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jotropes's review against another edition
5.0
Have never had a 5 star read that felt so often like it could have just wobbled to a 3 (or even 2) star at any moment. All romance is fantasy to some degree but here the deep dive into the romance and intensity of falling in love, combined with an almost unremitting lushness of language and tone almost verged on uncomfortable - too 'unreal', too single focused. When reading I couldn't always shake a sense of unease that the author would just slip up and the writing would become unbearable. Hard to put into words but perhaps like I imagine it would really be like to be inside someone else's mind as they fell in love - somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassing and maybe a bit voyeuristic.. But in the end the author walked this tightrope beautifully and I felt gripped and emotionally involved throughout. I've read it twice now and know I will return - partly just to enjoy Jay and Alistair, partly to keep checking why this works so darn well when my instincts almost want to fight its magic.
kiki124's review against another edition
4.0
Sex tells the story.
So romantic, despite the
Criminals and cops.
So romantic, despite the
Criminals and cops.
moonflower75's review against another edition
5.0
The first time I read J.R. Lawrie's writing I fell in love with her prose and her tales and the way she is able to make me feel every little thing her characters feel, not to mention the way she makes me fall in love with her MCs.
All these things hold true in this book: there is some mystery, a lot of romance and so many intense feelings that once you dive in, you never want to come out.
A very good, very satisfactory read, the kind that makes you look forward to the next steps in this author's career.
All these things hold true in this book: there is some mystery, a lot of romance and so many intense feelings that once you dive in, you never want to come out.
A very good, very satisfactory read, the kind that makes you look forward to the next steps in this author's career.
tagreads's review against another edition
4.0
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- Part of The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge, Over 500 pages long
- Part of POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, A book about a secret
- Part of Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge, A book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages
***********************************************
What I Liked:
- The Romance: The romance is so sweet and swoony. I loved the characters together, one reviewer pointed out that it felt like we were intruding on their personal moments and I totally agree. I kept highlighting passages and passages just falling for these two.
- The Terms of Endearment: “love”, “heart”, “beautiful” I am sucker for these…
- The Secondary Characters: Although I must point out that Juliet did swoon too much while witnessing this couple’s relationship but then so did I. At one point she is thinking “The pair of you. You'll be the end of us all.” and I marked that line and wrote “Indeed!”
What I Disliked:
- Too many inner dialogues: This made the book unnecessary longer than it should have been. Although I enjoyed a lot of it and I was never bored, it did feel like too much repetition at some point.
- Alastair’s behavior while kidnapped: This guy is the police commissioner! With so many years of experience under his belt, it is not believable that he would be a puddle of emotions when kidnapped. And him being so overcome once rescued that Jay had to literally carry him!
- Part of The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge, Over 500 pages long
- Part of POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, A book about a secret
- Part of Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge, A book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages
***********************************************
What I Liked:
- The Romance: The romance is so sweet and swoony. I loved the characters together, one reviewer pointed out that it felt like we were intruding on their personal moments and I totally agree. I kept highlighting passages and passages just falling for these two.
- The Terms of Endearment: “love”, “heart”, “beautiful” I am sucker for these…
- The Secondary Characters: Although I must point out that Juliet did swoon too much while witnessing this couple’s relationship but then so did I. At one point she is thinking “The pair of you. You'll be the end of us all.” and I marked that line and wrote “Indeed!”
What I Disliked:
- Too many inner dialogues: This made the book unnecessary longer than it should have been. Although I enjoyed a lot of it and I was never bored, it did feel like too much repetition at some point.
- Alastair’s behavior while kidnapped: This guy is the police commissioner! With so many years of experience under his belt, it is not believable that he would be a puddle of emotions when kidnapped. And him being so overcome once rescued that Jay had to literally carry him!
alyssadokusho's review against another edition
4.0
[3.5] I love J.R. Lawrie’s prose so much!! The sweet and sensual vibes whenever Alastair (even his name is attractive *swoons*) and Jay are together on the page were immaculate
hankerchiefghost's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
"I love you," he said.
Jay's mouth opened. He wouldn't forget Alastair's expression as long as he lived. There was something almost overwhelmed in it, as if he couldn't quite believe it. As if half-certain he was seeing things.
Alastair searched his eyes, shaking.
"I love you very much," he whispered.
beeziereadsromance's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful prose
The prose in this is immaculate and beautiful; rich and full and emotive.
The characters are so well crafted, and there is chemistry galore between the two MC's.
It's so good, I kept highlighting parts because the turn of phrase was just perfect for the moment and I wanted to rate it five stars at some points in the book.
I know a lot of people will love the languid pace, the frequent love making (some of which are epics of 10 or more pages) and the very firm HEA. For me, after the climax and return to normalcy, I was happy that the MC's had achieved their HEA and I was ready to let them go, but there was still 20% left in the book.
There are also a couple of moments where a side characters behaviour appears to be operating outside the protocols involved in their jobs for flimsy reasons, which jolted me out of the beautiful universe the author has created.
Lots of people also love snippets from side characters POV's. I usually don't like them and I'm on the fence with this one - some of the snippets were adorable and seemed to serve a purpose, a couple felt superfluous.
Overall, a worthy read, recommended read though.
The prose in this is immaculate and beautiful; rich and full and emotive.
The characters are so well crafted, and there is chemistry galore between the two MC's.
It's so good, I kept highlighting parts because the turn of phrase was just perfect for the moment and I wanted to rate it five stars at some points in the book.
I know a lot of people will love the languid pace, the frequent love making (some of which are epics of 10 or more pages) and the very firm HEA. For me, after the climax and return to normalcy, I was happy that the MC's had achieved their HEA and I was ready to let them go, but there was still 20% left in the book.
There are also a couple of moments where a side characters behaviour appears to be operating outside the protocols involved in their jobs for flimsy reasons, which jolted me out of the beautiful universe the author has created.
Lots of people also love snippets from side characters POV's. I usually don't like them and I'm on the fence with this one - some of the snippets were adorable and seemed to serve a purpose, a couple felt superfluous.
Overall, a worthy read, recommended read though.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
4.0
This book gives us Alastair, the gay chief of the Metropolitan police, a man who worked his way up through the ranks as a gay cop, partly by keeping his sexuality as unobtrusive as possible. He's out, but he never dates and hasn't had a significant other in a decade or more. He considers a kind of monastic existence part of the price he pays for a job he is really good at, and the chance to pave the way for others to follow.
But at a charity dinner, doing the required schmoozing, he is seated next to Jay, the younger, attractive CEO of a youth charity they're honoring. And for the first time in years, he wants someone enough to give up his rectitude and indulge, even if just for one night. He wants Jay's smile, and his tattoos, and his size, and his lightness of being.
Jay has some darker secrets, though. The biggest being that he's in witness protection, and if the man he's running from finds him, his whole life has to vanish in the rearview mirror again. He's very taken with Alastair, but can he really afford to let himself go deeper than one heated night? And if he does, why on earth would a man with class and rank want a guy who worked himself up from the gutter?
This story is written richly and indulgently, with a sensual approach to both description and sex scenes. The men fall for each other hard, but are unwilling to express it. And when they finally do, life is on the verge of falling apart.
I enjoyed this story, although at times it went just a little deep into the sweetness and perfection. In particular, the women in the story swooned over the guys more than felt natural (although I did love having a couple of women characters in important positions.) And the one moment where the characters' imperfections and bad choices led to really interesting psychological conflict was short-circuited by the press of plot drama. The aftermath of that drama slid back into sweetness without the conflict and lingering issues that could have added a bit of edge to the story. (And painful injuries disappear from the narrative.)
Having said that, this is a great story if you want to sink deep into a relationship that really speaks to the word "romance." There is enough outside mystery-ish plot happening for interest. The men are appealing, their chemistry is almost palpable, the developing love story has moments of sweet perfection, the HEA is solid as a rock. One for my comfort reread shelf when I'm in the mood
But at a charity dinner, doing the required schmoozing, he is seated next to Jay, the younger, attractive CEO of a youth charity they're honoring. And for the first time in years, he wants someone enough to give up his rectitude and indulge, even if just for one night. He wants Jay's smile, and his tattoos, and his size, and his lightness of being.
Jay has some darker secrets, though. The biggest being that he's in witness protection, and if the man he's running from finds him, his whole life has to vanish in the rearview mirror again. He's very taken with Alastair, but can he really afford to let himself go deeper than one heated night? And if he does, why on earth would a man with class and rank want a guy who worked himself up from the gutter?
This story is written richly and indulgently, with a sensual approach to both description and sex scenes. The men fall for each other hard, but are unwilling to express it. And when they finally do, life is on the verge of falling apart.
I enjoyed this story, although at times it went just a little deep into the sweetness and perfection. In particular, the women in the story swooned over the guys more than felt natural (although I did love having a couple of women characters in important positions.) And the one moment where the characters' imperfections and bad choices led to really interesting psychological conflict was short-circuited by the press of plot drama. The aftermath of that drama slid back into sweetness without the conflict and lingering issues that could have added a bit of edge to the story. (And painful injuries disappear from the narrative.)
Having said that, this is a great story if you want to sink deep into a relationship that really speaks to the word "romance." There is enough outside mystery-ish plot happening for interest. The men are appealing, their chemistry is almost palpable, the developing love story has moments of sweet perfection, the HEA is solid as a rock. One for my comfort reread shelf when I'm in the mood
crisana28's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I read some of the other reviews and can see what they mean when they say there may be too many sex scenes but to me they felt needed as this was the way the characters connected to each other. And after the plot resolution I actually loved that we got so much more story. It just felt like a lovely big epilogue. The writing style is pretty amazing too. Can't wait to read more from this author.