Grind

Into the Fire #8

by Mia West

For twenty years, Wolf and Marc have worked to make the stronghold a home—for their friends, their son, and each other. But forces beyond their control are about to challenge that security.

When an ambitious king takes a sudden, aggressive interest in the stronghold and its strategic potential in his conquest of Gaul, Marc and Wolf must decide whether home is a place, or a more intangible thing built around those they love most.

GRIND is the 8th novella (19,000 wds) of INTO THE FIRE, a steamy historical romance series featuring two strong, stubborn, sexy
1. THRUST
2. STRIKE
3. FORGE
4. QUENCH
5. HONE
6. FRACTURE
7. WELD
8. GRIND
9. BURNISH

INTO THE FIRE series
Marcus is a soldier with no army, Wolf a blacksmith armed only with a hammer and his wits. Thrust together when Rome collapses, these former rivals must strike a partnership, one stoked by their past and edged with a searing desire, to forge a future in an unpredictable new world.

INTO THE FIRE is the first series of the STORM’S EDGE saga.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Erotica, LGBT

69 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 8, 2016

About the author

Epic romance, two heroes at a time! My story universe features warriors and blacksmiths, rescue swimmers and hockey players, treasure hunters and time travelers, and quite a few shifters. My favorite kind of hero: a grumpy f*cker who’ll do anything for the man he loves.

Read my entire universe free on AO3!

Novel-length ebooks are free on wide vendors.

Happy reading :)

~ Mia

Reviews

[AngelFire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was amazing! This installment ties Book 3 (Forge) as my favorite of the series so far. It was incredible! All of the potential that this premise has was realized in this book and it's for the same reason why Book 3 worked for me - the author created interesting external conflicts that were heavily tied to the time period and found a way to naturally incorporate many of the characters in ways that fit their personalities and roles in the story.

Like in Book 3, this story focuses on the stronghold dealing with an external threat. In this case, a king from a neighboring kingdom comes to the stronghold for a 'friendly visit'. But then he reveals that he wants to take control of the stronghold and use it as a watchtower for coastal traffic. When Marcus and the rest of the community refuse to surrender their home to him, the king uses an escalating series of pressures to force them into capitulating. These actions include manipulation, violence and even a kidnapping of a beloved character. The entire situation was wonderfully paced and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

Even better - the author made the unusual but wonderful choice to have things not go in our stronghold community's favor. But even the extent to which things don't go well surprised me and left me thrilled because it fit the time period so well and was an unexpected, exciting direction to go in. There's the first 'oh crap' moment when Marcus' plan to save the kidnapped individual goes sideways but then things get even more tense when there's a second, much bigger 'oh crap' moment when Marcus realizes they're badly outnumbered and don't stand a chance against the king. At the end, Marcus, Wolf and the rest of their family and well known characters all decide to leave the stronghold rather than living under the king's rule.

Not only was the entire plotline very well done but I loved that the author decided to move the action to a brand new location. Having the group cross the to-be-named English Channel to go to Britannia added an exciting new direction and allowed the author to use elements from Tiro (Philip's boyfriend) and Wolf's past. I especially loved the parallels the author drew in the move, having Wolf point out that he spent 20 years while waiting for Marcus to return from the Roman Army wondering what the sea was like. Then Marcus showed up and brought him to the coast. Once again, 20 years have gone by, during which Wolf has wondered what lay on the other side of the sea they've been living next to. And now Marcus is once again answering Wolf' question.

I also loved how the author incorporated Marcus' past as a Roman soldier into the situation involving the king's demands for capitulation. Marcus had spent 20 years being part of such actions but now he's spent another 20 years living in an independent community and learning that small groups don't need enormous empires behind them in order to be successful and lead happy lives.

Another neat connection was learning that the king had recently conquered a group of people who it turns out are Wolf's ethnic (?) group. Unfortunately, this reveal fell mostly flat because as I've mentiond countless times during this series, the author incorporates brand new information when it's convenient and then pretends it's something readers have known all along. The author hadn't even bothered naming Wolf's people until this book so clearly, there was no foresight behind this reveal. What I wouldn't give for the author to go back over this entire series and re-edit it now that she's figured out all the pieces she wanted to include in it!

I also liked the character arc which Marcus had in this one. This book takes place 4 years after the previous one and Marcus is now 57 years old, yet he refuses to take a backseat when it comes to military matters. Everybody has been telling him for years that he's more beneficial to the group staying behind the scenes and helping with training and organizing instead of taking patrol shifts and being a training participant. He's noticed that he's much slower than the others and he's not enjoying it anymore, but the massive threat they deal with in this book really shows him that he can serve his people best when he's using his 40 years of military knowledge rather than trying to do work of a 25 year old.

The only reason I'm not giving this highly enjoyable installment 5 stars is because the author's unfortunate tendency to include modern profanity was a distraction and I got tired of Britte constantly being pregnant or having babies hanging off her. I loved her character when she went against the tide to become Wolf's smithing apprentice and I like that she's still a smith but her role in the past few books has been restricted to being a stereotypical woman in this time period and that was boring.

That being said, I loved everything else about it. The external conflict was very well done and it was great how the author found good ways to use most of the important characters. It was also great that the smut scenes took a backseat to the other plotlines and the author actually had a FTB scene! There was one detailed smut scene but it fit well into the story so I enjoyed it. It was also wonderful that the author put effort into making the characters sound and act like they were living in the 5th century. Asides from the infrequent modern profanity and the stronghold community's absurdly strong support for LGBT relationships and issues, the author did a great job making this story fit with the time period it was supposed to take place in.

Lastly, I want to commend the author because her writing style has definitely improved from when the series started. In fact, I liked one of the lines so much that I'll include it here:

'Mist clung to the land at dawn and dusk, and some days it never let go its hold, turning the sun into a pale disk, like an old coin discovered in a creek bed, its face worn smooth by currents of water and time.'

Overall, I really loved this installment and it ties Book 3 (Forge) for my favorite of the series. I'm looking forward to the last book of the series and I'm already a bit sad that I'll have to leave Wolf, Marcus and the others behind once I'm done.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time has passed happily for Wolf and Marcus and their little community. Their son Matthias and Brienne are expecting another child soon, even as their grandson Cai is a whirlwind around the villa. When he arrives, Marcus easily figures out the ambitious king has eyes for their coastline... and calls him out on it. After some entertaining hijinks, the king reveals he's taking over their home and offers a one time choice to the residents: stay and do his bidding, or leave in the morning.

Eventually, after Wolf punches Herbert and retrieves what belongs to Marcus, their family unit decide to relocate to Britannia.

This was a stronger entry in the series though I felt there were some big missed opportunities. The author brings up Wolf's brother and family, and then there's mention that there was a "routing of barbarians" including Wolf's family. But there was little to no reaction to this. Also, there was almost no emotional reaction to the family moving after years in their home, or leaving their friends behind.

4 stars

[Mae Hanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't my favorite so far.
The family has grown comfortable in their life inside the stronghold. Only to have it all turned topsy turvy by a Franco king demanding their fortified villa for himself.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

They're going to find their cave.
They're going to find their cave.
They're going to find their cave.
Which means it very almost over and I am not equipped to deal with it!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

And a challenger appears! The King of the Gauls visits and claims their home, so they and their family travel to Britiannia, finally.

[Mary Devereaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marc and Wolf...
*sigh*

I thoroughly enjoy Mia's writing (it's seriously flawless), and I'm hopelessly in love with the characters in this series. Especially Marc and Wolf (although a girl can hope for a side story of another m/m relationship from the books *bats eyes and pouts in an effort to beg*).

It's rare to find that combination of great writing/memorable and dimensional characters. The story is never overdone, the plot is believable. I'd read a 500 page novel written by Ms. West. She's just that damn good at what she does.

Knowing that there's only one book left has my heart breaking already. I'm so invested in these two men, in their lives and the lives of their small family. I can't recommend this series enough.

I'm a fan for life.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so impressed with this series. It is wonderfully written and well edited. It's warm, interesting, steamy, and real. It is a series I could not put down--one I read straight through (minus the last book, not yet released) in only a few days. Although I tend to prefer stories with contemporary settings, this historic series ranks among my favorite mm reads ever. I cannot wait for the final book to be released in June, but the experience won't end there. Into the Fire is only the first series in a continuing saga, and I couldn't be happier!

Congratulations, Ms West, on an outstanding set of books!

[Manuela]

***2016 has been a very unstable year. Not only have I lost favourite role models in droves, I have been into dark places more times than I could count. Yes, I experienced highlights as well but the darkness has had a big impact this year and the only way to keep it at bay was reading, mass reading, back to back books with no stopping and no reviewing. I do apologize to all the writers that I won’t be able to review their books yet but I will get to it. Promise!***

[Geri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really do love this couple! In the face of adversity and tough decisions the love Marc and Wolf have for each other doesn't falter and the extended family they have created is a joy to catch up with, whatever the circumstances. Set approx 4 years after the last book this penultimate insight into the lives of Marc and Wolf was pure joy to read. I am dreading June as I don't want to say goodbye!

[Alp Mortal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Mia West and a huge fan of this series - which is sadly coming to an end with the next and last instal due out in June - 'Burnish' is the name of the last part as I recall.

Characters and plot work beautifully together.