Review: Romance, Heat and Courage under fire... Splendid!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 18, 2014
A wonderful love story ignites between Casper and Slater in this third story of this captivating male/male romance series. I can’t believe I failed to mention the exquisite spitfire, Casper, in my reviews of the two previous books. Casper appeared in both books, but played a major supporting role in A Marrying Man as the male secretary who outright refuses the amorous attentions of man’s man Slater Cassidy, brother of Blaine’s amour Spencer.At the start of this book, Casper is still refusing Slater’s continued attentions, which have ratcheted up a notch despite Slater having returned to the Army for a tour of duty. Worse, it appears that both Casper’s immediate boss, Blaine, and his employer, Mathew Hawke, are facilitating Slater’s pursuit. Despite all of the emails, sing-a-grams, and a stripper whom Slater sends, Casper sticks firmly to his ‘not gonna happen’ rebuffs. Casper has a sound reason for rejecting the charismatic hound dog, but will it be enough to stop his heart from capitulating to Slater’s advances?Slater Cassidy has always played the field. As an Army Ranger he’s been upfront with his close-knit military buddies about his bisexuality: sex and a good time no matter the gender. If Slater is attracted to a person he goes for it. By rights when Casper refuses his initial advances, he should move on, but something about the plucky male secretary has him smitten. For the first time Slater has found someone he cares for more than his Ranger brothers. Determined to win the enchanting man, Slater schedules his upcoming leave with one mission in mind. He’s got one month to win Casper’s reluctant heart and he plans to give it his all.I enjoyed the heck out of the stimulating romantic chase between these two self-assured men, and learned what makes each of them tick. The revealing details of Casper’s professional and private life only increased my attraction to this spitfire-with-grit character. His ability to assert himself despite his grieving heart highlighted his resilient core and made him well worth the effort that Slater puts in. And Slater really pulls out all the stops, competing against a bevy of hot male models and squiring Casper to a fabulously decadent party, among other things. When tragedy strikes it is treated skillfully and responsibly with suitably sober but spirited passages that provide a realistic slice of military life and insight into what active duty forces face daily. Kudos to the author for making me cheer for the Rangers and the other soldiers of this tale. The animated “road to recovery” scenes brilliantly portrayed the guts and glory courage of these brave individuals.Lead characters from the other books return and make for a fine supporting cast in this story. Drakon, Spencer’s Twinkie-loving Greek employee, also returns and intriguing hints are dropped about his background. I was also treated to a glimpse of a seemingly shy, but hot, new character: part-time stripper Ryan, a gym bunny, um, “buddy” of Casper’s. My best guess—handsome head honcho Matthew Hawke hooks up with either Ryan or Drakon in the next book. Or…could it be—dare I hope—um, mayhap a threesome? Well, I guess I’ll have to wait and read—and read I will, because I can’t get enough of this fast-paced, clever and addictive romantic series.Thank you, Sandrine-Gasq-Dion, for delving deep and delivering another winner!“Starry-eyed Hope + Tremendous Courage = Lasting Love”