Duty & Devotion by Tere Michaels
Faith, Love, and Devotion series #3. M-M contemporary romance.
Matt and Evan have been together for a year now. Their lives are becoming routine which makes them both a little uneasy. Juggling work, family and a relationship is a lot. Finding time to talk and truly discuss their feelings and being intimate requires schedules and a little help from friends.
Emotional entanglements and families make this book teary, spicy and endearing all at the same time. It’s the next chapter in their relationship as they expand their love and universe. ( )

3.5 stars

This was a good read, but I liked Faith & Fidelity better. This is a continuation of Matt and Evan's story and how each of them are dealing with their relationship. Evan still had a lot of things to work out and sometimes his angst was a bit frustrating. Matt has his own issues to deal with as well, but it's not with his relationship with Evan. He definitely had no qualms there. It was nice getting back to these two and I liked how everything worked itself out in the end. ( )

Duty and Devotion by Tere Michaels is the sequel to Faith and Fidelity and begins several months after the events of that story. Faith and Fidelity details how Evan and Matt first became a couple after the sudden death of Evan’s wife Sherri in a car accident. The two men were both cops who had never before considered experimenting with a gay relationship. Evan raised four children with his childhood sweetheart Sherri, and Matt was a ladies’ man who never settled down.

In Faith and Fidelity, they formed a friendship to help each other through Evan’s terrible loss and Matt’s midlife crisis, and their friendship developed into something more. Now, Evan and Matt are living together and raising Evan’s kids who accept the arrangement with differing levels of tolerance. Matt, who has retired from the police force, is now chafing as an unappreciated house-husband while Evan works non-stop. However, their real problem centers on Evan’s inability to release his guilt and negative feelings towards being in a gay relationship. A visit from Jim and Griffin, a happy couple from the author’s stand-alone novel Love and Loyalty, might help open Evan’s eyes before it’s too late.

Both Duty and Devotion and the not-to-be-missed Faith and Fidelity are strong, emotionally complex novels. There is a lot to praise here, especially the interaction between Evan, Matt, and Evan’s four kids who range in age from the oldest daughter, a college freshman, to the youngest, a nine-year old boy. These kids seem completely real and refreshingly open-minded about adapting to their father’s new boyfriend stepping into the caretaking role once filled by their mother who died less than two years ago. I didn’t think such a thing would be plausible until I read it for myself.

The aspect about Duty and Devotion that impresses me most is how likable the author makes the incredibly complicated character of Evan. Matt is funny and sexy, and everyone’s going to like him, but Evan struggles with guilt and self-hatred and could have looked really bad in comparison, but he doesn’t. His inability to accept his gay desires is very believable, and it’s to the author’s credit that she doesn’t rush us readers through this. Evan and Matt still haven’t quite consummated their relationship — and with each small step in that direction, Evan is overwhelmed with the emotional and physical intensity of his feelings, which makes the most subtle aspects to their sexual encounters incredibly hot.

For example, take this excerpt: “When he looked up, all Evan could see was Matt’s face in utter ecstasy. His eyes weren’t focused on Evan, he was staring down between them where their bodies were so intimately touching, and then it wasn’t the touch or pull of his palm that made Evan’s entire body jerk and spasm. It was the expression of hunger on Matt’s face that sent Evan over the edge.” Duty and Devotion is a strong installment in the continuing story of a romance that may linger in your memory for a long time.

Val for AReCafe ( )

3.5 stars. Was a bit on the short side and not as good as book 1. However, still enjoyable. I just want more!! ( )

3.5 stars. Was a bit on the short side and not as good as book 1. However, still enjoyable. I just want more!! ( )