His only goal was survival until he met her...

With nothing to lose, former cop Damon Winter agrees to an undercover op, infiltrating a cult in the dangerous post-Scorpius world. After one look at his new partner, he knows she belongs far away from not only the cult, but from him. She's sweet and kind and has no business being in peril, but she's determined to help. Suddenly, the part he's playing as her man explodes into a passion neither of them had expected.

She hadn't purposefully faced risk until she met him...

April Snyder has survived loss, pain, and uncertainty. Now she's ready to live again. There's nothing left but to make a difference for others, so why not go undercover in the cult? Now all she has to do is keep it professional and ignore her handsome, deadly, overbearing partner, who's too sexy for her peace of mind. Intrigue, risk, and danger make for an irresistible temptation--until enemies close in, threatening everyone they've sworn to protect.

This is my first 4.5 review of the year and I’m shocked spitless that it was this book that did it for me. If there was book in this series that I expected to give a 5 star review to it was Storm Gathering. I loved Greyson Storm. I still love him. I don’t necessarily love Damon more, but the story as a whole and the progress of the series in Winter Igniting just did it for me. Damon has been a key figure in the series since Grey kidnapped Moe (really, really dislike that nickname). He wasn’t really on my radar until Grey’s book. Then he was right up there and I was looking forward to reading his book. Until I found out that his heroine was April Snyder. Sure, she’s been through more than most people in this post-apocalyptic world, but she that doesn’t make her any less boring. And less of a mousy, quiet woman whom, in no way could grab the attention of a character like Damon. I admit when I’m wrong and I was very wrong.

Damon lost his whole family after they were infected by Scorpius. Damon is one of the few survivors of in their new world that hasn’t been affected by Scorpius. Which makes him the perfect person to go undercover in the Pure Church. The Pure Church is a cult-like church in Jax Montgomery’s territory that he’s been unable to infiltrate. He doesn’t like that he has a group of armed civilians in his territory. He won’t accept anything less than talking to every member of the church and making sure they are at the church of their own free will. That’s where Damon comes in. As a “pure” human, the members are sure to welcome him in. His partner? April Snyder who is also unaffected by Scorpius.

April turned out to be more than a pleasant surprise. Underneath her mousy exterior was a woman of steel. I adored her. She was confident without being stupid. She was determined to help the women of the church, especially when she found out what was really going on. One thing she never expected was someone like Damon to enter her life after losing everything. Losing her husband to Scorpius was something that was devastating to April, but losing her daughter was life-changing. She never expected to feel so much for anyone again and she is pretty much at a loss. She decides to take things one day at a time with Damon, but is still unprepared for the magnetism and protectiveness of his personality.

Damon knows what kind of man he is. Once he commits to anything, he is all in. Even more so when he meets April and they become lovers. The only problem he has is that April refuses to see him for who he really is. Which is a violent man that will kill to protect those he loves. Damon knows that when she sees his true nature it might be the last time she looks his way. He underestimates April as does most other people (including me). When April finally realizes what she is in for…hawtness. I just adore these two together. Although I liked Grey and Moe (ugh) together, April and Damon just clicked for me almost right away.

As for the progress of the series, the situation with the church was finally resolved after several books which was nice. There was plenty of action to go around. President Atherton is as evil as ever which makes the series that much better. I can’t wait to see what he’s up to in the next book. You just know that he’s going to get his hands on Lynne one of these books and Jax is going to go through the roof. I can’t wait to see that happen. So overall, I 100% loved this book. I didn’t give it a 5 because I rarely give 5’s.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Scorpius Syndrome