Provoked

By: Rebecca Zanetti

Narrated by: Karen White

A Time for War....

A casualty of the war between the demons and the vampires, Jase Kayrs has been missing for six long years. His older brothers want answers - but they're going to have to get them from an unlikely source. For when Kane Kayrs tracks down Amber Freebird, what he finds is a blonde, vegan pacifist who has no intention of using her skills in his war....

A Time for Love....

Amber enjoys her life of chaotic freedom and has no intention of falling in line just because a sexy-as-sin vampire insists on order. Unfortunately he discovers she may be the only hope they have of finding his brother, and there's no way he's going to let her go - even if it means mating her to gain her cooperation. The two are as different as can be, yet when the dominant Kane and the untamed Amber finally unite to rescue Jase, they just may find that opposites really do attract....

©2012 Rebecca Zanetti (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Stars: Overall 5 Narration 5 Story 4.5

Kane is the ‘logical brother’, tightly controlling his emotions and edge to apply logic to situations to emerge with carefully laid plans that will aid the Realm in the war. With Jase still being held by the Demons, suffering unimaginable torture, Kane has been sent out to find the most elusive of them all, a Demon Destroyer. Not quite sure that any actually exist, he has been drawn by the power signatures to a honky tonk bar.

Amber is the one sending off the signals – pushing at Kane with her power, although her control and knowledge of who he is, and what she is are limited. Kane finds her attractive and intriguing, if wholly frustrating, and the two butt heads almost instantly.

Kane was the least ‘present’ of the Kayrs brothers throughout the earlier books: sure he popped in, but his scientific leanings, his solid belief in logic and the hoops he’d seen his brothers jump through because of their enhanced human women leave him delightfully perplexed and give us plenty of information about how his mind works and his personality. Amber was the first female in this series that I didn’t instantly like, and found her difficult. She’s a vegan, a preachy one, and her environmental stance would have been a better point of conflict / compromise in their story had she not taken every opportunity possible to give a lecture on veganism, the environment and her beliefs. All that aside, you could see how her illogical approach intrigues Kane, and how they work toward a relationship, with Amber finally learning the depth and scope of her powers…

Mixed in with Amber and Kane are moments with Jase and the tortures the Demons are inflicting – it just brings the reader deeper into the urgency that the Kayrs brothers feel, and the stakes for this war become apparent with these scenes. Further along in the story, we have been waiting for Janie’s full story, and with some lovely insets her growth and the choices between Kalin and Zane become more muddled in her head and ours. There is a certainty in this storyline- the war won’t end until Janie has her story, but the events along the way are one hell of a ride.

Narration in the entire series is provided by Karen White, and I don’t think I have anything new to say…her work is terrific. Characters from earlier books that pop in here are instantly recognizable with distinct voices, delivery patterns and tiny quirks. Amber and Kane have clearly been imbued with overriding personality traits (Kane’s struggle for a logical explanation with a touch of puzzlement is wonderfully done) and emotional moments made clearer and more impactful with pauses, hesitations and tone variations. The moments that build tension are vocally presented with rushed or hushed moments, forcing the listener to sit up and pay attention – something big is happening. The dictionary would take on new meaning if White were to narrate it – she adds greatly to the don’t miss this series statement.

I received an AudioBook copy of the title via Audible Communications Team for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Another fun addition the series.

This is the fourth book I read/listened to in a row that had a hero who was a geek or scientist. It wasn’t planned that way. I was just going through series and that is where they all landed. Kane Karys is known as the “smart” brother. He is the scientist. He spends most of his time in the lab working on the cure for the virus that is affecting vampire mates, shifters and most recently witches. He doesn’t believe in love. He looks at it like a scientist.

“What about love?”
He sighed “Love is a chemical reaction induced in our brain to encourage propagating the species. The sensation is merely a scientific phenomenon, like the northern lights.”

Kane isn’t as much of a fighter, but that doesn’t mean he can’t kick some ass. He just isn’t as good at it as his brothers. He also isn’t as good at fitting in with humans as his brothers. But he is the only one available to seek out the only demon destroyer they have found in years. So he is sent out to bring in Amber Freebird to help them free their youngest brother, Jase, from the demons.

Amber grew up in a commune where they grow all their own organic vegetables. They don’t eat any animals products all. She is a complete vegan. She lives completely off the grid and is quite the eco-nut. Kane approachers she has no idea what he is talking about with demons and such. She thinks he is referring to inner demons or something. She has no idea about her powers. Oh, Amber is also a pacifist, which isn’t a great way to battle demons.

Needless to say, Kane tried to convince Amber to mate with him, so that he will share her powers and he can fight the demons for her. Like I said, he doesn’t understand love. He doesn’t get how much asking her for something like mating for a purpose instead of for something like love would hurt her.

There is quite a bit of the story told from Jase’s POV. The demons are not kind to him. One of the female demons try to get him to mate her so that he could save her from her evil brother. Jase has quite the decision to make. I won’t spoil it by telling you what choice he makes.

There is also more between Zane, Kalin, and Janie. Don’t worry. This isn’t a love triangle in the making (I don’t think). Kalin is a bad guy. He keeps trying to get in between Zane and Janie. He also wants Janie because she is the key to winning the war. Janie wants nothing to do with him. Zane continues to push Janie away because he says he isn’t the good guy either. I don’t know. We did learn more about what Zane is.

There’s only two more full length stories in this series, Jase and Janie’s stories. I’m really interested in learning more about both of these two characters, and Zane as part of Janie’s story. I also really want to see what happens with the overall story. While I haven’t loved the romance in this series, I’ve continued to enjoy the story of the overall series and learning more about each character as each of their stories is told.

Narration
Karen White continues to do a great job with this series. I don’t know what else I can say about her that I haven’t already said. Her voice choices are perfect for each character. I never question which character is talking. I do listen at an increased speed, but I do that with all my audiobooks.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

You gotta read this book!!

I am new to the Dark Protectors series. This is my 1st read through. And I gotta say they are amazing. Rebecca Zenetti writes her books so well that I completely lose track of the world around me. This is the 5th book in the series and after each one I have immediately started the next one. Kane and Amber are so good for each other. The book takes them through so many emotions that lead to an amazing pair. I highly recommend this book.

Fighting demon mind attacks with puppies and bunnies with pink bows 🤣

Great twist on Kane, the stoic genius, falling for the Amber, the pacifist vegetarian!
And I really enjoyed Walter spraying string cheese all over the lab.
The narrator brings the story to life in such a way that I end up having a great 'mental movie' 🎬 in my mind.
Rebecca Zanetti's books keep me up long into the night...hard to put down and ones I definitely keep as favorites to revisit

recommended read! !

I loved it completely every single part of it was great i have read the whole series

I wasn't prepared to like Provoked, but I did!

I was given this audio book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm really not into Paranormal Romances and didn't think I'd like this audio book. I was wrong! This really was a good!. The demons and vampires are fighting each other. The demons have one of the vampire Kayrs brothers (Jase) and the others are determined to rescue him. Kane is sent to enlist the help of Amber, who is a demon destroyer and doesn't yet know it. Kane must help train Amber so that she can use her skills to help them. At first Amber doesn't even believe in demons and vampires. She learns very quickly that they are all around her and what is involved if you fall in love with one.
This book has quit a bit of violence in it and very explicit dominance sex. If you can get around that, it's really pretty good. The narration by Karen White was excellent. I especially liked the increased pace and timber of her voice as the action escalated in the book. The different accents were also very good.