Book Review: Stranded by Cara Dee

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Stranded
Author: Cara Dee
Series: Auctioned #2
Heroes: Gray/Darius
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 259 Pages
Publisher: Cara Dee
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Stranded is the second book in The Auctioned Series. Before you read further, you should read Auctioned. ​

“You have my word, Gray. I will get you off this island, and I will bring you home.”

It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out job. Nothing Darius Quinn hadn’t done before. But this job had something none of the others did: Gray Nolan.

​Like Murphy’s Law advised, anything that could go wrong, would. A mission to save one hometown favorite son was turning into a quest to rescue thirteen traumatized young men against odds so steep, he’d need an oxygen mask to scale them. ​

Facing new dangers and an uncertain future, Darius keeps Gray close and is soon forced to accept that this has become much more than an assignment. For a man whose reputation was built on being ice-cold under pressure, Darius is beginning to discover how good it feels to burn.

Review: As the blurb states, you must read Auctioned prior to reading this, as it is a continuation of that story. Darius, Ryan and the boys are not quite out of the woods yet, even though they have seemingly taken care of the slavers. There are even more sides a play, and Darius’ plan still has a lot of pieces to play out in order for the boys to come out “free” at the end of it all.

Before that plan can fully play out though, they must survive on the island long enough to actually be rescued while not being found by the drug dealers who could potentially show up to recover their bounty from the yacht. They are doing surprisingly well, considering most, if not all, of the boys are on the edge of breaking down, mentally more so than physically at this point. Darius and Ryan do their best to hold them all together. As with the first installment, Darius and Gray have a special bond, and it is Gray that Darius is most concerned with. Keeping this mission all business has not really been working out for Darius as his feelings for Gray grow deeper.

This installment doesn’t pack nearly the punch the first one did. Even though things get intense here and there, the torture and captivity is generally over, though they don’t all come through this one unscathed. What I am loving about this story at this point is that we are getting to see beyond the initial kidnap/torture/slavery aspect. We are now on to the next step, the rescue/aftermath/recovery, is just as interesting, and these boys clearly have psychological issues to deal with. It must be terribly difficult for Darius to watch the boys who held each other together through the ordeal being scattered and sent their separate ways when things are changing for them once again, and it seems they need it now more than ever. Darius is dealing with his own issues as well, and I can only hope that Gray ends up retreating with him to his cabin in the woods to recover together. I can’t wait to see how that all plays out in the next book in what is turning out to be another very well rounded and developed story from Ms. Dee.

Overall Impression: I loved it!

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*