I love this! Three great authors, each one building a story from a character of the last story...but also using characters from their own series’!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed all three stories and was excited to meet up with characters I already knew from previous book series’. I would love to read compilations like this in the future.
5 stars!

All of these stories work great as short stories/novellas and I thought the length of each of them was perfect for the needs of their individual stories. The authors did a good job of weaving the stories together without it feeling like a gimmick. My only complaint with these stories is that it often felt like you could have swapped the characters between stories and not notice any differences.

Against the Heart - I have read a few other books in this series and found this fit in quite well with those books. If you're a fan of Kat Martin you'll enjoy this story. Meri and Ian make a good team and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. Lily's relationship with Daniel was so sweet and added another layer to the story.

Shaken - I was not a huge fan of the storyline about Michelle's mother and the tablet as it wasn't completely necessary for this story. It mostly just set up a redemption story for her mother. Evan and Michelle's story is pretty standard but still entertaining to follow.

Echoes of the Past - This is probably the darkest of the three stories and therefore the story with the highest stakes. As with Shaken, the complicated history between Mel and Gray was pretty standard for these types of stories. It might have worked better had it not been revealed who the dirty cops were so early - it took some of the suspense out of the story.

If you're looking for some entertaining, page-turning novellas, this is the book for you. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy these stories.

A selection of three novellas, PIVOT presents the works from Kat Martin, Rebecca Zanetti, and Alexandra Ivy. Of the three, Martin’s AGAINST THE HEART was re-release from her “The Brodies of Alaska” series prequel in 2014. It brought together Meriwether Jones with ex cop turned PI and security specialist Ian Brodie when Meri and her daughter ran from her vicious addict ex. Ian was cousins to the heroes on Martin’s “BOSS, Inc” series. SHAKEN is starring estranged childhood sweetheart Evan and Michelle; both connected to hero from Zanetti’s “Deep Ops” series. And last but not least ECHOES OF THE PAST which related to Ivy’s “The Agency” series; wherein Melanie Cassidy reunited with Detective Gray Hawkins after a kidnapping attempt of one of Mel’s pupils.

While can be read as standalone, each novellas connected to one another in one way or another. There were the bad guys, damsel in distress, and the depiction of man in uniform - sort of - as the hero. The plots were pretty formulaic, the villains were the portrait of dumb and overconfident, the hero(es) using all the connection they had to solve the women’s problem.

As expected of these novellas, the pacing were rather rapid - Martin’s AGAINST THE HEART the measured one of the three - which didn’t left much room to dig more into (each) stories. Even with two of them taking on second-chance romance trope, I didn’t really feel the sparks of chemistry between the people involved. Overall they struck me as insta-love and rushed second-chance. The way the trouble handled to completion left a lot to be desired. With that much resources on hand, I expected BETTER from our heroes here.

That said, PIVOT is quite entertaining. My favorite of the three was SHAKEN, simply due to the cameo of Wolfe, Roscoe, and Kat (yes, not the leading cast, sorry). Their antics more than made up for the dissatisfaction I felt of the book overall. 😉


Copy of this book is kindly given by the authors/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love trying out anthologies so that I can find new authors, and Kat Martin and Alexandra Ivy are new authors to me. I've read and loved Rebecca Zanetti, so I knew this anthology would be worth it just for her story alone.

I was happy to see Zanetti's characters are from one of her series that I am reading and loving right now. The best part is that the other two stories were equally as good. I'm so curious now what characters Kat Martin and Alexandra Ivy brought from their other series, that's me assuming they are not brand new characters.

Each story are the size of a novella and I think they all did a great job of making a short story feel like a completed book. I especially enjoyed how each story had common characters that flowed from the first to the last story. It made all three feel connected and like you were reading one book.

I'm looking forward to reading my new-to-me authors and thank you Rebecca Zanetti for giving me more of the Deep Ops series!

Pivot is an anthology of novellas by some of the best authors in romantic suspense. Following a theme of heroines raised in foster homes, the stories show how each of the strong women's lives have been impacted by drugs. The first story has a former cop and current private eye rushing to the rescue of a single mom that finds herself in trouble. The last two stories feature sweet action packed second chance at love stories. A whole lot of action, a little heat and a little sweet, these stories will leave you feeling good and longing for more. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

I love Kat Martin's Brodie series, so it was fun to revisit Ian and learn about the other women who are tied to Meri! All three stories were quick reads, but tied together very well. I've not read any of Alexandra Ivy or Rebecca Zanetti's books, but I'm interested in them now.

I’ve only read one other short story novel like this. I enjoy the format! I like how the characters are connected with each story.

Pivot.
This book contains three different stories, that revolve around three friends that met in the foster care system.
The first, Against the Heart, by Kat Martin, is about a mother, Meri and her daughter Lily. When her and her daughter are threatened, she packs up and leaves, hoping to escape her trouble. She finds herself stranded in a small town, without money to continue on her way. Luckily, she meets private detective and ex-cop Ian Brodie, who offers her a job. Things seem to be going smoothly, she’s working, getting money to move on, trying to fight her attraction to Ian. Until the trouble finds her.
This was a good story, the characters were well written, and had you feeling for them. Over all the story was well written and I did enjoy it.
In the next story, Shaken, by Rebecca Zanetti, Michelle, who also grew up in and out offoster care, finds herself in trouble because her if her mother. When she calls on a friend for help, the last person she expects to see coming through her door is Evan. Her first love, who she hasn’t seen in six years because of his military career. The two begin to look to who it is that wants Michelle, and her mother. Both still having the same feelings they felt when they were younger. As things get more dangerous, they become closer.
This was a really good story. The characters were written so well, you they jump off the page. And you can tell they care for each other. It definitely keeps you interested. And not wanting to put the book down.
And the last story, Echos Of The Past, by Alexander Ivy, is about Melanie. With a troubled past, having grown up in and out of foster care. She finds herself coming to the rescue of one of her you my students, as she sees two men attempting to kidnap him, by ramming her car into theirs. As she is running away with the boy, she’s stopped my a car stop omg in front of her, telling her to get in. She soon realizes it’s her ex, and the man she still had feelings for, Gray. As the two are running from the men after the young boy, Mel learns there is deeper, more dangerous people after the boy.
This was another wonderful story in this book. The characters were well written and believable. And Mel was a strong, brave woman. This was another story that you simply couldn’t stop reading. And it kept you interested from page one.
I definitely recommend them book. As all three authors wrote wonderful stories.

These were three easy to read stories that somewhat interconnect by three different authors. I’ve really only read one of the authors before so it was a good introduction to the other two. Based on what I read, I would read other works by them. The stories were kind of predictable but sometimes that’s exactly what I want. If you’re looking for something to read that’s not too involved but not too light, this is a good place to start.

--This review can also be found on HookedByThatBook.com.--

This is a collection of three shorter stories by three amazing authors. The three stories are connected to each other by using the same characters in each one in some way.

Against the Heart is the first one by Kat Martin. What I liked about this one was the human connection angle. This story was more than just Ian and Meri meeting and falling in love, but also about Ian’s father, Daniel, finding his way back to life after his wife’s passing.

Shaken by Rebecca Zanetti is the second book. I loved this one the most for the romance and the relationship development between Michelle and Evan. They fell in love as teenagers when they were in the same foster home for a short period of time. The fell apart because Evan was in the military and Michelle had a hard time dealing with the dangerous aspects of his career. And Evan showed no signs of ever leaving. Now Evan is a small-town sheriff and has every intention of winning Michelle back. And there was plenty of action.

Echoes of the Past by Alexandra Ivy is the third book. This one came out on top in terms of action and excitement. I enjoyed the journey of reconnection between Melanie and Gray as well. This story was pretty fast-paced and offered plenty of thrills.

The styles of the three authors worked well together to make this entire book very enjoyable.

I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As readers sometimes you need to suspend your belief and with these stories you will need to. At the same times these stories are made up of strong women who only want to protect those they love and men who fall in love with the strong women.

Each author is able to create there own world like interweaving the other authors ideas.

Rebecca Zanetti has surprises visit from different characters in her series readers who love Rebecca Zanetti smile.

Kat Martin doesn't disappoint with the ability to show readers how one person can change another life in more way than expected.

Alexandra Ivy is able to use the characters, locations and connections from the other author to create her own action pack romance reader will want more of.



Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Pivot.

This book contains three interesting and well written stories by three talented authors. While Kat Martin’s story appears to be a rerelease of an older novel and all three are tied to their own series, the stories still mesh and flow well together. You do not need to read the other series to read these. The stories are connected by the heroines each having childhoods touched by foster care systems, the heroes’ friendship and the trouble that runs threw the 3 stories. There was a couple timing inconsistencies between the stories but not sufficient to distract for more than a moment. All 3 novellas were nicely paced so as not to feel too rushed or short changed due to the natural limitations of a novella.

Three fast paced stories that are inter-connected by three of my favorite authors . Lots of romance, suspense, and great characters - recommended!

* Reviewing Rebecca Zanetti's Shaken*

Shaken sure did ramp up my excitement for more! More suspense, more sizzling romance and more adventures. Michelle and Evan's story WAS IN-EFFING-CREDIBLE! We get to see Wolfe, Roscoe, Kat and a few characters from one of my other absolute favorite series, Dark Protectors and it excited and thrilled me!

Evan is another one of those heroes that is heart stoppingly sexy, all alpha, strong, capable and no doubt will make all the ladies swoon. And Michelle, she is equal parts sweet and fierce. Watching the fireworks go off between these two as danger closes in and suspense unravels made this an unputdownable read. Its the kind of story that once you finish, you want to pick it back up and start again. I LOVE EVERYTHING Rebecca Zanetti writes and now I am even more anxious to read Broken and to finally read Wolfe's story. You can't beat a romantic suspense from Miss Zanetti. You just can't!

Shaken gets a UNPUTDOWABLE FIVE BIG BRIGHT BOLD STARS!

Ahhhh Rebecca Zanetti! How I love your writing! I enjoyed this book, as I do all of hers (that aren't in the Dark Protector Realm. Those are just a bit too far out of my range) My only complaint is that this was short, and only whetted my appetite more for the next book in the series! Counting down the days until it is released!

I read Pivot in three nights, one story each evening, the perfect bedtime stories. I started with Kat Martin's, Meri and Ian. I've never read any books by Kat but I can now call myself a fan. Sweet, thrilling and hot, I love how the authors made the stories flow one right into the other. Night two I read Rebecca Zanetti's, Melanie and Gray's storyline. I have to admit I'm already a huge fan of her Deep Ops series and there are a few familiar characters in this suspenseful romance. I rounded out my reading with the always fantastic Alexandra Ivy and her Agency series. Michelle and Evan's action-packed romantic thriller was the perfect ending to a not to be missed trio!

I enjoyed this very much. There are three romantic suspense stories by three different authors. There each fast reads. The three stories meshed together great. There’s a lot of action and suspense for such short stories. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Pivot
Kat Martin, Rebecca Zanetti, Alexandra Ivy
March 31, 2020


Three women, all friends who grew up in foster care, are desperate to flee from killers who want things from them. At first it is money, payback so to speak. Next comes the man who wants money from her mother’s crimes. Last is the crew hunting for a child. These three novellas make up one suspenseful journey for the reader of Pivot by Kat Martin, Rebecca Zanetta, and Alexandra Ivy. When I discovered the impending release of this novel I was thrilled to be able to read and review it. I have read books by the trio of authors but never an account that wove such a story.
Meriwether Jones was alone on the road with her daughter, Lily. They had to leave their home in California to escape the threats from Joey Bandini, Lily’s father. He had heard that Meri’s foster mother and dear friend had died leaving her an heritance. It was small but enough that it would help the two of them settle in their home and buy necessary supplies. Joey was out of prison, again. He was certain she gained a large amount of cash from the old woman and he wanted his share. After pushing and prodding Meri, she was able to buy herself some time by telling Joey she had to pack and get Lily ready to leave with him. In a short while she and Lily were on the road headed for Oregan to spend time with her best friend, Michelle. She hoped that giving Joey part of her travel cash would not avert their arrival.
In the time that Meri traveled, Joey had gotten word as to their destination. He arrived in Oregon at Michelle’s home. He needed to know where Meri was taking Lily. Michelle’s mother was there with her. Jayleen was certain the men were after her. Although she was clean most of the time, she had kept the cash from drug sales and taken off thinking no one would find her. This was the second part of the women’s destiny. Michelle had hoped that Jaleen would leave but she opened up too much to Joey. Although he would have to find someone to tail Meri via her phone, he was on his way to Washington to pick up his daughter. Into the scene comes Evan, Michelle’s old beau to the rescue. Loading Jayleen and MIchelle into his truck. He contacted Raider, his comrade in government security for help in the excursion to rescue Meri and Lily.
The third part of this escapade brings Detective Gray Hawkins back into the picture to help secure Donny, the missing child of his grandmother, Mrs. Kowalski. His father, ‘Ski’ was in prison for the kidnapping of Lily Bandini. Ski plead for help in securing Donny against his old partners who could keep him from ratting them out and getting them arrested.
This was such a great read. It is truly not a suspense title to miss. Pivot by Kat Martin, Rebecca Zanetti, and Alexandra Ivy is published by Zebra Books of Kensington Publishing Corp. It will be published on March 31, 2020. For fans of any one of the three authors it will be a real feast. I need to thank Kensington Publishing for giving me the pre-publishing copy of this novel. I enjoyed it, I believe that it will be a huge hit among readers.

Loved it! My favorite authors are in it, how could I not read it. Great stories. Loved them all! Meri and Ian's story was great. I loved how he just stepped in and helped her out and how his Father fell in love with Meri's daughter, Lily.
Then we have Michelle Peach and a second chance in love, with her beau, Evan Bolden in Shaken. Like all of Zanetti's style, (my absolute favorite author by the way,Lol- love those Dark Protectors) those alpha men come in and take charge. Loved it. Kudos on him calling her Peaches, loved that. Also the fact that she never gave up on her Mum was really endearing.
Then we have Ms. Ivy's story-Echoes of the Past. This is another second chance at love mixed up with some minor angst. Gray comes back home after 2 years to claim the woman that he loves and to break a case. All works out in the end for Mel and Gray.
All the stories are a bit interconnected as the other characters know each other. Loved it! 4 awesome stars****

****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley*****

What better way to bring three fabulous authors together in one book than by creating three distinct storylines that interconnect and share plots and characters. Between all three heroines Meri, Michelle and Melanie the reader is taken on a short but wild ride with the woman and the men that save them from harm. Not only does the reader get fast paced action but heartwarming tales of love and honor. A perfect combination wrapped up in one package.