Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Release Day Review ~ His Needs by Kris T. Bethke

Release Day Review ~ His Needs by Kris T. Bethke

Title: His Needs

Author: Kris T. Bethke
Release Date: December 14, 2016
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
Pages: 113

When State Trooper Travis Kinslow is injured right before Thanksgiving, the only positive is that for once he won’t be working during the holidays. Since he has no family, Travis was absorbed into his best friend, Joe’s, and he considers them as good as his own. Everyone except Joe’s brother Noah. Travis has been in love with the younger man for much of his life, but he’s always kept his distance.
As an ER nurse, Noah is a caretaker by nature. When his brother’s best friend is hurt, he’s happy to help Travis while he heals. He’s only ever allowed himself to think of Travis as the next best thing to an older brother, but by the light of the Christmas tree, Noah finally sees Travis’s true feelings. And in that moment, everything changes.
When faced with opposition and a Christmas nothing like they imagined, will their hopes for the future be enough to carry them through?



4 Stars!

State Trooper Travis Kinslow is injured on the job and given time over the holidays to recuperate. Since he no longer has to work like usual, he has time to take advantage of spending the holidays with his best friend Tom's family. They're basically his surrogate family now after all these years. His injuries also mean that Tom's younger brother Noah has taken it upon himself to be Travis's caretaker until he can manage on his own. It makes sense of course because Noah is a nurse. The only problem is the fact that unbeknownst to Noah, Travis is in love with him.

Noah has trained himself to only think of Travis as his brother’s best friend, or a pseudo brother to him. When he starts to realize that Travis sees him as more, Noah is finally able to admit he wants more from Travis as well. They easily slide into a loving relationship and find themselves making plans for their lives.

Unfortunately, though, while most of the family is elated that the guys are finally together, it's the one person they never expected that has the problem with them. Now Travis feels as if he's losing the only family he's ever truly had. But no matter what, he doesn't want to give Noah up.

Enjoyable and easy read. For the most part, this is a sweet story with very little angst or serious drama. Although it does get a bit bittersweet towards the end. When the one person that seemed as if they'd support the men no matter what is the one who objects, it made me angry. I think it's crappy of that person and I hated that for Travis because it broke his heart. Of course, Noah supports him and refuses to end what they have and it's obvious that he will not stop loving Travis no matter what. These two were definitely a good match.

His needs is a book I would recommend to anyone in the mood for a sweet friends-to-lovers story. The writing and story are well done and it's a fairly quick read.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*



4.5 Stars 

NOOOOOOOOO!!! The author can't leave these guys here. There needs to be a follow-up - please?
This book, my first by this author is a tale that's been done fairly often - one guy, slightly older, falls for his best friend's little brother - but this was done with such naturalness, such warmth (in part due to the fact that the other guy's family was Italian) and such sweetness, love and devotion, that it was well on its way to being a 5 Star read.

As it was, it remains a 4.5 Star read for me, but the author left it at a point where I went to turn the page, expecting to see a later glimpse of the guys in their HEA, in an extended epilogue, and found that the tale had ended the page before, on a 'work in progress'. Not that the latter was their actual relationship, but an element that would be incredibly important to their lives, one that to me, needed to be discussed and aired, so that it didn't sour things. From the amount of love in this tale, I am pretty certain that it won't end up being an issue, but it still was one where the tale ended, which is why it wasn't quite a perfect read.

I loved pretty much everything about it - the tale, the leads, their past, one's eureka! moment resulting in the other's heart nearly bursting with happiness, the sex scenes which managed to combine sweetness, romance and talking dirty into something really, really believable for the guys.

I can only hope that she gives these guys a novella showing the final chapter that this tale needed to make it a 5 Star read. I needed and wanted that and I think the leads deserved to have that aspect of their lives cemented and as perfect as the rest. Please, Ms Bethke?

ARC courtesy of Dreamspinner Press and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.

No comments:

Post a Comment