hailey Turner did a great job with these books and the last one in the saga definitely holds up the quality. Dynamic, emotional and smoking hot. Just brilliant!
Narration: Perfect performance.

Oh please my heart is broken..

This series is over my heart is broken, It introduced me to urban fantasy, and now it's left me alone in a genre with nothing left to read that is half as good.
Come back Alpha team I miss you!!!
Seriously though I loved this series kept me sane this year, I have to say I wasnt as fond of Colonel Liam Wessex, as I was alpha team, I can see why we needed this story to finish the series, and have the wedding. Which incidentally was way better than Prince Harry, and Meghan's which I DIDN'T watch, only the news highlights.
Kyle and Jamie best part of this book, wow (Sigh)
I dont know what i'm going to do now it's over..
On the plus side I have preordered the side books, for audible them will save the rest of my year.
Au revoir I hope Hailey Turner finds time to write a few more words about my favorite military peeps.

It’s just so gooooood

This series is such a bar raiser. Every book better than the last, I just adore the characters and the writing is light years above most other writers in the genre.

I love it

This is a great addition to this series, Greg Bordeaux did a great job narrating this book. I love the voices of each character and I enjoy listening to this audiobook, he really brings the characters to life!

Great story

A well written story with and interesting concept. The characters are likeable and the narration is very good.

Another fantastic instalment of gay sci-fi series

Okay, I have to call out Ms. Turner. In the past couple books there’s been a moment where it looks like one of the heroes has died. She did it again in this book and I can quote the words she used because I was so devastated. I knew – I knew – he wasn’t dead. Because no self-respecting romance author kills off one of the heroes. But…I still cried at the mere thought he might be dead.

Well done, Ms. Turner. Making me cry.

Okay, on to the book itself. I love this series because metahumans are just so cool. And although the American Alpha team has been disbanded, doesn’t mean we’re not going to see many of our favorites as the British fight the Reborn IRA. You might have thought war would be over two and a half centuries from now, but you’d be wrong. And now they have splice bombs that obliterate people causing them to die in the most horrible way.

The book begins with the wedding of Jamie and Kyle – the main heroes from Alpha Team. There are little cameos from other team members, but the focus is on the two men. Their friend Liam Wessex joins coming over from England. Liam who is a member of the royal family, although quite far down on the line of succession. Still, his grandmother is the Queen of England so he owes deference to her. Last year the world found out he was a metahuman and there’s been a push for him to retire but this is all he’s ever known – he’s a military guy who doesn’t want to settle down to do charity events and tea parties.

When Liam is partnered with MI6 agent Oliver Archer, a man from his past, he’s forced to confront things he’d long since left behind, including a man who’s always seen him as a pampered prince. Oliver has worked hard to get where he is but he’ll never have the class status afforded to someone like Liam. Seems that hasn’t changed much either. So much for egalitarianism.

As the men fight the Reborn IRA, they are also fighting feelings for each other. That push/pull eventually culminates in something special. Something precious. And then it’s all threatened again.

So, another rollercoaster ride from Ms. Turner.

The book is narrated by Greg Boudreaux and he did a great job, including the many accents and tons of characters. He always delivers a solid performance and this one was no different. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. Especially with the photons.

Bittersweet ending

I am deeply saddened to know this is the end.
This has been an amazing sci-fi adventure full of action, danger and plenty of steamy romance.
This felt like an epilogue and everyone got their HEA.
Greg Boudreaux did an amazing job bringing this amazing world to life.

Awesome

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.
It was a great addition to an awesome series.
I can’t wait to listen to more.

Fitting ending to a great series

This was a fitting ending to a great series, although it didn't have quite the drama and punch of the preceding books.

There is still action and bad guys, but this story focuses more on the personal tension and romance of Liam and Oliver. The mission takes more of a back seat and is pretty mild except for what happens to Liam, and that is brief. The final battle was a bit anticlimactic. We don't get any final words or vitriol from Bennett, and the head of the Reborn IRA group is killed off-page. When we finally see Bennett, he is pretty much a mindless zombie. I kind of felt cheated. There were also some plot questions that were left unaddressed...like how all those Reborn IRA people got into Ascot. We also don't get a lot of detail on Oliver and Liam's prior friendship. We just get the ending story. I also felt a bit cheated not to see Rupert get more comeuppance. So, overall, I liked the story, and I really liked Oliver's character, but I just didn't feel like it was on the same level as the preceding books.

The narration by Greg Boudreaux was excellent as always. He really infuses the characters with life and energy.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

Sad to see the end

This entire series is absolutely fantastic and the final installment of In the Solace fits perfectly! The superpowers and the action revolving around them really provide a rich world that these characters fit perfectly into. I loved getting to see Jamie and Kyle’s HEA and also getting to see Liam and Oliver together.
Greg Boudreaux did an outstanding job bringing these couples and their fantastic world to life. I’m so sad to see the end of this series and will be revisiting this world often.