The Guy from Glamour: The Guy Series Book 1, Skylar M. Cates

Stunned by the balance.  Between the stoic, secretly scared, badass Night Stalker and the puppy dog, yearning for love guidance counselor; between Dean and his niece and between both men; and between the steam and the more tame aspects of building a relationship.  So yeah, in a word, what made me love this book was balance.  Almost all of the interactions in this story were really well-written and real and so memorable.  And when you add two men who were really made for one another and had a whole lot of chemistry, you've got the makings of a great story.

Dean's insistence that he just doesn't do human interaction could have been a turn-off, and while I think it could have been made into something more endearing rather than just a quirk, I felt it was well-done.  It didn't feel like an affectation due to arrogance or even social anxiety, it was just a part of who Dean is.  His fear over doing or saying the wrong thing for his niece was cute and actually believable.  And once he made the connection with her, his freak out was even more adorable.  It was so hard not to love this man.

Anthony was cute and I wanted so much for his happiness.  I was really glad that he found it with Dean.  While I wasn't a fan of him lying to himself or his caving into his ex's requests or actions, he was overall a likable character that was well-matched to Dean.  He wasn't as compelling, but he was a calm, positive, optimistic, and caring counterpart to a man who didn't understand how to connect with others with his whole self.

Maybe half of the book was devoted to both men navigating the relationship between Dean and his niece.  Their relationship was allowed to get on fairly solid ground before anything really began between both men.  So often you have stories that have guardianship thrust on the MC's, adoptions or fostering, single parents, or any other permutation of those kinds of situations and the connections between the kids and MC's feel forced, rushed, or too easy.  In this story it was absolutely honest, a bit slow-going, and exactly what I hoped for.  And then you got the tenderness and steam between the two men and I'm just gone.  This was a whole story, one I'd gladly recommend and will absolutely come back for more of when the rest of the series is available.

*$3.99 on Amazon!

A military man and a “nice guy” at a crossroads

Anthony Carrino loves his big, gregarious Italian-American family. Even if his sisters are interfering, and his dad, the local sheriff, knows everything going on in town. He’s happy as a middle-school guidance counselor. Despite helping kids and their parents fix their problems, Anthony can’t manage to get his own love life right. Apparently, he’s just too nice.

Dean Pierce doesn’t do relationships. A tough-minded military man, he is dedicated to his job flying Chinook helicopters and minding his own business. He never stays in one place for long, and he certainly doesn’t want to deal with a mess of emotions. But when tragedy strikes, Dean finds his hands full with the unexpected addition of his troubled niece, her irresistible guidance counselor, and a meddlesome family, which includes a rather large puppy. 

Will Dean have a change of heart or will he stick to his agenda? Anthony has been hurt before, and he doubts his feelings are reason enough for Dean to stay in Glamour. If Anthony can convince Dean that some plans aren’t worth keeping, then maybe this time, the “nice guy” won’t finish last.