TN Tarrant

As with the previous incarnations of this story, the book comes in two parts, with a delightful short story added between them as an extra nice surprise.
Part One introduces Liam, an “absent-minded professor” of the highest magnitude, is pitched not only against his own social ineptness, but also against some pretty serious physical scars and emotional wounds stemming from a horrific past. The man he is partnered with has his own emotional crosses to bear, and even though Jareth deals with them in a very different way, they enable him to understand Liam and his needs much better than anyone else ever could.

Liam is probably the most extreme case of absent-mindedness you can imagine. He not only forgets things (even though a set of routines helps him cope – sort of), he is physically so inept that he literally runs into things. Having to deal with people constantly thinking he is abused doesn’t make life easier for him. Luckily, he has very good friends who take care of him, have done so, in fact, since his despicable parents sent him away to university when he was still very young. Although this probably saved his life, it has not helped him become a normal, well-adapted adult.

Jareth is the new head of security at the Research Institute where Liam works, and he falls in love with the ‘professor’ almost as soon as he sets eyes on him. I admired him a lot for holding back and showing the kind of sensitivity that enables Liam to learn to trust him. Jareth is no stranger to emotional (and physical) pain; as an ex-Marine he had to deal with significant injuries before he was able to reclaim a mostly normal life.

Part Two is a great sequel to the first part! The adorably absent-minded and naïve Liam is back, and so is his studly husband, Jareth, an ex-Marine now in charge of security at the think tank where Liam works. Eight years have passed since the tumultuous events of the first volume, and you'd think things have gotten nice and settled around these two very loving men. To my shock nothing could be further from the truth. They have to face yet more attacks from Liam's demented mother, bigoted cops, FBI agents and doctors, and that's just for starters. Be warned: I counted no less than three major crises in this novel, so a relaxing read this is not.

Liam is still as clumsy as ever, except now that he is married, his various accidents get labeled as abuse, and Jareth, as his husband, is accused (multiple times) of beating him up. Having Jareth in his corner has helped Liam deal with things better though, and professionally, everything goes well for him. When Jareth's brother and his wife have their first child though (which turns out to be twins), it sets in motion a chain of events that not only has Liam despairing of ever having a child of his own, but also leads to several hair-raising and life threatening situations. You have been warned!

Jareth is wonderfully supportive and very patient with Liam. He clearly loves him to pieces and all the false accusations really get to him. As does their trouble with being approved by an adoption agency, and when he gets arrested on his way to the hospital because Liam is vomiting blood, he has had it. He becomes increasingly defensive and decreasingly patient with idiots who try to interfere in his and Liam's lives, never mind the people who try to actively do them physical harm. But he is not a man to be messed with where his family's safety is concerned, and the bad guys better watch out!

This book held me in suspense from beginning to end, and I loved both the tense scenes and the small family-centered and erotic interludes equally. If you like reading about ‘wounded’ heroes who struggle emotionally and physically, if a slowly developing relationship is your thing, and if a ‘geeky professor’ with no social skills seems sort of interesting to you, you may like this book. You also need to be up for a thrilling action/adventure with family themes, and be ready to enjoy a novel that is as hot as it is intense. All around, I think this is a wonderful read!


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
… (lisätietoja)

I should give it a three, but I just loved this book too much to give it a four.

What bothered me the most is the cover. I just happened to see on my Amazon recommended list three other books had the same exact cover and the same exact font. I assume that this is the results of the publishers, Silver Publishing.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the story, but it bothers me that this seems to be something typical in e-books lately. I suppose it has to do with the cheaper cost, but as a reader, it is very annoying.

Story wise, there was a lot of information that was shoved at us explaining the backstory of Liam and Jareth.
I wish we could have had more time to develop the relationship and each character.

The ending came out of the blue and seemed a bit tropey. But for whatever reason, I loved this book, despite all of these problems.
… (lisätietoja)

hmmm. Did I like the book? Yes. Was it a realistic portrayal of ...... anything? No.

There are some really great reviews out there that talked more intelligently on the hearing impaired and ASL aspects, so I will not remark on that much here. I am not sure if I have read a book that just happened to have as many tropes. Let me count the ways. Placing spoiler marks here:




1. Abused by Parents: While we do not see it, Micah does talk about it.

2. Gay Man Disowned: Micah is a gay man that was kicked out of the house by his parents. But that's not bad enough is it? Oh no, he is taken by his Dad two cities away and dumped in a park alone.

3. Homeless Until His Old Friend Helps: Micah is then taken in by the kindly female friend whose family is wonderful and perfect.

4. Is Deaf But Manages to Have No Problems with People Understanding Him: There seems to be no problem with anyone understanding Micah. Even in the court case. We will get to that.

5. Has Severe Panic Attacks: These things are very debilitating, Micah can have several a day and can not work in any traditional sense. He works as a transcriptionist at home. His dog is able to drag him to his closet for when he has his panic attacks.

6. The Scarred Former Vet Vet: The other main character is the vet and of course is also half deaf and knows ASL. The chemistry between the two is instant.

7. The Other Main Character Knows All About Panic Attacks: When attacks happen for the first time, Santiago knows instantly what to do.

8. Murder: Of course they have to be on their first date when someone comes into the restaurant and just lays waste to the patrons.

9. Vet to the Rescue: Of course Santiago is able to knock out the bad guy and save most of the wounded.

10. Obligatory Hospital Stay: Of course we have cuddling in the hospital bed.

11. Parents Die: Of course the parents die and siblings do not tell Micah.

12. Siblings Give him Restraining Order: A deputy comes over to Micah's house to give a restraining order to not come to the funeral.

13. Siblings Legal Demand: Siblings want Micah to give up all inheritance rights.

14. Parents Defraud the Government: Oh look, the parents were claiming all of Micah's disability money.

15. Vet Accidentally Breaks Hero's Nose: Of course, the flashbacks of the vet accidentally makes Santiago break Micah's nose.

16. Vet Begins Drinking: So upset, Santiago starts drinking

17. Vet begins Withdrawing Emotional: Obligatory angst engaged.

18. Vet Begs Hero to Stay: We have our emotional return after angst.

19. Court Case Drama: Dramatic ending where Micah gives big speech and we are overwhelmed with tears and understanding of victory.

The only thing that we didn't see was any HIV/AIDS scare or rape. So I counted 19 tropes in this book.



All of that being said, I did actually enjoy this book. I had to just accept that this was a fantasy book and basked in the heart warming story.

Bea… (lisätietoja)

This isn't the most well-written book I've ever read, but it was VERY sweet. The couple is so cute. Liam is a unique character and very interesting. Jareth is so kind and gentle, extremely patient and supportive, although I think the wooing went on a little long.

At one point someone suggest that Liam has Asperger's and they said no. He totally does. There are different levels, and the fact that he can't read people at all, has really poor social skills, needs help with basic skills like shopping for clothing and getting to and from places, and is highly intelligent, are just some of the symptoms that fit. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad thing. He his very highly functioning, obviously.

There weren't enough women in the story, especially that were positive. There were characters that could have easily been female and weren't. I think there were six women total, two of whom were nameless and three of whom were evil. I really hate it when women writers do that. I think they perceive gay men as being anti-women or something.

I think she handled the situation with Jareth's previous love fairly well. I didn't like that practically everyone Liam met before he came to the institute was homophobic. It was ridiculous that the only ones who weren't were gay. The bosses were a threesome and I just don't like the cavalier way that was handled. It felt unrealistic and unnecessary.

As far as the sex, (mediocre, and I thought the reference to toys was way out of character and way too soon for Jareth to mention to Liam given how long the courting was due to Liam's discomfort with sex. I did, however, like that sexual things were mentioned that most books in this genre don't.

But I really loved the caring between the couple and I even thought the cat thing was good (I am not a big cat fan) even though it would never be allowed into the hospital unless it had been certified as a therapy cat or something. I would read more about this couple.
… (lisätietoja)