Not a Hero

Sons of the Survivalist, Book 1

By: Cherise Sinclair

Narrated by: Tor Thom, Charley Ongel

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In the Alaska wilderness, four streetwise boys became men...and brothers. Now, the crazy ex-military survivalist who plucked Gabriel and three other boys from an abusive foster care home has died. But the sarge leaves them a final mission: to revive the dying town of Rescue.

Gabe is done with being a hero. Wounded in body and soul, the retired SEAL simply wants to remain holed up in his isolated cabin. He sure doesn’t want to be chief of police in some defunct town. But he has his orders.

Audrey needs a place to hide. After the Chicago librarian discovers a horrendous crime, she wakes to an assassin in her bedroom. Injured and terrified, she flees, covering her trail every inch of the way. New name, new ID, new home. As Audrey learns to survive in Rescue, she begins to fall for the town...and the intimidating chief of police who protects it.

Can the shy introvert and the deadly police chief find a life together?

Despite the discord in town, Gabe is finding his own peace with the quiet young woman who seems to have no past. She’s adorable, caring, and so very lost. But how can he trust someone who lies to him with every breath she takes?

"Cherise Sinclair is my go to author when I want a satisfying read. Heat, emotion, suspense. She’s got it all." (The NYT best-selling author Lexi Blake)

©2019 Cherise Sinclair (P)2020 Cherise Sinclair

Great story, great narration

When I heard that Cherise Sinclair was releasing a new series I was beside myself with excitement. Whenever I see the name Cherise Sinclair, it is an automatic purchase. This book was totally brilliant, from start to finish. I didn’t want to put it down and was so annoyed when real life conspired to stop me from reading it in one session.

I have always loved the characters that Ms. Sinclair writes about, the way she develops and layers them and her story lines are amazing.

Set in a small town in Alaska, Not a Hero ticked all the boxes for me. Gabe and his band of adopted brothers Bull, Caz and Hawk are characters that I cannot wait to learn more about . This was Gabe and Audrey's story and what a story it was.

Not a Hero was at times a hard book to read. Emotional and inspiring it was great to see Gabe and Audrey confront their pasts and together forge a new path to happiness, they both deserved it.

This was a fabulous start to a new series and I am excited to see what Ms.Sinclair has in store. Thank you Cherise Sinclair for yet another masterpiece, it was superbly written and I LOVED it.

The narration by Thor Tom and Charley Ongel was engaging and added an extra layer to my enjoyment of this story.

Awesome Start to a New Series!

This was a great book from start to finish! It picks up months after Mako’s memorial, which was the foundation for the most recent Masters of the Shadowlands book, Defiance. In that book, we met three of the four “brothers” that are featured in this book. This is Gabe’s story. As the book begins, he is enjoying his last days of solitude in the middle of nowhere Alaska. He is brought back to the town of Rescue after his brothers Bulls and Caz tell him Mako left them a town in need. He takes up the role of chief of police and tries to keep it in mind that he is not going to get attached to the town or its people. It’s not a stretch or spoiler to say he changes his mind by the end of the book.

Audrey is a great character! She is an introvert librarian who keeps to herself in Chicago until she stumbles into a mess that comes with hired assassins. Very smart and resourceful, she makes her way to the remote town of Rescue and begins working odd jobs to live and eat.

These two characters are very different, but they also are very alike. Both are driven to care and help others even if they don’t necessarily like socializing. I really love how Audrey stands on her own two feet throughout this entire book. She could have been a wilting flower, but she is a strong woman who manages to roll with the punches of some very dangerous circumstances. Together these two are a great couple. They compliment each other well and I really look forward to seeing their relationship grow as the series continues.

This is my second book with these narrators and I am glad I gave them another chance. The first time I listened to them, the performance felt forced and a bit over the top. That was not the case with this audio book! I really enjoyed both narrators and look forward to them taking on other books in this series soon!

great story, terrible voice performance

Where is Noah Michael Levine?!?! I got spoiled by his performance throughout the Shadowlands series. I don't know why the change we as made, but its a shame.. These two voice actors sound like they are announcing summer movie trailers the entire time. It a incredibly distracting.

Audio left something to be desired

I enjoyed the book, but the audio left something to be desired. The male narrator was okay, but the female was way too dramatic and sounded really forced.

This story will capture your heart

Being a foster mom, I loved hearing how the boys were taken in from the foster system. I was hooked from the beginning. Gabe likes to keep to himself until Juliette arrives. Juliette, AKA Audrey, is on the run and in hiding. Gabe has the instincts of a hero and helps her out, even though he knows nothing about her. Gabe's brothers add depth to knowing Gabe and I like what they add to the story. I really enjoyed the many different aspects of this story. Boys in foster care, left to help out a failing town. A runaway with a hidden past and a veteran, trying hard not to be a hero. This story captured my heart and I could not put it down.

Tor Thom and Charley Ongel are a wonderful narrating team. They bring the characters to life. I loved Ongel's performance of Juliette. She is a strong woman, protecting those that she loves. Ongel brought out that strength and made Juliette real. Thom brings out the roughness in Gabe with his baritone voice. Thom narrated Gabe exactly as I imagined him. I always enjoy this teams narration and look forward to hearing more from them.

Love this series!

Love this story and the whole series! I also love the male narrator. The female narrator is ok but a little to breathy a little too often.

Suspenseful Romantic Thriller

After reading a number of the books in the Shadow lands series, I was surprised by this book. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised all the same. I listened to the audiobook. I thought the narrators did an great job.

I was introduced to Mako's sons and a therapist by the name of Z or Zach, in a book named Defiance. I believe it was a Masters of the Shadowlands book.

This book was full of action, danger, and suspense. There were several heart stopping moments. Not a Hero also revolved around a woman who came to learn that she was stronger than she thought. She also discovered she wasn't an unwanted, throwaway person.

Gabe also experienced a few revelations about himself as Chief of this small town. Gabe also had to come to terms with his loss. He and Audrey had great chemistry that increased as their relationship developed. Both Gabe and Audrey had to find out just who they could trust after learning to trust one another.

The ending was one of those edge of your seat moments with a surprise twist. Gabe and Audrey did reach their HEA. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Story okay. Narrators not okay.

I might have continued with the series except the narrator’s were so bad I chose to stop with the first one.

I was surprised

I normally love Cherise Sinclair, but this book was very boring. The bickering among the townies was tedious, and there was so little chemistry between our hero and heroine. She was just a drag. Non decisive and irritating. He was so one dimensional. I still haven't finished it. I will say the narrators were good, but the story plods along. I'll finish it eventually, but this was not a high point in Cherise Sinclair's library.

good read 😀

really enjoyed the whole series. Good, heartfelt stories. Well written. Only drawback; Cherise isn't careful with the geography. We start out about 2 hours south of Anchorage on the peninsula near Kenai lake and suddenly end up on Lynx Lake 2 or 3 hours north of Anchorage. My group travels VIA our reading and our maps. Still, we look forward to reading more from Cherise.