Whiteout Conditions: Black Ops Heroes Book 10, Kendel Duncan

When it comes to doing what's right, the path is never clear enough to see what the fallout will be.  For Sylas and Grainger it's marred by responsibilities and depressing histories.  Vaughn and Caysun have to wade through mafia ties, lost siblings, and walking on two separate sides of the law.  And then there's Miguel and Casey who have a road of legalities, addictions, and betrayal.  Life is never easy and for these men that's the understatement of the century.  But can each of them forge a connection strong enough to pass through the storm stronger?  Or will they allow the storm to swallow them whole?

I think my favorite couple actually got the least page time.  There was some serious guilt, trauma, recovery, and redemption that was necessary for Miguel and Casey to achieve something together and I wish there were more.  Learning about Casey through Vaughn and Caysun's story gave us a sense of a man who is loving, caring, deeply loyal, and has a strong sense of justice despite his career choice.  And to see Miguel change from desperate to remorseful and choosing honesty over self-preservation painted a picture of a man of worth that can be a great partner for Casey.

Vaughn and Caysun were good together in that they had an abiding understanding of who brought them together, that they knew going in what a relationship would look like.  It didn't stop them from fearing the depth of their instant connection or from almost running scared though.  I found their vacillation and going from all-in, to hell with the consequences and then jumping to pulling back and preparing for the end quite tiring.  While I had hope for them it didn't stop me from being annoyed at these men who so desperately need one another.  Their bit regarding recovery, though, was perfection.  They were so real and flawed and yet perfect.

Sylas and Grainger were sweet and relatively uncomplicated.  History and an overwhelming amount of "soul mate" situation give them the most bumps along their road.  This was the sweetest couple with a lot of empathy, sympathy, and hope underpinning their connection.  While Sylas' situation was definitely dramatic, his maturity triumphed over his insecurities.  The way he was absolutely sure he wanted to get better for himself increased my respect for him.  Grainger's subtle determination to keep Sylas endeared him to me.

All slightly interconnected, these three mini-stories in one give us three pairings that understand what "to hell and back" truly means.  The writing was pretty good, though I found myself lost at times because the perspective would change despite having each chapter titled for the person whose perspective it should have been.  Aside from that, it was simple and relatively easy to read.  I liked when there were little crossovers between the stories in the name of aid.  This was one of the more simple groupings with a lot of heart and definitely a ton of passion to carry the overall story.  An enjoyable read by the end.

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