Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: The List
SERIES: Second Chances #1
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 278 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2021
BLURB:
Oops. He did it again.
Elliot Hansen has a terrible habit of falling in love with every man he dates.
His friends have had enough and make a list of Elliot’s perfect man.
That V…
Those abs….
Shouldn’t a boyfriend be more than the sum of his parts?
But when sexy detective Winston Rogers bursts into his bedroom to arrest a burglar, Elliot knows he wouldn’t mind checking one or two things off that list with him.
What if you had it all?
Five years after the death of his husband, Winston Rogers is single and determined to stay that way.
He throws himself into his job—the more dangerous the assignment, the better.
He can’t face another risk to his heart.
But then a routine arrest in his neighbor’s bedroom leaves Win searching for more than evidence as the man’s sweet smile and vulnerable eyes strike a chord inside him Win had thought gone forever.
Why not enjoy each other with no strings attached? Win and Elliot decide to make their own list.
Rule #1: Strictly friends with benefits.
Rule #2: No doing anything stupid like falling in love.
Rule #3….
See Elliot and Win ignore Rules #1 and #2.
REVIEW:
As in typical Felice Stevens fashion, she has hooked me fast and reeled me in!
Elliot Hansen has horrible luck with men! Just ask his three best friends, Wolf, Spencer and Chess. He also didn’t have not such a great life with his family either but he doesn’t share that sad story with anyone. So waking up in his bedroom in the middle of the night to a hunky Detective Winston Rogers, service revolver drawn, yelling at a burglar digging through the side table next to his bed to “Get down and keep his hands where he could see them!” was not what he thought would ever happen. But it turns out Win is his new next door neighbor and witnessed the the thief entering Elliot’s front room window he still hadn’t fixed the lock on. Win is struggling still, five long and lonely years later, with his husband Kevin’s sudden and tragic death. His friend and detective partner Forrest and his wife just want Win to embrace life and love again. So can two neighbors, who have deep dark secrets, have a friends-with-benefits without catching feelings?
I love that Win not only spied, but read, the list that Spencer started concerning what Elliot’s Perfect Man should be. But what I adored was that he then started making Elliot’s part come true. It was such a wonderful twist. I know that Win hurt horribly every since moment after his devastating loss of Kevin and moving on was unbearable. But everyone saw how perfect the sweet NICE man Elliot was for the grumpy bear Win.
I know grief that both these men experienced was hard for them to talk about but it almost bit Win in that ass of beauty of his. However, after Elliot opened up about Claire and his home life, I thought for sure that Win would share about Kevin. But I wasn’t at all surprised that Wolf did a bit of digging on the man after one of their closest friends. Win could have lost everything again in his life with withholding that fact. It hurt that poor Elliot thought that Win was unable to commit to a relationship and love. The thing that Elliot had been seeking his entire life. But especially after Win heard his childhood story and despair are desire for love. That started to really bug me.
I know that this is a series about Elliot, Wolf, Spencer and Chess, 4 buddies that met their freshman year of college and have remained steadfast best friends ever since. I can’t wait to hear the other three men’s stories. I do hope that we get more of Elliott And Win’s love story in the future.
RATING: 
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