Men of Hidden Justice
Because love can bleed into the darkest heart
My instincts had always served me well. Listening to my gut, the warning voice in my head that told me when to walk away.
I never failed to heed the signs. Until the day she walked into my office. I knew she would be trouble, but I ignored the alarm bells.
And then it was too late, and I fell. Hard.
A lie tore us apart, and I thought I’d lost her forever.
But now she’s back—with a secret she’s been keeping.
This time, I’m not letting her go.
| Title: | The Commander |
| Author: | Melanie Moreland |
| Narrator(s): | John Lane Maxine Mitchell |
| Series: | Men of Hidden Justice (Book 3) |
| Pages: | 284 / 5 hrs, 46 minutes |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Insta-Love / Lust Secret Baby |
| Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Narration Type: | Dual |
| Location: | Toronto, Canada |
| HEA: | ✔ |
| Release Date: | 28th March, 2022 |
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An amazing romance brought to life
It’s been a wee while since I’ve listened to a Melanie Moreland book and it wasn’t until the first words were spoken that I realised how much I’d missed the dreamily dulcet tones of John Lane. I wish his voice could be my boyfriend.
Anyway, this is the third book in the Men of Hidden Justice series featuring Julian Grayson – the enigmatic, Commander of the group of covert, baddie-busting elite squad the series is named for. But, as always, fear not if this will be your first book in the series, or even of Moreland’s at all, as this book stands completely alone, follows a new couple and you don’t need to have read, or listened to, the other books in the series to understand and enjoy this one.
As I’ve mentioned, our hero is Julian. He’s in charge, he’s a little bit aloof and he’s used to being alone. Oh and he’s grumpy and arrogant – thinking he knows what’s best. And from the moment he meets Taliyah – Tally – he’s obsessively smitten and desperately trying not to be. Oh even now it makes me giddy thinking of how the mighty will fall! And as I mentioned, he is voiced by the growly voiced, John Lane. He does such a good job of Julian. He’s got a deep, authoritative voice that you believe every word he says. Even when voicing a conversation between Julian and Tally – he’s clear about who’s who – making it very easy to follow.
Tally is voiced by Maxine Mitchell and as Tally is the perfect match for Julian, Maxine is the perfect narrator as Tally. Tally has a great blend of similarities with him as well as differences with Julian; She, too, is something of a loner, a kindred spirit that Julian immediately recognises. She’s determined and a fighter and once she’s comfortable, she’s never afraid to say what’s what. And her desire for organisation was just the cherry on the top for me. A girl after my own heart! Maxine has something of a lower, almost gravelly voice but still in a very feminine way. I believed her both as the scared version of Tally, and as the take no prisoners version.
“…even now it makes me giddy thinking of how the mighty will fall!”
I loved Julian and Tally together and even though their passion was evident and hot – it gave me more smouldering vibes than burn-the-house-down ones. That’s definitely not a problem and I did get those lovely jumpy butterflies in my tummy during their sex scenes. In the quieter times, I really enjoyed seeing Julian become touchy-feely, loving and tactile with Tally. It spoke to a deeper connection which I always love to see in my romances. The real feels that I always associate with Ms Moreland’s writing.
With regards to the story itself, as I’ve come to expect, Melanie Moreland delivers. I was 100% absorbed in this tale and I loved every second. I also have to say that I full-on laughed out loud on occasion, too. It was unexpected but so nice to have.
While there’s no overarching ‘big bad’ in this story as there was in the first two books in the series – there’s still a small element of suspense and danger. It’s not too scary (for a card-carrying wuss like me) and it really was connected to the story and in some way affected the love story of Julian and Tally.
I’m not sure if this will be the end of the Hidden Justice books but I’ve loved every single one of them for different reasons. This book has a different angle to it what with the secret baby, capture his fleeing wife thing going on. Even though I’ve read the book prior to listening to the audio, I was still so absorbed in the story that I listened to it in record time. All in all, I had a great time with this book and I wouldn’t happily recommend it and give it the full 5 stars for the story, the narrators and their performance.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review *
New York Times/USA Today bestselling author Melanie Moreland, lives a happy and content life in a quiet area of Ontario with her beloved husband of twenty-seven-plus years and their rescue cat, Amber. Nothing means more to her than her friends and family, and she cherishes every moment spent with them.
While seriously addicted to coffee, and highly challenged with all things computer-related and technical, she relishes baking, cooking, and trying new recipes for people to sample. She loves to throw dinner parties, and also enjoys traveling, here and abroad, but finds coming home is always the best part of any trip.
Melanie loves stories, especially paired with a good wine, and enjoys skydiving (free falling over a fleck of dust) extreme snowboarding (falling down stairs) and piloting her own helicopter (tripping over her own feet.) She’s learned happily ever afters, even bumpy ones, are all in how you tell the story.
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Men of Hidden Justice
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