2,5 stars ( )

A man looking for his older brother for ten years, never giving up—that alone had me interested. I mean, I get that Zeke was “abandoned” by a big brother he adored when he was only eight, but to wait until he was old enough to leave home at eighteen, and then not give up for ten years? Wow! Talk about dedication. Even better than that, this man is Zeke, younger brother of Kade of ‘Campus Cravings 9’, who ended up moving to Cattle Valley with his lover Lark. I always wondered about Kade’s family, so with ‘Watch Me’ I had a chance to find out. Beyond all those connections, though, this is a great story about a man who finally finds the brother he has always been looking for, only to discover there may be more important things in life.

Zeke was only eight when Kade vanished. It wasn’t until years later he understood that Kade was kicked out, and he decided to find him whatever it cost. And it cost him a lot: a normal life with friends, going to college, building a career, even finding someone to love. For Zeke, none of that was possible though, not while the question about what happened to someone who was so important to him when he grew up remained unanswered. Ten years moving from place to place, always looking for a trace of Kade, is a long time though, and Zeke is getting tired of it. At the same time he cannot give up, partly because of guilt (and it was fascinating to find out what that was all about), and partly because looking for Kade defines him; it is all he knows how to do.

Reid may have led a more stable life, but he is as lonely as Zeke. He also has abandonment issues (his mother walked out on Reid’s family when he was very young), and he is less than likely to want to commit. Add his kinky nature (he is an exhibitionist), and it is hard for him to find a partner. Be that as it may, he is now the co-owner of a club with Alec, the big Dom from book two, and since Clean Slate used to be Fallon’s (who was convicted), he and Alec have a fight ahead to make the new club a success. That should be his focus, but the sexy new bartender is a huge distraction.

Zeke needs to think about what he wants, now that he has found his brother. Reid needs to figure out if he can commit to Zeke, and both are dealing with completely new territory trying to decide if they are partner material and how to make a relationship work. If you like stories about driven men who are stubborn enough to hold on to their goals no matter what, if a little exhibitionism around friends (and a few strangers) doesn’t bother you, and if you’re looking for a read that is fun but contains a message about family and trust as well, then you will probably like this novella.


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