Review: Adored it
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2013
Hiding from criminals, running for your life, and finding your soul mate in the most unbelievable place are the hallmarks of this first book in a new series by Lou Harper. This is an author whom I have only recently begun to appreciate. Her writing style is very old school, well, except for the sex, and it reminds me of Mickey Spillane in a way. I really enjoy it. Her characters are always strong and very real, as if they are people you know personally. Sam and Jay are exactly that. They are real, with vulnerabilities, doubts, weaknesses, and strengths all bundled together to make them human.Jay, at twenty-two, has a history of sugar daddies, mostly ones with money. They take care of him, financially, and he provides them with a young, good looking stud. Usually they either tire of him or he discovers what kind of person they're really like and Jay takes off. He isn't planning on staying in Coldwater, Montana, and he really isn't planning on working at Sam's diner. But, somehow, he ends up with Sam, after all. Sam confuses him, because Jay is sending out all the signals telling him he's available, but Sam isn't doing anything about it. Huh. So Jay takes matters into his own hands, so to speak, but little does Jay know that Sam being dominant with him will bring out an inner submissive Jay never knew he had. *grins*Sam is thirty-five and a man with a whole lot of secrets. One look at Jay and he knows he should just send him on his way because Jay is trouble and Sam doesn't need any more trouble in his life. Sam is just marking time in Montana and he likes his quiet, very unobtrusive life. But, he discovers he likes having Jay in it, even more. Sam knows Jay is going to head down the road, eventually. Small town life isn't for Jay, but Sam does what he can to help Jay be more prepared for the seedy parts of life. He sets him up with a friend to get self-defense classes and he teaches him the basics of using a handgun, figuring these are all skills that Jay should be familiar with.One day, out of the blue, Sam grabs Jay, takes him to the bus stop, puts Jay on the bus and says sayonara, basically. Jay is hurt thinking "not again", until he's watching the news and sees a story about murder and organized crime and showing a picture of the guy who waltzed into the diner a couple of weeks earlier. Jay heads straight back to Sam, and Sam ain't happy about that! Turns out Sam's past is hunting for him and he wanted to protect Jay, so instead they go on the run together. They end up in L.A. where Sam's Uncle Frank left him a place to live, new identities, and a bank account. Uncle Frank wasn't in the mob, but he was connected, if you know what I mean.I absolutely adored this story. I completely fell in love with Sam and Jay. Sam, the ex-mob turned informant, with his tough outside and soft center. Jay who thinks he can take on the world but still has a lot of innocence to him. They were fabulous together and I can not wait for more! If you want to know the ending you're going to have to get the book. It's definitely worth it!NOTE: This book was provided by Samhain Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews