Andrew Grey (1)

When Chris Anducci is moved off jail duty and into the sheriff’s office, he doesn’t expect his first assignment to be protecting a witness against a human trafficking ring. Knowing the new sheriff doesn’t abide screwups, Chris reluctantly agrees to work the case. Pavle Kasun has spent the last four years of his life at the mercy of others. When an opportunity presented itself, he took it, resulting in his rescue. Now the safe houses he’s placed in are being threatened and he needs show more protection if he is to have any sort of chance at a life. Chris opens his home to Pavle, but he doesn’t expect Pavle and his story to get under his skin… and stay there. Soon they discover they have more in common than either of them thought. Slowly Pavle comes out of his shell and Chris finds someone who touches his heart. But as the men looking for Pavle close in, they will stop at nothing to get him out of the way. But even if Chris can keep him safe, he might not be able to protect his heart if Pavle moves back home.

Chris Anducci got lucky, when he desperately needed a change of assignment from jail duty. Now, he’s front and center to the new political appointee, Sheriff Vitali, whom many seem to dislike. The Carlisle Police Department has busted a human trafficking ring, and Chis is assigned to protect a man who had been held prisoner for four long years.

The former kidnapped prisoner, Pavle Kasun, is frightened of everything. He doesn’t know how he should act or how he even is supposed to feel. Noises, people, thinking that he has to submit to anything simply frightens and shames him. He's had a long, traumatic experience, and he needs protection. Being from Serbia, as well as being isolated for four years, also makes communication for him a problem...but he can vividly describe, and even draw his tormentors, every last one of them.... every single feature with his drawings and wants to help bring the guilty to justice. Chris takes Pavle "under his wing" and soon discovers that Pavle is blessed with a magnificent talent for gardening and loves being outdoors. As protecting Pavle becomes more hazardous, the more Chris and Briggs are sure that they have an information leak in their department. Chris now goes above and beyond to keep Pavle safe and to ensure him that he is, and will always be, a free man.

Andrew Grey did a magnificent job of handling the awful subject of human trafficking and the entire ordeal Pavle had faced. He made you actually feel the mental and emotional toll it took on Pavle and how it also affected Chris, without being overly explicit. He treated it delicately as the growing relationship between Chris and Pavle developed. He also didn't make this an "instant love" romance. There were so many obstacles that the average person would never have thought of for both Chris and Pavle to overcome, along with a language barrier. Pavle had suffered four long years of torture and the shame that he may never recover from, and Chris had to be very careful of every fragile situation and other unknown dangers that simple everyday events that we all take for granted, could produce for Pavle.

There were a number of really great supporting characters who were vital to the storyline; Chris’s Nanna; without her, the doors of love and understanding may have taken longer to open. Briggs was also a major force; he gave support to Chris and Pavle at every turn. Then there was always Red and Terry, who never failed to be there when they were needed.

This one was "different", in a good way, from the first two books in this series. It was much more delicate, and, as always, Andrew Grey’s characters step up to give love and support. 5 big beautiful, bright and shiny stars for another wonderful Andrew Grey offering. show less

It could be the catch of a lifetime.... William Westmoreland escapes his unfulfilling Rhode Island existence by traveling to Florida twice a year and chartering Mike Jansen’s fishing boat to take him out on the Gulf. The crystal-blue water and tropical scenery isn’t the only view William enjoys, but he’s never made his move. A vacation romance just isn’t on his horizon. Mike started his Apalachicola charter fishing service as a way to care for his daughter and mother, putting their show more safety and security ahead of the needs of his own heart. Denying his attraction becomes harder with each of William’s visits. William and Mike’s latest fishing excursion starts with a beautiful day, but a hurricane’s erratic course changes everything, stranding William. As the wind and rain rage outside, the passion the two men have been trying to resist for years crashes over them. In the storm’s wake, it leaves both men yearning to prolong what they have found. But real life pulls William back to his obligations. Can they find a way to reduce the distance between them and discover a place where their souls can meet? The journey will require rough sailing, but the bright future at the end might be worth the choppy seas.

I was drawn to this book not only because it was written by one of my all-time favorite authors, but also because it takes place in Florida where I was born and raised and met and married my wonderful husband and my three kids were born. Lots of happy memories, so I really wanted to see how one of my favorite author's would use the setting to tell William's story. It could be described as a story of mature love.

Mike is a former Navy man who has captained destroyers but is now the captain of a Florida Gulf Coast fishing boat; the Decisions. Mike makes his living taking people out into the gulf, mainly for fishing. It’s work for Mike, but it’s also fun. Home for Mike is with his mother and his 10-year-old daughter, who he loves dearly. For the past few years, a particular fisherman, William, has booked a day’s fishing twice a year. Mike notices William for the man that he is, but also as the fun customer...always looking forward to William's visits.

Our William is an executive with his father’s firm. They make engines for boats and other things. He's following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, but it isn’t what he would really like to be doing. With his socialite mother and his demanding father, he doesn’t feel like he has any other choices in for his life. They’ve always dictated what he studied, where he lived, of course with them... as well as where he worked. The only thing William can call his "own" are those wonderful fishing trips.

William and Mike are the two main characters, but there is another more dangerous character in this story and its name is Marshall. Marshall is a hurricane that arrives during one of William’s fishing trip days. After hurrying back to shore and closing up the boat as much as he can with such very little warning of the approaching storm, William finds that he's in trouble...his rental car won’t start...deader than a doornail. Mike offers and takes William home, and as the saying goes, "one thing leads to another".

They part ways for several months but then a chance to be together again falls into William’s lap as he is asked to find a captain to test drive a multi-million-dollar yacht with his company’s newest engines on board. I'm sure you can guess who William asks to perform this duty. This was my favorite part of the story, as William and his "guest captain" along with the captain’s daughter are treated to the finest luxury as they cruise the Caribbean.

Then someone drops in on their fabulous vacation and things change. Or do they? What about what is going to happen when this cruise is over? Do they have to go back to their normal lives...lives without each other? Can Mike "come out" in this small southern town where he lives without losing his friends, his acquaintances, and most of all, his business? Will William become just another executive who plods his lonely unhappily journey to retirement?

This romance is so sweet, with just a little bit of angst and family interference, but it's one that I, and I'm sure if you are an M/M romance fan, will enjoy tremendously. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Happy reading! show less

Kendall Monroe is handcuffed to a car in the desert. Is this life imitating art or art imitating life? The only thing he’s sure of is that the situation he finds himself in is a copy of a scene he filmed earlier, only this time, there is no director yelling “cut” and no crew to rescue him. Terrified for his life, Kendall takes comfort remembering happier times with his longtime lover, Johnny. He hasn’t seen Johnny in weeks since Johnny stayed in New York to finish writing his latest show more next best-selling novel. As Kendall attempts to survive scorching-hot days and freezing nights, he tries to figure out who did this to him, but mostly he just tries to survive. Could it have been Johnny, or maybe the research assistant that he suspects Johnny is having an affair with? Both options fill him with bitterness. Or is there a closer more likely suspect? Kendall has been having a stalker who sends him flowers and always seems to know exactly where he is. What would this stranger have to gain by leaving Kendall stranded in the heat in the middle of nowhere?

This one is an amazing combination...a cross between an intense stalker story; a sizzling hot romance; with tension and drama enough to bring out the worst as well as the best, in both of our main characters. It's also an entertaining account of a Broadway stage actor's experience of making his first movie, and now he's being stalked. We also get a look at a successful writer's career taking a slight detour as he struggles to figure out what's really important. The story opens with Kendall stranded in a car in the desert...you'll come back to that after learning about his time on the movie set in California, and how he got there. When we join him in the car in the desert, he's not just stranded...he's helplessly handcuffed to the steering wheel. Yeah, it's enough to make you extremely nervous and you've only just begun reading. I've visited my daughter who lives in Mesa, Arizona so I didn't have to imagine how hot he must have been...I KNEW! especially when the air-conditioning "gives up the ghost"....and that didn't take long. The description of what Kendall goes through when it happens to him were certainly very realistic. It made me wonder if Mr. Grey had firsthand knowledge or if he went out and sat in a car in the middle of a desert:) I really hope not. Last I knew there are no deserts in Pennsylvania:)

Anyway...on with this. At the start of the story, we learn that Kendall is a successful Broadway actor that has starred in several plays and musicals. Making a movie is something new to him, but when the right offer comes along, he jumps right in. In this movie several scenes will require him to be locked in a car in the desert...not something that will be easy for him to do since, to make matters even worse, he hates confined spaces. The initial back "n" forth with the director about how to play certain scenes was laughable, but they figure out how to work together pretty quickly. The one drawback about being in California while his partner is in New York City, is that Kendall is lonely and he has plenty of time to think about their relationship. For a while now it hasn’t been as good as it had use to be, and, like most lonely people with too much time to think, he starts to doubt everything. When his stalker first appears, Kendall suspects everybody, and the situation turns into a screaming nightmare when he ends up, not in a movie scene, but REALLY locked in a car in the desert. Andrew Grey did a more than simply good job, he did an EXCELLENT job of making us feel Kendall's thoughts and feelings during those almost three days he spends in total isolation and fear.

We don't want to overlook Kendel's lover, Johnny. Johnny is a historian that decided to be an author instead of going for a teaching career. This story is told entirely from Kendall's point of view, and it was interesting to see and experience Johnny through Kendell's eyes. At first there was a lot of doubt. The phone calls from "research assistant" on Johnny's phone, appeared to be "suspect", but as the story develops, so does Kendall's ideas about what is going on with Johnny, and how it affects their relationship. The whole situation was as fascinating as it was scary.

I can’t say too much about the way everything develops without spoiling it for you...there is a surprise, but you'll just have to wait for it! I can say that the suspense is high right up to the very end with A LOT of very tense moments. If you like stories filled with tension, not just from the plot but also from the characters' interactions, and if you enjoy reading about men managing their lives and personal relationships in stressful situations, or if you're just looking for a read that is intense, hot, filled with suspense, and full of passion, then look no further...you will like this book as much as I did, which was a whole lot! Pick up this one, or any book written by Andrew Grey...you WILL NOT be disappointed! show less

Andrew Grey usually gives his characters a happy ending, but I began to have doubts for Brit and Logan. You know from the start that Logan's manager, Carlton, was toxic for him, and I wondered how he could ever have thought that supplying pills and booze was the best thing he could do for Logan. I also began to suspect that Calton's escapades suggested a lot more than "professional concern". Yeah!! I got one right:) Logan Steele was rapidly spinning totally out of control when an auto show more accident brought him and Brit together. His entire life was being fueled by booze, party boys, uppers, downers and sleeping pills. A recipe for disaster and an accident going somewhere to happen. His manager, Carlton, thinks all this is perfectly fine. Of course, he does since he's aiding and abetting by supplying the drugs. He also manipulates Logan by cutting him down and making him second guess himself. Logan could easily have been an unlikeable character and I admit that there were times I didn’t like him much and other times I just wanted to shake him. However, I always liked Wally Padgett, which is who Logan was before "Logan the star", was born. Logan has no family, no real friends and doesn’t seem to see much good about himself. He has Grant, a hanger on who brings other hangers on to parties at Logan’s place. Hardly a supportive group. Brit was Heaven sent...exactly what Logan needed. Brit comes to the situation with experience...his father was an alcoholic. I rapidly went from wanting to slap and shake Logan to wanting to transfer all that anger to Carlton...the manager. I liked the interaction between Brit and Logan from the start and everything in between. Everything between them wasn’t magical and perfect right away.... but that’s not life. The relationship does move very quickly, not quite insta-love but very close. It’s a story of patience, of kindness and of facing your demons, and being better than you believe you are. These two deserved their happy ending and I knew I could count on Andrew Grey to see that they got it in spades. show less