Scan barcode
A review by bfdbookblog
Hard Line by Sidney Bell
5.0
While I know a couple of people who unknowingly skipped book 1 and weren’t lost in this story, I don’t think this is a standalone. At first glance this appears to be an unrelated case for PI Sullivan and the only tie-in is Tobias hiring him to find Ghost, both of whom are side characters in book 1. BUT, the Krayev ‘mafia’ family ARC, which his apparently going to be spread out over the entire series, continues to be unraveled here. If you haven’t read book 1 yet, stop what you’re doing and read it first. You won’t regret it and it will make this book even better as Ms. Bell shows off her story web-weaving talent.
When this book was originally recommended to me, I had just finished reading a particularly bad BDSM book and I needed a palate cleanser. For one reason or another, I wasn’t able to read the book then and I forgot that minor detail until I started reading…and oh, what a pleasant surprise because I just finished another not so awesome BDSM book and this one was perfect for me. I’m usually not a big fan of pain play and while it is necessary for Tobias it’s not part of every scene with them and the scenes that do involve pain were so well written that I wasn’t bothered by them.
Sullivan is my favorite character in this series and it’s going to take something major to change that. He is the perfect mix of badass, wit, charm, dominance, vulnerability, intelligence and romance. From his first interaction with Tobias until the utterly perfect epilogue (which I’ll touch on later), he is everything Tobias didn’t know he needed. Well, I guess they need each other. Tobias helped Sullivan be himself and shed his insecurities about being a Dom.
Tobias is a pleaser and there is nothing wrong with that unless you sacrifice yourself when doing that…which Tobias has done his entire life. When that sacrifice becomes too much, Tobias breaks and decides it’s time for an overhaul. If he didn’t pull at your heartstrings in book 1, he definitely will in this book. His strength of character is astounding, and he surprised me more than once which is hard to do.
In case it isn’t obvious, I love these guys together.
The epilogue…I just…I was a little disappointed and then I teared up a little and then I smiled and then I teared up a little again and then it was all perfect. I’m not sure I’ve ever run through that gamut of emotions in an epilogue.
Just like book 1, this book is long. And I’m usually prone to skim parts of longer books that bore me or don’t see important (even my favorites that I read more than once) so hear me when I say I READ EVERY WORD of both books. And I will probably read every word of book 3.
These are not light, fluffy reads. They are emotionally heavy. The main story ARC is started in book 1, further develops in book 2 and I’m assuming will conclude in book 3…it’s complicated. The romance both in book 1 and in this book are intricate. The characters are so complex I almost want to recommend taking notes.
Ghost is next. And I KNOW he had a horrible childhood – even without knowing anything about it. The little, tiny bit of foreshadowing we’ve had about his past is going to make it awful. But I do not like him (yet?). And yes, I know most of what we see is an act. I still don’t like him. Ms. Bell is either going to break me with her writing sorcery or I’m going to be really, really sad.
When this book was originally recommended to me, I had just finished reading a particularly bad BDSM book and I needed a palate cleanser. For one reason or another, I wasn’t able to read the book then and I forgot that minor detail until I started reading…and oh, what a pleasant surprise because I just finished another not so awesome BDSM book and this one was perfect for me. I’m usually not a big fan of pain play and while it is necessary for Tobias it’s not part of every scene with them and the scenes that do involve pain were so well written that I wasn’t bothered by them.
Sullivan is my favorite character in this series and it’s going to take something major to change that. He is the perfect mix of badass, wit, charm, dominance, vulnerability, intelligence and romance. From his first interaction with Tobias until the utterly perfect epilogue (which I’ll touch on later), he is everything Tobias didn’t know he needed. Well, I guess they need each other. Tobias helped Sullivan be himself and shed his insecurities about being a Dom.
Tobias is a pleaser and there is nothing wrong with that unless you sacrifice yourself when doing that…which Tobias has done his entire life. When that sacrifice becomes too much, Tobias breaks and decides it’s time for an overhaul. If he didn’t pull at your heartstrings in book 1, he definitely will in this book. His strength of character is astounding, and he surprised me more than once which is hard to do.
In case it isn’t obvious, I love these guys together.
The epilogue…I just…I was a little disappointed and then I teared up a little and then I smiled and then I teared up a little again and then it was all perfect. I’m not sure I’ve ever run through that gamut of emotions in an epilogue.
Just like book 1, this book is long. And I’m usually prone to skim parts of longer books that bore me or don’t see important (even my favorites that I read more than once) so hear me when I say I READ EVERY WORD of both books. And I will probably read every word of book 3.
These are not light, fluffy reads. They are emotionally heavy. The main story ARC is started in book 1, further develops in book 2 and I’m assuming will conclude in book 3…it’s complicated. The romance both in book 1 and in this book are intricate. The characters are so complex I almost want to recommend taking notes.
Ghost is next. And I KNOW he had a horrible childhood – even without knowing anything about it. The little, tiny bit of foreshadowing we’ve had about his past is going to make it awful. But I do not like him (yet?). And yes, I know most of what we see is an act. I still don’t like him. Ms. Bell is either going to break me with her writing sorcery or I’m going to be really, really sad.