Author: Isobel Starling
Release Date: June 6 2016
Price: £4.99/$4.99
Length: 71,000 words
Previous Books In Series:
As You Wish (#0.5) Goodreads Amazon
All
Romance ebooks
"Illuminate the Shadows" (#1) Goodreads Amazon All Romance ebooks
"Illuminate the Shadows" (#1) Goodreads Amazon All Romance ebooks
Blurb:
Pulled into a world of secrets and lies for the man he loves, Declan
Ramsay’s life has changed immeasurably in the eight months since meeting, and
falling for his boss’s son, Sam Aiken. Declan journey of personal
discovery is about to take a darker turn, and for Sam, the world becomes more
treacherous than he could ever have imagined.
Two agents are missing -- presumed dead, while on a reconnaissance
mission at an outdoor adventure centre in the Scottish
Highlands. Sir James Aiken sends his son and Declan to follow the
trail, and discover the fate of the agents.
As the mission offers his first chance to use the skills he learned on
the MI6 training course in Morocco, Declan is keen to get
started. However, Sir James sees to it that the seeds of doubt and discord
have been sewn between the couple, as they begin their mission.
The journey to their Highland location, and the discoveries they make
when they reach the G’wan
Adventures centre, prove that Sir James Aiken has been less than
honest with his son. Events in the Highlands force Sam and Declan to
face their greatest fears, and understand what they both really want from life
-- and from each other.
Excerpt from “Return to Zero”
“Hullo,”
“Parcel for Samuel Aiken” The gruff male voice said. Declan peered at
the CCTV image on the wall tablet screen of a courier wearing a Swift Co
tabard.
“Hang on a minute” Declan replied “You expectin’ anythin Sam?” He
hollered. He would not be fooled a second time. Sam sauntered out of the
bedroom, bare chested, with dark grey jersey pyjama trousers hugging his
prominent hip bones.
“Let him in,” He directed, so Declan did as he was told and pressed the button to unlock the downstairs door. Sam and Declan stood either side of the closed front door, both on edge, expecting… something. Had James sent them a message at last?
“Let him in,” He directed, so Declan did as he was told and pressed the button to unlock the downstairs door. Sam and Declan stood either side of the closed front door, both on edge, expecting… something. Had James sent them a message at last?
They both startled and sniggered at each other, at hearing the hard
thump on the front door. Sam took a quick look through the peep hole to
see the courier — a grey haired, slightly obese Asian man in his early
fifties, with Fred Flintstone stubble on his chubby face. He held a
package the size of a shoe box, wrapped in brown paper and tied with
string, in an old fashioned way. Sam opened the door, and was immediately
knocked back by the scent of sweat and cigarettes. The man smelled like he
had bathed in kebabs. If this was an attempted assassination, the
courier’s armpits would surely do the job. The man shoved a clipboard in
Sam’s direction. He browsed the delivery note attached. The ‘sender’
address box was empty.
“Where d’ya pick this up from mate? I weren’texpectin’ nuffink,” Sam
said in a rangy East London accent.
“I picks up from the depot, and delivers. Don’t know nuffin’ abaht where
vu packages comes from, not my business,”
“Well, it had better not be tickin’” Sam joked, his expression gormless.
The courier snickered and put the box to his ear.
“Nah, prob’ly a pair of shoes, or somefink — nice surprise from your
lady love?”
“Yeah, prob’ly,” Sam mimicked. He signed an illegible squiggle, took the
box, and was immediately surprised by its lightness. “Cheers mate, have a
good one,” he said, giving the clipboard back, and then closing the door.
Declan observed the wall mounted tablet screen as the courier left, and
the main entrance door sealed behind him. He then opened the apartment
front door and checked the hallway and staircase. Nothing had been left
behind. Declan felt a little melodramatic and over cautious with his behaviour,
but he had a strange gut feeling that something was afoot, something that
would bring more sweeping changes to his life. He couldn’t put his finger
on it. Declan had felt this tinge of something ever since coming back from
Morocco, like he was still in a holding pattern, waiting for permission to
land. Sam didn’t seem to be unduly concerned about James lack of contact,
but the past few months had seen a huge shift in the way Declan lived
his life, and his self-esteem. Long hidden memories had been uncovered by
the ‘interview’, and the flashes of remembrance that Declan couldn’t dare
talk about, made him feel unnerved and uncomfortable.
Sam sauntered into the kitchen and retrieved a pair of scissors from a
drawer filled with miscellaneous kitchen implements. He put the box on the
kitchen island worktop and cut the string. There was one branded Swift Co
courier label on the front of the box, and no return address. Sam made an
incision at the side of the brown wrapping paper, and then cut along one
side, so as to keep the adhesive tape and any fingerprints or DNA that may
have gotten stuck to it, intact. He slid out a cream coloured shoe-sized
box. Sam looked curiously up at Declan, who stood silently beside with his
arms folded.
“Would you like to do the honours?” Sam asked witheringly. Declan held
his palms up in surrender,
“Nah, yer grand. I think The Amazing Sam’s got this one” he snickered.
The box displayed no visible wires, there was no ticking sound, and the
box was feather-light. Sam thought that he would feel completely foolish
about the cautious way he approached opening a package if it were empty,
but he’d been trained to be cautious. He returned to the drawer filled
with kitchen implements, and retrieved a pair of plastic barbeque tongs.
“You know I love you, right?” Sam said dramatically, as if they were to
be his last words.
Declan shook his head at the ridiculousness of the charade and pursed
his lips.
“On three. Ready?” Declan nodded,
“One…” Sam flicked the lid up and Declan reflexively stepped back covering
his head with his arms.
“Ye said on three,” Declan whined, feeling like an idiot. Sam snickered
with relief at the lack of fireworks. He used the tongs to remove a sheet
of white tissue paper that covered the contents. When Sam saw what the box
contained, he gasped and stepped back.
“What?” Declan said in alarm, seeing Sam’s complexion turn ghostly pale.
“Nothing” Sam flattened his expression and then reached to replace the
lid. Declan stilled his hand, and took a look. The box held a noose made from
red paracord rope. Just like the rope that had been secreted into his
pocket at the Coburg Bar, nearly three months earlier.
“I’m going out. I’ve got to get this to the lab” Sam said coldly, his
stare detached and light-years away.
Declan was suddenly overcome by a wave of frustration. “What the hell’s this about Sam? Jesus, I don’t even know where the fucking lab is!” he roared furiously.
Declan was suddenly overcome by a wave of frustration. “What the hell’s this about Sam? Jesus, I don’t even know where the fucking lab is!” he roared furiously.
Sam was shocked by the anger in Declan’s tone. He felt a prickle of
guilt for behaving all ‘cloak and dagger’ with his partner — the one
person he was supposed to trust. Declan had every right to know about the
A.L.L lab and warehouse.
“Get dressed,” Sam directed, and then he turned and left the kitchen.
My Thoughts:
Return
to Zero is
the third book in this series I’ve read over the past month and a half and I
have to say so far the Shatterproof Bond stories have
captivated me.
The
blurb gives you a pretty good idea what this story is about, except that it
doesn’t spell out that these are by far the most dangerous situations Sam and
Declan have ever found themselves in. One or two moments were truly
heart-stopping and I found myself frantically turning the pages (or rather
swiping my screen) for most of the last 25% of this book.
But,
just like the earlier titles, this book offers much more than ‘just’ action and
suspense. Sam and Declan are as funny and as sexy as they’ve always been.
What’s more, their relationship is growing ever stronger, be it that the path
to understanding each other isn’t always smooth.
Return
to Zero
features an interesting collection of secondary characters and doesn’t shy away
from tackling modern day issues either, making this a truly well-rounded story.
I enjoyed the combination of sexy, dangerous, thought-provoking, angsty and
light-hearted. Just like the previous two titles, Return to Zero gave me a
fast-paced story I needed to finish in one sitting.
I
love that we get to know both Sam and Declan better with each book. Who they
are and what their lives were like before they met is slowly revealed, and each
new disclosure adds another layer to their personalities. Seeing Sam deeply
scared after only knowing him as cocky and confident was both heartbreaking and
touching, just as Declan’s revelation about his past brought tears to my eyes.
And
that’s the reason these books have been a hit for me; they give me the exact
right balance of suspense, humour, sexiness, romance and feels. What more can
you ask from a book?
I
have to say I’m very glad I stumbled across Isobel Starling and As
You Wish about six weeks ago. Sam and Declan have turned into
characters I enjoy reconnecting with. I’m already looking forward to their next
adventure, because danger’s still lurking.
Author Bio:
Inspiration strikes at the strangest of times.
Born in Germany, Isobel Starling spent most of her twenty-year
professional career making art. She relocated to the UK and, faced
with the dreaded artist’s creative block, Isobel started to write and found she
loved it more than making art.
Isobel’s first novel “Schonling” was a best seller in the GLBT-Bisexual
genre on the ‘All Romance ebooks’ site. She mainly writes M/M
Romantic comedy thrillers and has just completed her sixth book. Isobel
has also signed French translation rights for novella “As You Wish”.
Isobel adores the M/M genre and enjoys writing about wounded souls and
the complexities of personal relationships. Despite not having found
proof yet, Isobel believes in love at first sight and endeavors to give her men
a thrilling journey and a satisfying ending!
