Reviewed by Kimberley
TITLE: The Ties That Bind
SERIES: Cade Creek # 9
AUTHOR: Stormy Glenn
PUBLISHER: Siren Bookstrand
LENGTH: 117 pages
BLURB:
Deputy Nick Hale and Dr. Devon Berkley have been best friends since grade school. They have always been there for each other, even when DB discovered he was gay and Nick was not. When tragedy strikes, being best friends might not be enough to keep Nick from making the worst mistake of his life.
DB has always had a thing for his best friend but he hid it under years of friendship. Not willing to let the man out of his life, DB ignores the attraction growing between them and helps Nick plan his future—even if that future is with someone else.
Nick Hale has always known DB had his back. The man being gay had never been an issue until one night, the comfort DB offers him brings to life fantasies he had buried long ago. When it seems like life has taken away his choices, Nick gives up his fantasies and goes with what he believes is right. But is it? Or is he fooling himself because the life he has always dreamed of might just be a fantasy?
REVIEW:
This book wasn’t really as interesting or as exciting as the others were but I still liked it. This book takes us in a bit different direction, though.
In this book, you have two life long friends. Devon and Nick grew up together so they have a long history, they’re almost like family. Devon is smart, handsome, funny and successful doctor in Cade Creek who is a great catch but is single. He’s single because he’s carrying a torch for his best friend Nick, one of the police deputies in Cade Creek.
These two men have a routine of beer, pizza and game watching every other night. There’s no chemistry, no sexual tension, or anything like that between them, so it’s safe to say that the romantic relationship that development between these two seemed forced.
I felt that everything that Nick did after the accident was for convenience: his dependence on Devon, the relationship he formed with Jessica, the sex he and Devon engaged in, even falling in love with Devon. It all just didn’t feel genuine.
As far as this story goes, Nick was heterosexual with little to no indication that he fantasized or experienced anything remotely sexual with the same sex so that’s why the GFY (Gay For You) angle this story took didn’t quite work for me. The sexual passion—what little there was of it-that was injected into the relationship felt forced and didn’t come through to me as a reader.
I like the fact that this book didn’t have an abuse/rape/hurt theme or violence. The tragedy was sad and the story ran along in predictable lines but it did have a nice ending.
I was intrigued by D.B.’s colleague, Dr. Sutherland. There’s a story there and I really want to read about what’s going on with him. Hopefully, book ten will have some answers to the questions raised in this book.
The other books in this series have mild-to mid- level violence and may deal with issues such as domestic/family violence, physical, mental, sexual abuse and rape so if those are your triggers, I would recommend you skip those parts.
This book is part of a series and as such should be read in sequential order. It is recommended that your read the Blaecleah Brothers Cowboy series as their characters cross over into this series.
RATING:
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