Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Tribute Act
SERIES: Porthkennack #8
AUTHOR: Joanna Chambers
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 206 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2018
BLURB:
Nathan Bridges hadn’t intended to settle down in his home town of Porthkennack—he just ended up staying after saving the family business from ruin. The truth is, Nathan can’t stop himself from stepping in when problems arise. He’s a fixer, the man everyone turns to. But even fixers can’t solve everything.
When Nathan’s sister needs an organ transplant, it’s his stepbrother, Mack, who the family turns to as Rosie’s only potential living donor. Nathan’s curiosity about the stepbrother he’s never met turns to shock when he realises that Mack is his latest—and hottest ever—one-night stand.
Nathan and Mack agree to forget their single night together, but that’s easier said than done. When Mack moves in to Nathan’s place to recuperate after surgery, it’s not just the sexual tension between them that keeps growing. Against all the odds, and despite Mack’s wariness of intimacy, the two men grow close enough that Nathan begins to wonder what it would take to mend the rift that’s kept Mack and his father estranged for over a decade . . . and whether Mack might consider staying with Nathan in Porthkennack for good.
REVIEW:
I seem to have caught the plague so you, my lovelies, shall be gifted with yet another “omg what are words!?!!!!” review. You are welcome. (And apologies to Ms. Chambers, whose book deserves so much more brain power than what I currently sloshing away in my head.)
While set in Porthkennack, this book is a lot more insular than some of the others in the series. Nathan–who runs himself ragged helping out at his mom and stepfather’s ice cream shop/cafe–and Mack–who is only in town to see if he can be a donor match to his and Nathan’s kid sister–are center stage for this story. Everything is so focused on them that there is a pervasive sense of intimacy throughout the entire story. They connect on such a sweet level that first night, that you can’t help but be drawn into their story. And despite the fact that they both went into it not expecting anything more than a one-night-stand, you can also tell how deeply Mack needs someone like Nathan–but probably more importantly, how badly Nathan needs someone in his life who doesn’t simply take.
And yes, while I totally admit that the fact they are step-brothers totally had me excited to read this book, that really isn’t something that comes into play a whole lot. Mostly because they have never met before their first night together. But where it does factor into the story it is all the more important. It isn’t about titillation and taboo, but Mack desperately needing a family and Nathan wanting nothing more than to give him his.
This book was basically all heart. The connection between Nathan and Mack is probably my favorite out of this series; I am a total sucker for these kinds of hurt/comfort books…especially when I am neck deep in cold meds. And the various other relationships that evolve over the course of this book are very well done as well. Especially between Mack and his father. Very good book, very good characters, just very good everything.
RATING: 
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