Quick Reads and Quick Reviews 18

  

• Single Dad, River Laurent
• Teaching Tenderness: Forever in Middlebury Book 1, Brittany Cournoyer
• Wild, Lexi Whitlow

Sam and Lincoln were seemingly all wrong for one another but yet there was that something, that spark, that ignited and drew them together.  Whether they can let go of pride and submit to what they're feeling to allow that spark to grow, however, is the question.

There were remarkable moments of lightness in this story.  I was expecting something that revolved more around bedroom antics rather than corporate espionage, family, and feelings.  Though the road wasn't easy, they did evolve and see the other person for who they really are inside.  That made the difficult situations easier to bear, especially when they let honesty guide their reunion.  Overall, this was a much deeper story than I was expecting and I was happily surprised.

Sam and Lincoln clash from the get-go. When the project brings them closer together it definitely gets really hot really quickly, but only time will tell if they have enough faith to work through prejudice and the drama that surrounds them. The MC's were good characters, The story was too short to do them or the groveling justice though, and more dramatic than anticipated. A solidly good read, however, and I'd definitely look for more books by this author to read.  3 stars.

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Two men with only a little boy in common...or so they think.  Marcus feels like a failure of a single father but would never go back to a two-parent home if it meant having a wife like his ex.  He's struggling to know and support his son and can't seem to find a balance between work and home anymore.  When his son struggles enough to catch the attention of his teacher he'll find a shock of his own when they meet.  Anthony has a soft spot for the little brat, Jackson.  And when he meets his father it seems like he's got a soft spot for him too.  Well, more hard than soft, and that spells trouble.  Together they discover more than just Jackson's school trouble.  Their journey is difficult when pasts interfere in what they want for the future and they'll have to decide if it's all worth it to become a family of their own.

I really liked these men.  They had personality, humor, and passion.  I liked Marcus' determination to embrace everything he knows he is after meeting Anthony.  He has a little difficulty in the beginning but once he's on the path, he's not leaving no matter how much Anthony doubts it.  Anthony is the kind of teacher we all wish we had, someone who sees us, roots for us, and will fight for us.  His strengths as a teacher didn't always translate to his personal life especially when it came to fighting for Marcus.  But watching them get on the same page was endearing because both men had to change, accept that change, and made some serious decisions about what they wanted their future to look like.   Jackson was surly, difficult, sweet, and spot on for his age in the story.  I'm really eager to see them all in the periphery of the second Middlebury book.  4 stars.

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A man hiding from the world, a woman determined to reveal him, two people more well-matched for one another than they could have ever expected.  Their attraction builds slowly as does the trust and honesty.  The past catches up with them, though, and they decide that protecting each other means going on the run.  The path to atonement and justice is a long one and there are unexpected twists and turns, allies and enemies, and through it all they'll have to decide if they trust one another enough to ride the wild storm they're caught in.

This was far more dramatic than I expected and I was actually grateful for that.  It allowed the characters' back story, personalities, and strengths build and grow.  It also gave ample time for all the elements of the plot to come together and find resolution.  While I thought it was a bit too long I couldn't deny that the breadth achieved for the whole thing was surprisingly great.  Zee wasn't just a tenacious freelance journalist, she was thorough, caring, considerate, honest, and incredibly strong-willed.  During the wait, the interrogations, the legal drama, the journey to Fox, all of it showed immense inner strength.  She was a fierce woman and I grew to really love her.

Fox was a bit more difficult.  I could understand why he did what he did and valued his inner sense of justice, but he was a bit more reactionary and was prone to letting emotions run away with him at times.  It was an unexpected trait because we're used to seeing it in female leads, not the male, and while it was kind of refreshing, it was a bit frustrating.  Overall, though, they were great together and the events of the story coalesced satisfactorily.  3.5 stars.

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