Reviewed by Cheryl

TITLE: Take the Edge Off

AUTHOR: TA Moore

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 214 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 20, 2019

BLURB:

You don’t end up an ex-car thief and ex-con because you’re good at resisting temptation… and Cal Tate’s rich new boss is very tempting.

Cal has always been the bad boy who lovers don’t bring home to Mom, but now he’d like someone other than a debt collector waiting for him. He has a legit job as a driver with his brother’s company, and he’s got a doctor on the hook, but he still can’t help crawling into bed with Joseph Bailey.

Joe has never met anyone as easy in their own skin as his new driver—or as ridiculously beautiful. He’s in London to downsize the family business… and to investigate the abusive emails that imply a dark secret around his mother’s death. But unpicking the lies he’s been told makes Joe realize he isn’t sure who he is without them.

When his life falls apart, the only person he can be himself with is Cal. But with the escalating threats from his anonymous stalker, Joe doesn’t know if there’s any chance for a happy future for him and Cal.

REVIEW:

I’m not going to lie, this book confused me in places. There is such a lot going on and there were places where I struggled to follow what was going on. It didn’t help that the prologue was one of them so it set the scene for difficulties for me. This is not to say that the book is not good, because it is.

The best thing about this book is the characterization. The characters are rich, well rounded and entertaining. This is one of the rare books where I identify as much with the minor characters as the mains. In fact, some of the minors really made the story pop. I think one of the marks of a good book is that the background characters grow and develop as much as the mains.

The writing was stylish and fluid and the pacing generally smooth and engaging. There were one or two places where I felt it was a little off but that might well be just me. I have to admit up front that if I get lost at the beginning it flavours everything and I struggle more than I would otherwise have done. I’m almost looking for errors whereas in a book I sink into easily, I’m more willing to slide over them. To be fair to the author, I think the lack of clarity was deliberate in order to create the mystery that brought quite a neat twist to the story.

There were many things to like as much as the characters, many little touches and the way the story unfolds. I was never bored. I don’t think this is the kind of book you can read in one sitting, at least for me it wasn’t. There are things that need mulling over and there are parts that need to be read carefully, as things can be missed. That being said it is well paced and hurries you along so it’s by no means a slow read.

I would say that this is a perfect book for those who like a little more meat on the bones of the story and are required to do a little work for themselves rather than being spoon fed all the details. The twist is neat, the story interesting and it’s well worth a read.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon