Bound by Law by SE Jakes

3 STARS

Men of Honor - Book 2

There was a handful of big, handsome, brawny, gay men. There was a plethora of hot sex scenes. There was a bit of murderous type action.

And again, I realise that while I do enjoy much of S.E.'s work, there are times I get lost in the back and forth of the characters' dialogue. It feels as if an important phrase or response or something has been edited out. Either that or her characters have conversational ADD.

Damn! These guys had a lot of hard, boisterous sex. And boy, can they get hard and ejaculatory easily, quickly and often. Must be something in the water. *wink*

#2 in the Men of Honor series.

No Boundaries by SE Jakes

3 STARS

Phoenix Inc. Series - Book 1

A quick read that delivered what I expected. A bunch of hot, manly, damaged men indulging in sexytimes in between rescuing one of their own and solving the mystery.

I hadn't realised that this book was an offshoot of one of the volumes of the author's Men of Honor series but it is. It features the threesome of Styx, Law and Paolo in high-profile secondary roles as they support their friend and co-worker in the Phoenix Inc PI agency, Marcus as he protects and falls in love with the agency's latest and pro bono client, Cole.

I thought the stalker story was rather weak but as it was basically the raison d'etre to set up the romantic story, I guess it wasn't that big of a deal. Still, I could have done with more thought given to it.

I enjoy SE's books for the delightfully sexy romps they are but her Hell or High Water series remains my favourite.

Not Fade Away by SE Jakes

3.5 STARS

Hell or High Water - Book 3.5

Basically it's a series of hot sex scenes that serve to explore the growing trust between Tommy and Prophet. There is nothing wrong with this at all as SE writes wonderful sex scenes. And it's Tommy and Prophet. I love Proph.

A quick and steamy read. :) Good one!

Daylight Again by SE Jakes

4 STARS

Hell or High Water - Book 3

I love this series. Even the times I find myself confused and wondering if I missed something along the way, I still love this series. :)

In this installment of the adventures of Prophet and Tommy and their merry gang of tough nuts, we move ever closer to the ultimate showdown between Prophet and John, his onetime best friend and lover, although I tend to think that it's going to be more of showdown between John and Tommy. Both men, Proph and Tom, have continued to grow into their relationship, but it's by no means an easy fit a lot of the time.

I love Prophet to bits, with all his quirks and moodiness and prickliness and orneriness although I do wish that he'd be a wee bit more open with Tommy if ONLY so that I get a clue of what's going on sometimes. *LOL* I think there's a shorthand in this series that I'm not quite fluent in, but oddly enough it doesn't hamper my enjoyment. I have the trust that all will become clear at some point. My confusion is more about the missions and the backgrounds of the missions, I think, and I wonder if that's a result of there being a plot arc that spans all the books and maybe I'm not getting enough 'refresher' information in the current book to recall the details from books 1 or 2 or one of the novellas. That's the main reason that I didn't give this book an extra half star.

The sex is hot, the banter between the men is fun and the situations tense - all in all a very good read. I do find myself chuckling over the idea of the whole top-drawer team being comprised of gay members - and who are getting all partnered up - but hey, it's fiction. :)

Free Falling by SE Jakes

4.5 STARS

Extreme Escapes Universe

This is the story of Mick and Blue, two employees of Extreme Escapes Ltd. and how they met, fell in love and became partners. Let me just say now that I am IN LOVE with Mick and Blue. They really are a perfect pair, I think. They are so different, big, tough Mick and slight, quick Blue. Where Prophet and Tommy seem to be cut from the same bolt of cloth, Mick and Blue are more of an opposites attract pair, complimenting each other so well and NEEDING each other so much. And funny... dammit, they made me chuckle out loud on more than one occasion.

The action is tight and tense and the sex is hot and steamy - and the characters are fully formed and just enough over-the-top to be perfect for this type of story.

This novella is a perfect addition to the Extreme Escapes universe and I really hope that we see more Mick and Blue featured tales.

Ooops!

I was a bit naughty... see... I said in my last review that I'd be waiting to buy more books in the Men of Honor series, but see... there was this sale. Deep, deep discounts. So I filled in series. Men of Honor, Whyborne & Griffin, Southern Arcana, Adrien English. 13 new books all told. That TBR pile? Becoming a mountain...

Ain't it grand?

Edit: So, I went back... 20 new books for less than $12.

Bound by Honor by SE Jakes

3 STARS

Men of Honor - Book 1

This is the first of the Men of Honor series from an author I have come to really enjoy, and I think it's also one of her first published books. It shows. I can see flashes of what I've come to really love about SE's stories, but in my opinion, this book could have done with an in-depth edit for content. 

The characters are good - albeit all big, muscled, over 6 feet behemoths - but their personalities worked perfectly well for me. The plot worked too. It was the execution that needed help. First off... I thought I was reading the tale of Tanner and Damon, but all of a sudden, LC pops up and becomes far more than a supporting character. It was confusing because the story was really about the relationship between Tanner and Damon and I think should have stayed focused on that, while the whole plot having to do with Damon's (and LC's) backstory should have supported the progression of the relationship instead of seeming like a second story happening.

And I don't know that seeing LC's POV so often works in a book like this. This isn't Game of Thrones, after all. And quite often, it wasn't clear who was doing the talking... walking... fucking.... I had to reread paragraphs to make sure who was who on more than one occasion. And with all this hopping around, I don't know that any of the three stories was done justice. Tanner learning about his submissive side, Damon coming to terms with his past, LC and the mystery of the attacks and the detective and HIS past. There was just too much going on in a novel of this size. Things often felt rushed.

The story of Damon and Tanner and their D/s relationship was fascinating but I felt I needed more understanding of the basic needs that drove them to this type of relationship - since the D/s is a big part of the whole book. The payoff of Damon allowing Tanner, needing Tanner to top him didn't seem so climatic because I felt I was missing some vital piece of information. And then... well, it felt to me like a case of the magic dick. Tanner fucks Damon with his well-hung (and why are they always well hung? Can't a hero have an average dick?) dick and all the hurts and traumas of Damon's past fizzle into nothing? They disappear? Doesn't work for me.

I don't know that I've been able to articulate my concerns about the book properly, but I've tried. *LOL* This is why I don't review for a living. ;)

But all that being said.... I enjoyed the read - didn't love it - and it was certainly interesting to see how much SE has improved her craft over the past couple of years. Will I read the other books in this series? Probably, at some point, but I won't go and load them into the Kobo right away. :)

Dirty Deeds by SE Jakes

4.5 STARS

Dirty Deeds - Book 1

Oh my, this was one steamy novella! The mysterious Cillian and fascinating Mal of the Hell or High Water series are here, starting their own adventures.

I unabashedly loved it. I loved finding out some of the back stories of these characters. I loved the IM back and forths. And the steamy face-to-face sex scenes.... OMG! The HEAT! New Orleans in the summertime hot, babe!

And the ending! Everyone's calling it a cliffhanger. That ain't no cliffhanger, baby... that's one helluva REVEAL.

I think that basically what this work does is set up this corner of the universe, introduces us to the main characters, lets us begin to fall in love with them and gives us one helluva conflict for them to overcome. And yes, the whole thing might be Over The Top, but it's FUN OTT.

And I do not know if SE was giving one of my favourite TV shows (and one I know she enjoys as well) a nod or not... but man, Cillian working for SB-20? The action/adventure show, Strike Back is about the totally deniable Section 20 of British Intelligence. Love it!

In the end, this is a super addition to the HOHW universe and I recommend it and indeed all the books in this universe.

*waits barely patiently for the next book*

Long Time Gone by S.E. Jakes

4.5 STARS

Hell or High Water - Book 2

You know a book is good when you get angry at yourself for not making more time to read it. I even went to bed early the night before because I was dying to read more about Prophet and Tommy.

A true adventure story, this one seems a little less grand than the tale that introduced us to Prophet and Tommy, To Catch a Ghost, the story a little more personal, probably because we're taken to the small Louisiana parish where Tommy grew up. We meet friends, family, enemies and find out some of what makes Tom, Tom, and we're treated to a mystery from the past that rears its ugly head in the present.

I love how S.E. writes her characters. These are guys and their conversation and banter is PERFECT for this type of buddy adventure story. I love both of them. And I truly love the way that they're falling in love with each other and are addicted physically to each other in the most SEXY of ways. And the conflict! Oh my Lord, these boys are not going into this relationship easily! And I love it!

One of my favourite shows these days is Strike Back and I find that same 'black ops' adventure flavour present in this "Hell or High Water" series as I do in the show.

I would highly, HIGHLY recommend both books (because you really need to read book #1 before reading this one) to anyone who enjoys buddy/adventure m/m type of tale. I can tell you that I'm going to add S.E. Jakes to my 'gotta read' list of authors and am kind of thrilled that she has a bit of a backlist for me to get through. :)

Catch a Ghost by SE Jakes

4 STARS

Hell or High Water - Book 1

I really enjoyed this! Talk about a couple of complicated and deep MCs! Prophet and Tommy are all that and a bag of chips in all the best of ways. And I'm still not quite sure exactly what happened between them! *LOL* To be honest, I think they're both still a little confused as well and I want to shake them both at times. :)

Catch a Ghost has a bit of a Tom Clancy/Larry Bond techno-thriller feel about it, with undercover operatives, missions, shadowy secondary characters - yes, Cillian, I'm looking at you - and guys so tough and stoic that they put Daniel Craig's James Bond to shame. Often, when the main characters are so wonderfully drawn, the secondary characters suffer, but not in this case. The afore-mentioned Cillian, Doc, Phil and even John are well fleshed out and different from each other.

The plot is good, it's intricate, it doesn't give anything away and there's a logical progression of events, something that many so-called romantic thrillers aren't so great about. There's humour, menace, violence (lots of violence), camaraderie and some very emotional moments. Really good stuff, a nice, juicy story. And the fight and torture scenes? Real and alive on the page. And the sex scenes? Hot, steamy and intense. Yes, there's romance, but it's sure not the hearts and flowers kind.

I screamed at the end of the book, well, quietly and under my breath. All I can say is thank God the sequel comes out in another two weeks! So many questions were answered, but so many not. This is the first in a series of adventures with Prophet and Tommy from what I understand and I am looking forward to reading them all. :)