Review: Great concept, good book.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2012
Jake is a widow who finds himself being a single father to two teenagers he doesn't know and struggling financially as the economy declines. He decides to move to Texas and take advantage of a house his aunt left him. He is determined to make a new life for his family and spend time with his son and daughter while attempting to build a home based business for himself. Then he meets Cade Littlebear while attending a PTSA meeting at the kids' high school. He is instantly attracted to the PTSA president. Cade, a Native American ex-SEAL, is openly gay and has had to endure his share of discrimination since he came out 20 years before, but he is determined to live his life and raise his daughter as best he can. The attraction between these two is immediate and overwhelming. Since their first encounter, Jake finds himself fighting unknown desires and feeling deeply drawn to the biker in leather pants. They develop a friendship of sorts since their daughters are classmates and they share positions on the board of the PTSA, however, their attraction to each other and their feelings of lust cannot be contained and so they embark on a relationship.Once they decide to go for it, Jake feels the need to be open about it and not hide. He knows how the townsfolk look down on Cade and his sexual orientation, but he feels that he is entitled to love without judgment. Especially since he feels that this relationship is meant to be and Cade is his soul-mate. He talks openly with his kids and though his son is reluctant at first, he has come to like and respect Cade and gives his father his support. However, there are a group of people that make their hatred known and start harassing them - phone calls, road accidents and kidnapping. These are the events that make this story worth to read.I am not usually a fan of the 'insta-love' concept and although this story includes that, for me, it is about much more. It's about a man's right to love who he chooses without being judge, it's about family dynamics and supporting each other through hard times and it's about finding that person that completes you and makes you feel alive. I have to congratulate the author, Patricia Logan, for a great debut. The way she went about telling the story of Jake and Cade was very good. Their story is filled with humor, passion and emotion. It also contains some very eye-opening events that makes this story a very interesting read. And the chemistry, let us not forget about the chemistry. The chemistry was off the charts HOT!Jake and Cade were amazing characters to get to know, although I would have loved to get to know them a bit more as a couple. They were caring and sexy and very honest about their feelings and I appreciated that because it helped me connect to them more. However, I feel that their courtship should have been longer, especially considering that they had kids to consider. Even though I could overlook some things that stem from the 'insta-love' scenario, this I could not. I liked that the author included Jake's hesitations and his decision to be honest with them, but I feel like he was forced by the events that happened into admitting his relationship and future plans with Cade. I think that at that point of the story Cade an Jake should have taken a time-out to take things slow and settle.All that said, I think this is a very good debut. Yes, it does have it's rough spots, but the story as a whole - the characters, the events that happen throughout and the resolution to the plot were very well executed.