It was great to return to Cade Creek, a town that offers safety and protection to all its inhabitants, but especially those who have been abused or were hunted wherever they came from. The series theme around abused men finding safety, a life partner, and a new home in the small but well-defended city of Cade Creek is very strong in this eleventh book. Racine, who prefers to be called Race, is in so much pain and has no way of defending himself when he asks Dorian (the ex-biker and undercover cop from book eight) for help. Vince and Ari end up picking him up from the airport because Dorian can’t make it, and while that scares Race to death – due to his totally understandable trust issues – he also feels attracted. And not just to one of them… What follows is a classic “knight in shining armor comes to the rescue of a cute guy in distress” story, except, in this case, there are two knights ready to defend Race!

Race left Cade Creek a few years ago because he dreamt of becoming a ballet dancer. But New York turned out to be far more dangerous than he expected, and once he has a psycho out to date him - and more – whether he likes it or not, Race is in trouble. The psycho is rich, influential, and has a few cops in his back pockets, so the first two times he beats up Race and Race presses charges, the psycho walks free. The third, and most serious, time Race decides to run – and Cade Creek is the only place he thinks he will be safe. It isn’t quite as easy as that, but at least Dorian is there and Vince and Ari seem to be interested as well. The only problem is that Race doesn’t want to have to choose between the hot firemen!

Vince and Ari are both firemen in Cade Creek, are very much in love, and have recently moved in together. But Ari wants a third man to join them. Not that Vince has a problem with that in principle, they just haven’t found the right guy yet. That changes when they pick Race up from the airport. Between Race’s fears, the events that follow, and both men’s fear of being rejected, it takes a while for the right moment to come around. And when it does? Whoa is all I have to add.

If you like stories about abused men who need a little help to put their lives back on track, if two hot firemen going after the cutie they want is your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is heartbreaking, suspenseful, and full of emotion, then you will probably like this novella. I think it is a great addition to the Cade Creek series!


NOTE: This book was provided by Siren Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )