Caution to the Wind

The Fallen Men, Book 7

By: Giana Darling

Narrated by: Scott Rose, Cindy Kay

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Giana Darling comes an age gap, friends to enemies to lovers romance about a rebel soul and her best friend's dad who wants absolutely nothing to do with her...

I fell in love with my best friend's dad when I was seventeen.
He seemed like some kind of heathen god, big enough to kill a man with his bare hands, tattooed with bright, bold images, and weathered by time and a short stint in prison.
Blind to the consequences, I made a mistake that ran him out of town and ruined his life.
Now, he's back after all these years––hating me more than the day he left.
What he doesn't know is that I've been working to atone for my sins.
I've infiltrated the Vancouver triad that killed his wife.
Always my protector, he decides it's not safe for me to be in this alone, so he resolves to get me out of the Triad and out of his hair for good.

*A stand-alone novel in The Fallen Men Series.*

©2023 Giana Darling (P)2024 Giana Darling

These narrators brought this story to life and I couldn’t put it down!

I always know when I read a Fallen Men book that I'm going to get gritty, edgy, and dark characters who are a force within themselves. But I was not prepared for the brilliance and absolute badassery of Mei Zhen and Henning Axlesen. These two together blew my mind.

Is this book long? Yes. But I savored it like a fine wine and let myself get pulled into every scene and chapter with the brilliant narration from beginning to end. This epic love story covers over a decade in time and there wasn't a moment where I wasn't completely consumed by these two characters.

Mei Zhen has become one of my favorite heroines of this author. Her strength, resilience, determination, and selflessness all combined with the broken parts of her make her into someone I would want to have by my side forever. The trauma that she went through, then continued to put herself through - all for those she loved - was not only terrifying but admirable. The way in which she held steadfast to her love of Axe-Man (Henning) over the years only amplified my admiration of her, as well as her unwavering love and support for Cleo.

Axe-Man.... I'm not sure what there is to say about this man other than he will protect those he loves with everything he has. The sacrifices he makes, the walls he builds around himself are ALL to protect others, and he can't fathom a life without the strong shield he wears around his heart - only letting it down for his daughter, Cleo. Until Mei reappears in his life and turns it all upside down again.

These two together were passion and heat in every single instance whether it was loving or fighting; defending their loved ones or seeking their revenge. Their common determination to wrong those who wronged them only brought them closer in the end, and I loved every second of it exploding around them.

What I truly loved about this book though was being back in the Fallen Men world.... re-visiting beloved characters and seeing and listening to them once again as they have grown themselves. I cheered in every scene with Daddy Zeus and his strength and words of wisdom, I grinned and giggled over Nova's charm, got goosebumps whenever Priest hit the scene, and swooned over my all-time love - King. This found family, along with their badass women, took on the enemies of this book - whether they were personally theirs or not - just like every other enemy. Together. Standing side by side. Loving one another and sacrificing for one another. They truly "Live Free and Die Hard."

I love escaping my own world and living with The Fallen Men every.single.time. And Mei Zhen, the added layer of Chinese culture and the Seven Song, and Axe-Man just took it to a whole new level. I'll never get enough of this world and these characters.

What a fabulous audiobook that had me enthralled!

This is book 7 in The Fallen Men series following the Fallen MC. Although each book is written as an interconnected stand alone I do suggest reading in order. While I started the series with this book(#7), I would suggest starting at the beginning. I had no problem understanding this story but I missed out on a lot of history through the first 6 books.

***I listened to this book via audible. The narrators are Scott Rose and Cindy Kay. Both brought such a beauty to this story and truly made the book come to life. This story is a monster of a book and the audiobook is over 18 hours.

This book is about Mei and Axeman. The first part of the story is the history between them and how their relationship began. The second part takes place 8 years later and is their reunion. Both parts of this story are an emotional rollercoaster. while i listened to this book, the way the story is told is full of Chinese history and lore and it was so descriptive that it felt like a movie. This is not a sweet story but one of sacrifice and what someone would do for the ones they love. I truly loved Mei and how she was so tough and would make the ultimate sacrifice for the ones that meant everything to her. Axeman was them same. Their love story is not easy or beautiful and it definitely is not for the feint at heart. It is full of gore and violence but they would each go to war and sacrifice everything for each other. If you love MC stories, pick this one up but again I suggest starting at the beginning. And why not.....There is so much goodness in the writing that you will not want to miss out!

Amazing

Amazing! This story was so completely unexpected with the trajectory of the rest of the Fallen stories so I was a little apprehensive but the way the story fell into place was seemless and flowed well. Like every Fallen love it was so hard fought but so well deserved. I LOVE MEI SO MUCH! She is so fierce and the perseverance and sacrifice she has is incredible. This one falls into top three Fallen stories for me!
Cindy Kay was wonderful as Mei and I've never listened to Scott Rose but he was just as wonderful!

I need all the Fallen Men!

I absolutely devoured this book. I could not stop listening. Cindy Kay and Scott Rose were absolutely superb as Axe-Man and Mei, and the fact this was performed dual narration allowed them both to shine with all the different character voices. Cindy took on the growly/gritty quality of Axe-Man and the Fallen Men with ease and Scott absolutely blew me away with his Mei voice!

I have to be honest, this is my first time reading about The Fallen Men and I've been told it's good and bad haha. Good in the sense the beginning has a very different feel compared to previous books as Part I heavily focuses on the backstory of Mei and Axe...which is absolutely integral to their journey. And bad in the sense I didn't have all of the emotional connections to the supporting characters. I'll have to come back and update once I've read the rest of the series but as of right now I absolutely loved their story.

A Best Friend's Dad (Step-Dad), Age Gap, It's Always Been You, Found Family, Touch her/him and I'll unalive you vibes...what more could I ask for in a MC Romance? I was on the edge of my seat the entire time waiting to hear what would happen next. And can I just say the spicy scenes...they were absolutely magnificent and I found their connection during those times slowly allowed them to let down their walls...the scene when they are laying in the bed after and Axe-Man just straight up asks her questions...SOOOO powerful. I can't say enough good things.

Listen to this ASAP!

I love how they brought it to life

My new favorite way to read books, is to have them read to me.
I love the difference in each book. With each narrator giving them life.
The way they put so much emotion into each story. Makes it amazing

Caution, such a great romance!!!

Okay, Mei is such a BADASS!!!! I loved being in this world again! From a hot shot doctors to a badass biker! Hands down loved it the narrators were great as well bringing axe-man and mei to life!

Absolutely Loved It

This is the story of Mei and Axe-Man. But before he was Axe-Man he had a life and was just Henning. Husband of Kate, stepdad to Cleo and an added bonus of her best friend Mei because she is with their family more than she is with her own. When the girls are young something horrible happens at a carnival and Mei almost loses her life but vows revenge from that day forward. At the age of seventeen she is being reckless but still hanging out with Axe and Cleo. Until it all fell apart. Now a lot of time has past and one phone call from Cleo and Mei goes running to her side. However Axe-Man is not having a thing to do with it. He can't stand that she is back. He doesn't want her in his life but would do anything for Cleo. He and Cleo have a bigger family now as he has joined the main charter of The Fallen MC after being terribly betrayed by the character he was previously in. This time things are different and he and all the guys are one big family and would do anything they had to for each other. You can imagine their surprise when an old enemy comes into the city trying to stir things up. They have to know why and Axe-Man knows there is just now way that twenty five year or Mei is not involved in what is happening. This story has so much going on that it keeps you one the edge of your seat and turning the pages as fast as you can. I was so in love with these characters. They have quiet the messed up story to tell but you are going to love reading every single second of this book. It is a little different from the other Fallen Men books but a really great addition to the series. The Narrators did a really great job of bringing these characters to life. You do not want to miss listening to this book.

A great addition! Love the fallen men!

The Fallen Men series is one of my favorite series of all time! I love this world, these characters and returning to Entrance, BC felt like a homecoming!

I know we thought this day would never come, but Axe-Man and Mei were a great addition to the series. I knew NOTHING about Axe-Man but he surprised me in the best way. Mei was a bad ass heroine! Henning is such an amazing and complex man. I loved getting his back story and how he and Cleo became a family! 🥺 Mei is Cleo’s best friend and has always thought of Henning as her “white knight.” They are her family. As Mei gets older, her admiration for Henning turns into more.

A situation happens that causes Mei to disappear from their lives for several years. If you’ve read Dead Man Walking, then you know something bad happens to Cleo. Mei ends up returning after all these years to help heal her friend. Tension between Henning and Mei hits at an all time high. It’s forbidden but resisting the temptation is hard. This book was one hell of a slow burn, but in true Giana fashion, she always delivers on the spice. Can’t wait to see whose book we get next!

Audio review:

I enjoyed the audio but as someone who typically listens around 2.5x, I found myself having to decrease the speed to understand the female narrator. Her raspy voice made it hard to understand the dialogue at times. I had to follow along with the book during parts to understand what was being said. I thought Scott Rose voiced Axe-Man perfectly. He had a great pitch and was very easy to understand.

Had me completely captivated and consumed

Mei and Axe-Man's incredible and intense story is going to squeeze your heart mercilessly while it keeps you clinging to the edge of your seat. Wow, what a journey this book takes you on. From euphoric highs to soul crushing lows and from a fierce, fiery frenzy to sweet, soft, soul touching moments, this romance packs a powerful punch that hits you with ALL.THE. FEELS! Darkness, action, suspense, drama, mystery, angst, raw emotions, twists, heart, and flaming hot steam combine into a tantalizing and sinfully seductive blend that is simply irresistible and trust me, you won't even be tempted to try. I thought the narrators gave excellent performances, and that their voices fit the characters beautifully. This made listening easy and a true pleasure.

Intense

This is my first book in the Fallen Men series. It can be read/listened to as a standalone. But I feel I would’ve gotten more out of it had I read the previous six books, or at least one or two before hand. I enjoyed listening to Scott Rose’s narration, and it held me intrigued. The story was filled with violence & sorrow, tragedy, but also family, found and needed, and love. There was a lot going on, and it was quite intense. Cindy Kay also did a great job. I’ll be going back to start from the beginning