Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Sweet Hart
SERIES: Hart Consulting
AUTHOR: Rae Marks
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 240 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021
BLURB:
FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBT ROMANCE RAE MARKS
Book one in the Hart Consulting series
When Brayden stumbles into a covert operation, Sam has to keep him alive. Together they navigate their unexpected attraction and the world of the Ukrainian mafia.
Brayden Hart needs to find his older brother Mason and time is running out. Mason disappeared after being discharged from the military two years before. While on leave from the army, Bray follows a lead his friend has been able to find. When he knocks on the door of a dingy apartment outside Miami, the last person he expects to meet is the gorgeous but grumpy Sam Wheeler.
Sam denies knowing Bray’s brother and turns him away. But Sam is Bray’s only lead. Luckily, Bray’s childhood friend is one of the best hackers in the country and helps Bray follow Sam to Ukraine.
In Kiev, Bray falls blindly into the fray of a covert operation and Sam steps in to keep him alive. While navigating the choppy waters of the Ukrainian mafia, Bray and Sam fall into the bedroom. But what happens when the mission ends?
REVIEW:
Brayden Hart is desperate to find his brother Mason. Mason has been on radio silence from his family after he left and joined the military. Brayden has joined the military after college as well, but after Mason was discharged, the trail went completely cold. Brayden does have a friend who is able to track a potential connection to Mason. Brayden goes to Miami to plead with this guy, Sam, to at least get a message to Mason that it’s a life or death matter. But Sam claims he knows nothing and sends Brayden on his way.
Bray knows that Sam is lying to him and so he follows Sam to Kiev – again thanks to his connection. But he’s completely over his head when he tried to follow Sam from the airport and has a series of missteps. Then an off the cuff remark from Sam’s partner Ax makes Sam’s business associates think that Bray is Sam’s boyfriend. So now he will have to play the part in order to get any information on his brother. But he’s OK with that because Sam is hot and definitely his type as it turns out. However, Bray takes another risk and ends up in trouble again and Sam has to rescue him.
After Bray is back in safe hands, their posing as boyfriends leads to actual sex. And then things get a bit messier. Bray is worried he’s developing feelings for Sam and he’s still desperate to talk to his brother. Mason isn’t exactly thrilled that Sam has his little brother posing as his boyfriend but realizes that there was no choice after Brayden waltzed into the middle of their operation. And Sam vows that he’ll get Brayden out of there and back to the States as quickly as possible.
Of course nothing goes smoothly. Brayden is missing again and it turns out his mysterious connection is the guy who can help Sam find him. When Sam and Ax and Mason recover Brayden, things are not looking good. Their op has gone a bit sideways and they are trying to figure out how to keep Brayden under wraps until he can get out of the country. Again he doesn’t take no for an answer and ends up injured again for his troubles. But the team is impressed with his ability to think on his feet. Even though he’s sent home and he’s reunited with his family, he can’t help thinking about Sam and what might be.
This appears to be a debut novel by this author. The books contains a few tropes – forced proximity, fake boyfriends and D/s relationship. There is a lot of action and though I felt like I was kind of dropped into the middle of a movie at the beginning, after Sam and Brayden are forced together in Kiev I got a bit more into the story. There is plenty of backstory for both men – family stuff mostly and also mixed up with the homophobia they’ve dealt with. I was a little surprised by their quick turn from playing their parts to actually having sex, but they were under a lot of pressure and already attracted, so it didn’t take much of a match to light the fire. There are a lot of unanswered questions and not much is tied up too neatly with a bow in this – including the ongoing operation that Sam and Mason are part of. There are also a LOT of hints dropped about the other guys on the team. Ax obviously has a backstory that is driving his participation in Hart Consulting. Nick, Brayden’s brother also has something going on and he’s not too trusting of anyone. And of course their is Mason story which is only hinted at in the broadest terms. I’m assuming these are set ups for future books in the series. Overall this is a really good first book and I’m looking forward to seeing what else is coming in this series. Recommended particularly for fans of these tropes and those who like covert ops/ex-military storiies.
RATING: 
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