A. R. Barley

2.5 stars

He might have been a priest—once upon a time—but he definitely wasn’t a saint.

This had a whiff of the movie Bad Boys. She's an ex-stripper now showgirl who witnesses a dirty cop deal that goes bad and cop ends up dead. She steals the bag of ill gotten goods, she doesn't know what is in the bag just that it is valuable.

I hear you, why would you take the bag??? This is why none of you will ever be rescued by a former priest turned detective!

The guy is mostly why I'm writing up this quick review, he's a 37yr old virgin and since that is like a white whale to some of you romance readers, ALERT!

Irish Catholic oldest brother was priest for most of his life but ended up beating a man to a veg state (he managed to grow up boxing somehow in all this) when he found out the man was abusing his son. So he decides to drop the robes and become a cop.

There's danger with a, kind of, shored up action plot, a couple points that didn't make sense, and of course the sexual tension. She's funny and chaotic, there's sex scenes.

Nothing to take seriously but yeah, a 37yr old male virgin. Have at it, friends!… (más)

Troy Barnes feels like things are going well in his life--or at least well enough. He enjoys his work as a firefighter and things seem to be working between him and his roommate/boyfriend-on-the-downlow. But after Troy is injured while saving a young man from a fire and is asked to move out so his roommate's pregnant girlfriend can move in, things no longer seem as solid. Not entirely sure where to go or what to do, Troy accepts an offer from paramedic Alex Tate to crash with him until he gets on his feet. Troy knows Alex loves to flirt, but the invitation doesn't mean anything more than a friend helping out a friend, right? Or at least it doesn't have to. Unless that's what Troy really wants. But before these guys can start to understand any fire that might start burning between them they'll need to track down the arsonist who is striking sites around the city...

I found myself enjoying this story quite a bit. Even though it was clear where the relationships would be going from early on, the banter between Alex and Troy (and Alex's family--who are incredible) kept me smiling throughout my entire read. There are a couple of unexpected twists, which served as just enough to keep me on my toes at a few points in the book. This is the start of a new series, and I look forward to continuing to read it as future installments come out.

[Disclaimer: This review is based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.]… (más)

When Kelly finds Jesse Cole beaten and bloodied on the quad after his roommate attacked him, he brings him back to his dorm and puts him in a room with his friend and ex-boyfriend, Nick Moretti. Jesse is glad to be away from Ryan, but he is wary of his new stranger roommate who is much larger than him and apparently a total slob. And then there's the fact that Nick isn't exactly excited to find that he now needs to share his room. But Kelly lets Nick know that Jesse has been through a rough patch, and Nick is willing to give him a chance. And while Jesse is distant at first, the two quickly find a comfort with each other that takes them down a path that makes them clearly more than roommates. But Jesse is not the only one who has experienced some trauma in his past, and Nick finds himself struggling to be the man he thinks Jesse wants and needs him to be. And the pressure may just be what breaks them both...

Give and take is an important part of any relationship. And sometimes we give what we are asked to give and we take what we explicitly request. And then other times we guess what we think should be given or we take more than we probably should. Communication can help us to navigate and mitigate these issues, but it's one thing to say we will be open and honest and another to truly let go of our fears and do so. Nick and Jesse each carry their own laundry list of things they think they other wants or needs, but they don't really ever sit down and reconcile those lists. And even though we all know that can be a recipe for disaster, the two end up going through those motions anyway. And when you add a dash of stubbornness into the mix, well, I guess you'll have to read to find out...… (más)