Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Heal Me
SERIES: Love in the Pacific Northwest
AUTHOR: Beck Grey
NARRATOR: Gary Furlong
PUBLISHER: Pine & Moon LLC
LENGTH: 11 hours and 9 minutes
RELEASE DATE: September 9, 2024
BLURB:
Jocelin:
What do you do when your boss’s pushy nephew repeatedly asks you out and won’t take no for an answer? You create a fake boyfriend. One who works a lot, so he never comes to office functions or meets you for lunch. It works well until le salaud calls my bluff.
So that’s how I find myself at a client event, practically begging a handsome stranger to play said boyfriend. Only after I calm down do I realize le bel homme in the bespoke suit is no stranger at all. He’s my best friend’s brother, and mon Dieu, he cleans up well!
When Gunnar volunteers to keep up the ruse beyond one night, of course, I say yes. I’m no fool. But fake love can have very real consequences…
Gunnar:
Being accosted by the attractive, if slightly flustered, Jocelin Allard before I even make it out of the parking lot isn’t how I expect to start my evening. But pretending to be his boyfriend for a few hours seems like a harmless way to liven up an otherwise painful social event.
And as far as dates go, fake or otherwise, I could do a lot worse. He’s smart, gorgeous, and has a sexy accent. Plus, my sister would kill me if I left her bestie hanging.
When the evening goes shockingly well, almost effortlessly, our relationship turns real, and for a while, it’s total bliss. Until I unintentionally take a wrecking ball to my life. Again.
Heal Me is a low-medium angst, MM fake boyfriend, sister’s best friend, contemporary romance about bad decisions, past trauma, and loving someone including their flaws. It contains no cheating, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
REVIEW:
Note: this is the fifth book in this series but can work OK as a standalone. There are spoilers for pervious books in the series, especially those books featuring Bjorn’s brothers Erik and Gunnar finding their significant others 🙂
Jocelin Allard is a contracts attorney at a law firm in Seattle. He’s good at his job, but he’s not enjoying it very much anymore. One of the partner’s nephew, Victor has been hired and he’s be harassing Jocelin for months. He keeps asking him out even though Jocelin tells him he has a boyfriend. Even if said boyfriend isn’t exactly real. Then Gunnar, his best friend’s twin brother shows up at work accidentally getting off on the wrong floor. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other. Jocelin had forgotten just how attractive Gunnar is but he’s Astrid’s twin, so that’s a no go.
Later they are at the same reception for an author that Astrid works with and that Jocelin’s firm also works for. Unfortunately Victor shows up and tries to pick Jocelin up AGAIN. Luckily Gunnar shows at the right time and Jocelin sweeps him up and begs him to play the part to avoid Victor’s aggressive behavior. Luckily Gunnar is more than happy to play along. They have a fun time together and one of the other partners at Jocelin’s firm is there and invites them to party the following weekend. Jocelin doesn’t want to answer for Gunnar, but he’s in. The return to Jocelin’s and things get a little steamy. Gunnar, however, wants to take things slowly. First, there is the whole Astrid situation. Secondly, he’s not one to just jump in bed with someone. In fact, he’s interested in actually getting to know Jocelin before anything really happens between them.
They agree to date and the more time they spend together, the better things seem to be going. There is still some less than subtle hints from Victoria, Victor’s aunt, that she wants Victor to take over Jocelin’s work. Not going to happen. The other partners make it a point to compliment Jocelin’s work and he’s thrilled with that. Gunnar is happy to have his back too.
They grow closer and even spend time with Gunnar’s large family. Things are going great until a problem comes up at work and Jocelin has to figure out what is happening – away from the office. His parents show up and he and Gunnar end up at Gunnar’s place. They get closer and closer and things are going great – until there is a tragedy that triggers Gunnar and his PTSD from a previous violent trauma in his past. He doesn’t handle it well and Jocelin is none too pleased. He’s not sure he wants to put up with this behavior and set himself up for heartache.
I really enjoyed Gary Furlong’s narration of this book! There are a LOT of characters and they were all distinct. Jocelin’s barely there Quebecois accent was lovely 😉 There is a lot of emotion in this story – particularly in the last third. There is good representation of past trauma, flight response, panic attacks and PTSD here that is so well performed. Mr. Furlong is a master of his craft and I really FELT the pain and fear that Gunnar was reeling with during this tale. Also fair warning, there is quite a bit of sex in this one 😉 If that’s your jam, you wont be disappointed. There is overlap here of characters and stories from other books – particularly the final book in the series, so be warned there. This whole series has been a really good one. The characters are all interesting – certainly not cookie cutter. There is suspense and emotion and growth that kept me entertained and engaged. Highly recommended, especially in audio.
RATING: 
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