TITLE: Dallas
SERIES: Light & Shadow
AUTHOR: N.N. Britt
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 237 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 26, 2024
BLURB:Prepare for Betrayal and Redemption in Sin City.
As the leader of the Hellhounds and a valued member of the notorious Thoreau crime syndicate, Isaac has it all: power, money, fear. Falling for someone has never been on his radar. But for the first time in his life, Isaac thinks he’s found someone he can truly trust—the mysterious security guard who shattered through his icy defenses and became the one person Isaac could be himself with.
Until everything goes up in flames.
Dallas Bradley has been treading an unstable line of deceit between righteousness and criminality. Isaac Thoreau’s world is slowly turning him into Hawk, the man who doesn’t exist, the man who’s ready to do bad things to survive and remain close to Isaac. But when a dangerous deal goes south, in order to save Isaac’s life, Dallas is forced to reveal the devastating truth—he’s a Special Agent sent to infiltrate the Hellhounds and bring down Isaac.
Heartbroken and enraged, Isaac can’t stand the man who betrayed him so deeply. However, when it’s clear Isaac’s fate is prison, Dallas strikes a bargain with his boss: help save Isaac from life behind bars and keep Dallas undercover to clean up the mess.
Isaac hates Dallas more than ever, but to escape the crosshairs they must work together once more. As tempers and stakes flare in the streets of Sin City, Dallas will risk everything to redeem himself in Isaac’s eyes. But can their undeniable connection survive when trust has turned to ash?
***
Dallas is the second installment of Light & Shadow Duet. It should be read after Isaac. This is a dark MM mafia romance that explores various sensitive subjects like violence, abuse, PTSD, etc. Length: 65,000 words. Alternating POV.
Boy, was I glad to have this one lined up after the way Isaac ended. You must read that book first, as it focused on the relationship and trust building between Hawk and Isaac and showed us how much more to their story there was. I really liked Isaac, the man thrust into a world he didn’t want but who manned up in order to take care of those who needed him. His crew were loyal and true and it was hard to watch things unfold, especially as Hawk grew to be a part of their family as well. But, just as was initiated in the first book, the twists and turns continue. Isaac is having to navigate this world where betrayal comes at him from various directions.
The lines blurred for Hawk not too long after he took on this assignment. I was on the edge of my seat throughout dreading the time when Jeremy’s suspicions were proven true and how things would play out once the truth came to light (about Hawk anyway). I continued to struggle to see a path forward for Isaac and Hawk that ended up with them finding any sort of happiness. There are a lot of events that take place that shape their ending, with various players showing their hands.
Even as I was quickly turning pages, I didn’t want this story to end. I loved Hawk and Isaac together, their dynamic was intense and meaningful given their respective pasts. Isaac needed a happy ending in the worst way. This story isn’t fluffy, as it contains violence and other dark subjects, dark family issues and drama, as well as trust and betrayal. These guys live in a precarious world which makes their relationship intense and their chemistry undeniable. It was all things that made up their relationship, feelings they had little control over, that pulled them through when all hope seemed lost. I really didn’t want to say goodbye to these two but loved how this story all played out. I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author in the future.
