Signal Bend, Missouri survived a war on its streets and has arrived at a period of growth and peace. The town and its guardians, the Night Horde MC, relax into this moment of hope, looking toward the future for the first time in decades.
Everyone but Robert “Showdown” Ryan. Having suffered tremendous loss in that war, and taking on the burden of blame for it, Show has nothing left of himself. He is an empty husk of a man, drowning in grief and whiskey, seeking relief in numbness.
Shannon Bannerman has come to Signal Bend to manage the new Keller Acres Bed & Breakfast. She has left a successful city life to start anew in this tiny town, trying to keep the door closed on the regrets of her past.
Shannon is drawn to Show despite his stony detachment, and he is drawn to her despite his need to stay numb. But the pain in their pasts is deep and damaging. Only real love, like neither of them has ever known, could heal it.
NOTE: explicit sex, limited violence.
MY REVIEW
Into the Storm by Susan Fanetti
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5 give me more tissues please STARS
"A borrowed family felt better than none at all."
Oh man, this was a much appreciated breath of fresh air. After all that went down in the first two books I really needed something mellow. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Show and Shannon and this town and all the people in it. Thank you Ms. Fanetti for making Into the Storm such a beautiful and yet at times heartbreaking experience. Besides me not being able to handle much more of the drama I think the town and especially Show needed a little healing time.
“I don’t want to be fixed. Not by anybody but me. Just asking if you can see your way to hang around a spell while I do it.”
Robert “Showdown” Ryan, where do I begin?
First and foremost he is the Night Horde MC's VP. He loves his club and even though his involvement ultimately tore his family apart and contributed to the death of his eldest daughter, the club was all he had left.
I swear this man has to be a saint, equipped with almost inhuman strength and compassion. After all he has lost and all the things he has endured, he is still standing. He is barely functional, but still...for some reason he keeps on going.
"I know what I want. Fuck, I want anything for the first time in more years than I care to count. I want a whole life."
I cried a few times reading about his past...how his marriage with Holly had turned out, the things he tolerated to maintain a peaceful and quiet home was maddening...especially for a man like that. Hence the saint part.
Holly truly is an awful character and her keeping his girls away from him was so unbelievably cruel, I don't even know how to handle it. I know she has suffered a lot but Show is a good man, with a good heart. I loved to see the love for his girls, how he fought for them and how he tried to deal with the fallout.
Showdown is a broken character and seeing him try to mend himself was absolutely devastating and beautiful. I think you can all agree that he deserves a little help, right?
Ok, enter the redhead looking like a pin-up girl. Please don't hold it against her, she is actually a pretty decent heroin.
“You look at me like you see something.” He drew his thumbs over her cheekbones and felt the swell as she smiled.
“I do.”
“No. Nothing to see.”
She blinked and her eyes cleared and opened fully. “That’s not true, Show. I see kindness. Strength. And sorrow.” One hand slid from his neck, and she put her fingers over his mouth and through his beard. “When I look at you, I can feel you. I don’t know why.”
Shannon Bannerman is the new manager of the Keller Acres Bed & Breakfast. Lilli hired her to help and take some of the work load off the new mother...well and to be honest Lilli has no idea how to actually run a B&B, so having someone with experience helps a lot. And boy does she help...one word: weddings!
From the first day she stepped into Signal Bend, Shannon had a little crush on Show. They first met while he was working on the B&B's Gazebo with Isaac and there was very little clothing on the top half involved...instant-lust is what they call it these days, I believe. ;P
Shannon never made a secret of her interest in him and in the beginning she is quite bold to show it as well. I actually appreciate how unapologetic she is around him. She knows a bit about the past...gossip mostly but she doesn't treat him any different because of it.
"Shannon had come into his life when he was lost in storm of grief and loss, when the unendurable pain of it had driven him to hollow numbness."
I've read a few reviews that portrait her as an annoying woman and make Show out to be the perfect male specimen, but to be honest I can't agree. Yes, Shannon has secrets she keeps and those secrets lead to some rather erratic behaviour especially in the last part of the book...but this a fictional world and we do need a little drama to keep the ball rolling. Shannon is a strong female character, she is intelligent, good looking and she knows what she wants. I don't see a problem with any of that.
Plus, she is good for our dear hero, so deal with it...I love her!!
All in all, this was the perfect book for Show and my poor heart is happy as well. On to the next one...
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