Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: The Two Gentlemen of Altona
SERIES: Playing the Fool #1
AUTHOR: Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 215 pages
BLURB:
Mischief, thou art afoot.
Special Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness is having a rough week. Not only is he on a new diet, but he’s also been tasked with keeping Henry Page—the world’s most irritating witness—alive. Which is tough when Mac’s a breath away from killing the Shakespeare-quoting, ethically-challenged, egg-obsessed Henry himself. Unless killing isn’t really what Mac wants to do to him.
Con man Henry Page prefers to keep his distance from the law . . . though he wouldn’t mind getting a little closer to uptight, handsome Agent McGuinness. As the sole witness to a mob hit, Henry’s a valuable asset to the FBI. But he’s got his own agenda, and it doesn’t involve testifying.
When evidence surfaces of a mole in the FBI office, Mac and Henry are forced to go into hiding. Holed up in a fishing cabin, they’re surprised to discover that their feelings run more than skin deep. But as the mob closes in, Henry has to make his escape. And Mac has to decide how far he’s willing to go to keep Henry by his side.
REVIEW:
Henry Page is a liar–a professional liar. Or as Special Agent Ryan McGuinness would say…a criminal and a con man. But Henry isn’t the suspect (well, mostly) in Mac’s latest case; he’s the witness. A very very reluctant witness. Because when you witness a mob boss killing one of his right-hand men, you’d be an idiot to stay in the same state with the man, let alone testify against him. And Henry page may be a liar and a con man and a criminal…but he ain’t no fool. Too bad Mac isn’t going to give up on Henry just quite yet. Even when things between them get a bit more than complicated…and a whole lot closer to damn dangerous.
Oh. My. God. I had so much freaking fun reading this. I’ve pretty much decided that anything that Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock write together is something I have to read. Because they do such a great job of giving us characters that unique and situations that can go from steaming, to laughing, to crying all within a few pages.
Not that there was a lot of crying in this book. But there was plenty of action and a whole lot of laughs. Oh, and by ‘action’ I mean shoot ’em up and run away…because while these authors sure do know how to write some crazy good sex, they also know how to write one hell of a cockblock. Those bastards…(jk). I do wish Henry had done a bit less running (if only because I loved the scenes between Mac and him so much) and a bit more trusting (though from the hints we got, I think it’s pretty clear trust isn’t something he gives out easily) but this book was a great beginning of (what I presume is) a three part series about these guys, so I’m willing to wait and watch. And I love series where we get to watch two guys circle around each other for a bit before they end up together.
I was a little worried that Henry’s smarmyness would get on my nerves, but there is something about him that is very charming. Maybe it is because we get enough of his pov so that we know that con man isn’t all that he is, or maybe he just is that good at making people trust him, but either way I loved him and can’t wait to find out more about him.
And the way these guys fall for each other…pretty much kicking and screaming the whole way. So good. Henry can’t see a way to being the ‘good guy’ that Mac needs and deserves. Mac can’t see a way to actually have a relationship with a guy who’s a criminal (and, well, a guy). Both of them pretty much admit that what they have going on between them is a big fucking disaster waiting to happen…and yet they keep coming back.
I was thrilled with this book (and even more thrilled that I now have the second book on my kindle!) and can’t recommend it enough. It is a lot of fun, with some great sexual chemistry, and a little bit of action to make everything all the more tense and uncertain. This is going to be a great series and I can’t wait to see what is next for our con man and his cop!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Yay, I’ve been waiting for this series. Question is – do I wait for book three or dive straight in?
hmm, i don’t know. book one was really good, but it also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so you might want to wait. I haven’t got around to reading book two, yet, so i’m not sure how that one ends (though it will probably be a bit cliffhangery as well). It looks like each book will have its own story, but the relationship in these books are set up to take place over the entire three books, so if you are the type of person who is no good at cliffhangers, it might be a good bet to wait till the third one comes out in march.