Reviewed by Vicki

TITLE: Truth & Tenderness

SERIES: Faith, Love, & Devotion #6

AUTHOR: Tere Michaels

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 pages

BLURB:

Newly promoted police captain Evan Cerelli takes command of his own precinct as Matt Haight’s security business begins to expand at a rapid rate. Both of their careers require more and more of their time—away from home and each other. When his most famous clients, Daisy and Bennett Ames, suffer a traumatic breakup, Matt is drawn into a dangerous and dramatic situation. With attentions diverted, Evan and Matt’s tight-knit home life begins to unravel.

As Griffin Drake’s movie nears final edit, his thoughts turn toward building a home with his new fiancé, Jim Shea—and maybe even starting a family. Before he can think of a new family, Jim is caught up in his past. The possibility of putting Tripp Ingersoll in jail once and for all beckons, and Jim wants the closure that has long eluded him. As a new lead spurs him on, Jim begins to lose sight of the future by chasing an old ghost.

Both couples struggle to remember that “happily ever after” requires hard work, trust, and tender, open hearts.

REVIEW:

AAAHHHH!!!! Yes! Matt and Evan, Jim and Griffin….

I’ve been through this series twice, and I love the first two, and like the others. The first one with Matt and Evan was fantastic, I loved the drama and angst of them coming together. So much drama. Just perfect. Then Jim and Griffin’s book, same thing! Lots of drama. The third one was a good strong story, but since both couple were established, the drama was missing. Cherish and Blessed were fun, but a bit fluffy. Then we get to Truth & Tenderness….

Oh. My. God. The drama! I LOVED it!

So we have really three couple now, all mixed up. Evan and Matt, Jim and Griffin, and Daisy and Bennett. This book has drama for all three couples, all tangled up together. Let me see if I can break it down without giving too much away.

Evan and Matt have been together for some time now, Evan is a captain for NYPD, the first out gay one they have had. So he’s a bit of a poster boy, not really doing as much crime solving, more figure-head. He doesn’t particularly like this, but it is what it is. Matt (former cop) has a security business that he runs with his friend Jim. Evan has four kids, two in college, two at home. Matt co-parents them. Evan can still be a jackass, he’s the alpha male of the couple (so HE thinks), and puts much of the kid care duties on Matt. This causes a HUGE fight between the two of them, Evan basically telling Matt that his job is more important and Matt needs to change his plans to take care of the kids that afternoon. Matt deals with the situation by calling in the oldest daughter to take care of the younger ones, and runs away. Conveniently Jim and Griffin have drama and Matt needs to help. Big old stinky mess between Matt and Evan, I actually had some concern for them!

Jim and Griffin have also been together for a while now. Let’s see…. so when Evan and Matt first got together, they broke up. Matt went out to a bar and was picked up by a cop from Seattle that was visiting NYC. Jim Shea. The second book in this series is Jim’s story. Big drama, there’s a murder, Jim is the lead cop, there is no conviction, he gets waaaay too involved. Griffin is a writer, Daisy is an actress. They put together a plan to make a movie about the case that Jim was on. Jim remains friends with the father of the murdered girl, and wants to be in on any plan for a movie. Jim and Griffin meet, have drama, and fall in love. Whew. They eventually move to the east coast, because Daisy and her new husband Bennett, have a baby and settle in the Hampton’s. Also Evan and Matt are there. Well, Matt, Evan was such a dick to Jim, they don’t care about being close to him. So all of the couple work their shit out, and are all friends and family.

Whew! Finally we get to this book. Jim starts to work with Matt in his security business. He doesn’t need the money but he’s bored. Matt hasn’t been able to let go of the murder of the girl, and is still trying to figure out a way to get Tripp, the douchebag that he knows murdered the girl. He finds a way, but it gets so very much out of hand. Eventually involving all of the couples in a big clusterfuck. Daisy and Bennett have a nasty fight, Evan and Matt are fighting, Jim and Griffin get in to it over Jim’s obsession. It was awesome. Drama drama drama! Of course it is a romance so they do work it all out and we get a fan-freaking-tastic ending.

So yeah. I LOVED this book. I loved the drama with each couple, the mess they all get in together, how they work together to get out of it. I love the love and the bond between them each as a couple, and as a group. I love the kids, normally I’m not a fan of kids in romance stories but they have always worked in this series, and this book is no exception.

Then we have the sex… We finally get a switch up with Matt and Evan, and it was great! Yumm.

Not sure what else I can say, I’ve pretty much rambled and raved about this book! If you have read the others in the series, you have GOT to read this one. I have seen some reviews mentioning the fluffiness of the last couple of books, but I can tell you honestly this one is not at all fluffy! It’s as good, if not better than the first book. If you haven’t read this series you need to go pick up book one and give them a try. NOW!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press