Mostly I think Rough Trade is a reminder that no matter what we’ve been through, it’s possible to grow and change and be loved. --Sidney Bell, author of the Woodbury Boys series
Rough Trade (Woodbury Boys #3) by Sidney Bell Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date (Print & Ebook):
Ebook: Monday December 3
Print (mmp): Tuesday December 25
Length (Print & Ebook):
Ebook: 496
Print (mmp): 496
Subgenre:
Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Male/Male Romance
Reader warnings: Childhood sexual abuse, angst
All buy links or pre-order links:
Carina Press: https://www.carinapress.com/shop/books/9781335777119_rough-trade.html
Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335777119_rough-trade.html
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Trade-Woodbury-Boys-Sidney/dp/1335777113
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rough-trade-sidney-bell/1128809466
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sidney_Bell_Rough_Trade?id=xD9eDwAAQBAJ
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rough-trade/id1391032235?mt=11
Synopsis:
Quick-witted hustler Ghost is no stranger to living dangerously; survival has always been the name of the game.
He’s just always gone it alone.
Now he’s got the wrong people breathing down his neck, and the only way out demands placing his trust in the unlikeliest of heroes: Duncan Rook, a gruff cop whose ethics are as solid as his body.
Cozying up to a criminal is hardly what Duncan’s reputation on the force needs—especially when that criminal is temptation personified. Ghost is Duncan’s polar opposite, and the last person he expected to fall for.
So then why does every imaginable scenario for taking down their common enemy end with Ghost in his arms?
This book is approximately 122,000 words
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
Excerpt
He turned around with his jaw set and put both hands on Duncan’s chest. He pushed gently, so gently that Duncan couldn’t interpret it as anything but a question, and a nonthreatening one at that, so he found himself playing along until his back hit the concave wall of the tunnel. The cement seeped cold through his own thin, sweat-dampened T-shirt, making him shiver.
Or maybe it was Ghost nudging at Duncan’s feet with his toes until Duncan widened his stance, making room for Ghost to step closer still, until their thighs brushed, until Ghost’s tilted-up face was only inches away, his breath on Duncan’s lips. Ghost’s hands trembled against him. That small vulnerability made Duncan hurt deep in his belly, hot and sweet and aching.
“What are you doing?” Duncan whispered.
“You asked why.” Ghost cupped the back of his skull, trying to coax him to lower his head, and Duncan stupidly, stupidly, went along with it. Ghost’s mouth, when it pressed against Duncan’s, was dry and tentative and awkward.
He should move. He should push Ghost away. It was an act. It was bullshit. At the very least, it was manipulation. It had to be. He should run for his life and sanity and soul, but he couldn’t. He was stuck in place by nothing more than two hands resting on his sternum and the slow realization that this was Ghost kissing him, not the sly seducer, not the innocent victim, not the wry pal up for a convenient good time. This wasn’t the empty distance of disconnection that Ghost had given him before when he’d gone doll-still and creepy. It wasn’t the confident, knowing, arousing seduction of the kisses that had preceded Ghost’s fugue that last time, either.
This was new and uncertain and heavy. It reminded Duncan somehow of climbing down the outside of the parking garage, the terror of looking at a long drop and a messy landing if he couldn’t figure out what he was doing.
It was the waiting, maybe, that made it so overwhelming. He’d been waiting for this all along, wanting this all along. He’d tried not to think about it, but it’d been there, and now that Ghost was here and it was happening, he felt strung tight as a rubber band, on the verge of snapping, because this tiny, tentative, closemouthed kiss, was a cup of cool water after a day in a desert, enough to tempt, but not nearly enough to sate.
5 Stars!!!
I'm afraid my review is never going to do justice to this book. It was so good and so different from anything I've read.
For starters, this is the third book in the Woodbury Boys series, but it can be read as a standalone. The characters from the previous books appear in this one and I'm intrigued enough to want to go back and read their books, but I never felt as if I was missing something.
This is a long book and there's a lot happening and let me tell you, some parts aren't easy to read. Everything Ghost has gone through since he was a little kid is heartbreaking and I was amazed at his strength. Don't get me wrong, he was affected by it all, but he found ways to cope with it. I loved that the author didn't decide to just have him be magically cured after meeting/falling for Duncan, but that Ghost actually went to therapy to work on his issues.
I loved Duncan and his patience. Perhaps he wasn't exactly a good cop, like his friend told Ghost, but he was a good man and it showed with the restraint he had with Ghost, who kept pushing and tempting him. Their relationship was a bit of a slow-burn, mostly because Duncan was really considerate and knew Ghost wasn't ready for anything else. He gave Ghost space and time and it turned out to be the right thing to do. The chemistry between them was undeniable and despite their age gap and how different they were from each other, they fit well together, working in tandem to keep Ghost alive.
As I said before, I was really intrigued by Church and Tobias and the dynamics of their friendship. I actually liked, or maybe more like respected, Mama and even Kellen, yes, they weren't exactly upstanding citizens, but they had some sort of warped sense of ethics. The ones I hated were Spratt, who thankfully got a satisfying resolution and Crayes, who provided some closure.
Overall, I can't recommend this book enough. I know it's not everyone's kind of read. It's not all flowers and candies, it's raw and emotional and deals with some very heavy issues, but it's very worthy of your time, in my opinion.
*** Copy provided to the reviewer via NetGalley for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
Sidney Bell lives in Colorado with her amazingly supportive husband. She received her MFA degree in Creative Writing in 2010, considered aiming for the Great American Novel, and then promptly started writing fanfiction instead. More realistic grown-ups eventually convinced her to try writing something more fiscally responsible, though, which is how we ended up here. When she’s not writing, she’s playing violent video games, yelling at the television during hockey games, or supporting her local library by turning books in late.
Connect with Sidney:
Instagram: @sidneybellbooks https://www.instagram.com/sidneybellbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sidney-Bell-234780093548718/
Twitter: @sidneybellbooks https://twitter.com/sidneybellbooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1655174.Sidney_Bell
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B01JG56JDG?redirectedFromKindleDbs=true
Website: www.sidneybell.com
Blog: http://www.sidneybell.com/blog/
Email: SIDNEYBELLBOOKS@GMAIL.COM
Giveaway: Win 1 of 5 Paperback of HARD LINE and LOOSE CANNON (Woodbury Boys series) by Sidney Bell! (North American addresses only)
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