Release Day Review ~ The Butcher by Johanna Rae

Title: The Butcher

Author: Johanna Rae
Series: Therian Secrets #3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: November 13th 2014

Polar bear Therian, Rufus Ramanui, is one of Redcliffe’s most dangerous ISIC agents. He swore an oath to protect the innocent and serve the greater good. Now, he wants to retrain as a Phoniás – an assassin – believing it necessary to help his comrades in the ongoing conflict with the Lycans.

The only problem with that plan, is pretty bartender, Summer Matthews. She and Rufus have definite chemistry, but she’s currently dating someone else. Will it be too late to win her heart by the time he returns home?

Siblings, Jodie and Luke Fletcher, also intend to train as agents. With Rufus and the two Fletchers out of the country, Danny Archer, Captain of Redcliffe’s Urewera Unit, will have his hands full. Already Rufus’ boss, and Jodie’s boyfriend, Danny has a lot invested in their success. When things start to get complicated, both at the academy, and back in Redcliffe, will Danny be able to spread himself thin enough to avoid disaster?

Buy Now - Amazon

The Butcher is the third book in the Therian series and I really have enjoyed the ride so far. This book is Rufus and Summer’s story and it was a difficult journey for both of them. It also has other storylines entwined throughout, so I was able to keep up with Rufus, Jodie and Luke in Australia, as well as Summer and the rest of the team in New Zealand.

Charlie Hohepa and his Lycan clan of boars, continue to be a problem. The team in New Zealand have a lot of issues to deal with, but even in training, Jodie and Luke have problems of their own. Rufus is a force you would never want to cross, but he will do anything for those he considers family, and when things hit close to home he is quick to jump into action.

I enjoyed getting to know more details about all the characters in this book. Summer’s past is revealed and she is able to find protection with the team. Danny also had secrets hidden and when someone from his past appeared, he had to let everyone in. Seeing Rufus interact with his family was sweet, for such an intimidating guy, the amount of love he has for them is just beautiful. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way and I was on the edge of my seat through the whole story.  

I enjoyed the direction that The Butcher took; seeing Rufus and Summers relationship develop slowly was sweet. He is not very confident when it comes to the opposite sex, but when it comes to his battle skills, keep out of the way! Summer is quite shy too, and didn’t fully understand the depth of her feelings for Rufus until he was gone.

There were a number of Moroi terms in this book, which made it a little difficult to follow at first, but once I knew what they meant, I was able to follow the storyline with ease. I enjoyed the way that Johanna has built up this story for the future books in this series, with new characters and twists introduced in The Butcher. I can see plenty of action coming to New Zealand and danger for them all!

Complimentary copy provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review.

Other reviews featuring Johanna Rae

Therian Secrets series

The Mercenary #1

The Fury #2