Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Fly Away Home
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: J.F. Harding
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 39 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 12, 2024
BLURB:
Maybe Colson Delacourt teasing those nosy ladies in the coffeeshop with the plot of his next murder mystery was a bad idea. But does that mean he deserves to be arrested for attempting to kill his elderly neighbor? Why won’t the police believe he has nothing to do with her getting hurt? That detective Harper Rose won’t listen to him—he’s so annoying and arrogant. And sexy and gorgeous.
Then Colson also becomes the victim of a crime, and Harper is there to protect and serve with his body and lips. But after the suspects are caught, Harper returns again and again, and Colson can’t resist. There’s just something about a man with a badge and a big…gun to make a guy feel safe.
As a detective Harper is fearless, but when they’re together, he’s afraid to open his heart. He’s hiding something…or someone. Harper swears he’s not married and doesn’t have a boyfriend, so why can’t he ever stay the night? The closer they get, the more Harper pushes Colson away, ghosting him for days, then popping up and acting as if nothing is wrong. The disappearing act he keeps pulling isn’t going to work.
Colson knows what it’s like to have half a relationship, and he isn’t going to make that mistake again. He wants to be strong and walk away, but he sees Harper’s gentle, caring side and knows there’s a key that will unlock the mystery of Harper’s hidden life.
Colson wants them to plant roots and make a home. And that can’t happen unless Harper tells him the truth. Should Colson risk his heart for the possibility that they will soar together, or is it time to say good-bye?
Fly Away Home is a swoony, sexy, MM romance between two men who discover that love will find them when they least expect it. It’s filled with steamy moments, tons of banter, found family, brotherly love and lots of home-made apple pie goodness.
REVIEW:
This book is so good! I enjoyed every second of it.
Colson is a kind of snarky character at the beginning. He’s a murder mystery writer who has just come out of a terrible bout of burnout with his writing and shares his new plot idea with his best friend on the phone. In a coffee shop. With some busybody ladies listening in. He knows they are listening so he kind of jazzes up his conversation with his friend and gives them a cheeky sendoff when he leaves. Also he couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous detective that had come into the shop during his discussion.
Imagine his surprise when later that day, some that closely resemble his new plot idea actually happens to his lovely elderly neighbor. And who should be there to put the screws to him? Well the gorgeous detective of course. And said detective is quite skeptical of his story of a book plot. This is further exacerbated by Colson’s anger at his cheating ex, whose social media clearly shows he’s completely moved on, that results in damage to his hand. Great. Luckily Detective Rose’s partner recognizes Colson right away. But still things are suspicious, so he is asked to come downtown with the detectives to sort out his alibi and the timeline. Everything checks out, but he’s still shaken by both what happened to Millie, his neighbor, as well as his being hauled in by the police.
Once things calm down, he is happy to make sure that Millie’s security is upgraded and things get back to normal. When Detective Rose stops by, he’s surprised to see him again. They keep running into each other places. And he happens to be with Colson when he discovers a break-in at his own brownstone. His laptop and valuables are missing and Detective Rose helps to find the culprits and recover some of the stolen property. And he goes above and beyond in finding the one sentimental thing that Colson was devastated to lose.
After a few missteps, Colson and Harper find themselves in a sort of hookup/friends with benefits arrangement. But it’s always at Colson’s place and he never stays the night. Colson asks straight out if he’s married, has a family, seeing other people, etc. Harper swears he isn’t and Colson believes him. There is something that Harper refuses to tell him though.
Colson has been honest about this family and past and Harper has been pretty nosy because he looked into Colson when he was a suspect for a short time. He knows Colson comes from money, but he doesn’t exactly act like it. He’s already shared with Harper about his parents and grandparents during the whole robbery fiasco. He’s not getting the same from Harper though He’ll be MIA for days and then ask to come over. It’s getting to the point though that Colson doesn’t know what they are. Just booty calls? Harper seems to pull back just as they are getting close and then he just ghosts Colson.
It takes outsiders to get Harper to see what’s been right in front of him all along. He’s been hurt too and he’s so afraid to open up his heart or his life to someone who could devastate him again. It takes a very long time and some real soul searching for him to get to the point that he can see that he is about to miss out on the best thing that’s ever happened to him because he’s so afraid.
I really loved this story. First, the whole neighborhood is another characters in this story 🙂 Then we have Harper – a bit of a grumpy Gus. I’ve tried to review this story without spoilers which wasn’t easy! Harper has his reasons. However he’s hanging on to things and has the idea in his head that he has to sacrifice himself and his happiness for others. He’s got some great support who keep trying to encourage him, but he struggles after having been burned by the last guy he dated – who was nothing like Colson BTW. Colson is such a sweetheart. He’s had his own issues, but he’s coming back to his old self. He really likes Harper but he isn’t sure he can do this long term. Then when Harper pulls away, well he’s done. Until he isn’t 😉 Thanks to some meddling friends. This story talks about real life situations in an honest way and I thought it was handled well. That’s all I’m saying so I don’t spoiler it!
J.F. Harding is a favorite narrator and this book is another example of why. His emotional pitch for these characters was spot on. Harper is gruff and broody. Colson is actual a pretty interesting and fun guy. He’s focused on his book, but he’s got time for a good time 😉 I loved Millie and Luis and the other cast of characters too! These are some tough moments here and I thought the narrator handled them beautifully. Especially with Colson’s dad, I enjoyed seeing Harper and Colson stand up for themselves 🙂 There are plenty of steamy and humorous moments too which I found myself swooning or laughing out loud. Well done! Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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