I enjoyed the storyline and both the leading characters. It was quite far-fetched and some of the outcomes were a bit too neatly finished but it was enjoyable and the story moved at a good pace throughout. The epilogue was a good teaser /hook for the next book in the series and I would like to read the back stories to the other men in the squad.
The nickname of the hero really grated on me though!

Susan Stoker is an auto buy for me now - her stories are filled with love, angst, danger and so much more. I fell so in love with Ball (and Everly) in Defending Everly. Both Everly and her sister are strong women and intriguing to read about. The story is fast paced, full of drama and angst, and made my heart both beat fast and with fear. I loved every minute of Everly and Ball!

It’s a Susan Stoker book. It’s a Mountain Mercenaries book. Why aren’t you already reading this book? It is phenomenal!! I don’t even read the blurb when Susan Stoker brings out a new book. I’ve loved everything she’s written, and “Defending Everly” is no exception. I’m such a big fan of this author and her books. Everyone should have Susan Stoker book in their library and have this on their reading list. Grab your copy today, don’t delay. Happy reading!!

I enjoyed, Defending Everly, so much for so many different reasons. Ball goes out of his way to help Everly. Plus he learns sign language so he can communicate with Everly's deaf sister are a couple reasons. This series is awesome.

Susan Stoker is a master at writing action and adventure romance stories. I think this is my new favorite in the series. There were so many amazing parts of Ball and Everly's story that kept me turning page after page. Everly is a kick butting police officer and you do get to see her skills in this. I love a heroine who can hold her own. Ball is jaded about women and had me worried at first. Susan did such a good job of turning him around. It was subtle and realistic when he realized that just maybe he wasn't thinking full picture based off his past experiences. I love how he was able to admit he was wrong both to himself and more importantly to Everly. I really loved the addition of Elise's character. She is Everly's little sister who is deaf. This created so many great scenes with Ball and the rest of the Mountain Mercenary crew. Ball was so amazing with her – learning sign language so he could talk to her. It truly was a family from the very beginning. The plot was scary but exciting and fast paced read in the book. We also get a glimpse into the next book and boy I can’t wait for that one! Thank you Susan for another fantastic read!

Love, love, love this author. She knows how to keep you into her stories. Everly is a SWAT officer. Ball is a Mountain Mercenary who has little faith in women! Everly’s sister has been kidnapped! When she goes to the Mountain Mercenaries for help, she walks in when Ball is refusing to work with her. Can Ball learn to trust a female enough to give his heart?


I Voluntarily read an advanced complimentary copy of this book, provided by NetGalley

When Everly’s sister goes missing and the authorities label it as a runaway, she turns to the Mountain Mercenaries to help her.

She is aware that Ball doesn’t like her but for now he’s all she’s got to help find a lead. But as time crawls by with nothing to help them find her sister, she begins to learn there is more to Ball than his hatred of women.

Ball has a reason to feel the way he does about women, but really getting to know Everly shows him that all women aren’t the same. She opens his eyes to his own faults and what he sees in her is unlike anything he’s ever seen before. As they fight to find Everly’s sister, he’s making a plan. A plan to go slow but that will eventually land him the woman he wants.

This is a combination of slow drama and fast action. The relationship between Ball and Everly is a slow burn but has a perfect pace as they both get the chance to really know each other before moving forward. While they were initially enemies, it doesn’t take many conversations for them to realize that they are each more than what the other thought.

Everyly is fierce and tough, but has a loyal heart that is breaking for her sister and feeling frustration over her ability to do something to help her. When she begins to thaw towards Ball and allows him to carry some of the burden, I loved seeing her soft, gentle side.

Ball is a complete alpha hero but he’s smart enough to yell “Mine” when he realizes that that’s exactly what Everly is. While he’s more than capable of taking down the bad guys, he has a gentleness to him that turned me to mush. He was so patient with Everly and dedicated to learning sign language so he could communicate with her sister. While he wanted to take on the world for her, he was smart enough to recognize that she was the type of woman who needed a man beside her rather than in front of her.

While this is action packed, it has enough to have you on the edge of your seat. The bad guy is truly horrendous and there are definitely triggers here you’ll want to check out if you have any concerns. I was disappointed that this book ended with the set up for the next book rather than giving us just one more sweet peek at this couple’s happy ever after. However, I have to say, I am definitely intrigued by what the next book will hold.

This book was just the right blend of action, romance, and sexiness. I particularly loved that Everly is a badass in her own right and doesn't need to rely on Kannon - but gets to choose to. She is a police officer and a member of the SWAT team. Even though Ball starts out by insulting her pretty strongly - he quickly backtracks to a different position as he gets to know Everly. Ball is really one of the good ones. He is honest, kind, hardworking, and has a strong desire to do the right thing - always. He lets everly be Everly and supports her instead of trying to control her. He uses his past as a learning experience. He even admits at one point that he let his past hold him back and make him better instead of using it to grow. Seriously. Where can we find more men like Ball?

I also really appreciated the way the author shows us Everly's teenage sister Elise. Instead of giving us just a snapshot of a moody, 2-Dimensional teen, she gives us the full picture of a teen facing the challenges she's facing with the trauma she's been through. I also appreciated the honesty that the author uses in talking about the importance of therapy and the impact on not just the victim but those around them.

This was my first book by Susan Stoker - but now I am anxious to read more! What is the betting that the bartender at the Pit is Rex?

I received this book as an ARC, but all these opinions are my own. As well as the fact that I've already downloaded the other books from the series....

Ball has had a bad run with women lately. His newbie partner almost got him killed. His fiancee ditched him when he got discharged from the Coast Guard. So he's not exactly female friendly but even he didn't think he'd stopp as low as insulting a woman to her face! Everly, as a SWAT officer, has to be tough, capable and twice as good as a man to be taken seriously but Ball just cannot seperate Everly the cop from Everly the female!

Give Everly a gun toting smackhead any day. Anything but this muscle bound, misogynstic merc! But if she wants to find her sister she needs to accept all the help she can get. Even Ball's. Her younger sister is not only missing, she is also deaf. She has to go on the mission so that they can communicate with her.

Oh boy, Ball made a bit of an impression for all the wrong reasons initially! Thankfully he took his foot out of his mouth, his ideas out of the dark ages and managed to redeem himself! I loved the little homework project he set himself! Everly could have come across as hard as nails, butch or bitchy but she had a real vulnerability that made her immensely likable.

Everly's grandparents were just so sweet, talk about relationship goals! I loved the way this little generation gap family worked together. This book deals with soem very serious topics, including the grooming of teenagers over social media. Elise's character was a bit naive but her disbaility made her feel cut off from others, so she came to rely on the "encouragement" she received from her cyber friend to boost her confidence. Ball and Elise had such a great bond from their first meeting, it was incredibly endearing.

Tightly crafted, suspense-laden, passion-filled story with great characters. I've come to expect nothing less from this series! Roll on the next book.

PS I have my own ideas about "Rex" identity. I think it might be...well that'd be telling and I may have gotten my wires crossed lol!

Sparks fly when a missing persons expert and a SWAT team member work together in this sexy and suspenseful read. Despite the fact that Ball makes a poor first impression - he’s wary of working with a woman after being burned by both his ex-partner and his ex-girlfriend - these two must come together to search for Everly’s missing teenage sister. A strong and independent woman who is not used to having to rely on anyone, Everly is out of her element and forced to lean on Ball for support. Though he may have come off as a jerk upon introduction, Ball is actually a great guy and the more time Everly spends with him, the easier it is for her to see.

The writing here is solid, and both characters are easy to like. I really enjoyed the fact that Everly is so independent, and while Ball is definitely an alpha, there was nothing over the top about his behavior. He knows that Everly can handle herself, and he’s just there to lend her support when she needs it. There’s plenty of suspense, with Everly’s sister’s playing a major role in the story, but there’s also a great foundation for their relationship. Things don’t feel rushed, and there’s a definite slow burn as these two move from wary partners to lovers. It also sets up the next story in a big way, and now I’m looking forward to reading that. I received an ARC via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review of this great romantic suspense novel.

I really liked this book and am waiting for the next book in this series. There were a lot of characters in this book so I am hoping for a lot more books in this series. I really like the relationship between the couple and her younger sister, a lot of emotion between all the characters. This book did have a lot of sex

It was amazing!!! I love susan stokers books and this is no exception. I disliked Kannon "ball" at first with how he treated Everly but he made up for it in the book!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Susan Stoker has done it again. I love the Mountain Mercenaries and their kiss ass women. Ball and Everly are swoon worthy, and the suspense kept me turning pages! I can’t wait fir the next book!

I am constantly amazed at how Susan Stoker can continually make her stories of strong alpha males and the equally strong women they love fresh and interesting. Defending Everly fits the bill. The novel revolves around Everyly and Kannon, "Ball," Black but the secondary character Everly's sister, Elise, is just as compelling. The author is a master at bringing real-life situations and dilemmas to the forefront of her suspenseful romantic dramas. I find myself losing sleep to complete every one of her books. Another winner from Susan Stoker!

The Mountain Mercenaries has been my favorite series from Susan Stoker and I've loved every book and every character in it. Ball was a little hard to gauge up until now but I loved being able to dig deeper into his character. It took some time for him to open up to Everly and to see that she was capable as a partner and the journey those discoveries took him on was brilliant.

Everly was a kickass heroine and I loved getting to see how tough she was throughout this story. She was gong through a really hard time with her sister, Elise, missing but she held it together so that she could go with Ball and find Elise. I admired the strength she had and it had me rooting for her character. And even Elise's, who I thought was a great addition to this group.

Overall, this series gets a huge recommend from me. I think the books are better off read in order, especially since the epilogue's usually have the next book's characters featured in them, but they could be read out of order.

I needed an easy read and something to take my mind of a lot of things. I'm not sure I felt any real connection between the characters until very late into their story, but that didn't necessarily take away from what was surrounding them and what they needed to get through. Where I failed to enjoy myself was when Everly's sister proceeded to do something that made things worse for everyone involved, and how, in the end, she was not confronted about it. At least not on paper. I'm sure she learned her lesson, but while I was reading this, I really wanted her to get told off. I hate it when I can't sympathize with a character enough to like them and while I'd started to like her, in the end I didn't.

What I did like was how Everly and Ball made a friendship with each other. And again, I really didn't feel they had more than that until the very end, but it was a good foundation after a very rocky start. They had great respect for each other and their professions, making them fun to read.

That said, it was just an okay read. Not outstandingly great, not horrible. Just good. I'd hoped for more, but when I don't like character who aren't even "the bad guy", I find it harder to enjoy the story.

Strong female lead who will do and put up with anything to help her sister. Strong male lead who can admit when he is wrong and work at gaining forgiveness. Two strong people only made stronger by their love for each other. So anxious for Meat to get his story and then REX.

Defending Everly is one of those books that pulls the reader in and does not let go. The hero, Ball, has been in earlier books of this series so it was interesting to find out more about him. He gets off on the wrong foot with Everly, but realizes that his assumptions were unfounded and unfair, then apologizes to Everly. Everly is focused on finding her younger sister, whom the police suspect is a runaway and views Ball as just another male who does not see that she is a very competent police officer. Everly is beyond amazing and I was blown away by her. Susan Stoker always creates strong heroines and Everly may just be the best one so far.

This story is fast paced, with a lot of action. Ms. Stoker is able to fully develop her characters without dragging the story line down or wandering off the plot. There many twists to this story and it kept my interest far beyond my bedtime. I highly recommend this story and I wish Everly was my new best friend.

I have enjoyed this series by Ms. Stoker very much. I can't help but snicker at what turns out to be a tongue-in-cheek title in this case. Everly does her own defending, thank you very much. ;-) I love a strong heroine, and this book certainly has one. And that's exactly what Ball needed--a strong gal who would give a swift kick to his mindset based on his disappointing past with a couple of weak, spoiled women. One of the most interesting things about this series has been the epilogues that lead into the next book. This one is pure torture! I can't wait for Meat's story.

I LOVE Susan Stoker. I love her ability to weave the perfect story every time. Everly needs help. Even though she is a powerful woman SWAT officer, her sister is missing and she needs Ball from the Mountain Mercenaries. Ball and Everly work together to find her sister and destroy the person who abducted her.

This story has well-though out characters and interesting twists that kept me turning the pages.