Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Rain Shadow
SERIES: Bluewater Bay #10
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 192 pages
BLURB:
Jeremy Rose came to Bluewater Bay to work as Anna Maxwell’s bodyguard, not to escape his increasingly bitter relationship with his estranged kids. He just wants to focus on his job and be alone for a while. He’s done with love, especially now that three years after his long overdue divorce, he’s got a front-row seat to the rapid deterioration between Anna and her girlfriend. Cynical doesn’t even begin to describe him.
Then Anna and Leigh’s attempts to reconcile put him in the crosshairs of marriage counselor Scott Fletcher. Scott’s exactly what Jeremy needs right now: gorgeous, hot, horny, single, and 100% uninterested in a relationship. The problem is, too much no-strings-attached sex—and too much time in each other’s company—inevitably builds emotional connection.
Except Jeremy refuses to seek counseling for his broken family, and Scott refuses to get seriously involved with men who work dangerous jobs. They both need to realize they can only hide for so long from the pain they came here to escape. They must face their pasts before they lose their shot at a happy future.
REVIEW:
Jeremy has had about all he can stand of therapists. The year and a half he spent dragging the already dead corpse of a relationship with his ex-wife thru those counselor’s doors has proved how little therapy and him mix. And if that didn’t do it then watching Anna, the woman he his hired to protect, experience the same old thing has surely done the job.
Then he meets Scott while trailing Anna and her girlfriend on a trip. The older man is hot, funny, and someone Jeremy very much wants to try beneath the sheets. The feeling is mutual. As long as it stays casual it works well, but soon feelings creep in and complications arise. Not the least because Scott is a therapist with an aversion to dating men in law enforcement. And Jeremy may not be a cop, but he still spends his life standing between danger and Anna.
After a stressful day this was just the book for me. I’ve read my way thru almost the entire Bluewater Bay series and I jumped all over this book when it came up for review. While not closely connected to the previous books in the series, and can consequently be read as a stand-alone, the chance to go back to this town and the people who populate it is something not to be missed.
While there were moments when I would’ve dearly loved to smack some manners into Jeremy’s kid, the fact that Jeremy never stopped trying to fix that relationship is one of the things I love about this book. Having just recently had a split with my father that is very unlikely to ever be fixed, seeing an example of a guy–who despite making a few bad choices–is willing to fight for his kids, is nice. There are no quick fixes here, but the reality and consequences of his actions before the divorce really made me like this book.
I wish there had been a bit more focus on Scott and his issues, but I do get with the way that this was written that Jeremy was probably always going to be more center stage. That is just the way 1st person povs kinda work sometimes. But even if I think that Scott got off a bit easy near the end, I do like that he pushed Jeremy. Gods only know how long it would have taken the dude to pull his head out if Scott wasn’t there to do the tough yanking.
The story was highly entertaining and the chemistry between the two was extremely hot. I do love it when two guys, both of them over 40, find each other. And since books tend to skew towards the younger generations, having two fully grown men to read about is great.
And I am looking forward to Stuck Landing, the next book in the series. Even if I don’t get the chance to read many f/f stories. Anna’s story is going to be awesome.
As always this series is a must read. Whoever had the idea to start this series over at Riptide deserves like all the brownies.
RATING:
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