Tag Archives: m/m romance

Dirty Deeds

Book Review of Dirty Deeds (Dirty Deeds #1), by S. E. Jakes

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Dirty DeedsI’ve been on a S. E. Jakes kick lately, as I scurry to get to know all of the Extreme Escapes, LTD men. Lucky for me, Netgalley is willing to send them to me. Today I got ahold of Dirty Deeds.

Description from Goodreads:
Two seasoned operatives finally meet their match: each other.

Cillian works for the mysterious Special Branch 20: an organization that runs black ops commissioned by the British government. His specialty is deep undercover assignments with virtually no support. He’s been alone for so long that he no longer knows anything else.

Mal’s also used to being alone. Wanted in several states and even more countries, he’s not allowed in the vicinity of any of his former Navy SEAL teammates. And his current assignment is to track Cillian in order to discover the spook’s endgame. Except he’s no longer sure which one of them is getting played.

Cillian isn’t about to let the mission that’s consumed him for the past several years crumble because an outsider is poking around where he doesn’t belong. But Mal forces his way through Cillian’s defenses—and into his heart—exposing a devastating betrayal that could destroy them both.

Review:
Ah, hell, there was cursing involved in reading this book, both the good kind and the ‘I may have just damaged my kindle in the rage induced tantrum’ kind.

The good: Cillian and Mal are hawt! I mean, seriously smokin’ hot together…even if they almost aren’t ever really ‘together.’ Like each of Jakes’ books I’ve read so far, seeing two damaged men at least prop each-other up (if not all out heal one another) touches something soft inside that I absolutely love. Plus, the writing is pretty good and the dialogue believable.

The bad: There seemed to be a lot more emotional impact inferred than actually shown. One man, usually Cillian, would say something and the other man would be breathless or they’d have phone sex (IM sex) and be panting as if they’d had the real thing. Not entirely believable.

Lastly, why, oh why, does a book that barely reaches 100 pages and is intended as at least a trilogy need to be a cliffhanger? Why, actually, does it need to be three novellas, instead of one solid book, at all? This breaking of a story into several snippets is a trend that I despise. I have dropped entire series and authors, even, because of it. I HATE IT! Do you hear me authors and publishing industry? I HATE IT. Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop.

Final say: good, worth reading…but I’d have waited until the series was complete if I’d known it has a very precipitous cliffhanger and no resolution or conclusion.

Book Review of Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water #2), by S. E. Jakes

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Long Time GoneLast week, I reviewed Catch a Ghost, book one of the Hell or High Water series, by S. E. Jakes. This week, the powers that be at Riptide publishing granted me a copy of Long Time Gone through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
When a tornado meets a volcano, nothing is safe.

Soldier of fortune Prophet Drews always worked alone—until Tom Boudreaux became his partner. But when Tom walked away three months ago, ostensibly to keep Prophet safe, Prophet learned the true meaning of being alone. Everyone knows that Prophet, a Navy SEAL turned CIA spook turned mercenary, can look after himself. Which means he must’ve driven his lover away.

Even with half a world between them, Prophet can’t get the man out of his head. Maybe that’s why he’s in New Orleans in the middle of a hurricane, protecting Tom’s aunt. But the only looter around is Tom, bursting back into Prophet’s life. It turns out that Prophet’s been stuck in Tom’s head—and heart—too.

Their explosive reunion gets even hotter when Tom is arrested for murder. As they fight to clear his name, they delve deep into his past, finding enemies among everyone they meet. Staying alive in such a dangerous world is hard enough, but they soon discover that fighting to stay together is the most difficult thing they’ve ever done.

Review:
Well, I’ll just start with the obvious here. Tom and Prophet are hot as hell. They were in book one and they still are in book two. I have no complaint on that front, none. I mean, there is just something about two sexy, dangerous men not only stokin’ the fires, but falling hard for one another and showing their softer…cuter side.

Yes, cute is the best word I have for them. (Even if neither character would be pleased with the designation.) When they let their guards down, what results is just plain transformative magic. Suddenly they feel like fragile little boys just looking for a safe place to rest. It’s surprisingly evocative.

I also have no real complaints on their repartee. It was ceaselessly amusing, maybe a little too much at times, but not by much. I loved their back and forth banter and smart aleck comments. I also enjoyed meeting Mike and Blue (and to a lesser extent more of Mal and Cillian). I hope they all show up and play bigger roles in future books.

Where the book fell down for me was in the plot. So much focus was put on Tom and Prophet’s burgeoning relationship that the mystery felt inconsequential. The hurricane that served to get Prophet to New Orleans in the first place hardly even felt like a squall. It was all just background decorations to give Tom and Prophet a credible scenario to be having sex in. Meh.

I enjoyed the book. I’m up for more. But I’ll be reading it for the steamy bits, ’cause that is where the magic is.

Book Review of Catch a Ghost (Hell or High Water #1), by S.E. Jakes

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Catch a GhostI received an ARC of S. E. Jakes‘ Catch a Ghost from Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
Everyone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.

Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he’s determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.

Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price.

Review:

To borrow a word from my GR friend Julio, that would otherwise be foreign to my vocabulary, I found this book full of feelz. (Yeah, I know, I’m actually far too square to get away with that, but you get my point.) I felt these two fucked up, broken men. I felt these two beautifully fragile, dominant creatures. I felt these two violent, sexy males and I loved them, adored them, wanted more and more and more of them. They make a perfect pair.

Sure, the book isn’t flawless. I still have no idea why EE was even involved in Chris’ investigation in the first place, unless it was solely as a personal favour to Prophet? But even then, who conveniently knew to notify Phil in the first place? I still don’t understand why Prophet would let a 10-year-old promise to a man he knew a week dictate his life. I also thought Tom’s investigative process was ridiculously easy. Sure, you can go out in one night and get and invite to an exclusive secret club just like that, *snaps fingers for effect.* Happens to me all the time, yeah?

I’m still a little vague on what Tom’s actual history is. I got a pretty good feel of what messed Prophet’s mind up so badly, but would have liked a clearer picture of what happened to Tom, as well as Tom’s ‘abilities.’ There were a few mystery references. Who’s King, for example? And I thought that using the “I’m too high/tired/alseep/etc to care about consequences” trope to lower the mens’ inhibitions and get them into bed was cliche.

But putting all of that aside, I just plain enjoyed this read and I prioritise that above just about everything else. The writing was fine, though as it was an unedited ARC, I can’t comment on the editing. The cover is gorgeous and I’m really hoping for the chance to read more of Prophet and Tom’s story. Happy reader, right here.