Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

Loneliness had substance. It had the power to consume me. It ate at my core. It crawled into the tiny cracks left behind in my heart from Jack’s lies and betrayal.

It’s a good thing I love Nicky James as much as I love romantic suspense, because Aslan Doyle is absolutely insufferable, lol. A manwhore who brags one minute and gets angry for being called out on his promiscuous ways the next. The emotional maturity of a 10 year old. Purposefully commenting hurtful things. Super crude. Honestly, during this book, he’s the exact opposite of a catch.



It’s my second time trying to read this series (don’t think I finished book 2 last time), and I know he gets better, but a character like that would normally make me give up. But in Nicky James we trust, and I’ll try to stick around long enough to get to the good stuff (i.e. character development) this time.

Quaid is not a perfect character by any means, but I have a much easier time understanding and empathizing with him. I mostly just hurt for him, and want him to stand up for himself with his awful ex. He’s lonely and hurting, and he’s got tall-ass walls and mostly just seems cold to others.

I studied the ceiling, wondering how the next ten minutes would play out. I imagined Aslan would come back into the room, dress, and tell me to have a nice life. “And that’s fine,” I said under my breath. “I knew that going in.”

I really love how the police case is built up and solved. Super clever, and even when you think you know what’s going on, you don’t actully know.

I know I’m gonna kinda dislike both main characters in book 2, so here’s for book 3, lol.

And yes, even after this shitshow review, it’s 5 stars. I might think Aslan is a used wetwipe, but it’s so well written.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Series
Romantic suspense
Police procedural
Coworkers
Law enforcement
Enemies to lovers
Reformed manwhore (eventually)
Commitment issues
Trust issues
Emotional slow burn

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
MC recovering alcoholic (no relapse)
MC experiencing cravings
Infant kidnapped (off page)
Some details of SC with chronically ill child (hospitalized)
Sexual harassment
Details of MC being cheated on by ex
Themes and details of infertility (side character)
Mentions of parent suffering a stroke (past, off page)
MC harassed by ex (texts, calls)
On-page dissociation
Alcoholic MC tasting alcohol through kiss
Alcohol consumption (not by addict MC)
Explicit sexual content
Low self-esteem and sense of self-worth
Brief mention of SC having miscarriages (past, off page)
MCs using guns (no shots fired)
MC’s sibling gone missing as a child (not found)
Disordered eating (skipping meals, eating too little, extreme focus on health)

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: Quaid is harassed by his cheating ex throughout the book
Breakup: N/A, not actually together yet
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Romantic suspense
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 35 and 42
Series: Series, book 1
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 357
Happy ending: No (not yet)


“Go.” “Sorry. Got caught up in all your beauty. Sue me.” My comment earned me his trademark sneer and the finger. I chuckled. If only he knew that was not a turnoff.

Another tiny bead of precum formed on his tip right before my eyes, and I caught it on my tongue, slowly drawing away and letting the clear bead stretch between us. Quaid groaned loud enough I cast a glance up. He stared down with parted lips and yearning. “That is so hot.”

I was too easily manipulated. I must have had the word desperate tattooed on my forehead for every jerk on the planet to see.



You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?igsh=MWZ3azhkdDc2Y2ludg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr