Book Review – Into the Storm (Signal Bend #3) – Susan Fanetti

As soon as I was done with book #2, Behold the Stars, I immediately bought Into the Storm. Though Isaac and Lilli’s story came to an end in book #2, I really couldn’t imagine reading anything but the Signal Bend series!

I was so excited to find out that Into the Storm is Robert “Showdown” Ryan’s story. We met him in the previous books and we sympathised with his story. Show is a strong man. He endured a lot in the events of Book #1 and #2. Even a strong man can break, and he broke. Show now spends his days with the Night Hoarde bikers. He doesn’t feel he has a home to go to. He’s a lonely man.

The town however gets a new resident, Shannon Bannerman. Shannon is in Signal Bend to help Lilli run her B&B. The minute Shannon sees Show, she wants him. However, Show has no interest whatsoever. It’s like he doesn’t even notice her. Shannon is surprised to be so into a biker, but she can’t help herself, she wants Show. And she’s determined to get his attention. However, they both have their demons. Show’s story is known by the whole town, but no one knows much about Shannon. Even if she can get Show to notice her, can she tell him the truth about her background? And would he still want her then?

I found myself invested in the stories and the lives of the people in Signal Bend since book #1. You can’t help but hope for a happy ending after all they’ve been through. I knew Show’s story would be the most heartbreaking. I expected a lot of tears on my end… I expected to be taken through the ringer and back… it didn’t happen. While the story is beautifully told, it was not deep enough. It felt too cut and dry from the get go.

We already knew Show’s story, so there was nothing new there. Shannon’s secrets should have been intriguing, same way lilli’s were… but they weren’t. She held on to them a tad too long in my opinion. Such that when they were finally revealed it felt anticlimactic. It was hard not to compare Show and Shannon’s story to that of Isaac and Lilli’s. The latter had so much depth while the former felt a bit flat to me.

There was the amazing sex scenes that I’ve now come to associate with Susan Fanetti, but it was not as hot as the first two books. Again, I feel bad comparing the two stories. Of course the author had to make them different. Of course Show couldn’t be Isaac… but I missed the intensity between Show and Shannon.

Don’t get me wrong, Show was amazing. You feel for him, you lust after him and you root for him. He, just like Isaac, was an amazing hero. The heroine just wasn’t up to par… and when joined together, they just didn’t feel as connected as they should be. Pity really, because Show really really deserved something special. Something else that needs pointing out, this book was nowhere near as gritty or edgy as its predecessor. The storyline concentrated on the love story and not much to do with the MC…

In the end, I did enjoy their story. It wasn’t as un-put-downable as the other two, but it was sweet and steamy and to be honest, still much much better than most biker books in the market.

3.5 stars.

Amazon Buy Link – Into the Storm by Susan Fanetti

 

Series Reading Order