Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Ordinary People

AUTHOR:  E.E. Montgomery

PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:  90 pages

BLURB:  

When Queensland Police Force Constable James Laramee raids a hotel room, he finds Vinnie Canterbury on top of a naked, dead man, covered in blood. Vinnie promptly vomits all over James’s shoes.

Thanks to a cocktail of horse sedatives and Hendra vaccine, Vinnie’s memories of his ordeal are fractured. Finding the culprits and the reasons behind his abduction will be a challenge. With his apartment trashed, his building set on fire, and his clothes, phone and wallet gone, Vinnie needs a place to stay. To his surprise, James not only takes him in, but also lets him cry on his shoulder. It must be true love. Vinnie has plans for his future with James all mapped out, and he hopes he can get James on the same page.

REVIEW:  

When Vinnie Canterbury wakes up he doesn’t know where he is, why everyone is shouting at him, or how he ended up, on the ground, vomiting all over another man’s shoes.  But he knows there was an awful lot of blood around him.  He knows that something is seriously wrong. And he most definitely knows that he wants to go home–right now.

Except when Vinnie Canterbury was woken up, by the Queensland Police Force, he had woken up on top of a dead body. Now James Laramee not only has a pair of shoes he will probably never be able to wear again, but a man who has been kidnapped, drugged, and is now in danger from persons unknown.  And he doesn’t know who wants Vinnie dead, why they want him dead, or where to stash the man who seems to have attached himself to James like he is Vinnie’s personal security blanket.  But he knows he can’t let anyone hurt Vinnie ever again.  He knows he is falling for the man who can smile like the sun.  And he most definitely know that this attraction is a very very bad idea.

I knew it was a good idea to pick up this story. I knew it. *smiles smugly*

Ok, since my last attempts at reading this author (who was unknown to me at the time) went so well, I thought I would try out another of their stories.  And I am glad I did.  This story was really good and I found myself really enjoying its weird style, even though it should have probably bugged me a lot more than it did.

The timeline for this story was all over the place.  The way it is written, with flashbacks and Vinnie’s drugged ass not knowing what the hell is going on at any point in time, means that you never know what or where in the story you are going next.  And yet…and yet it works really well. You take it as it comes, trust that the author knows what they are doing, and you just enjoy the ride.  And your trust is rewarded with a simple, but well-constructed, mystery that fits just perfectly around James and Vinnie’s growing romance.

And while I am not a big fan of insta-love (lie!)–ok, I do love them, even if I have trouble trusting them (ok, better)–for some reason the love built up between these two, over the course of only a few days…just works.  I mean, I shouldn’t trust it, what with Vinnie being stoned off his ass for a good half of the story, but I like these two together. So much.  And yeah, James should probably not be falling for a witness under his protection–but who cares about professional ethics when you are in love!!

Fine, I usually care, but I’m allowed a day off from policing police books….right?

I really liked this short story, and E.E. Montgomery is quickly becoming an author-to-watch for me.  And as it is a short story, it is a quick and fun read with a nice romance to boot.

RATING:  

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