Katie Allen Archives - Kaetrin's Musings

Why I read it: After the success of Private Dicks and seeing that many of my Goodreads friends loved the follow up book too, I bought this one as well. Damn ARe sales…

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) When Officer Peter Giordano is assigned to keep Trevor Haas safe until he can testify against his murderous father, he expects the hardest part of his job will be keeping his hands off the gorgeous witness. The two men hide out in the small, sleepy town of Honeysuckle, fixing up their dilapidated safe house by day…exploring each other’s bodies by night.Their small-town neighbors have some secrets of their own, however, including one that someone is willing to kill to protect. Soon, a neighbor is dead and Pete and Trevor are thrown into the middle of a murder investigation. The two men struggle to keep Trevor’s true identity a secret, knowing his father will stop at nothing to silence the star witness against him-even if that means killing his own son.Note: Pete and Trevor won’t have to go it alone. Wash and Rhodes, the crush-worthy heroes from Private Dicks, are along for the ride once again.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This one didn’t work quite as well for me as Private Dicks. Possibly it’s because I read them back to back and that made the flaws in this one more obvious, because they were largely missing from the earlier book. I can believe a fast romance when the couple already know and like each other. Established relationships which turn romantic or return to romance work best for me in a shorter format or time frame. Hide Out was a bit longer than Private Dicks (nearly 200 pages) but the romance between Trevor and Pete occurs in a matter of days – when they had never laid eyes on each other before the start of the book. While I liked Trevor and Pete together, the blurb had set me up for a long slow burn – 7 months of home renovations – but, like the romance, the renovations were done at lightning speed (possibly it’s the fastest reno in history aside from TV reality shows).

The other thing which bothered me was that for the first part of the book, Trevor and Pete, who are both gay, don’t come out to each other and labour under the mistaken belief that the other is just “fucking with him”. It got tired real quick.

The murder in Honeysuckle made sense, but the wider story arc of Pete and Trevor hiding out and being effectively undercover to keep away from Trevor’s psycho dad, was not as well executed. It seemed to me that Pete and Trevor wouldn’t have been that hard to find. And, as it turns out, I was right.

Having said all that, it was an enjoyable read and the characters were charming and fun and sexy as all get out. Once Trevor and Pete admitted to both being gay, things moved much more smoothly. Then there was the appearance (much more than just a cameo) of Rhodie and Wash from book 1. Wash is still making those incomprehensible hand gestures (which Pete doesn’t understand either) and the pair help both to solve the local crime and to renovate the house. There is also a smoking sex scene involving all 4 of them – though 2 are only watching.

I would have to say however, that the description, used a couple of times in the book, of coming so hard that it felt like “his insides melted and shot out of his cock” was somewhat disturbing.

What else? This is a good book, but I don’t think it was as good as Private Dicks. I think though, that I would have liked it better if there had’ve been a gap between reading the two books. Again, it is on the pricey side. so wait for a special.

Grade: B/B-

Why I read it: There was a sale at ARe and there was my wishlist. Goodreads recommendations are bad for my wallet. Enough said.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Ex-cop Isaac Rhodes is a tough and intimidating private investigator with a talent for kicking in doors and knocking bail jumpers’ heads together. His only soft spot is for his partner, Nate Washington—though Wash makes him anything but soft. He’s silently lusted after Wash for a year, until his desire drives him to finally come out to his partner.

This confession leads to Wash admitting a few secrets of his own, unleashing needs that result in hot, sweaty, sexy, man-on-man intimacy. Rhodes is elated…until Wash admits he’s unsure if he’s willing to endure the often prejudice-filled life of an outed gay man. Crushed, Rhodes backs off. But one missing child—and a gun to Wash’s head—convinces Rhodes to do whatever it takes to get his man.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): In terms of the mix between romance and suspense and making the two work and play off each other, this book was pretty much perfect. Loads of romance and connection and fun. The suspense plot was believably intertwined with the romance and the two leads didn’t try and have sex when bullets were flying. Because Wash and Rhodes have been working together for about a year when the book starts, the speed of the developing romance works – they have an established relationship which becomes more than friendly. And, having to go undercover in a gay club helps get them thinking in the right direction.

And, did I mention it was funny?

“I’ve never seen so much leather,” Wash muttered.

Rhodes smirked at him. “Just wait ’til we get inside.”

“It gets worse?”

“Better, Wash,” Rhodes corrected as the bouncer unclipped the rope to let them through. “The word is ‘better’.”

Wash made me laugh a lot. Especially when Rhodes was baffled his “incomprehensible hand signals” – you know, those ones you see on the TV all the time and no-one knows what they mean? Well, Rhodes, who used to be a real cop, doesn’t know either. But Wash makes the signals and Rhodes goes along.

The chemistry between these two was apparent in every interaction but the conflict – whether Wash wants to deal with being out (he’s bisexual so he could be happy with a woman and have the occasional gay hook-up on the downlow) is believable enough. Although, now that I think about it, Wash never suggested he might need to have the occasional hook up with a woman… I digress).

Wash, even though he is a walking hard-on around Rhodes, asks for time to decide:

Wash looked at him with what appeared to be disappointment. “You’re not going to talk me into it?”

“You are a fucking teenaged girl,” Rhodes growled, pushing himself up from the couch. “Go home. If I don’t get to fuck anyone, I’m going for a run.”

“Fine,” Wash huffed, standing up. “But I’m going to write ‘Rhodes is an asshole’ in my diary like a hundred times.”

See what I mean about funny?

The suspense story involved sex trafficking which is obviously something very serious, but the humour doesn’t intrude on that. Rather, it lightens what could otherwise be a very heavy storyline. Both Rhodie and Wash take the safet of kids very seriously.

Rhodes even tries to make Wash clean up his potty mouth around their teenaged client.

Wash snorted. “Why would you think we’d do anything just to make you feel better? Ask Gonzo—he’ll tell you that we’re just a couple of assholes.”

Rhodes shot him a look and Wash made a face. “Sorry. Suppose I shouldn’t swear around a kid. Okay, so we’re a couple…” Trailing off, he glanced helplessly at Rhodes. “What’s another word for asshole?”

Rhodes just closed his eyes with a sigh.

What else? I enjoyed this book from start to finish. At just under 150 pages, it wasn’t super long, but it did everything it needed to so I thought the length was just perfect for the story actually. It is pricey, so get it when it’s on special somewhere. But – get it.

Grade: A-