Declan Rhodes

As always with Declan Rhodes, this is a very well written book, with characters very well portrayed and nice flowing dialogue, and I quite enjoyed it.

But... I don't feel like these two had worked out their issues. They haven't recognized they have a communication problem, and boy! they really have one!!! This is book one in a new series, so maybe it will be addressed in next books, but it still makes me feel that their HEA is not a really a HEA at all; that there are problems laying ahead of show more them. show less

For the most part, this was a good story with a strong premise and decent characters. I liked the way the writing felt controlled and measured near the start of the book and more frenzied as Marcus’s mental state was affected by the case they were working.
I do think that this book needs some careful editing. As others have noted, scenes seem to jump around a bit. Marcus’s father died either twelve or five years ago, depending on the scene. It’s a bit of a mess, which I probably should show more have taken another star off for, but I felt like being generous. The biggest thing that I’m left questioning is whether Marcus and James know each other prior to the start of the book or not. Marcus clearly knows of James, and his history with fire, but have they actually met? I also had to have some serious suspension of disbelief for this book. Otherwise I would be questioning a lot more, like why is Marcus the arson investigator? Why isn’t he taken off the case as soon as he is identified as a target? Why is SWAT sharing a locker room with firefighters? And a lot more. All of which would be brought up by a good editor.
So this book needs another draft, but the story and the characters are there. show less

A good story, but some weird behavior by the MCs. If Hank is aware of his behavior patterns so well and his assistant is as well, how does he get away with cutting people off for weeks at a time? His assistant is brash enough to get him to sign up with a matchmaker in the first place, why would she hold her tongue when we acts the way he does? Especially when he does ask for her input and she gives it to him with both barrels. Other than this weirdness, I really did enjoy it. Luke and show more Jasmine are adorable. He's going to be a great dad. I have a feeling that Luke deserves better than Hank, but that's just me. show less

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as the first book in the series. Until the last couple of pages, I didn't feel the couple at all.

I think the issue was that we didn't know the cause of Connor's anger issues until far too late in the story. We're told that he's dealt with them, but not shown it; on the first date, even that's thrown into question. It seems pretty reasonable for Reggie to question getting into a long-term relationship here. Meanwhile, when we do find out the original show more source, it's quite relatable! Most people get mad at the idea of a six-year-old being hurt.

I also didn't find the second breakup believable. The first one, the long-distance part was complicated by the anger issue and they hadn't gotten very emotionally invested yet, so I understand why the characters would just let the split go. But the second? A single clear-as-mud phone call and that's it? I guess as someone who was in a 3.5 year successful long-distance relationship I don't see why this can't work. It's not like Connor wouldn't still look for local work and find something in another few months, and in the meantime you can always arrange meeting up when the tour is near or make a few long weekends here and there.

This ruined the ending a bit too in my opinion; it kinda felt like Reggie was saying "Take this local job I've arranged for you or else it's over!" show less