Windward

Mirror #2

by Kirby Crow

Grant's new-found happiness with his submissive Matty is shaken when he learns that Jaeger Koning, fugitive assassin and Matty's ex-Dominant, has returned to America. Over Grant's objections, Matty accepts the FBI's request to assist in the capture, but Jaeger is always one step ahead of them, and Grant discovers too late that Jaeger's true goal is to reclaim Matty.


*This gay contemporary HEA romance is approximately 73,000 words, contains graphic sex, and is intended for mature readers. Book 2 of the series. TAGS: Bondage themes, romance, true love, HEA, story concludes.

Genres: M M Romance, BDSM, Dark, Contemporary, LGBT

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 26, 2017

About the author

Kirby Crow worked as an entertainment editor and ghostwriter for several years before happily giving it up to bake brownies, read yaoi, play video games, and write her own novels. Whenever she isn't slaying Orcs or flying a battleship for the glory of the Amarr Empire, she can be found in the kitchen, her vegetable garden, or at the keyboard, tapping away at her next book.

Kirby is a winner of the EPIC Award and the Rainbow Award. She is the author of the bestselling "Scarlet and the White Wolf" series of fantasy novels.

Her published novels are:

Prisoner of the Raven
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Pedlar and the Bandit King
Scarlet and the White Wolf: Mariner's Luck
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Land of Night
Angels of the Deep
Hammer and Bone
Malachite
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The King of Forever
Meridian
Windward
Scarlet and the White Wolf: The Temple Road

Novellas:
Turks Cay
Poison Apples
Circuit Theory
The Art of Fire
Chimera

For upcoming news of her future novels, visit http://kirbycrow.com

Reviews

[Christelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.75 stars** This book is the continuation of Meridian and finally gives a lot of answers about this trio : Matty and Grant trying to settle into a relationship and Jaegger, very present not only in thought but also in flesh, trying his best to "repossess" Matty.

Life is not easy for Grant and Matty. Grant is new at an established relationship and still resents Matty for leaving after Jaegger injured him. As for Matty, he is still on shaky ground after Jaegger’s betrayal pilling up on his father’s indifference. And Jaegger’s reappearance is a threat for both of them, and both physically and emotionally.

It’s fast-paced, with lots of action, intensity and tension, but always relationship-oriented : the twisted obsession of Jaegger over Matty, and the anchoring of the feelings barely built, shattered and built again between Matty and Grant.
A few niggles though : I would have wished for more time between Matty and Grant in this book and the ending felt a bit abrupt, more an HFN than an HEA. Does that mean there is going to be more in a next book ? I wouldn’t be surprised.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars
Jaeger still deeply obsessed by Matty is brooding. Every boy he meet he
compares. And none can hold.
The FBI is still searching for him....he is like Hannibal from The Silence
of the Lambs....
Always a step ahead...
Matty's boss/friend Rey is still hunting Jaeger, he wants him, he knows what
he has done to his friend and his capabilities. Matty has the urge to help
Rey..... and Grant....Grant is alarmed...

It turns out more and more as a thriller which is amazing...it's getting
complicated and nothing is what it is. A psychological game is what's
playing... and we definitely don't know yet who is winning....It all goes
much deeper than it seems.
Matty and Grant desperately need each other. But Jaeger is certain he needs
Matty more and has his 'helpers' accomplish to conquer Matty. Grant is
losing it......
Suspense is killing

We get to know how Matty and Jaeger meet each other for the first time.....a
tip from what happened with Matty.

Some parts are highly erotic...it made me stop and wait for later to finish
because sitting in company and reading scenes....is sometimes not done. Lol

An amazing journey which keep you glued to the pages... very strong writing
style and entertaining as hell. Well defined and developed personalities.
Matty's intelligence and expertise could be more developed, the story tells
he is very capable of many things but I didn't experience it that way. Still
he is a great personality.
Their imperfections did more good to this story. The environments and all
the contradictions within this story were good and convincing.
it was an entertaining story with a lot of feelings and outings in very
different way, too much to describe them all.
They have their happy end but somehow I'm not convinced their journey is
over... yet....
A mustread for those who love an amazing story with width and depth.

[Karen Wellsbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of thoughts about this book, for me way more of a thriller than a romance. The writing is wonderful as always, but the themes in the book were a litle too dark for me.

Full review to follow on the blog

[Bucletina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirby Crow tiene verdaderas joyas. No es este el caso. Tropezón para mí en esta continuación. Resta MUCHO, PERO MUUUUCHO, la tapa. Es espantosa, y punto. No importa si es consecuencia del esfuerzo altruista de su autora, o porque no tiene un mango. Es preferible poner un fondo negro con letras blancas a vender un libro con esta combinación de mal gusto y falta total de criterio gráfico.
En fin.

[Serith · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how normal readers wish only good things for the main character? How they and love and want to protect them?

Somehow Winward turned me into a sadist (…just let me blame the book, okay?)

This… this was quite intense. Dramatic, but in all the right ways. I knew I was gonna love this sequel right from the first line. The shock value is blunt and perfect.

We get a lot more Jaeger in this volume, and this results in only blissful things. He has that you-can-totally-murder-me-and-I-wont-mind vibe going on. He’s such an unpredictable and dangerous character, so when he is on page there’s a lot tension. He makes you pay attention and want more.

Why did I root him on? Why did I feel mercy towards a murderer while he pined after Matty?? Is it bad I was looking forward to their reunion? Don’t get me wrong; I also ship Matty with Grant. Way healthier choice. But I usually ship everyone with everyone, so every little twist had me happily along for the ride.

Ugh. And what a ride we’re given. I feel sufficiently spoiled by the events.

Like… I didn’t think it was possible, but this may have topped the first book? And that’s a hard one to dethrone.

Already counting down the days for the next volume. It’ll be worth the wait.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, easy, and all for Jaeger. :) He was my absolute favorite character in the first book (Meridian), and I loved him all the more in Windward. We get to see a lot more of the history between him and Matty, and also the way he interacts with various associates and strangers. If you like your killers with strange principles and an elegant air (a la Mads M as Hannibal), then Jaeger should do you nicely.

Windward picks up a few months after Meridian, with Matty and Grant living together, and still struggling a bit to work out where they are relationship-wise. Rey appears, inviting Matty for a visit, and then becomes a steady presence throughout the rest of the novel. Jaeger is the one who actually kicks off the first chapter, grooming a whore into a semblance of Matty and letting that very polite mask of refinement slip. He's been missing Matty all the more as the months go by, and is snagged somewhere between melancholic regret, and irritation with his failure to retrieve Matty. As per the blurb, a pursuit ensues, with Jaeger coming for Matty, and Matty sure that Grant and Rey are overreacting.

There are a lot of little vignettes embedded in the chapters as Matty picks and works through his memories of Jaeger. In Meridian, we understand that Matty sees his relationship with Jaeger as a failure to properly identify and profile the Kill Devil. He believes it's his fault that Jaeger was able to continue his career right under Matty's nose. Matty comes to a definite conclusion in that regard by the end of the book, but we get the impression that he'll be dealing with the fallout through the next story (Deadlight, I believe).

A delicately handled bit of dub con is in the book, preceded by a trigger warning. I did beta for this one as well, and had mixed feelings about the section. I reread the book after publishing, and bits of the scene (and other parts of the book) have been adjusted so that the need for the warning is nominal. It's more of a heads-up than a hard stop.

I'm looking forward to reading the books again, and I've got a few sections highlighted on my kindle for the beautiful phrasing, or just my favorite thoughts/phrases from Jaeger and company. I'm biased; Jaeger is amazing, and I was thrilled to see him on the cover. I am also very excited about the next book in the series, though I think it's a ways off yet. Poor Matty. :)

[ItsAboutTheBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review can be read at It's About The Book

Grant and Matty are together after their ordeal with Jaeger Koning. They’re together, but it’s not all that great. No one’s needs are being met, and Grant’s family has created a dysfunctional living arrangement for everyone. Matty isn’t perfect and no one is letting him forget that. When the FBI asks Matty to help find Jaeger it’s not only a good way for Matty to begin healing after the giant mind game he went through, it’s a convenient way to get away from living with Grant’s family. Meanwhile, Jaeger has his own plans. Matty doesn’t just get to leave him. Matty is perfect for Jaeger, therefore Jaeger gets to keep him. Obviously, Matty and Grant disagree, but Jaeger is crafty and has no qualms striking in a place Matty feels safe. Neither Grant nor Matty are going to let Jaeger win.

Everyone learns something in this book. Grant, Matty, Jaeger, and especially the reader. Grant knew a lot about what had happened to Matty, but he didn’t necessarily know all the who, what, and why details of what went down. The who in some cases is really important. Super duper important. Matty had been dealing with a lot more than Grant realized, and Grant was actively making the situation worse by trapping Matty in a dysfunctional home. Matty did learn why Grant’s home life was a total mess and why it was so hard for Grant to admit he can’t live in that environment anymore. Jaeger learned Matty will never be his possession again. Jaeger sure did try, though. Matty learned he can deliver a killing blow to someone he deeply loved.

I adore that a character like Andie exists in this book. In any book. I especially love that a character this unreservedly unlikeable is a woman. Jaeger is a sociopath, a murderer, and a kidnapper, but he’s almost sort of likable. I felt sorry for Jaeger in some ways. Andie is just mean. Given two choices on how to behave she will pick the wrong one almost every time and it is awesome because she is real. Real Jaegers exist, but most everyone knows at least one Andie. We learn life has given Andie lemons. Really bad, rotten lemons. Life has not been kind to Andie at all, but she screams that life give her more lemons then doesn’t understand why she keeps getting lemons. I have read well crafted villains and mediocre villains. Jaeger is a good villain, but Andie is who we have to deal with in our everyday lives. Andie makes this book real. So many of us, probably too many of us, have been in Grant’s position of wanting to help someone who has had more than her fair share of lemons and needing to keep himself and his loved ones emotionally safe. Grant and Matty don’t have the luxury of catching Jaeger in a vacuum. Much like in the real world, the good guys have a home life that’s just as messy as ours.

This book is a solid follow up to Meridian. It is also very much a follow up. I wouldn’t recommend anyone pick this up without having read Meridian. And it appears there is at least one more book in this series. I don’t want to be spoilery or anything, but I will say Andie is alive at the end of this book. Things aren’t done.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4 stars

I don’t want to say too much more about the plot here for fear of spoiling this second installment in Kirby Crow’s Mirror series. This story picks up shortly after Meridian and definitely assumes an understanding of the events that happened in that first book. I’ll admit, even having read the first one last year, I had a bit of trouble remembering all the details, particularly about the side characters. So if this story sounds appealing, be sure to check that one out first.

We knew from the way things ended in Meridian that chances were Jaegar wasn’t done with Matty. As the book opens, we see Matty and Grant are trying to settle into life together. The guys are as in love as ever, but definitely struggling with the aftermath of Jaeger’s attack. They are also facing family complications as Grant’s sister continues to dislike Matty, which leads to tension between them. And the guys are still sorting out some of the relationship elements, particularly the Dominant and submissive dynamic between them. When word comes that Jaegar is near and Matty decides to get involved with tracking him down, Grant is wary, but also understands why Matty needs to get involved.

For me this story pretty clearly divided in half. I found the first part a little on the slow end. I didn’t feel like either the romance end or the suspense end took off and we just hit the surface of both. There seemed to be a little too much focus on the day to day without delving too deeply into anything. We also spent time focused on Grant’s family dynamics, but while it was useful to see how Matty is fitting in, a lot of this seemed to take away from Matty and Grant’s time together on page. The second portion kicks up the suspense majorly and at this point, things really took off for me. Even though the suspense is at the forefront, I also felt like we really see the connection between Grant and Matty here and the growth of their relationship as well.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Caroline Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEWED FOR LOVE BYTES

3.5 Stars

When we left Matty and Grant in Meridian, the first book in the Mirror series, their lives could have gone one of two ways; they both sailed off into the sunset and lived happily ever after or Matty’s past would return to haunt them. The second of these scenario’s happened and it holds some dark consequences for Matty.

Grant has found the man he loves and is determined to make things work even though tensions at home are running high. Andie was one of my dislikes in this book and I found her manipulation of everything and everyone tiresome. Grant’s refusal to challenge her really altered the way I saw him and his relationship with Matty didn’t appear as cohesive in the beginning. Rey has also found new love but it was obvious where that was going immediately.

Jaeger is still on the loose and Matty knows that one day he will return to claim him. To try and stem that surprise Matty and Rey team up once again to try and bring the Kill Devil to heel but as you would expect things don’t go to plan. This is more mystery/dark thriller than romance and I feel like I missed out on Matty and Grant’s relationship growing as they spent so much time apart. I missed the intimacy and the struggle within their D/s relationship that was a highlight in the first book. Once again this could book end their story but as there was still no closure at the end I wonder if we will see more of Matty and Grant in the future.

[Evaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a serious book! Not for the faint-hearted, let me tell you. And I loved it. :)

We're back with Matty and Grant who still have so many things to iron out between them. It's not an easy row to hoe by any means, love notwithstanding. Are they to be allowed to do this by themselves?

Oh hell no.

If it's not interference and at times outright disapproval from Grant's family, it's the FBI come knocking with a request for Matty to help them out with the tracking down and capture of his ex-lover, the chilling assassin, Jaeger Koning. And what's with Jaeger? Well, nothing other than that he wants his one-time submissive, Matty, back where he belongs. With Jaeger.

There's action. There's banter. There's humour. There's emotion. There's heart-stopping danger and there's moments that one is tempted to weep. Seriously!

But the main strength in this book, I think, comes from the way the author brings us into the minds of the three main characters - Grant, Matty and Jaeger - sharing their thoughts and how their minds and their.. well... their selves are guided and formed by the power exchanges of D/s relationships. I'm explaining it badly - who's surprised? - but I find the whole idea of power exchange to be sexy and heady and fascinating.

Loved it and I hope we may revisit the Mirror Universe at some point. :)

[Carlos Mock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Windward - Mirror Series 2 by Kirby Crow

This is the sequel to Meridian. Rey Díaz recruits Matthiu (Matty) Sawyer to hunt Jaeger Koning. Jaeger was Matty's dominant boyfriend before he almost killed him. Jaeger is back in America. Matty is now submissive to Grant Baines, and over his objections, they join Ray in the pursuit of the old mastermind assassin. Jaeger is known as the Kill Devil. The book is basically about the chase and how Jaeger stays one step ahead of them.

Some sequels stand alone but Windward is not one of them. From the firs page and throughout the book, you feel like everyone knows about these characters, except you, the reader. The writer spent no time in telling you what happened before, nor who the characters are. For the most part, a name is given and no explanations come with the name. Horrible to follow.

The writer has no concept of "point of view" and I was constantly trying to figure out who the "he" in the paragraph refers to. The sex scenes are boring and not real S & M. Vanilla is more the term I would use. There is no eroticism in them -- no passion. The story is slow paced, I was bored for most of the book. I would not recommend the book to anyone I know.

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Windward (Mirror #2) Kirby Crow
1) This is the perfect continuation of Ms. Crow's book Meridian. These two characters are very much likable. I enjoyed the drama and angst found within the pages, a story that kept me at 'the edge of my seat'. This one is definitely worth the read but first, read Meridian. You'll be glad you did.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it hard to rate this book. For me it definitely wasn't as good as the first book, there were too many secrets and lies that I didn't enjoy. Jaeger is an absolute fruit loop and I wasn't totally sold on Matty and Grant in this instalment. However, as a series it has me totally hooked.

[Zeoanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect continuation of Ms. Crow's book Meridian. These two characters are very much likable. I enjoyed the drama and angst found within the pages, a story that kept me at 'the edge of my seat'. This one is definitely worth the read but first, read Meridian. You'll be glad you did.