Reviewed by Taylor
TITLE: Holding Out for a Fairy Tale
SERIES: Least Likely Partnership #2
AUTHOR: A.J. Thomas
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 250 pages
BLURB:
When his vicious cousin Alejandro makes a violent late-night visit, San Diego homicide detective Ray Delgado gets a brutal reminder of why he left his family behind. Alejandro wants Ray to find his sister, Sophia, who disappeared from the UC San Diego campus, before the FBI digs too deep into his business.
Special Agent Elliot Belkamp spent his entire life jumping from one place to another, but his new assignment assisting a FBI task force offers him a chance to settle down. When Elliot catches a missing person’s case as his first assignment, the last person he expects to find poking around the victim’s dorm room is Ray, a one-time hookup he’s more inclined to punch in the face than kiss hello. After discovering Sophia’s disappearance is linked to a massive computer-based theft that has two powerful crime families ready to declare war, Elliot focuses on his investigation and tries to ignore Ray. As the search for Sophia turns dangerous, Elliot and Ray discover that tackling organized crime might be easier than resisting the urge to tackle each other.
REVIEW:
This book has a mixture of action, mystery, family drama, and a more realistic look at romance. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, A Casual Weekend Thing, and I LOVED Ray in that, so I was excited about reading his own book with the FBI agent, Elliot. It had its strong moments, but it also dragged a bit in places, and I felt like I kept missing an emotional connection to the book as a whole.
Ray Delgado is a homicide detective who met FBI agent Elliot Belkamp several months ago through another case and the two had one week of sweaty good times. Ray had voiced some opinions on being with a man and Elliot felt personally insulted and disrespected, and left Ray. Now the two come together for a case that affects them both personally and professionally. Ray’s cousin – who he has raised like a sister – Sophia, has disappeared and fearing that her brother Alejandro, along with other cartel members are after her, sets out to find her. Elliot has been assigned to the case officially and the two must find a way to work together, discuss their past interactions, and rework preconceived ideas they have about each other and life, all while trying to stay alive.
Some people have mentioned the title and how it might be misleading, but I actually really liked what the author was saying with that idea and concept. Elliot, along with many other people, keep saying they are holding out for a fairy tale, and while that’s a great idea, sometimes the idea of a romantic fairy tale could be flexible. Elliot thinks he knows what he wants, what to expect, and if the person he’s involved with doesn’t react or act or think immediately how he thinks they should, then he has a tendency to shut down and shut them out. But when he stops trying to fit his views and opinions on to someone else, he slowly falls for a guy he never thought he would. And in many ways, the same goes for Ray. Ray overthinks everything in his life, but he has expectations he’s put upon himself from society, family, etc. and it’s just as hard for him to let go of those expectations as it is for Elliot to try and remember that not everyone thinks, feels and acts like him. In many ways, this is a fairy tale. Not epic, swooning romance, but a slow, unfurling friendship and love that becomes their own fairy tale. However, there was something about this book as a whole that lacked emotional depth for me, but as for the relationship between Elliot and Ray, I think I just needed something…more. I can’t honestly tell you more of what, but I didn’t fall in love with them as much as I wanted to. I think it felt a bit like I was an observer to them rather than falling in love with them falling in love, if that makes sense. I needed more emotional moments between them and the back felt lacking there.
The plot had a lot going on, and at times it was confusing, and other times it dragged, but I did like it overall. The cartel, computer hacking, kidnapping, murder, and the like are all going on and there were definitely some exciting moments, but the slow non-romantic moments felt verrrrrry slow.
Overall it was a quick, good read if you like mystery and plot to have equal time with the relationship aspects in a book.
RATING: 
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