Narrated by Greg Boudreaux
Here’s a little treat (well, three little treats!) for anyone (like me!) suffering withdrawal symptoms after Hailey Turner’s fabulous Metahumans Files series came to an end earlier this year – the novellas that slot into the later part of the story arc. Unsurprisingly, these won’t work as standalones as they assume listeners know who these people are and The Story So Far, so if you’re intrigued, I’d strongly recommend going back to the beginning – In the Wreckage – and working your way through the whole series. The narration is fantastic, the characters are engaging and the stories are action-packed, clever and really well-put together. (Oh, and steamy ;)) If you like military-based romantic suspense stories with a bit of sci-fi thrown in, then you really should check it out.
Note: There will be spoilers for the rest of the series in this review.
Out of the Ashes
Out of the Ashes takes place between book four – In the Blood – and book five – In the Requiem, and it focuses on Alexei Dvorkin and his partner, Sean Delaney who, in In the Blood, were kidnapped and tortured. Something like that naturally leaves scars, and while at the end of In the Blood, Alexei and Sean were reunited and on their way to finding their way back to one another, it seems that things started to fall apart after that, and three months later, their relationship is floundering. Sean is still torn up with guilt over what happened, holding himself personally responsible for the agonies Alexei suffered, and is retreating further and further away, both physically and mentally. He knows what he’s doing, but can’t seem to stop it. Both men have been undergoing therapy – individually and together – and Alexei is itching to get back to active duty, while Sean is not so sure he’s ready. But after months of bottling things up, a massive row erupts between them – one that isn’t anywhere near being resolved when they receive orders for a new mission. The higher ups are sending them to London in order to steal some data from someone believed to have links to Declan Wolcott, information that the MDF hopes may provide more evidence of collusion between high-powered businessmen and the Pavluhkins and the Presnenskaya Bratva. It’s Sean and Alexei’s first time back in the field, and they’ll be working alongside Liam Wessex of the United Metahuman Guardians (the UK equivalent to the MDF) – whose royal status opens doors the world over and will get them to where they need to be and provide backup. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly to plan, especially when an old adversary turns up, endangering both them and the mission.
I really appreciated the author’s exploration of how the trauma Alexei and Sean experienced affected them, because so often in these types of stories, things like that are magically hand-waved away or ignored. The mission in London helps both men realise that they can still work together successfully, and helps Sean to accept that he doesn’t have to be alone and to reach out to Alexei.
While it’s not essential to have read or listened to Out of the Ashes before In the Requiem, it’s a nice addition, especially for Sean and Alexei fans (me!). The shorter format necessitates a less complex, more linear story, but it’s nicely done, with plenty of well-written action and steamier moments.
Alpha Team’s medic, Trevor Sanchez, appeared in all the full-length books, but now he gets to step into the spotlight with a story of his own. After the events of In the Requiem, Trevor is training to be a doctor at a training hospital in DC, and one day find himself in the middle of an armed attack in the ER. A pair of armed men are threatening patients and staff, one of them standing over a paramedic who is trying to shield the body of a bleeding, unconscious woman. Trevor uses his telekinesis to disarm the gunmen and immobilises them until the police arrive – but when one of them refers to an incident involving the (thought to be disbanded) terrorist group the Sons of Adam, Trevor makes a call to his former boss.
When paramedic Brendan Kane responded to a call to a scene of domestic violence he didn’t expect to end up looking down the wrong end of a gun in the ER. He didn’t expect to witness a display of telekinesis either, or to find himself being patched up by a seriously hot medical student and former member of Alpha Team. Not that he’s complaining about that last thing…
A day or so later later, intelligence reveals that Brendan and the hospital may be targeted in a revenge attack – and Trevor offers to stay with Brendan until the threat is neutralised. There’s more than a whiff of insta-lust going on here, but Trevor and Brendan have great chemistry and they’re cute together (plus, telekinetic sex FTW!). Alpha Team is recalled under its new monicker of “Phoenix Rising” to take out the SoA cell and it’s great to see the guys reunited and bantering and kicking arse once more.
Fire in the Heart
Sean and Alexei get married at long last – but although the wedding goes off without a hitch, the same can’t be said for the honeymoon. Arrived at the luxury resort of Fortuna sur Mer off the coast of France, Sean and Alexei are only there a day before it seems their quiet, peaceful together-time is over. Liam Wessex has come to the island following a tip that the traitorous former CIA Deputy Director Carter Bennett is there, too, facilitating an arms deal. Bennett had a hand in the attack on Alexei and Sean in Boston and in the showdown with Pavluhkin that almost turned to tragedy the year before – and there’s no way Alexei and Sean are going to walk away from a chance to bring him down.
Fire in the Heart is typically action-packed and steamy Metahuman Files fare – with explosions, chases, shootouts and superhuman powers, Alexei being, well, Alexei (no idea why he’s so bloody endearing, but he is!) and our first glimpse of Liam’s soon-to-be love interest, MI6 Agent Oliver Archer – and boy, do the sparks fly there! The mission to apprehend Bennett doesn’t go quite to plan, but we’re left with things nicely set up for the events of In the Solace,
I don’t know what I can say about Greg Boudreaux’s performances here that I haven’t said already several times before. He’s been the voice of Jamie and Kyle and Alexei and Sean, and all the other members of Alpha Team since 2018, imbuing them all with personality and life and really bringing out the emotional connections the author has created between them all, the friendships and camaraderie and the deeper romantic feelings between the central couples. He’s clearly completely at home in this universe; the large cast of characters is consistently performed and easily identifiable, the action scenes are well paced, and the love scenes are always on point – sexy and never over the top.
The Metahuman Files is one of the best action/adventure/romance series around; I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent in this world and I revisit my audio collection regularly. If you’re a fan of the series chances are you’ve pounced on these three novellas already (they’re available individually – I just opted to review them all together) – if you haven’t, you should definitely add them to your wish list.
Caz
Buy Out of the Ashes by Hailey Turner on Amazon
Buy New Horizons by Hailey Turner on Amazon
Buy Fire in the Heart by Hailey Turner on Amazon
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