Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Coming In Hot
SERIES: Bitches with Stitches #2
AUTHOR: Raquel Riley
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 295 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2025
BLURB:
When a friendship sours and tempers flare, everything heats up.
Pharo-
Responsibility for human lives is the heaviest burden to bear, and it’s not something I ever want to shoulder again.
Jax used to respect me when he was under my command. Now, I can’t even pay him to breathe the same air as me. His hatred runs deep, but it’s misplaced—and frankly, I’m tired of being the target of his scorn.
Enough is enough. It’s time to show him how wrong he is—by reason or force. I shouldn’t be looking forward to this so much.
Jax-
If you can’t lead… don’t. But Pharo did. He took command of a team he never should have been responsible for, and I lost my best friend because of his bad judgment. I’ve spent years making sure he never forgets the pain he caused, and he’s spent years avoiding responsibility.
But Pharo isn’t running anymore. And I’m learning the only thing sweeter than revenge is the taste of his mouth.
Coming In Hot is the second book in the Bitches With Stitches series. A connected work of the Scars and Stripes Trilogy. Enemies to lovers, found family, action, hurt comfort, and badass men who knit.
REVIEW:
Pharo uses his military skills to assist workers in difficult areas. When Jax served, Pharo was his CO. Jax blames Pharo for his best friend’s death and is out to break Pharo. However, life between the two began as a forbidden attraction. Not acting on it could be the best and worst, but much must be resolved before the two move forward.
Coming In Hot is the second book in the Bitches with Stitches series. The first book was an emotional rollercoaster, whereas this story contains more action, upping the adrenaline-fueled entertainment value. However, I fear it suffers from what I classify as sequelitis. It’s when the reader has an idea of what to expect, so the tale doesn’t have quite the emotional impact one expected. Nevertheless, it was a good read and worthy of a spot on the bookshelf.
The story is told in the first person from the viewpoints of Pharo and Jax. The worldbuilding surrounding the ex-military knitting group was established in book one. The extras in this story provide an insight into the missions that Pharo takes part in for a corporation outside of the military. They are dramatic and add an extra dimension to the after-military lives of these heroic men.
Pharo is ex-army, and after his military service, became a helicopter pilot for a corporation that runs contracts for a range of businesses, including aid workers and the government. Jax is a computer man who loves data mining for whoever can pay the fee. He has a wealth of hate towards Pharo, and at times, his actions left me with questionable thoughts about him. And for two men who have lacked any meaningful communication, wrong conclusions can be drawn. The two men have issues that need to be resolved, including facing up to the responsibilities or failures of the past. Their journey was a tennis match of quick conclusions and built-up, overthought issues, which made it quite the stew.
The extended cast was a beautifully supportive group that pulled pranks, showed compassion, and forced issues when Jax and Pharo were too stubborn to deal with them.
RATING: 
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