~REVIEW of Tere Michaels' DUTY & DEVOTION~

Duty & Devotion (Faith,Love & Devotion #3)

Opening Line: " I think this couch just makes me horny"

What a great conclusion to this trilogy. It isn’t often that you get the story after the HEA and I really appreciated being allowed back into Evan and Matt’s relationship to see how things were working out for them. As is often the case their story which began in (FAITH & FIDELITY) left us with a lot of loose ends and here we are given a very complete conclusion to their romance. It was also fun to see Jim and Griffin again (LOVE & LOYALTY) and I loved the surprising and open friendship that developed between all the men.

As with all her books this is very much a character driven story which just so happens to include sexy M/M interludes. It feels wrong however to classify it as erotic just because of the occasional bit of bum lovin, I mean I’ve read that in mainstream romances too so?... Ah yes issues with labels, I think that’s what this whole book is about. Anyways Tere Michaels is also brilliant at writing multidimensional characters, including the secondary ones and I feel like everyone involved here is now a personal friend of mine. This is a fantastic series and I hope to be reading something (anything) from Ms Michaels again soon.

Matt & Evan, how much do I love these guys? It was so great to go back and revisit them and their evolving relationship. Surprisingly I did come away with a different feel to both characters then I did after reading F&F. Evan pissed me off quite a bit here and I actually felt sorry for Matt and his new househusband status, even though it appeared to be what he wanted. Their relationship still felt unequal, with Evan calling all the shots and Matt not receiving much in return. This would of course be the conflict that slowly gets resolved.

Theres not really much of a plot synopsis to give, we join Evan and Matt in their new house, Matt has taken over the role as househusband and Evan continues on with the police force and struggles with issues of labels and people knowing he’s in a same sex relationship. The return of Jim Shea pushes Evan’s jealousy buttons but forces him to face the facts and then of course theres Griffin who becomes a surprising ally and good teacher too once Evan gets over his own stereotyping.

~REVIEW of Tere Michaels' LOVE & LOYALTY~

Love & Loyalty (Faith & Fidelity, #2

Opening Line: "James "Jim to almost everyone" Shea moved quickly through the throng of reporters and gawkers camped out on the front steps of the Seattle courthouse."

Tere Michaels has done it again with LOVE & LOYALTY, another great read, sucking me in completly with her richly developed characters and well written romance. This isn’t necessarily a sequel to FAITH & FIDELITY (although that is where we first met James “Jim” Shea) and could easily be read as stand alone. Although in saying that you wouldn’t want to miss F&F because its fantastic and easily one of my all time favourite romances gay or straight. Anyways where was I? Oh right, Love & Loyalty.

Jim and Griffin, what a treat it was to watch these two fall in love, graduating from one long sleepover date to actually admitting they had a boyfriend. (That B word is a big deal here) Neither has been particularly lucky in love so while they do have immediate chemistry together, and act on it accordingly their ensuing romance develops at a gradual and realistic pace.

Michael’s doesn’t give us a lot of sex scenes after their first long drawn out night together and except for the fact that this is M/M romance I wouldn’t even classify it as erotic. Its more a character driven story which is where Michaels shines; writing such multi-dimensional characters (including the secondary ones) that you feel like you know them and all their little idiosyncrasies. I particularly enjoyed Jim’s partner Terry and his well meaning but intrusive wife, their banter is really funny. This isn’t as emotionally deep as F&F and Griffin’s movie deal side plot gets a little weak at times but it’s still a well written and highly absorbing story.

Seattle homicide Detective Jim Shea is a workaholic, although up until now he’s been able to leave it at the office. His latest case however has done a number on him and while it may be over its gotten way under his skin, leaving him filled with guilt about the outcome and tied to victims dying father.

When Hollywood comes looking to make a movie out of this tragedy screen writer Griffin Drake enters the picture, seizing the opportunity as his big break to finally write something real. In order to get the family’s story though he’s first got to get through the protective Jim Shea .The fact that they’re both gay is just going to make schmoozing him over dinner all that much sweeter.

Neither one expected much to come out of their first date, (is this a date?) and neither of them has been in a long term relationship before but Griffin doesn’t want to leave Jim’s apartment (he’s finally writing) and Jim’s surprised himself by enjoying having him there. Lies, death and broken trust threaten their new relationship and it’s a sweet ride. Cheers people.

*Thanks for the read Darien, pants off baby!

~REVIEW of Tere Michaels' FAITH & FIDELITY~

                                                            
(Faith, Love and Devotion, #1)

BIG stars

Opening Line: "Matt Haight sat in his car, watching the entrance of the Stag Bar with butterflies in his stomach."

I don’t even know how to put into words how much I loved this story and I’m having trouble writing a review that will do it any form of justice. I can tell you that author Tere Michaels has so hooked me with her unforgettable characters, heart wrenching love story and poignant writing that I’m now looking into spending several hundred dollars on an e-reader just so I can find out what happens next because for some reason the following two books aren't available in print form yet.

I think what struck me most about FAITH AND FIDELITY was the fact that this is about two men is completely incidental to the story. This is so much more than just a gay romance and truthfully all the same sex issue does here is add another degree of difficulty to Matt and Evan’s already complicated struggle to find happiness. This could be the story of any couple that’s taken a few hard knocks from life then along with their skeletons managed to find their soul mate. I should warn you that if you’re looking for graphic and gratuitous sex scenes every second page with a cheesy plotline to carry them along you’ll be disappointed. What you will find however is an emotional journey between two men that never expected to find love with anyone much less another man. This story is heart wrenching, beautiful, funny, compassionate, intimate, sad, realistic, tender and ultimately unputdownable. Honestly one of the best romances I’ve ever read.

As you can guess this isn’t a light-hearted read however I was immediately drawn in, starting with the tragic death of Evan’s high school sweetheart wife. Sherri’s the only person Evan’s ever loved or slept with and with her gone he’s now somehow got to find the strength to get up each day, continue with his job as a New York City Vice Detective and raise four children. Within the first chapter we’re also introduced to Matt; a 40 something former homicide detective and ladies man who’s having a minor mid life crisis of his own. Lonely and depressed Matt quickly becomes the perfect non-judgemental drinking buddy for Evan, each finding a form of solace in the others despair.

Matt and Evan’s relationship starts out as honest friendship. Somewhere along the way though the lines begin to blur and a mutual physically attraction takes hold, shocking confusing and exciting both men. There are some very sweet scenes here as each tries to deal with these new feelings of desire and learns how to be with another man, because as much as they want each other neither of them knows how to scratch the itch. The sex scenes here are explosive and sexy without being explicit and I enjoyed their path to discovery. On some level I could even relate because we’ve all faced the exciting and unknown at one time or another.

Before long Matt and Evan have fallen in love and must face the reality of what effect their relationship is going to have on children, friends and coworkers, however its Evan’s still palpable grief that causes the most damage during this time and brings in a third party. Damn if this part of the book didn’t read like a suspense and brought me to tears as events moved forward, backed off and went forward again. All with this white knuckled reader saying no, no, no, don’t do it. I just didn’t foresee this happening.

I also just have to mention how awesome all the secondary characters are here, adding realistic levels of depth to an already incredible story that I can‘t recommend enough. Cheers, I’m off to buy my e-reader.