Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Series Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Chance Dumont thought he couldn’t survive when his first love, Cannon, left him. It took Chances five years before he thought he could take a chance on another man and a relationship. Then Rory, a young submissive cop came along and further complicated Chance’s already complicated life. An attack on Rory made Chance understand that he loved Rory and could move forward again with a new relationship. But the aftermath of that attack and the return of Cannon shattered Rory’s recovery. If that wasn’t enough, a dead body in the men’s restroom of Chances Are bar completed the detonation of Chance’s and Rory’s fragile relationship due to trust issues. At the time, Chance felt there was a fifty fifty chance that Rory had done the crime. So Rory left and Chance has not seen him since, though not for lack of trying.
No one has seen Rory. The man has vanished, taking with him all the hope and promise that Chance had just recovered. Now months have passed since Rory’s departure. Chance hasn’t left the sanctuary of his home, not once. His constant companions are empty beer bottles and greasy pizza boxes and everyone is worried about him. Chance hasn’t even been to his bar, a shocking situation that his friends and employees don’t know how to handle. If there is even a ghost of a chance of getting Rory back, Chance will take it. But where to start?
Ghost of a Chance is the fourth book in the Chances Are series and in some ways it is a return to the emotional issues in first story in the series Chances Are. Once again, Chance is recovering from a relationship gone wrong. But this time, its his fault that the relationship didn’t succeed and the guilt eats at him constantly. Chance knows that the issues he carried with him from the first failed relationship made him doubt himself and Rory from the beginning. His ex boyfriend’s return didn’t help either.
Once again, Brazil paints a portrait of a man whose actions and self doubt triggered the events that demolished the beginnings of a new love. It is a great on so many levels. Chance’s inner turmoil, his guilt, and his downward spiral into pity and drunkenness is authentic and believable. Told from Chance’s pov, we hear every inner argument and counter argument as Chance fights his way past the current events that have left him alone once more. It’s a tough inner battle that Chance fights and the conclusions he draws are not always complimentary ones. He knows where he failed but doesn’t know how to correct his mistakes. How human and how understandable.
Chance must first fix himself and to help him do that are characters from the other Pulp Friction series. From Wick Templeton to Archer, Zachary and Jeremiah from the Triple Threat series, all are present and accounted for as they help Chance recover once more and move forward with a plan to bring Rory home. Here is a taste of Chance still hiding away in his house:
Even if I couldn’t explain what exactly I wanted, I could close my eyes and put a face to it. I wanted Rory. With us, it was not a game. It wasn’t a scene. It was how we were, and I should have fucking told him that. Maybe if I had, he wouldn’t have gotten tired of waiting and he’d have stayed and we’d be spending Friday night in the usual way, putting off gratification as long as possible while I sat in the bar and he knelt on the bed, and an invisible thread of arousal thrummed between us, ratcheting tension higher and higher until the whole bar seemed to snap with sexual tension.
Instead, I sat on my back patio watching a sexual disaster in the making cut his dad’s grass and giving one of my oldest friends the brush off while I concentrated on getting drunk as efficiently as possible in the vain hope that I’d be able to sleep tonight.
Brazil has created a wonderful character in Chance and then gave him the perfect voice for his character and personality. I love Chance and everything about Chances Are. In fact as Chance or his grandmother would say, chances are that everyone will find something to love about this series. It’s short but seems so much larger in scope and characterization. The characters and plot are terrific, the emotions realistic and its impact authentic and human. There’s more coming and i will be there for every new installment. You will be too once you start on their adventure. Go back to the beginning and Chances Are. Meet Chance Dumont, Rory, Gerry and the rest. You are going to love them as much as I do.
Note: Series contains elements of bdsm and D/s. It works perfectly within the series and for the characters involved. Even though readers who prefer their sexual encounters to be on the vanilla side will enjoy the kink as explained by Lee Brazil and Chance.
Books in the series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the characters and events within:
Chances Are (Chances Are #01)
Second Chances Are (Chances Are #02)
Fifty Fifty Chances Are (Chances Are #03)
Ghost of a Chance (Chances Are #04)
Book Details:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 
3 comments