Book Review: Breaking Cover by Kaje Harper

Title: Breaking Cover 
Series: Life Lessons, Book #2
Author: Kaje Harper
Genre: Romantic Suspense, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: July 2011 by MLR Press

For homicide detective Mac, it's been a good year. Having Tony to go home to makes him a better cop and a better person. For Tony, it's been hard being in love with a man he can't touch in public. Evasions and outright lying to friends and family take a little of the shine off his relationship with Mac, but Tony is determined to make it work.

As the Minneapolis Police Department moves into a hot, humid summer, Mac is faced with a different challenge. A killer has murdered two blond women, and the police have no real clues. Mac hates to think that another murder may be the only way they'll make progress with the case. But when that murder happens, it hits close to home for Tony. And suddenly Mac faces an ultimatum: come out into the sunlight and stand beside Tony as his lover, or walk away and live without a piece of his heart.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Love this established romance that progresses a great relationship even more. The serial killer plot icked me out a bit but still kept me up too late reading the resolution.

The Set Up: Mac has loved his private life with Tony the past year but Tony misses having a boyfriend he can claim in public. With a serial killer hunting women, Mac’s focus has to be on work but when the killer hits close to Tony and Mac’s life, it will change their lives forever.

Why I Read this Book: Loved book one and had to continue the series.

What I Liked: Tony and Mac continue to be a stellar couple but this book forces them to deal with the long-term plans for their relationship. When I read series which feature the same couple this is how I want the relationship progressed—emotionally intense and believable within the context of their characters. If readers have read book one of the series they’ll be like me and want Mac to be out. This book explores why, how and the initial repercussions of this possibility. I love how Tony draws a line about what he needs in life and remains true to himself, even in the face of his deep love for Mac. The romantic tension is believable and a perfect blend of emotional and sexual. I totally see how Mac and Tony make many readers’ lists of favorite MM couple.

Again, this author doesn’t take the simple route of having true love fix all problems and I love this about the series. Mac has valid fears about coming out at work and to his daughter and this is handled with gentle realism. I like nuanced characters in complicated relationships and that is exactly what I get in this book and the series.

What I Also Liked: This full-length book is a well written suspense novel. Mac and the Minneapolis Police Department are on the hunt for a serial killer and it’s perfectly creepy. One of my earliest memories was of the Summer of Sam in New York where a serial killer was on this loose and this book made me relive that fear and suspense. I’m a bit of a wimp so the ick factor was high as the police follow the rapes and murders to catch the serial killer. Of course, how Mac catches the killer is very ‘romance novel’ but I was so ready to have the serial killer caught (since I was up reading at 2am!) that I didn’t care how he got caught, just that he did.

What I Didn’t Like: No complaints.

IMO: Loved this book and the series and highly recommend it for MM romantic suspense fans.

J9’s Rating: