Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Fish on a Bicycle

SERIES: Fish Out of Water #5

AUTHOR: Amy Lane

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 327 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2019

BLURB:

Jackson Rivers has always bucked the rules—and bucking the rules of recovery is no exception. Now that he and Ellery are starting their own law firm, there’s no reason he can’t rush into trouble and take the same risks as always, right?

Maybe not. Their first case is a doozy, involving porn stars, drug empires, and daddy issues, and their client, Henry Worrall, wants to be an active participant in his own defense. As Henry and Jackson fight the bad guys and each other to find out who dumped the porn star in the trash can, Jackson must reexamine his assumptions that four months of rest and a few good conversations have made him all better inside.

Jackson keeps crashing his bicycle of self-care and a successful relationship, and Ellery wonders what’s going to give out first—Jackson’s health or Ellery’s patience. Jackson’s body hasn’t forgiven him for past crimes. Can Ellery forgive him for his current sins? And can they keep Henry from going to jail for sleeping with the wrong guy at the wrong time?

Being a fish out of water is tough—but if you give a fish a bicycle, how’s he going to swim?

REVIEW:

Possible triggers: pedophilia, father molesting son, and there’s drugs and murder. If it’s a trigger, please be careful. Otherwise, don’t miss out on this amazing book and if you’re just getting started. You need to start with book 1!

I knew better. I so knew better. You NEVER read an Amy book without tissues and oh my gah! You’re killing me here. Jackson?? Ellery?? Major intenseness going on and yeah I’m sure that’s not a word but still. I am very happy, though, to see how Amy is intertwining a lot of these series. It’s been so interesting and fun to watch. Although this one was a rough one. And for Jackson and Ellery, that’s saying a lot.

So in this one, we get to see a lot of the Johnnies crew. Dex’s brother ends up showing up battered and bruised, with a chip the size of Texas on his shoulder and a lot of secrets he’s hiding as to why. But now he’s about to be in major trouble as Scott, the druggie that got John hooked worse and more, is dead. And Henry is going to be blamed because he slugged the guy after Scott was trying to peddle drugs to the guys. John’s man, Galen, came to Ellery and Jackson for help for Henry, but all Henry is doing is pissing people off with his attitude. Mainly about gays. What’s funny about the whole thing, you will find out eventually, because as usual, Jackson worms it out of him. Once Ellery and Jackson start digging into this, they realize they have stumbled on to a huge mess. And an old enemy who’s come to town to play. But the more mess they find out, the more they feel sorry for Scott and the life he was forced into. And the more they want the parties involved to pay. But as they are getting to the bottom of things, Jackson’s health is fading fast. He’s missed cardiologist appointments, he’s not talking to the rabbi anymore, he’s not eating again and the nightmares are back in full swing. When he gets kidnapped, Jackson realizes this may be finally the end. And if he lives, he knows he has to make sure Ellery knows what he means to him. But as he’s standing there with a gun trained on him, he doesn’t know if he’s going to make it.

It was so so good to see the Johnnies crew again. And to see them all thriving and trying to make something of there lives. I love Jackson so much as it is, but when I saw him befriend and defend Reg, it became a love of no bounds. Reg is still just the sweetest man ever and he just wants a few friends and people to love him. When he’s threatened, he makes a fast friend in Jackson and it made me so happy, because it was like a kid at Christmas with the grin he had. It was also great to see Burton and Ernie and the guys again. Even if only briefly.

But this one, I have to admit, was one of the hardest of the series. Both Jackson and Ellery are no strangers to almost dying. Hell, with those two, it seems like it’s almost a daily basis. But this one pushes Jackson’s health to the brink he may not come back from this time and it about killed me. I didn’t know who to cry for more. Jackson, for going through it, or Ellery, for having to go through it as well and having no outlet for dealing with it. It actually came to a head at one point and I bawled like a baby, because they have come so far with everything, but when one holds back and the other constantly worries and knows nothing, it’s bound to blow up. But they push through, like they always do. They fight, they rage, they cry, they love. It’s who they are. And I have loved every minute of this series. It has been amazing. I’m already ready for book 6.

And as a sidenote….we still need Jai’s story lol. *wink wink*

RATING:

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