Title: Catch a Ghost
Series: Hell or High Water, Book 1
Author: S.E. Jakes
Genre: Romantic Suspense, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Published: September 9, 2013 by Riptide Publishing
Everyone knows that Prophet—former Navy SEAL, former CIA spook, full-time pain in the ass—works alone and thinks only about the trouble he can cause. But his boss, Phil Butler of Extreme Escapes, LTD., has just assigned Proph not only a new partner but also a case haunted by ghosts from Proph’s past. Suddenly, he’s got to confront them both head on.
Tom Boudreaux—failed FBI agent, failed sheriff, full time believer in bad luck—is wondering why the head of a private contracting firm has hunted him down to offer him a job. Still he's determined to succeed this time, despite being partnered with Prophet, EE, LTD’s most successful, lethal, and annoying operative, and even though the case is also resurrecting his own painful past.
Together, Prophet and Tom must find a way to take down killers in the dangerous world of underground cage matches, while fighting their own dangerous attraction. And when they find themselves caught in the crossfire, these two loners are forced to trust each other and work together to escape their ghosts . . . or pay the price
Reviewed By: J9
In a Nutshell: This is a fascinating character study of two unique leads in a volatile sexual relationship. The ending, however, left me all WTF and I can’t even tell you why without spoiling it.
The Set Up: Tom is a failed FBI agent with bad luck who starts his new job at a private security company and is partnered with Prophet. Proph is tough, troubled, and doesn’t want a new partner but together they share a dangerous attraction and must infiltrate the world of underground cage fighting.
Why I Read this Book: I love MM romance with tough guys and this beautiful cover captured my attention.
What I Liked: Tom and Prophet are amazingly nuanced characters and this book became a study of them. Tom wears his piercings and tattoos as a shield against the world so he can keep people out and never risk emotional pain. He’s been jinxed with bad luck in which those he cares about get hurt which is more painful to him that if it were him being hurt or killed. He’s a stoic loner and Prophet can’t wait to dig into his pain. Prophet is the snide, obnoxious guy who uses humor and sarcasm to keep others at arms’ length but with his own painful past that privately tortures him. These two loners are set on a collision course and wow do they burn up the pages! They have an intense sexual attraction but it’s their emotional sparring that I found captivating. Tom and Proph both jab each other’s hidden vulnerabilities and how they each react is what made this a compelling romance for me. They have a dance of intimacy where they move one fragile step forward only to rush back two steps when they become too emotionally vulnerable to each other. This balance between sexual and emotional intimacy between these two troubled leads kept me flying through the book as I absolutely had to see where these two end up.
What I Also Liked: The plot worked very well for me. It successfully combines Tom and Prophet’s current mission of solving a murder with both of their troubled pasts. This is classic storytelling where the men have to delve honestly into their pasts in order to succeed in their present mission. It successfully combines action and character development to create a compelling story that I couldn’t put down. Was it a little over the top convenient and macho? Sure, but even that didn’t bug me.
I also found the community of agents from the private security firm fascinating. Agents range from a mute biker medic who helps Proph when he’s shot, to a straight-laced-but-secretly-troubled agent who wants Tom as a partner. It seemed like every character that was introduced I had to know more about. I want all their stories and I want them now!
What I Didn’t Like: The ending…I *detested* the ending. No, I can’t tell you why or it would totally spoil the read. I got done reading and stared slack-jawed at my Kindle, thinking what-the-f$%& just happened? Did this book really end this way? No…wait, really? The book is listed as the first in the Hell or High Water series which leads me to wonder if the series will follow Tom and Prophet as a couple or develop the other agents as leads. Either way this book’s ending baffled and angered me but I will absolutely read the next in the series.
IMO: Enjoy this read for its stellar character study of two complicated men but don’t say I didn’t warn you about the ending.
J9’s Rating:
Oh dear. I just bought this book. Now I think I should wait until the second book comes out before I start it.
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