Collision

Metamorphosis #3

by Shelby Gunter

I never saw him coming.

Literally. I ran straight into him outside the bathrooms of his brother’s bar. Not that I’m going to complain about having Carter Ellis’s body pressed up against mine.

The enigmatic man I’ve crushed on for the past year had always intimidated me. His closed-off expressions and overwhelming intensity kept me from acting on my infatuation. But with one mishap and a cracked phone screen, I finally got my chance—and also learned not to judge a book by its cover.

It only took one night for me to realize how special Carter was, and when he began receiving threatening messages, I vowed to do whatever it took to keep him safe. I mean, I am a firefighter; it’s kind of in my job description.

But how could I protect him from someone we never thought would betray us?

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2024

Reviews

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collision is book three in the Metamorphosis series by Shelby Gunter. This book can easily be read as a stand alone. This is my very first book by Shelby and I had no trouble at all not having read the previous books. I tend to rate the books I read emotionally. If I felt the love between the characters, if they made me swoon. On that alone, I would give this five stars. I loved these two and how they were together. From what I can see, this is Shelby’s first and only MM romance and she did it beautifully. Their feelings for each other jumped right off the pages and straight into my heart. I also loved the suspenseful aspect of the story that kept me on the edge of my seat.



Sam Shields is a firefighter. He loves his job, his fellow team members are like his brothers which he loves since he is an only child.

Carter Ellis would seem to be the complete opposite to Sam. He is a technology specialist for Pharmatech, a leading drug research company. He’s a bit awkward and shy. Once a month he is required to go into the office but for the rest of the time, he works from home. He leads up the IT team at Pharmatech.



Both of these men are in their late twenties I believe. Both have met and have been secretly crushing on the other for over a year. Until the night they literally crashed into one another which finally gave them the chance to get to know one another.

“This is what I’ve always wanted. Now I just have to ensure I never lose it.”

This is a bit of a slow burn but once these two admit their feelings for each other, they are all in and neither hold back their feelings for the other. That is one of the things I loved most about this. They were both very free with expressing their love and it just poured off the pages. When you add in the element of suspense that I didn’t expect, it makes for a wonderful read!

I adored these two together and I also had so much fun getting to know Carter’s crazy family. Especially his younger brother, Nolan. He was hilarious.

This was such a great book and I sped through the pages. The rest of the series is all MF and it looks like Nolan’s book will be next in the series.

[Julie Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I have been interested in Carter's story; he is not a stranger to us. Carter is a nerd, newly single, and looking for happiness. Sam is the sexy firefighter and the two have eyes for each other.

I really like Sam and Carter. They say opposites attract, and these two complement each other. Together they work hard to overcome their pasts and accept each other for who they are.

Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

[Caroline Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

🖥️ Tech Nerd/Firefighter
🚒 Suspense
🖥️ Found Family
🚒 Opposites Attract
🖥️ Clumsy Meet Cute
🚒 Camping as a Date

🖤 No third-act breakup
🩶 No OM/OW drama
🤍 Strict roles

I received a singed paperback in a book box and I’m glad I did because I probably wouldn’t have read this otherwise since it doesn’t have many reviews and I tend to try and research a book before I start.

It was a very sweet story, and I appreciate a romance with a thriller aspect, so there’s external conflict instead of fighting between the main characters. I do think this book could’ve been longer, which is something I rarely say. There were some scenes that were mentioned that I feel the reader Would have benefited from experiencing. For example, when Sam got drunk and had to be helped home. It would’ve been nice to see him being taken care of rather than just a string of text messages about it in the next chapter. There were a couple of instances where I thought we could have witnessed some of these scenes.

I tend to try and overlook if there are a couple typos in a book, but this had probably close to a dozen, which was frustrating and one of the reasons I can’t read it higher.

Definitely a sweet story that I recommend, but these are some of the things I think could have improved it a lot.

[Darcy (at the cottage) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ This book started out good and I loved the characters. But after about the first 3rd of the book it just didn’t flow quite as well and didn’t seem as polished as the first 3rd. Not quite sure how to explain it.

[Meagan Grauel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great MM romance story! There was the perfect amount of spice, suspense, drama, and the ending was well done. The book has great storyline progression. What ends up being the conflict of the story is introduced slowly and is well done. While the reader is focused on Sam and Carter's burgeoning love story, there's a part in the back of your mind continuing to go back to the conflict. The foreshadowing was on point and kind of slightly ominous, which worked with the overall vibe. I definitely kept going back to the chain of events that had started and wondered what was going to happen next, while enjoying getting to know Sam and Carter as a couple.
The conflict of the story surrounds Carter's job. He is a tech genius and works on coding for a pharmaceutical company. It's all spoken about in a very technical way, so I'm not really sure that I 100% understood all that the issue encompassed. But it wasn't super important to understand the exact details I don't think. That was the one hang up about the story that I had and brought the total star rating down for me to a 4/5. That and even though I said the spice was a good blend for the story, I definitely think there could have been more. The amount of spicy scenes were pretty sparse and like 3/4 detailed. But the lack of spice didn't hurt my overall opinion of the story.

I would say that it's definitely worth the read and the book went by pretty quickly. There's enough drama throughout to keep your interest. Add it to your TBR!

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collision is Book 3 in Shelby Gunter’s series called Metamorphosis. This story revolves around Carter, the third of the four brothers in the Ellis family. Carter is a quiet, introverted computer nerd who has had a crush on Sam, a sexy firefighter, for forever! Little does Carter know that Sam has been crushing on Carter for just about as long. It was such a sweet story to watch Carter and Sam fall in love.

Collision is a small town MM romance with a little suspense added in. Carter discovers something mysterious going on with the computer program that he wrote and things get pretty dangerous for Carter when the person behind it all tries to keep Carter quiet!

Shelby Gunter is a pro at her character development and once again makes you care and love the characters in her book. Carter and Sam are adorable together and watching their love story bloom is very heartfelt and endearing.

I absolutely would recommend this book!!
4 stars for Collision!!

Here is a quote I love from Sam:
“Our story is just like every other one you’ve read. While the characters may look a little different, our love doesn’t.”

I want to thank Shelby Gunter for this gifted copy of Catalyst and I am honored to be chosen as an ARC reader.

[Carli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my normal pairing but after reading Shelby’s other books- including the first two in this series in which Carter was featured, he had me hooked, I wanted him to find love, wanted to find his happy ending and Shelby delivered! I read this book in less than 24 hours, Sam is the perfect balance to Carter, the way they are together is everything! Sam brings out the fun side of nerdy Carter without trying to change him and Carter gives Sam a sense of security, understanding and unconditional love. They both see what others in the past have considered flaws and accepted each other as they are. Everyone needs to read this book!

[Sharon A Shovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carter and Sam. Carter is single and a computer nerd. He works for a company involved in research and security. He works mostly from home. He is recovering from his breakup with his ex. Sam is a firefighter and also single. They met at a Bar and Grill. They knew about each other because Sam’s brother is also a firefighter. They start getting closer and seem happy. A little while later Carter is getting anonymous notes that does not make any sense. Then there is a break in. Is there a forever feel with these two or is the anxiety and frustration with the mystery of Carter’s trouble causing too many challenges?

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a signed paperback in my reveal box and I am glad I did because I probably wouldn’t have read this otherwise. I have never read anything from this author, but I plan on reading the first two books in this series. I loved Carter and Sam. I loved how supportive they were of each other. Sam brings out the fun side of nerdy Carter without trying to change him and Carter gives Sam a sense of security, understanding and unconditional love. They both see what others in the past have considered flaws and accept each as they are. If you like stories with some spice,romance and a little twist thrown in then this book is for you.

[Danielle Coon-Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opposites definitely attract in this incredible MM romance. I love Shelby's writing and her character and world development. I was so excited for Carter to get his own romance after meeting him in the first 2 books of the Metamorphosis series. This was a super cute small town romance and you even get a little bit of a thriller included. I cannot wait to read more of Shelby's writings.

Thanks for letting me read this early.

[Nicolette Sampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, you’ve got a smokin firefighter & a sexy nerd!!! I love how instant Sam and Carter’s physical connection was. While, they’re definitely opposites I love how they help each other overcome their past and present. At the end of the day both men want to be loved!

[Emily Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and flirty MM romance! I loved seeing Sam and Carter come together -- they were so perfect together that you can't help but fall for them! Add in a dash of suspense, and I was hooked from start to finish. Make sure to pick this one up -- you won't be disappointed!

[Tina Bridwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet, sexy and mysterious

Carter and Sam are so absolutely perfect together!! I loved their story. They are so cute and when they get together it’s steamy and sexy. They are definitely sugar and a lot of spice. Throw in some mysterious threats and you’ve got a great read!!