Natural Disaster: Storm Chasers Book 1, Erin McLellan

Snark, banter, flirting, and a whole lot of vulnerability make Luke and Guthrie incredibly engaging and lovable.  They fit together in ways they each felt were unexpected but soon after learned to crave.  With the drama of the storms and a persistently bad father, they have their road cut out for them with quite a few bumps before they get their HEA.

Guthrie was a little annoying in his insistence about not liking Luke and putting all kinds of judgments and preconceived notions onto a man he knows nothing about.  His prickly attitude soon softened and I really enjoyed the small ways he opened up to Luke before finally letting the man all the way in.  His panic over storms was understandable and I liked that he had his moments of feeling safe with Luke, but that the story kept true to what extreme fear can really be like.  That it doesn't have a magic cure-all in the form of another person or being shocked out of that fear, sometimes it will never go away; lessen perhaps, but nothing that intense just disappears.

Luke's vulnerability came from his sense of abandonment as a child.  Understandable when we find out the cause of those feelings.  I admired his honesty, his willingness to put his feelings out for Guthrie to see and feel while they were slogging through adapting all the facets of their relationship to the reality in which they lived.  Luke's lightness was the perfect foil to Guthrie's darker mood swings.

Together the men were sexy and sweet.  One bit that was my favorite in their conversations was the way Guthrie responded to the taunting, that he took the comments and made them his own or just owned up to them and followed that up with quick wit or snark.  Their conversations felt believable and organic.  I liked how their romantic evolution progressed, that it wasn't all hot and heavy followed by adding depth, but rather a whole lot of trust-building, sharing and bonding, and then adding in the steam for a well-rounded romance.

The epilogue was far too simplistic for me with scant details and very little in the way of steam or sharing all the feels.  With a communicative high point being all the honesty at the water sports fair thing, they won me over and even though I would have liked more, something a bit deeper at the end, it left me feeling light and happy.  Having side characters that felt more like names on the page rather than interesting humans I must read about wasn't the best way to go there, but with the smooth writing and the MC's taking the main stage in a good way I'll very likely be in for whatever comes next.

*$3.99 on Amazon

When two tornado chasers form a reluctant team, the pressure between them builds...
Human-interest reporter--and son of a famous storm chaser--Guthrie Gale wants nothing to do with severe weather. But his station's director insists he join the storm chasing team, or else, and worse yet, she pairs him with hotshot rookie chaser Luke Masters.

All Luke wants is to be a part of the KTTY family, and he won't let prickly Guthrie Gale spoil his chance. Little does he realize Guthrie's anxiety around storms is more than justified.

As Oklahoma's unpredictable tornado season picks up, Guthrie and Luke strike up a turbulent working relationship that shifts between lust and bickering. But when they are forced to outrun a dangerous twister, their trust is tested and the desire between them flashes quick as lightning, threatening to burn more than just their careers.