My thoughts: I give it ♥♥ Guys, there is angst and then there is ANGST!!! and this one is the big, bolded version. The MCs in this book could NOT catch a break! It was one disaster after another, and between all the lies and all the heartache, I was feeling DONE with this story by the end.
Shane’s whole life is secrets, and when he starts dating closeted cop Noel he guards his secrets that much closer. From Shane’s job to his life story, everything is private, private, private. I really did not enjoy Shane as a character. From getting a little physical during a fight, to outright lying about a number of things, I felt like Shane was too difficult for me to relate to as a MC.
Noel puts in all the effort here and I don’t think it was worth it. Noel is a really sweet guy, and I didn’t see what he go out of his relationship with Shane except for a big headache (and HOT sex). I did like reading about Noel’s relationship with Tristan, his friend with memory problems and a tragic past. That was a special bond, and I think one of the more compelling parts of the story.
I read a good amount of books featuring porn stars, but that is sort of a coincidence. I don’t love a porn plot, especially during the time when a couple gets together. This was the bad kind of porn book, where it is all one huge secret, and my gut was churning the whole time because I knew nothing could end well.
Ironically, the porn topic wasn’t even the most contentious part of the story.
The ending of this book was even more over-the-top than I had imagined. An angst bomb that, frankly, wasn’t necessary for the storyline. I’m certainly quitting the series at this point because the next book might have a torture scene or something, which is the only way it can top the pain of this one.
Authors Blurb:
Lies are the chains that keep you weighed down at rock bottom.
Officer Noel Carlson isn’t out to anyone in small-town Stratton, Pennsylvania, only to distant friends and family, so a relationship is out of the question. That doesn’t stop him from wanting one, though.
When a night-shift call brings him face to thonged butt with a hired stripper whose girl-party gig went terribly wrong, Noel takes pity on the guy and lets him go. But he can’t get the encounter out of his mind.
Shane has big-time debts to repay, especially to the brother who sacrificed nearly everything for him. His two jobs, in a deli and as a stripper, leave him no time for a social life. But a non-date of hot sex and takeout food with Noel? He can squeeze that in.
The bond they form is stronger than either expected or wanted. Especially since the step Shane’s about to take to put his brother—and his soul—back in the black isn’t quite legal. And he never calculated just how much his determination to make things right will cost him in the end.
Note: This book was previously published by Samhain Publishing. No significant changes have been made to the text. Please read with tissues handy.
My Brain Vacation 