Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Shot at Living
SERIES: Vasquez Inc #3
AUTHOR: Lou Sylvre
LENGTH: 132 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 21, 2019
BLURB:
*LA’s heat holds danger and mystery for a Dom and his sub aiming for love and a new life together.*
Anxious to leave London and its horrors behind, Brian Harrison and Jackie Vasquez move to Los Angeles. Brian hopes working for Luki, managing a small Vasquez Security branch, will leave him more time to live, love, and play with sub Jackie. But Los Angeles awakens old trauma for Jackie, and follows that with a brand new hit.
While Jackie struggles back to health after a crippling accident, Brian strives to find his balance as Jackie’s lover and Dom. Meanwhile, the more Brian defies the order not to investigate the disappearance of the previous branch manager, the deeper and darker the mystery gets.
Can the couple fan the lusty flames still burning between them, rekindle romance, and rise together in time to stand against looming dangers just ahead?
REVIEW:
Note: This is book 3 of a series and as such builds on the prior books. Not recommended as a standalone.
In the aftermath of the events in the previous book, Brian has resigned from Scotland Yard and he and Jackie have returned to the States. They are staying in Nebraska while they regroup. Then Luki offers Brian the job of managing the LA office of Vasquez, Inc. The previous managers has literally disappeared. The office is in a bit of a shambles and Luki has considered closing it until Brian and Jackie return and Brian accepts. Jackie can continue his graduate studies in LA and things will hopefully get back on track. So Brian goes out first to get things in order with the intention that Jackie should follow in a few week time
Unfortunately LA holds some pretty bad memories for Jackie of his abusive past. When he arrives, it immediately throws him off. He’s not in a good frame of mind at all. This throws Brian off as well and they have trouble connecting. As Jackie makes preparations to return to school things are still off. And then Jackie is in an accident and things go from bad to worse. He’s seriously injured and Brian feels a tremendous amount of guilt. Luki and Sonny join him at Jackie’s bedside, but it’s still hard. And on top of that, he’s unable to focus on his job.
When Jackie is able to return home, they are still having issues and Brian is terrified of hurting Jackie more than he’s already hurting. But Jackie needs Brian to take the control that Jackie needs to surrender, so he kind of takes matters into this own hands 😉 And they finally seem to be getting back on track.
But there is still the mystery of what happened to the last manager. And Jackie is still no himself and Brian is still worried. He knows he wants a lifetime commitment with Jackie, but he hasn’t been able to find the right moment to ask him 🙂 Maybe in the next book?
This is a very good follow up in this series, starting immediately after the end of the last book, A Shot of Fear, and we definitely see Brian and Jackie dealing with the fallout. Neither seems to be in the same confident place in their relationship. Each is harboring guilt and second-guessing what happened in London. They keep these fears to themselves though, and I think at some point that’s either going to come out and bring them closer or tear them apart. Brian knows it’s his job to care for his sub, but with Jackie’s injury he’s have a really hard time doing that. He’s so conscious of Jackie’s pain. Both of them are doing their best and they really love each other, but they haven’t gotten back to that point of communicating well. I can’t wait to see what will happen next. I’m also intrigued by the new information in the mystery of the disappearing manager that Brian has stumbled on. The ongoing mystery and the deepening relationship drive this series and I am fully invested in this couple. Recommended!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Changeling Press