The fact that I waited so long before delving into the THIRDS universe is a black mark against my name because whoo boy was this brilliant!
The series is based in a reimagined world after the Vietnam war in which widespread disease spread and the medicine that was meant to be the cure ended up generating some very unintended consequences: Therians. Therians are humans who can shift into various mammals including cheetahs, lions, tigers and jaguars. With the emergence of the Therians came a whole host of new questions. How could Humans fight off those who can kill with one well-placed swipe of a claw? That’s where the THIRDS come in.
So, what is THIRDS you may ask? According to the official website (which is an amazing source of all things THIRDS including pictures and in depth bios of all the characters):
With the panic and growing number of casualties both Human and Therian during the riots of the 1980s, it was clear something had to be done to ensure public safety, and offer an unbiased justice system for Therian citizens. After a new Therian legislation branch of the government was established, along with the implementation of Therian laws, officials answered the cries of its citizens for a new law enforcement agency equipped to handle Therian threats.
In 1990, the Therian-Human Intelligence, Recon, Defense, Squadron -or- the THIRDS, opened its doors, pairing every Human element within the organization with a Therian one, in the pursuit of justice for all species.
Into this mine field enter our heroes Dex and Sloane, Human and Therian respectively. Dex has been through the ringer. When he saw his partner on the Human Police Force shoot a Therian in cold blood he had no choice but to report him. With the verdict handed down, Dex is hoping life will go back to normal but is soon the victim of disapproving looks, general cold behavior and worse yet beatings from his own colleagues. He knows something has got to give, and it does, just not in the way he expected it to. He is promoted to the THIRDS, and overnight is part of a team made up of Human and Therian partners.
Things can only look up from there right? Wrong! His partner is the team leader of Destructive Delta, Sloane, who is reeling from the loss of his teammate and partner Gabe. While there are strict rules and harsh consequences for fraternization, Sloane and Gabe were willing to take the risk and when Gabe was killed on the job it sent Sloane, not to mention the whole team reeling. Dex is expecting a little hostility but he gets more than he bargained for!
I don’t know how to express how wonderful this book was. I think you’ll have to read it to find out more. The world the author creates is complex and action filled. That being said let me chat about some of the things I loved:
The Destructive Delta team. They were these guys and girls willing to risk it all for each other (some more than others, but that’s a story for another review) and they were funny and sad at times and just so loveable as a whole. Ash was this giant lion shifter who just couldn’t get along with Dex who was a clown on most occasions. It was hilarious to see the threats fly between the two! Cael, Dex’s adoptive brother and a Therian, was adorable in his affection for his tablet and his love of all things nerdy. He and Dex picked on each other and were the most adorable brothers I’ve read in a while! Rosa and Letty were these badass girls in a mostly male team and I loved how they kicked butt and took names. They more than held their own and I loved that they weren’t shoved aside for the focus to be on the male characters (as sometimes happens in M/M romance novels). Calvin and Hobbs had this intense bromance that seemed difficult for others to penetrate but they were so crucial to the team and I could tell in reading the book that they were well loved members of the team.
I also loved the romance between Dex and Sloane. I think it was very realistic. I raised my eyebrow a bit at Sloane falling for a partner twice in a row but when love strikes it doesn’t seem to care about things like that! I also think my acceptance of it was aided by the fact that Dex was so different from how Gabe was described not to mention the fact that Sloane tried really hard not to fall for Dex.
I also loved Dex’s character! He was so humorous, so positive despite his circumstance and so understanding! He had a love for his family (and navigated the divide between his adoptive dad Maddox being his boss and his adoptive brother being his teammate!) He played pranks that were chuckle worthy and insisted on singing 80s songs as often as possible (much to Sloan’s chagrin). He was this ray of sunshine that his team needed and I can’t wait to read more about him. It was a 4 star read of note!
I feel like this review is so rambly and gushy but I honestly loved this book and the universe created in it! Thanks Charlie for bringing this intricately woven world to life and having written about thirteen books in it to date!
I’ll be reading and reviewing more of these books (hopefully more coherently). In the meantime, check out these THIRDS resources:
Goodreads (reading order)
THIRDS HQ (series website, which is super awesome)
Charlie Cochet (author website)
Till next time!
TK MAJ
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