Review: Entertaining Read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 7, 2013
Sometimes you need to shake things up to realize what you have. Henry Walker has his life planned for him. He's been groomed to take over his father's business since he was a child. Henry desperately wants his father's approval and is scared to do anything that may make his father angry. That means keeping his pseudo relationship with childhood friend and bodyguard Archie a secret. The two have never talked much, their main communication being sexual. But as Archie is posed to leave the family business and Henry, a botched kidnapping attempt throws everyone and everything into disarray.Heir Apparent is a tense, romantic drama. Henry and Archie are the main couple and they must cope with both their burgeoning emotions and the turmoil happening after the kidnapping that changes both of their lives. Henry comes into his own as a man and finally finds the self-confidence and self-assuredness he was lacking. Archie realizes his love for Henry and that he wants a partnership and not an employee/friend relationship. These two are dynamic together and have several pretty hot sex scenes within the story. They are three-dimensional characters with a lot of subtext, considering they rarely do much talking at the start.The second important plot of the story is the mystery of who arranged the kidnapping and why. Here I guessed the person really early on and I think the story was too easy to figure out. There weren't enough other options to keep this a question and the story always points out the bad person in each pivotal scene. On the one hand the writing is tight with a lot of suspense built in as the story comes to a natural climax. Yet it was also to see where events were leading and who was responsible, which takes away some of the mystery. I definitely still enjoyed the story no matter what but I wish the mystery portion had been handled better.I can easily recommend The Heir Apparent though, as it's enjoyable with a likable duo of protagonists. They clearly love each other but needed a kick in the pants to realize what they had together. Some of the obstacles are a bit too easily cleared but overall I read this in one sitting and was pleased to do so. The good writing, wonderful cast of supporting characters, and fun story all make for a very entertaining read.Originally posted at Long and Short Reviews