Don’t let the title fool you. Everly can and does defend herself. She is a police/SWAT officer and enlists assistance of the Mountain Mercenaries to locate her missing teenaged sister. Ball has had negative experiences in his past when working with women and is biased. Everly quickly and effortlessly changes his mind and his heart. Their romance is one of mature adults and leaves the reader full of hope. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an emotional book!!

All Everly wants to do is find her sister. She knows she didn't run away and there is something more sinister at play here. She will stop at nothing to do whatever it takes to make sure she is safe and happy. I really liked how real Everly was written. Everly is both a sister and a cop so she had to wear both hats with this case. She knew the longer it took to find her sister she knew what the statistics said but as a sister she didn't want to give up.

Ball was a man who I both admired and also wanted to throat punch a few times. In Ball's case, unresolved anger and mistrust almost blinded him to an amazing person in front of him. I liked when he was bold enough to stand up and admit his wrongdoing and apologize. I also liked that he was a constant companion to Everly. He trusted her to do what she needed to do but also made sure she understood that he had her back.

There were some very intense scenes in this book and it showed the level of trust that Everly and Ball had but also the respect and dedication of this teammates.

You couldn't help but get lost in this book and you couldn't put it down!! You had to see it through!

Defending Everly is another great story in the Mountain Mercenaries series! To be completely honest, I wasn’t too much of a fan of Ball in the beginning. I really disliked his attitude towards Everly. She was already going through so much trying to find her missing deaf sister and the person she is supposed to be partnering with has already let it be known that he resented working with her. But as they worked together, Ball finally realized he was allowing his past to blind him of the strength of Everly and how he completely underestimated her. I loved the way he was quick to apologize and I equally loved how quickly Everly was able to forgive him. She too has had a tough past and she was genuinely hurt, but she quickly caught on that it was not really her that he objected to. So as the days went on and they worked as a team and started to rely on each other, the attraction they felt for each other was unable to be denied. The chemistry was intense and smoldering. And even though I started off not too keen on Kannon “Ball” Black, he really redeemed himself with all that he had done for Everly and her family.

The suspense and drama portion was non-stop, my heart ached for everything that Everly’s sister, Elise had endured. There were many twists and turns to the story that kept me glued to my kindle. Now I can not wait for Meat and hopefully Rex’s stories!

Thank you Netgalley and Montlake Romance for the complimentary copy of Defending Everly. All opinions are my own.

Defending Everly

Mountain Mercenaries Book 5

This book was non stop action from the beginning to the very end. Everly Adams was very intense in the search of her half sister Elise who disappeared in plain sight. With the help of Kannon "Ball" Black the two worked together in the search of Elise. The dislike of Kannon "Ball" from Everly changed slowly and the chemistry and sparks soon ignited and the dislike soon turned into like. This book was filled with danger, heat, passion and love.

Susan Stoker once again delights with the Mountain Mercenaries series. Now for the next in the series.

Ball and Everly's story will have readers cheering! This story has it all, a great plot that includes suspense, action, passion and humor. The mercenary team is tight as well. This whole series is a series who readers will want to purchase and discover the stories of each member of the team. This author truly does a phenomenal job of keeping the reader wanting more and more!

Here we have both Everly and Ball disliking each other from the very beginning. She is a SWAT cop and he is an ex-Coastie who is now a mercenary with a team. They have to put their differences aside in order to rescue Everly's deaf sister who is in real danger.

It is great to discover why these two dislike each other and how that will change throughout the story.

I can't wait for Meat's story and what this author will do with Rex's story as well. This series is definitely worth higher than 5 Stars!

Good story.
Typical Susan stoker novel though this series has a darker side, being willing to cross lines to keep people safe.
Deaf character which added a little extra.
Hero and heroine have an issue at the start as Hero messes up due to difficult experience in his past.
Loyal, protective Hero.
Strong heroine.
HEA.
Secondary characters that could have possible future storylines developing through the series and updates of previous characters in series.

Ok, I think this is my new favorite in the series. There were so many good things about Ball and Everly's story. 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 had me a little nervous at first. He is very obviously jaded about women but the author 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. He gracefully acknowledged he was wrong. Good job Ball!

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. The way Ball wanted to learn ASL was so endearing. Really how he treated Elise from day one had me loving him.

The best part was the plot. While very scary in real life, it made for an exciting and fast paced read in the book. We also get a glimpse into the next book and I gotta say that was cruel Susan Stoker! How do you expect us to wait after that preview???

Susan Stoker’s new novel, Defending Everly is a perfect mixture of family and sibling dynamics, action and suspense, and romance. Stoker does a wonderful job of weaving in Elise’s deafness with sensitivity and authenticity. The novel provides a nice balance of suspense and romance. Stoker always delivers a solid and enjoyable book to her readers.

This is the story of Mountain Mercenary Kannon Black aka Ball, and  Colorado Springs SWAT Everly Adams.

Everly's 15 year old half-sister is missing she disappeared from Los Angelos without a trace and the window to find her is closing fast. 

Ball along with the other Mountain Mercenaries are going to help find her sister. She and Ball got off on the wrong foot. Will they be able to forget about the animosity they feel towards each other and find her sister? 

Another great story by Susan Stoker I love her books. The characters are real with real emotions and feelings. I cannot wait for the next one. I would highly reccomend this book and series. 

I I receieved a free copy of this book this is my honest review. I would purchase this book for myself or friend or family member.  Susan is such a great writer.

Talk about twists and turns with this one!
Ball is a member of the team who has been tasked to work with Everly on finding her missing sister. He doesn’t like working with women and makes it known. And she overheard him. What a jerk!!! Right???
Fast forward a bit and she forgives him. They do need to work together after all. He has resources she doesn’t have even though she is a police officer.
I did enjoy this one very much. A few parts dragged on in my opinion - could have been left out - but you might not feel this way. It might just be prefect for you.
This one is part of a series. You can read it as a stand-alone though.

Mountain Mercenaries🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Everly is a cop 👮‍♀️ and SWAT officer, who enlists the help of the Mountain Mercenaries when her deaf sister disappears after school one day. Unfortunately, Ball isn’t keen to work with a woman on his team due to some of his past experiences, but he’s the one roped into going to LA with the sexy woman❣️

This story was amazing...(even though the scenario itself is quite heartbreaking),in the sense that even when a situation makes you feel helpless, determination and hope are both essential. Ball and Everly even though it appears they dislike each other in the beginning, they rely more and more on the other person in times of stress, until the point neither knows what they would do without the other😍 Ball makes a concerted effort to learn MORE, which you’ll understand once you read the story....sorry no spoilers here, which made me fall in love with him and wish my name was Everly💕

A fantastic story nonetheless and I know we are closer to Meat’s story and potentially Rex’s as well😁 I received an advanced copy via Netgalley and would like to thank the publisher and Susan for a chance to review this great love story and voluntarily leave my honest review🤩

Another winner! I love this series and Defending Everly tells us Ball's story. He has his own rough back story, and dislikes working with women...then he is forced to work with Everly to find her sister. However, Everly is not the average family member, she is a highly trained SWAT officer with her own tragic back story.

I loved the way these characters came together and found a way to become a team, and, ultimately, to see if their broken pieces can fit together to become a couple. The characters are interesting and tugged on my heartstrings, especially Elise, the missing sister.

As a deaf teenager, she normally faces more challenges than most. As a kidnap victim, being unable to hear puts Elise at a serious disadvantage and makes it harder for any potential rescuer. However, the author presents this is a normal way with a gentle touch.

This is a must read for fans of the genre. The author is one my favorites and I have her on my auto-buy list. Not only does she create strong and engaging characters within a wonderful romance suspense, she has a way of breaking through society's prejudices by having characters with different abilities. Put this one at the top of your TBR list.

I love the Mountain Mercenaries and their women! Defending Everly is amazing! I loved it. One of my favorites.