Audiobook Review: Fighter (Survivor #3) by T.M. Smith

Dedication and smarts have given Blair Cummings a leg up in the Bureau. His job is all-consuming but rewarding. It doesn't leave much time for a love life though, not that Blair believes in love. In his early 30s, he's only ever been in one long-term relationship due to his inability to commit to anything other than his job and his family.

Born into a family that's as successful as they are hateful, Howard Manning Tullor Junior ran so far away from his last name that he wound up in the arms of Satan himself. Freedom comes at a high price but it's one Mannie is willing to pay, setting him on a path that leads him to a quiet, laid-back FBI agent.

Their attraction is unexpected, and yet, welcomed. Blair seems to have finally found something worth fighting for, but Mannie, still haunted by ghosts of the past, wonders if he'll ever be able to move on. The two are working toward their future, but can a budding romance survive when past and present collide?

Listening Length: 5 hours and 51 minutes
Narrator: Nick J. Russo

Reviewer: Shee Reader

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and couldn’t wait for the audio version of this one to land. I was already invested in Blair and Mannie’s relationship as they crop up in the first two books, and couldn’t wait for their full story. The tale crosses over with the other books in the survivor series and I really like that in a series, that events intertwine as they do in real life, rather than being based on relationships that develop in a consecutive way. Of course, some events follow in sequence, but more than one relationship can develop at once, and I really enjoy the concurrent nature of life replicated in a series of books.

Blair and Mannie have the complications of how they met with Mannie as a victim and Blair the investigator, the fact that they live in different states, and the horrific experiences Mannie has had and can he learn to trust Blair? There is lots of challenge for a new relationship in the story, but much less of the exterior threat that is included in the first two books since one of the villains is in jail and one is dead. The only added threat came from Mannie’s grandfather who turns up near the end of the story.

This is an emotional tale with the struggle for the relationship coming from the characters themselves and whether they can work out their issues, and I found this to be very engaging and I really was rooting for the guys from the outset. My only complaint, If I’m going to be picky, was that Blair seemed a little to good to be true! He had no real character flaws to speak of and as such, this made him a tiny bit one dimensional, but that really is a tiny niggle!

The audio is beautifully performed by Nick J. Russo (as with earlier book in the series) and he does an awesome job again with this book. His characterisation is almost tangible and I love having a good book read to me on my commute to work. Nick does another super job with this lovely emotional book.

Highly recommended.

I was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.