Manu

Hell Squad, Book 16

By: Anna Hackett

Narrated by: Samantha Cook, Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

As the battle against the invading aliens intensifies, a group of bad boy bikers and mercenaries will stand and fight for humanity's survival....

When former berserker Manu Rahia lost his leg on a mission, he was forced to leave his squad. He knows his new role as head of the Enclave's firing range and armory is important, but hates that he isn't still out there fighting face-to-face against the aliens and protecting his brothers' backs. But then one woman catches his eye. A no-nonsense woman dedicated to her job as head of security. A woman who seems cool on the surface, but who Manu is convinced is hiding more under her business-like exterior.

Captain Kate Scott dedicated her life to her career in the Army. Now she works hard taking care of security for the Enclave and its residents. She learned a long time ago that she isn't a passionate woman, and that she's better off sticking to her work. But seeing one big, bronze-skinned, muscled man at the range every day has her hormones going into overdrive. She's never felt like this, and she's determined to get herself under control.

But when the aliens launch a viscous new attack, right on the Enclave's doorstep, Kate and Manu must join forces to stop the raptors before more people get hurt. Kate will fight fiercely to protect her team and the base, as well as her heart. But Manu Rahia is a man who knows what he wants, will walk through fire to get it, and what he wants is Kate.

©2018 Anna Hackett (P)2019 Anna Hackett

Exciting

Another good addition to the series; it has been a wild ride. Loving this series; it has everything this genre has to offer; lots of action and adventure; drama, love and friendship, camaraderie, etc. The banter between love interests is hilarious. Looking forward to listening to the next book! Both narrators do a fantastic job with characters.

Manu

Manu and Kate’s relationship wasn’t the love a first site variety but grew after several miscommunications that caused them to rethink their actions. Then a sizzling slow burn caused them to accept their mutual attraction and jump in full steam ahead! I liked how active Manu was in spite of him having a prosthetic leg that didn’t slow him down at all!!
Kate was loving and accepting of Manu just as he was after reconciliation of her own self esteem issues! They were good to and for one another!! I liked that they were seasoned lovers too!

This series is a TREASURE

Okay I have read pretty much everything Anna Hackett has on Audible. And I think she is SO underrated. There have been books that have changed my life, given me different perspectives about myself and my place in the world. That is NOT what these are. But these are without a doubt one of the reasons that I am and have been able to maintain a reasonable level of anxiety during a very stressful time. These are books I re-read. Sometimes I listen to them to fall asleep. These are bright, brilliant, surefire, tried-and-true comfort. The most delightful escapism. The characters are great, the romance is sweet, the plots are good, the sex scenes are hot but not too much. The world building is captivating! Hell Squad is a great concept! And think about this if you are a fan of Anna Hackett. SHE NEVER DISAPPOINTS. If you pick up one of these books, it is going to be exactly what you want. It's formulaic, but not so much that the books or characters run together. It is formulaic in the best possible way. And almost all of Hell Squad is on Audible Escape. All her series are good but Hell Squad is probably my favorite.

Manu and Kate

Love that Manu is getting his story told here, and that he and Kate find their way through all the dangerous obstacles to each other.

Book 16 and I'm still hooked.

Book 16

Another great story in the Hell Squad world. Manu Rahia, brother to Tane and Hemi, and Kate\ Scott, head of security for the Enclave are wonderful together. And while they are more mature than the rest of our heroes, they are no less HOT. As with the rest of the series, Manu keeps the pages turning in a fast pace plot that is an exhilarating ride. Enjoy!

Hang on!

What a story! When Manu and Kate find themselves in the tunnels, I was on the edge of my seat. These two characters were so tough. Kate was a strong female character who took her role seriously and especially the safety of her team. Manu and Kate connecting helped Manu to further come to terms with losing his leg. Hope there are more adventures with these two.

Great

AaaaMAZINE !!!!! Love it. Want more. If the was anything about it I wish was different it would be that it wasn't longer. I totally recommend it

L

Awesome story in a well developed world

I have read every book in the Hell Squad series and am a fan of the series. The books are best read in order because of the backstory and also, visits from the prior characters but you won't be lost if you start here too. Get ready for an exciting ride! This story follows Manu of the Berserkers. (there are a few main squads that fight against the raptor like aliens who have taken over the world and destroyed most of humanity) The Berserkers are the ultimate bad boys and Manu lost a leg while fighting recently. Kate is the head of security of the enclave where they live. Together, they have to undertake a dangerous mission to keep the bad guys at bay. Every book in this series is exciting with a wonderful romance between 2 characters but also, showcasing a great group of people who are trying to find hope and happiness in a very dangerous time.

This is the first audiobook I've listened to in this series and I think the narrators do a good job of playing the characters (even when they have to switch roles). They add emotion to the story and adequately provide a feeling of danger when it is called for. I'm looking forward to future books and audiobooks from this author!

Absolutely terrific. Give me more...

Reviewed by SFF Dragon*

Another terrific addition to Anna Hackett's action packed SFR Hell Squad series. I was hooked from beginning to end. Give me more...

The Book

I absolutely love Anna Hackett's books and freely admit I'm firmly addicted to her Hell Squad series, amongst others. She never disappoints, no matter what genre she's writing in and has been one of the few at the top of my list of all-time favourite authors for many years. Whether set here on Earth or out in the farthest reaches of the Galaxy, you're pretty much guaranteed a humorous, full-on action adventure all wrapped up in a sizzling and steamy romance complete with happily ever after. There are no cliff-hangers here. 'Manu', the sixteenth book in the series had me totally absorbed from beginning to end and is set a lot closer to home as the alien invaders, the reptilian Gizzida, come up with a whole new nightmare for the people of The Enclave to deal with. A baptism of fire for some and a burning away of past regrets for others. Front and centre in this particular battle are Manu and Kate. This book is theirs...

Manu Rahia's life has changed a great deal since the Gizzida invaded Earth, and in more ways than one, but he was coping... mostly. He was also very angry. He didn't know if his extensive family in New Zealand were alive or dead, but at least he had his brothers, which was a lot more than most. But the biggest blow was losing his leg during a battle and having to take a 'desk' job. Even though his current job in charge of the armoury and firing range was important to their survival, critical even, he missed combat with a vengeance. Squad 3, The Berserkers were like family and he missed the camaraderie of being part of the team. Like almost everyone else in The Enclave, apart from the lucky few, he was lonely, but he was attracted to a certain woman and the highlight of his day was seeing Kate for some verbal sparring, although that was as far as it went. Losing his leg to the Gizzida had left it's mark in more ways than just a cybernetic addition to his anatomy, until....

Kate Scott had been in the army pretty much all of her adult life, she ate, slept and breathed it until she lost one of the soldiers under her command. Haunted by the debacle, she transferred to the President's detail, the worthless traitor, just before the invasion and now found herself burdened down by regrets, guilt and self-recriminations, but still defending the few survivors in The Enclave and having almost daily arguments with the hunkalicious Manu about their weapons. Then came the day the power packs all failed....

I'm not going to give spoilers about this terrific tale of two angry and lonely people who come together at a time when they've both given up on relationships. Filled with great characters, some old, some new, action, humour, sizzling chemistry and a happily ever after which can easily be read as a stand alone, although all the books in the series are set within the same overall story and follow-on from the previous one. It isn't necessary, but if you haven't read the other books in the series, you're missing out on a lot of equally terrific stories all of which have, despite some blood and guts scenes, the feel good factor which keeps me coming back time after time to the on-going saga of post-invasion human survival set not far from the ruins of the once great city of Sydney. Totally worth so many more than the 5 stars I've given it and on my 'read again' and 'save if the house was burning down' lists.

The Audio

I'm so totally addicted to this series that despite originally getting the ebook when it was first published a few years ago, I recently bought another copy as well as buying the Audible version. I'll freely admit that I've read it more than a few times since then, but I now have intermittent problems with my sight, so I've turned to audio books to satisfy my need to re-read my favourites. Yep, withdrawal symptoms are a b***h and I find myself frequently re-running the stories in my head a bit like a visual ear-worm and just have to read/listen to the entire series again. No, I really can't just stick to one, the series is just too good to leave any out. I have to start from the beginning and go through them all in series order.

I did try audio books a few years ago, but the narration was so bad, even dreadful, that I gave up on them for years, however, Anna Hackett seems to get significantly better narrators than some I've listened to and I'm overjoyed to say that the two who narrate this series, Jeffrey Kafer and Samantha Cook are incredibly good, truly the exception rather than the rule. They managed to maintain the gritty fight for survival action adventure nature of the book as well as the emotional burdens of the two very feisty lead characters, and I highly recommend it to any lover of all-action, alien invasion sci-fi wrapped in a little romance with a few steamy bits for added spice. Having listened to 'Marcus', the first book in the series and been really impressed, I got all the other available audio books in the series to back up my kindle eBooks, just so I don't get the dreaded withdrawal symptoms when I can't read them. This is my review of the sixteenth book in the series. The audio versions also have the added bonus of allowing me to do other things whilst listening, although I usually end up getting so absorbed that the chores are completely forgotten and I'm practically living in the story. I find I listen a lot more than I read these days and have already listened to this one several times since getting it. As I'd already posted an honest review of the ebook a little over three years ago, I decided to update that review with my personal opinion of the audible narration, especially as I've been so disenchanted by audio books in the past.

Awesome

Once again another dramatic and intense story from this incredible series. These two narrators did a great job with all these books. Cannot wait for the next book now