Review: In the Shadows (Metahuman Files #3) by Hailey Turner

Take a chance.

Staff Sergeant Alexei Dvorkin doesn’t trust easily, and he most certainly doesn’t trust spies. He’ll work with them if ordered to, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. Except Agent Sean Delaney is proving to be the exception to the rule. There’s something about Sean that gets under Alexei’s skin and won’t let go. Alexei would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in what lay beneath the agent’s mask. When they’re assigned together for a mission, Alexei vows to keep Sean safe all while trying to coax the hot agent into his bed.

Hold onto hope.

Agent Sean Delaney has spent his entire adult life living a lie for his country. When the MDF tasks him with finding evidence of criminal wrong-doing against the owner of a private military company, Sean knows exactly how to play the game to get what he wants. He just doesn’t know how to handle Alexei’s advances, nor his own attraction to the younger soldier. Being a spy is lonely work, and Sean knows he should keep his distance, but saying no to Alexei is impossible from the moment they first kiss.

In a world of lies, the truth can be deadly.

When the mission takes a turn for the worse, the only thing left to do is run. In the wake of betrayal, and in the path of danger, can their fragile trust survive the battle?

In the Shadows is a 104k word steamy gay sci-fi military romance with a HFN ending that skirts HEA. There is military violence within the story that may not be suitable for everyone, as well as explicit intimate scenes not suitable for readers under the age of 18. This is a direct sequel to In the Ruins and reading the previous books in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.


I have to get this off my chest. WHEN ARE THEY GONNA GET THE BADDIES?!?!?!??!?!

Well, I feel better now.

I tip my hat to you, Hailey Turner.


You're playing the long game with these elusive baddies. I'll play along for two reasons: (a) I like these people and (b) this series is full of action-packed goodness.

In the Shadows is focused on Alexei and former CIA agent Sean. They had some *eyeballs* happening in the prior book and here is where Alexei makes his move.

Alexei is hot in more than one sense of the word. He's a pyrokinetic and Russian and possessive: A Trifecta! He's also kinda grumpy and oozes confidence, so I am officially #TeamAlexei at this point.

Sean is slightly older and very focused on his job which has been detrimental to his love life. I like that Turner flipped the script making the older character the less experienced of the two. Sean's sweetly bashful and self-conscious. But he cannot deny the powerful attraction simmering between he and Alexei when they get paired up on a mission as "fake" boyfriends. We all know how that goes.

I wouldn't say they have more chemistry than Jaime and Kyle but how much Sean turns Alexei's crank and how verbal he is about that did it for me. That second sex scene when he had Sean sit on his face also did it for me. Muchly.


Another thing I really like is this team. This is actually one of those series that I wish would spin into MF or MMF or something because Katie, Madison and Annabelle are badasses. Turner writes women well. All of them are strong, smart, funny and levelheaded in a pickle, so when Kyle and Alexei's former commander showed up to assist in one of the missions and started making googoo eyes at Katie I got a little sad knowing I'd never get to read their story.

Alright. End of the pity party of one.

There is much action, adventure, they all have cool ass powers and many things get blown the fuck up, so if you are a fan of your romance being action packed this book and this series are for you! Much more spycraft is present in this one which made the plot complex but not convoluted. I suspect things are going to get even dicier as the series progresses.

So you win, Hailey Turner. I'm in for book 4. I sure hope some baddies are gotten in that one.



A review copy was provided.


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