Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE: Two for the Road

SERIES:  Cocktails & Chaos

AUTHOR: L.E. Franks

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH:  311 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2021

BLURB:

Nick’s unwelcome past roars into his life like a tornado. Will its path destroy his and Fatboy’s secret romance?

Hot and heavy under the covers, cool and distant in the public eye, Nick and FatBoy have been keeping their relationship secret from friends and coworkers at the bar. But if Nick gets his way, their first carefully planned weekend will catapult their relationship to the next level—after all, once FatBoy experiences the liberation of an exclusive gay resort, how can he possibly be content to keep their love life under wraps?

But circumstances have never been kind to Nick, and expecting Fate to give his love life a free pass is too much to ask. When an attack at the bar leaves Nick reeling and confused, it is merely the first domino to fall in a chain of events that leads Nick to question who he is, how he got there, and where he belongs. His only hope is that he’ll still have the man of his dreams at his side when he reaches the end of the road.

REVIEW:

Nick and Davis (aka FatBoy) are having a devil of a time syncing their schedules while keeping their relationship on the DL.  They FINALLY have a long weekend off and they are supposedly “going fishing.”  But before they can get away, Nick is accosted at the bar.  He has no idea who the guy is or why.  By after he feels a little better having Davis fix him up and get some rest, he’s enjoying some pizza when Davis discovered his surprise!  A trip to an exclusive gay resort where Davis can be out.  But Davis isn’t ready for that – in fact he looks a bit like a deer in the headlights at the thought.  But it kind of doesn’t matter anyway, because another surprise lands on Nick’s doorstep without any warning.  And it’s tied to the beatdown he took at the bar.

Family drama is not Nick’s thing.  He’s been on his own for a long time and he’s kind of a lone wolf.  Davis is the closest he’s come to a relationship in years and that’s been a bit of a gauntlet for a guy who if he didn’t have bad luck, would have no luck at all.  As Nick faces issues and things from his past that he had hoped to never have to deal with again, Davis is by his side.  As his friend.  Without spoiling things, I will just say that it’s amazing that Nick is the functional and self-sufficient adult that he is.  Coming out the other side, Davis turns out to be his rock, despite his own issues.

Well I can honestly say I did NOT see this coming.  This book kind of broke my heart.  And then put it back together again.  Nick has been through a LOT more than anyone realized.  The events and past revealed in this book give us a lot more insight into Nick’s issues and why he’s never believed himself to be worthy of anyone actually loving him and keeping him.  Davis finally understands much more about why Nick behaves the way he does and why he puts up a front with people despite having a huge heart underneath.  Nick also recognizes that Davis has real issues he is going to have to face with his family if they are going to make this work long-term.  He wants to be patient and let Davis take things at his own pace.

I still love the found family aspect of these books.  Juan, Nick’s former hookup and bar-back is still around and I cannot wait to see what’s up with him in the next book 😉  Blake, Nick and Davis’s boss is still around meddling in things :).  Rachel the ballbuster lawyer is back in a new role of support for Nick and I LOVED seeing her in action.  There are also a lot of new and surprising characters that I just adored – particularly Nick’s erstwhile savior Reba.

I had been waiting a LONG time for this book and I can say I was so happy to read it.  Now I just have to wait for Part III!  I hope Davis finds what he needs in the final book of the series and that all will end well.  Knowing this author and these guys, it ain’t gonna be easy 😉  Highly recommended!

RATING: 

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