Book Review: The Mercenary by Johanna Rae

The Mercenary

Therian Secrets, Book 1

By: Johanna Rae

Published by: Abbott Press

Publication Date: August 28, 2012

Buy it on Amazon

Source: ebook purchased by reviewer

Genre: Paranormal

Audience: Clean Adult

My thoughts:

The Mercenary is a fun new look at the shifter world. I tend to normally be a vampire girl and shy away from most shifter books, but this one came highly recommended by friends so I decided to give it a try. As usual, my friends didn't let me down. This is one shifter book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had not read anything like it before. It is packed with emotion, action, and characters that draw the reader in. Johanna Rae does an amazing job of painting a scene, one that played out beautifully as I read. As a reader, I am drawn more to characters than plot. This is one area that Johanna Rae excelled in. She is a master at building relationships; not only the romance between Jodie and Danny, but also the relationship between Jodie and her brother Luke and the friendship between the guys. If you love characters and relationships that stick with you and stories that keep the page turning, then I would definitely recommend The Mercenary. I am looking forward to the second book of this series.

Summary from Goodreads:

"When twenty-three-year-old Jodie Fletcher realizes shape-shifters are real—and that they’re trying to kill her—she finds herself thrust into a life of danger and unimaginable intrigue. With her parents away and her alcoholic and newly single brother, Luke, camped in her spare bedroom, Jodie feels like she’s drowning in a world she doesn’t understand. The only thing she can count on is the leopard who has apparently taken it upon himself to protect her. She cannot ignore the raw emotion he awakens in her, and she longs for more. The leopard becomes not only her savior, but her escape. 

Mysterious and unpredictable, leopard shifter Danny Archer hides behind his dimpled smile and pretty boy façade. What’s more, he has a second job the human population doesn’t know about—the one that leads him to Jodie and Luke. Archer feels an instant connection with Jodie, and he must find a way to balance his volatile lifestyle to include her. 

Luke Fletcher became an alcoholic long before his wife left him. Now he faces the brutal reality that his past has caught up with him. He made a series of bad choices while under the influence, and these choices have placed him, his sister, and his two young daughters in danger. Luke must try to find the man he used to be if he is to survive the chaos he’s inflicted; he knows he won’t be able to live with himself if anything happens to his family."