This was an amazing continuation of the series. I loved the new characters, Syn and Fury, plus the original characters, while not the main focus, were prominent in the story. The plot was good. I enjoyed the little twists and turns. The narration was top-notch. I'm excited for the next in the series. ( )

When a position opens on God and Day’s elite task force, Corbin Sydney, known to his friends as "Syn", takes the plunge and interviews for the spot. Out of everyone, he is lucky enough to be chosen for the team. That’s not to say they make it easy for him to start, but he ends up fitting in with the team really well. Syn is curious when he joins the team. He’s never acted on any feelings for a man other than having once had feelings for an old roommate that didn’t go anywhere. Being on the team, he sees other same sex partners...Ro and Johnson, God and Day and their interactions as a solid loving couple. It really starts to make him think. He’s certainly not happy being alone, but he’s not found that perfect someone to fit with him. Then one night he wanders into a pub and meets Fury (Furious), the very sexy bartender. I They don’t dive hard and fast into a relationship, because Syn doesn’t really have experience, and Fury is dealing with a lot of leftovers from his last relationship, a marriage with an abusive partner. When they finally do come together it’s really hot in a lot of ways. Like God and Day, these two just fit with the other. This is a very solid story in a very loosely connected series. There was an instant connection with God and Day, but Syn and Fury took a little a little more time because of their personalities that often didn't seem to mesh at all. There were some fantastic moments in this story, though, and the characters are really well written. The story has a lot of humorous moments and a lot of really "hot" moments. This story is very different than the previous two, but that is what made me get book #3. Syn and Fury will simply grab your heart and won’t let go. A word about this series....if you are already a fan of MM Romances, you will probably love this series... but if it is a first try with the genera...you might want something a bit more vanilla. ( )

I received Embracing His Syn from the author through the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Buy My Love. This book appears to be the second in a series even though it isn’t labeled as such because previous characters from Nothing Special make appearances. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but once the characters God and Day were introduced, I wondered if there was a book about them, so I do consider this book part of a series. The main characters are Sergeant Corbin ‘Syn’ Sydney and Furious Barkley, a bartender and part time porn actor.



First I’ll start with why I wanted to read this book. The names, I loved the nicknames of the characters. God, Day, Syn and Furi. What a way to attract a reader’s attention.

Cover: The image was OK, but I don’t think it depicted the two mcs. For one, Syn doesn’t wear his badge on a chain around his neck except in one scene; he wears it at his hip. It’s God who wears it on a badge around his neck all the time. The next is Furi on the cover. Yes, he has long hair, but I distinctly got the impression that Furi was on the slim side and not overly muscular, that it was actually Syn who was the larger of the two in size, not in height. The story also emphasized that Furi was not all that strong when he was compared to his soon to be ex and brother-in-law. He couldn’t fight them at all, yet Syn could. In the cover image, Syn is less built then Furi, which contradicts his ability to fight the ex. Anyway, I wanted to bring up the cover because when it portrays the images of the characters differently than in the book, it ruins the story for me to an extent. I know it doesn’t for other people, but it does tell me if any care was taken in following the descriptions or not. The title is catchy but a little off, only in that Syn is the main mc in my opinion but with the title, it appears that Furi is thinking the thought and he would be the main mc.

Characters: This book was overloaded with characters that were bad asses and with tempers that shot off faster than a gun. It was a wonder they didn’t kill each other. The only one who seemed to have a cool temper was Detective Ronowski and Furi’s friend Doug. Having so many characters with bad tempers gives tension to a story, but I don’t think logically so many people with egos and attitudes like that could work together without getting in fights with each other every day. I suggest suspending reality when it comes to the character’s personalities.

Syn is an interesting character. He’s a good cop and has lived his life focusing on work and being the best detective he could be.He has a temper, but it seems like he has to be pushed pretty hard if someone doesn’t respect him or someone he cares about is threatened. He’s confused about his sexuality and makes mistakes about relationships but I can see him having difficulty because of the way he’s lived his life so far. Syn also has a very strong protective instinct for those he cares about. I liked his character.

Furious is a guy that has a chip on his shoulder and personality issues longer than a football field. He clearly likes to have control and top, but his attitude outside the bedroom is him always going off half-cocked, over-estimating his abilities, let’s his pride interfere with his safety and relationships and he’s one moody s.o.b. I don’t know how Syn can trust Furi to Top him. I see Furi as someone who’s unstable, unreliable and constantly giving out mixed signals. Furi gets upset and angry every time Syn makes a mistake or when Furi jumps to conclusions. I remember Syn apologizing for his mistakes, but I don’t remember Furi ever apologizing. At other times Furi turns into this needy, clingy guy. It's like he has a split personality. It also seems like the only reason Furi want’s control is some sort of revenge thing for when he didn’t have it with his ex. It’s the way he says a few things in the story that has me believing that. As a character I didn’t like him. Thankfully, he gets better because he was too obnoxious at the beginning.

There are miscellaneous other characters that we don’t know much about. Syn’s bosses are God and Day. God, I don’t like. I don’t see him as a badass but an a**h***. Day is funny, but someone who’s constantly sarcastic is tiring and gets to be a pain in the ass after a while. Doug, Furi’s best straight friend is cool. I’m wondering if Doug might be gay, or at least bi, after all. It’d be fun to read his story.

Plot: This story was high octane all the way. If it wasn’t stress and angst in the romance department, it was anxiety with the murder mystery. The author alternated between the two so there was almost no time for a breather. So expect a wild ride if you read this.

Sex: Holy cow it was hot! Yummy and scrumptious with good detail. The author did a great job of describing Syn’s feelings and emotions as he has sex for the first time with a man.

Writing: The author did a good job of separating the povs with chapter breaks, but there was one chapter in particular where it seemed like there was lots of head-hopping going on and it was disconcerting. Another instance where we’re in Syn’s pov. Syn flips off God, then got into a car. At that point we see and hear what Day is saying as the last line. I’m guessing we are no longer in Syn’s pov and have switched to another pov which is Day’s. In which case that’s his only pov in the story, or the author has switched to omniscient. I think these pov errors should have been caught by the editors or proofers.

Conclusion: Embracing His Syn is a high action romance and mystery that kept my attention. I can honestly say I wasn’t bored. I would suspend belief on the majority of the character’s personalities because they seem over exaggerated with bad tempers that snap at just about anything. Furi is a pain in the ass for almost the whole book. I probably dislike him the most besides God. The sex scenes are amazingly hot. Editing still needs work when it comes to the povs. I enjoyed this book and if there are other books in the series, I would read them. I give this 4 Stars

( )

Dopo aver conosciuto gli scatenati God e Day aspettavo con ansia di avere nuove informazioni sulla Task Force Narcotici gestita dai miei tenenti preferiti/idoli. Volevo capire cosa sarebbe successo alla task force, quali sarebbero stati i nuovi protagonisti e cosa avrebbero combinato tutti gli altri agenti. Un'attesa snervante ma che ha dato i suoi frutti. Questo volume è un sequel perfetto e adorabile. Una storia che ci presenta due nuovi protagonisti carismatici e affascinanti. È la volta di Sydney e del suo innamorato Furious. Sydney è un agente trasferitosi da poco in città e desideroso di farsi valere. Dopo aver sentito parlare molto bene della squadra di God e Day desidera poter dare il suo contributo. È abituato a essere paragonato al padre e per una volta vuole farcela da solo, dimostrare di poter essere un leader a prescindere dalle raccomandazioni. L'arrivo nella task force è un po' caotico, inizialmente si fa un'idea sbagliatissima di God e dei suoi uomini (complice uno scherzetto organizzato proprio da God e dal suo ragazzo XD) ma in poco tempo riesce a farsi rispettare stringendo un'amicizia sincera con tutta la squadra. Sydney è un uomo forte e deciso, non ha paura di farsi mettere i piedi in testa eppure nonostante tutto... si sente solo. L'unico uomo che abbia mai amato lo ha lasciato perché incapace di sopportare il suo lavoro, i costanti pericoli di una vita sempre vissuta al limite per salvare la comunità. Syn vorrebbe trovare una persona in grado di accettare la sua professione, una persona magari anche capace di prendere il controllo di tanto in tanto per permettergli di sentirsi amato, capito, vulnerabile per una volta. Una persona speciale insomma. Una persona che purtroppo fino a quel momento.....non ha mai incontrato. È però proprio quando Syn pensa di dover abbandonare ogni proposito che si ritrova davanti un vero enigma: Furious. Furi è bellissimo, un giovane barista dal sorriso magnetico ma con lo sguardo...un po' triste. Syn rimane colpito dal ragazzo, è misterioso, intrigante e sembra fin da subito in grado di tenergli testa trattandolo come un ragazzino e stuzzicandolo continuamente. Furi è un mistero che spesso, quando la situazione si fa più intima, scappa a gambe levate impedendogli di farsi un'idea chiara sulla sua vera natura. Purtroppo Furi non è una persona come tutte le altre o meglio... Lo è ma...la sua esistenza è tremendamente complicata. Ha creduto in passato nel vero amore, ha scelto di sposare un uomo pensando di poter essere rispettato, capito, desiderato ma in cambio ha solo ricevuto violenza e umiliazioni. Il compagno lo ha picchiato, deriso, ridicolizzato, ha permesso pure al suo stesso fratello di abusare di lui. Ed è proprio durante l'ennesima violenza che Furi ha deciso di scappare, di mettersi in salvo per non essere ucciso. Furi è scappato lontano cercando di nascondersi, ha iniziato a lavorare nel bar di suo zio e per poter continuare gli studi e aprire quell'officina che tanto sogna si è ritrovato costretto ad accettare di girare video porno per una nota compagnia a luci rosse. Ha deciso di mettere una X sugli uomini, di allontanarsi da loro per non essere ferito e l'unica persona che può entrare nel suo mondo è il migliore amico, Doug, un ragazzo gentile e comprensivo, l'unico in grado (fino a quel momento) di aiutare Furi concretamente, di dargli speranza per un futuro migliore. Un'esistenza al limite, vissuta nel terrore di ritrovarsi di fronte quel mostro che una volta rappresentava il suo mondo, il suo amore. Furi ha paura della violenza, ha paura di ritrovarsi di fronte l'ennesimo macho capace di usare belle parole in camera da letto ma terrorizzato di affrontare in pubblico la sua vera sessualità e proprio per questo... evita il più possibile ogni contatto con Sydney. Lo riconosce a pelle, lo desidera, è attratto da lui ma lo vede allo stesso tempo come un nemico, come il poliziotto bello e dannato, il classico stereotipo del gay nell'armadio. Il loro rapporto per ovvi motivi non è così semplice, è vissuto con difficoltà da entrambe le parti e ho trovato affascinante lo sviluppo in parallelo di entrambi i protagonisti. Dopo essere stati abituati a Leo e Cash vedere finalmente due uomini che non sono amici, che non si conosco da una vita ma che da semplici estranei iniziano piano piano a costruire un legame passando dall'amicizia a qualcosa di molto più profondo... È emozionante. Mi sono innamorata di entrambi i personaggi. Ho adorato il modo in cui riescono a completarsi, di fatto... sono come lo ying e lo yang. Syn è sicuro di se all'esterno, ha la capacità di prendere in mano le redini della situazione, è il terzo in comando nella squadra di God e ha la capacità di proteggere con le unghie e con i denti il suo innamorato ma allo stesso tempo... In amore è un vero disastro, è timido, non sa come esplorare la sua sessualità, nonostante abbia avuto un ragazzo ha grandi difficoltà a vivere in pieno la sua omosessualità, ha bisogno di un uomo in grado di prendere il controllo, di farlo sentire vivo e amato, di togliergli almeno per un po' il peso del mondo dalle spalle e in questo Furi è perfetto. Furi in camera da letto è dominante, sicuro di sé, in grado di prendersi cura del partner, ha una marcia in più e può aiutare il compagno nel viaggio alla scoperta della sua sessualità ma ahimè... Nella vita non è altrettanto sicuro, non è altrettanto forte, nonostante abbia una lingua tagliente ha un bisogno disperato di una figura carismatica accanto, ha bisogno di una persona in grado di sostenerlo e spingerlo a vivere la sua vita e i suoi sogni e Syn.... Lo fa perfettamente. Entrambi gli uomini hanno debolezze e difetti ma anche pregi e virtù complementari e che si fondono per dare vita a una relazione semplicemente unica e pura. Alle solite i protagonisti e la loro caratterizzazione sono la punta di diamante di questa serie. Dei personaggi che non sono certamente eroi, che lottano e soffrono ma che sono in grado di migliorare se stessi, di non arrendersi e dare un bellissimo messaggio di positività e speranza al lettore. Un secondo capitolo divino, dolcissimo, erotico e piccante al punto giusto. Ho amato lo sviluppo della trama più action e poliziesca e il modo in cui si è amalgama perfettamente alla nascente love story tra i due protagonisti. Una storia insomma meravigliosa e che è perfettamente leggibile anche da chi si avvicina per la prima volta alla serie. Non mancano i riferimenti ai vecchi personaggi (Ro ti amo tanto cucciolo mio ( )

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed this book a lot, I didn't love it as much as the first book. I still can't understand why Syn's nickname is Syn as it doesn't quite fit (his last name is Sydney which would lend me to think of a different nickname). It made me feel that the name "Syn" was made to balance out "Furi" and that it was just a bit too much. This name issue, however, did not detract from the enjoyment of meeting these guys.

Furi has an abusive ex, Syn has a hot cop temper when loved ones are challenged, and they are HOT together. I loved the interaction with God and Day throughout the book and I see how these 3 men could work together and get along. I truly felt the team family dymanics come through in the writing and it was very refreshing to see a police team so cohesive and there for each other, regardless of personal lifestyle. Peter was a true jerk that made me want to see him get walloped. His evil was well written.

I still do wonder about the mystery and whodunit Was Peter JUST involved in the stuff with Furi or was he more involved? And HOW did he get involved in the first place? It is clear he helped supply drugs. Why beyond just the Furi involvement? I would have liked a little more information on the whole mystery storyline.

I am DEFINITELY looking forward to reading more by this author! ( )