Braxton has always followed the rules, ensuring that all the Shadow Destroyers tow the line. He never crossed any line, never mixed business with pleasure, until one fateful night. After Quinn battles a Lust Demon she becomes infected by its desires. Locked up with Braxton she finally reveals how she feels about him and in a moment of weakness he gives in. Taking Quinn and making love with her like he's always dreamed of, too bad come morning she's forgotten all about it.
Slowly Quinn and Braxton find themselves giving into their desires and Braxton jumps headlong into supporting and loving Quinn even though he's been hiding the truth from her. She needs him and there never seems to be a good time to tell her, but when she finds out the truth it may very well destroy everything they've built and cost Quinn her life.
Sydney Somers is back with her second installment of her Shadow Destroyers Series and she manages to again engross her readers form the very first page. Having read STRIPPED AWAY right on the heels of UNBREAKABLE, I was already completely immersed in this dark and stunning new world created by Ms. Somers and was quietly hoping Quinn and Braxton's story would be next.
STRIPPED AWAY opens by answering one very important question readers were left with after reading book one. What was it that caused the rift between Quinn and Braxton? The tension is this book is thick and carried throughout the novel as Quinn and Braxton fall slowly in love. But their happiness is tested over and over again making them all the more endearing.
Quinn is snarky and sarcastic, she takes no crap from anyone, especially Braxton, and she dishes out as much as she takes. She's witty, fun and down right remarkable. Tough on the outside, tender on the inside; she is a woman of depth and her passion for Braxton easily rivals her desire to fight the demons. She was a joy to read and her internal struggles helped to make her a very memorable heroine.
Braxton is the polar opposite of Quinn where she is willing to go off half-cocked and jump right in, he's a rule follower and quite a bit straight laced. Watching as he succumbs to his desires for Quinn is pure pleasure at its finest. Braxton does everything with gusto and a focus that cannot be disrupted. Lucky for Quinn these traits are not only in his professional life but his personal one as well. When Braxton decides he wants Quinn in his bed he goes about it with a single-minded intent that left me breathless and jealous of a fictional character.
Together they burned up the sheets and the pages of STRIPPED AWAY leaving me with more questions answered, new ones formed, a better understanding of this bright new series, and definitely wanting more Shadow Destroyers sooner than later. I'm not certain how many more titles Ms. Somers intends to pen in this series, but I for one am along for the ride.
