Publisher:
Riptide
Publishing
Published: 28/07/2014
ISBN: 978 1 62649 146 5
Genre: Romance, M/M, Mystery, BDSM
Book
Format: E-book
Obtained
via: Publisher
Reviewed
by: Helena Stone, helenastone63@gmail.com
Rating:
3.5
Dare
Buckley has returned to Palladian, the small town he lived in until a tragedy
took him away when he was a teenager. He’s lost his job with the Seattle PD
after a disastrous error of judgment, and Palladian is the only place that will
hire him now. The only benefit to the forced and reluctant return is that it
gives Dare the opportunity to investigate his father’s unexplained suicide.
Returning to Palladian also means reconnecting with Finn Fowler.
When they were young Finn hero worshipped Dare to such an extent it made Dare
feel uncomfortable enough to end all communication between them after he left.
Things have changed though. Finn is no longer the little kid Dare remembers.
He’s no longer helpless and he keeps his cards very close to his chest.
It isn’t long before Dare is torn between his attraction to Finn
and everything the man has to offer and his doubts about whether he can trust
the man who was like his shadow when they grew up. Dare has questions Finn
seems to know the answers to but the younger man is disinclined to share.
As secrets, mysteries and danger close in, the two men have to
rediscover each other and themselves. The secrets of the past have the power to
destroy opportunities in the present. Coming home has never been harder.
I’m having a very hard time trying to figure
out what to say about this book. It swept me from one extreme to another while
I was reading. There were portions of this book I adored and drank in as slowly
as I could just to savour them. And then there were sections of the story I
couldn’t get through fast enough because they either irritated me or seemed to
contradict the images I had formed in my mind.
In fact I had a love/hate relationship with
both the characters and the story itself. When the book started I fell for Finn
almost immediately while Dare left me cold. As the story unfolded that
perception shifted. Dare seemed to become more defined as a character while
Finn became ever more obscure. By the end of the book Dare had completely won
me over but I still had reservations about Finn. Most importantly, I still had
reservations about Finn being the right man for Dare. And since ‘Home
the Hard Way’ is a romance, not quite seeing the connection between the
two characters by the time the story ends is probably not what the author had
in mind.
On the other hand – and this is where my
dilemma becomes clear – I liked that the story kept me guessing. The mystery in
this book wasn’t just who had committed murder, or who was after Finn, or what
had happened to Dare’s father or even why things were happening. The far more
intriguing mystery in this book was why the characters reacted the way they did
and whether or not they’d be able to overcome whatever was holding them back
for long enough to see that they might be good together.
The scenes describing Dare’s submission to Finn
were breathtaking. Not only were they very hot, they also gave the reader a
wonderful insight into everything going on in Dare’s head and all the
conflicting emotions he was dealing with.
It is possible this book was just a little bit
too dark for me. Most if not all characters in this story seem to have deep and
at times heartbreaking issues. I can’t help feeling that the book would have
benefitted from a bit of light relief here and there.
In short I would call this a mostly fascinating
story with quite a few gorgeous scenes. The writing is good and the story keeps
the reader guessing. If you like your stories a little bit darker with some
clever plotting, a lot of emotion and sexy scenes, you’ll probably enjoy ‘Home
the Hard Way’.
This is an objective review
and not an endorsement of this book.
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