A review by mollyreadsandcrafts
Temporary Partner by Nicky James

4.25

Quaid Valor is a detective in Toronto's Missing Persons Unit. When a baby goes missing, he's forced to work with his work rival and complete opposite Aslan Doyle, a homicide detective lending his help while the MPU is short staffed. They have to out aside their differences and ignore their growing chemistry to work together to sort through the victim's family drama and find the baby before time runs out. 

This is the first book in a long series so what I really appreciated about the story was how much it built up these two main characters. Quaid is the type A, strait-laced, by the book detective with a tragic past who struggles with loneliness and self-worth (sound like anyone we know, Hazardverse friends?). Then there's Aslan, the bad boy detective who flirts his way through everything, but is really using his promiscuity to cover up a bigger addiction he's struggling with. I won't lie, I'm not 100% sold on Aslan yet but I can see how he can be good for Quaid. They are complete opposites but work really well together, whether it's solving cases or succumbing to their hot chemistry. There's a lot of depth to each character and there is so much to explore between them given their personalities and their backstories. I'm really looking forward to how their relationship evolves and how they grow as individuals. 

I liked the case they were working on because it allowed me to think of a few theories myself but I never guessed how the ending would go. The family of the victim is very messy and there were so many ways it could've ended up. With such a short timeline you could feel the stress of Quaid and Aslan to find out what happened while navigating their partnership. I'm curious to how they work together in the future, given the dynamics of their departments, but I can't wait to find out. 

Read if you like: 

• romantic suspense   

• work rivalry   

• slow burn  

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