Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Chase Manning, the BFF of James Bryant from Designs of Desire, looks and acts like a twink on the surface, but once someone gets to know the man below the surface, they are shocked at the strength of character and dominant nature they find. And that’s what Rhys Sayer, James’s bodyguard, finds out when he stops being offensive to Chase and starts to allow himself to see with his eyes and not just his prejudices.
When they first met, Rhys had just broken up with his cheating boyfriend, and when the gregarious Chase approached him, he shunned Chase’s advances. That was enough for Chase because he’s no one’s fool. The problem is that he’s still attracted to the big hunk of manhood and finds Rhys incredibly sexy. Even so, he resists the job offer made by Rhys and his partner Mark who need a good IT man. He only capitulates when they sweeten the deal with office space for his new business and after a lot of arm twisting by James, who is now friends with Rhys.
This is not just a simple love story. There’s plenty of danger and intrigue when Rhys and his police officer brother, Dal, connect the dots on a current murder case and realize most of the young victims are Chase’s former boyfriends. Unfortunately, Chase inadvertently puts himself in harm’s way.
I enjoyed this story, though not quite as much as I did the first one. On the flip side, this narrator did a better job than the one who did the first one. However when he narrates, he speaks too quickly and often sounds as if he’s reading the story to a library audience, rather than putting in the necessary drama to bring the book to life. So, as with the first book in the series, I would recommend this story to lovers of MM romance, particularly if you enjoy a story where the big, muscular guy is dominated by the smaller, more effeminate man. However, it might be best to invest in the e-book rather than the audio version.
Cover art by Reese Dante is similar to the first book with a soft, watercolor background. In this case, a man’s hand and wrist are featured with a prominent black cuff on the wrist. This has a direct link back to the story so makes the cover both beautiful and appropriate.
Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon | Audible | iTunes
Audiobook Details:
Audiobook
Published June 14th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press (first published June 5th 2014)
ASINB01H0HAS66
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesDesires Entwined #2 settingMilwaukee, Wisconsin (United States)
Two years of living with his controlling boyfriend left Chico worn down long before that boyfriend revealed he’d been seeing someone else. With no other choice, Chico moves in above his cousin’s garage in a small town in the redwoods, where he merely goes through the motions. To get him out of the house, his cousin pushes him to volunteer at a local dance studio to help with their annual show.
For paramedic Adam Carson, his world is lights and sirens and saving lives. Pressures at work keep him firmly in the closet, and life is too busy to contend with the complications that come with dating and relationships. When a familiar face from his past turns up where he least expects it, Adam starts to question whether or not there is room in his life for those complications.
Paul’s been called many things—graduate student, humanities tutor, jock-hater, even broke—but “forgiving” isn’t one of them. When the new women’s softball coach at Calapooya College specifically requests Paul to tutor his athletes, Paul’s forced to put aside his strict “no athletes” policy for the sake of his paycheck.
This audiobook is a compilation of the two books of the Holly Creek series in one: Dogwood Days and Spring Fever. It is not labeled as an ongoing series, but it did end with a cliffhanger—a very unsettling cliffhanger—and I can’t describe how irritated that made me. There was no indication of that in the blurb, and I really dislike that more than I can even say in print.
Dreamspinner Press, book 1 in the Desires Entwined series
Archie Noblesse, a Cree native from a remote area in Canada, knew nothing but pain and heartache when he was a child. Emotionally and sexually abused, he found himself responsible for the care of his younger sister, Marguerite, when his drug-addicted mother abandoned them. He managed to claw out an existence by working the streets and through shoplifting and other minor crimes. Thankfully he never got caught.
Cops, Cole and Morgan Caldwell, have always had to hide their love for each other from the outside world. They are content with each other until the night they rescued Robby. Beaten and left in an alley by a john, Robby has never known true kindness and soon falls for both men, but Robby’s got a problem. His pimp, Vince, isn’t ready to let him go.
Three years ago Lyle made a mistake that cost him his freedom, and almost his life. Now, sick to death of watching his father love the man that Lyle wanted, Lyle accepts an offer to leave Wolf, WY behind and see what life in Washington, D.C. can do for him instead.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 