Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: A Sweet Man

SERIES: The Men of Halfway House #7

AUTHOR: Jaime Reese

PUBLISHER: Romandeavor, Inc

LENGTH: 361 Pages

RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

BLURB:

Gabriel “Bull” del Toro loves his fast-paced globe-trotting job, but aches for an honest relationship and the trust that comes with it. After a few too many heartbreaks, he’s nearly given up hope of finding that special someone.
Until Ben.
Born deaf, Ben is used to working twice as hard for what he wants, but risking a newfound friendship on an impossible dream is scary. After all, there’s one lesson he’s learned: everything is temporary—freedom, friends, even family.
Neither man expects the undeniable spark between them or for every moment together to fuel that connection. For the first time, a happily ever after is within reach, but they must trust that the dream of acceptance, family, and a place to call home is more than a sweet fantasy.
It can be forever.

REVIEW:

For those who are already readers of this series, you will remember that the last we saw of sweetheart Ben, he was planning to live with his long-lost sister and was working for Dray and Vann. Going into this book I was kind of sad that for the first time one of the main characters wouldn’t be a resident of Halfway House. But wait…! What the heck has happened? This story begins with my poor beautiful, sweet Ben having just left prison again. The last few years have not been easy for Ben, and while he’s just as sweet, just as special, and just as beautiful a person, he’s a little bit broken and unsure. Luckily for him, he has Matt and Julian, and Vann and Drayton, and numerous others – in true Halfway House fashion – who are willing to show him just how worthy of love he is. Show him that true friends can be trusted to support him. Prove that not everyone will leave. And, then there’s Aidan, a most gruff and unlikely cupid who has the smart idea that what Ben really needs is a Bull. Just like Bull really needs a Ben.

While Jaime Reese can come up with brilliant, action packed stories with twists and bad guys, in my opinion what she does best is create men who can bring you to tears with their extraordinary characters and their painful stories. This author has brought to life some of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever read and Ben is definitely high up on that list.

While this is a romance, and there are some scorching hot moments between our two main characters, this is ultimately one of the sweetest, emotion laden books that I’ve read. Usually if a book is described as atmospheric it would mean in an ominous or angsty way, but A Sweet Man is steeped in love. Not just the romance between Bull and Ben, but there are family and friends, basically all the past characters of the series, who come together to care for each other. If you every need a series that will give you that warm fuzzy feeling, The Men of Halfway House would be one of the first I’d recommend.

And speaking of warm fuzzies…Bunny. I spent the beginning of this story honest to God fretting over the whereabouts of a stuffed toy from several books previous. And then I cried. For a toy. That never actually existed. Jaime Reese is a master at playing those heart strings, and every now and again she likes to give them a nice, sharp, discordant pluck, that makes you realize just how invested in these fictional lives you actually are.

I highly recommend you begin reading this series from the beginning, and experience Halfway House from its conception.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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