Buy Links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 63,166 words
Cover Design: Paul Richmond
Order of the Black Knights Series - Each can be read as a standalone.
Gideon by Ashe Barker Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Matthias by Alexis Duran Dreamspinner |Amazon US | Amazon UK
Vespar by Thianna Durston Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Gabriel by RK Staunton Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
US Marshal Jaeger Tripp is assigned to the Federal Witness Protection Program. The hurt and destruction he’s seen—along with protecting criminals who are only cooperating with the authorities to keep themselves out of jail—have left him with a bleak and jaded view of both life and people. His current assignment is Wren O’Riley, a computer wizard who witnessed a high-profile cartel hit.
To Jaeger, Wren is the same as any other job. He must protect him long enough to get him to testify at trial, and his personal feelings have no place in his work and must be set aside. But that’s easier said than done. On the run and fighting for their lives, Jaeger and Wren can’t help but grow closer. And Jaeger can’t help seeing beyond Wren’s nerdy exterior to a man who might be just what Jaeger needs to settle his soul and capture his heart—if they survive long enough to get that chance.
3.5 Stars
This had a decent premise, a great start, then jumped a few steps in the falling in love/lust/romance stuff, but ended in a HEA. Can't wait for Jaeger's fellow Knights' tales.
I've read many het romances with a WITSEC type setting, but this was my first MM read. It is well-written, has an unusual premise and has two very decent, but very different leads, and has just enough...mystique...where chance for redemption found/chance for redemption lost comes into play, to make me go, 'aaah' at the end when the guys found each other - again. Please feel free to read more into the words, 'mystique' and 'again', as both are relevant!
This tale is a bit hard to review, as just one word could spoil it for readers, but here goes: there's more than meets the eye with Jaeger, and his name, which means 'hunter' in German, which is rather apt. He's the kind of guy who gives his all to his mission, who (mainly, until his sex brain takes over in one bit, lol!) trusts his instincts more than he trusts people and rules, and who will do anything he needs to keep his charge safe. So, yes, he takes his witness, Wren, to a safe place that turns out to perhaps not be as safe as it was thought to be.
The tale works and it's aided by a certain...mysterious connection between the leads, and it's not long before they're getting it on. The getting it on bit came out of the blue, and I actually had to go back and re-read in case I'd missed the dance that led to this point, but there was no dance. It was suddenly there, and yes, due to the premise of the tale and its pace, I bought their attraction. The sex was hot, but I went back and checked all of the scenes, and it's the same action time and time again, almost to the point of cutting and pasting scenes - Jaeger seems to have a very repetitive MO where sex is concerned, which spoilt the tale a little, as if the author couldn't quite find the words to describe the different times the guys had sex.
Both guys have secrets, and Wren comes clean as their connection grows, but Jaeger's are more the secrets of dreams than IRL. Because of both guys' secrets, things come out that surprise them both - but not me, I'm afraid. From the mention of a certain event, I was totally clued into how the tale would pan out, and yes, it made the mission go a bit off-kilter. Well, actually, a lot off-kilter, but then the element I can't tell you about kicks in, and next thing, the leads are once again in each other's life, and things are becoming clear. I did feel that acceptance of said element I can't tell you about, came too quickly on both guys' parts, but only because the tale felt as if it were rushing to an ending. Had this perhaps been about another 20 or even 10 pages longer, with some more talk, some more explanations, some more understanding, some more questioning and at least some mention of how the guys' lives would be going forward, I'd have given this a 4 Star rating.
Still, it was a decent enough read for me to want to track down the other tales in the series and find out how the other Knights get their tales. Bummer, I've just checked, and the rest are coming soon, so I will have to learn patience!
ARC courtesy of Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
May 5 - MM Good Book Reviews
May 8 - Bonkers About Books, We Three Queens
May 10 - Bella's Blog, My Fiction Nook, Jim's Blog, Sarandipity, Bayou Book Junkie
Author Bio
Evelise Archer is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is a new-found lover of tea, and don’t look in her office because what you find may astound you. She currently has twenty tins of tealeaves just waiting to be brewed for her drinking pleasure. She is bilingual, lives in one of the original thirteen colonies, and is a lover of the cold weather and snow. It’s a safe bet that you may find her on the beach in the autumn and winter, but rarely in the summer. She’s been married for over thirty years to a loving man who puts up with her obsession to clean—she currently owns three vacuum cleaners—, read, and spin a tale when the voices speak to her. When she’s not in front of the computer, search her out in the local gym.
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