Rating: 4.75 🌈
Honestly, a tried and true hero Mary Calmes story was just what I needed at the moment. And that’s what I get in the sixth installment in Calmes’ Marshals series, Tied Over.
I’m a long time fan of this universe which started with another series I no longer rec (publisher issues) and continues into the Marshals series, run by Sam Kage. So many great and familiar characters are staples throughout the storylines that each book feels like a homecoming.
That’s a plus for fans of the series but perhaps a drawback for readers new to the universe and couples. There’s so much built in knowledge and background that accompanies a book in this universe. Even with the details the author provides into their backstory, a reader is still missing out on much of the depth of relationships and past experiences of the Marshals that’s built even into the mere flyaway sentences. Doesn’t mean, don’t read it, that simply means go back and enjoy starting at the beginning.
Why? Because of getting to enjoy the thrill of the journey to love and happiness with the Marshal or usually Marshals that make up the couple of the novel.
That glorious Mary Calmes knight in shining armor character who everyone loves, who in this case is US Deputy Marshal Josiah Redeker, aka Jed. He’s the perfect example of why I read and love this author. He’s a typical Calmes hero. He saves the day every time. He saves small children from bad men, he takes down really evil people, he saves dogs, and most importantly, he saves his partner and love of his life from making a bad decision.
And Calmes has Jed do all this with heart stopping action, poignant scenes, moving moments, children so realistic and fragile is scary, and scenes just plain raw that you know you’re going to be rereading the book as soon as it’s finished.
And it’s not just Jed, it’s his partner US Deputy Marshal Bodhi Callahan, the other half of him. This is not the first time that the reader has met this couple if you’ve been following the series as they’ve appeared in other books.
They’ve been partners for years, in love for years, in a relationship that’s been personally rough for them at times, but always partners, even when assigned babysitting duties to other baby Marshals. Both characters are fully realized, with a deep sense of connection that the author makes the reader feel so invested in.
Calmes pulls us in immediately into various dramatic scenes, giving the readers the details on the law enforcement scenes and the personal lives of the main characters so once we enter, it’s one fast paced read to the emotional satisfying end.
I was thrilled at the way the story went and how the couple had grown back together and gotten the ending they deserved.
Just exactly what I needed as well. This is why I read Mary Calmes and will continue to make her a go to author.
Haven’t read this series? Check out the list below.
Marshals:
✓ All Kinds of Tied Down #1
✓ Fit To Be Tied #2
✓ Tied Up In Knots #3
✓ Twisted and Tied #4
✓ Balanced and Tied #5
✓ Tied Down #6
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Blurb:
Josiah Redeker has been tied up, tied down, and just plain tied to Bodhi Callahan since the younger marshal was paired with him five years ago. It was an easy slide from partners to best friends, and though Bodhi wanted more, Josiah thought Bodhi could do far better than him. That made for a bumpy ride, and, of course, the moment Josiah realized that trying to live without the man he loved more than anything was not something he could do, that was when Bodhi broke the big news that he was getting married. Adding to that nightmare, they got reassigned as partners because other people needed them more.
It’s a disaster all around, and all Josiah sees ahead of him is pain—and not only from getting shot.
But what he thinks he knows for sure isn’t exactly all there is. Turns out, he’s not the only one who’s missing his touchstone, and Bodhi might be fraying at the edges, coming undone. When two people have been tied together over and over for so long, it’s not so easy to get loose. And maybe neither wants to be free of the other, and that could be their future, as long as no one comes between them… with a gun.
• Publisher: (November 28, 2023)
• Publication date: November 28, 2023
• Print length: 258 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 