BUSTED is book number three in the Barnes Brothers series
by
Shiloh Walker. I adore this series! There are five
brothers,
so I'm looking forward to another two books to come in all
their gloriousness.
Ressa Bliss is a librarian who has sole custody of her
niece. Ressa tries so hard to do the right thing, and I
love her determination and steadiness. She's made some
bad
choices in the past, and I find myself frustrated with
Ressa
allowing her past to be a false obstacle to her future
with
Trey. The big reveal seems a little drawn out, but does
surprise me (I always enjoy when the author can skillfully
draw out the suspense on a character's Deep Secret).
Trey Barnes is a widower, raising his five year old son on
his own. He's just starting to come out of his shell and
start living again. He's an author who writes depressing
books under his own name, but also writes billionaire
romances under a pen name, a fun little nod to our romance
community. Walker does a great job of showing me Trey's
struggles without overwhelming me, and letting me
experience
his utter relieved astonishment in finding pleasure in
another woman again.
There is a total book theme going on in this story. The
heroine is a librarian who says that books saved her
growing
up. He's a writer in two genres, and his writing isn't
tangential to the plot, but is used to flesh the story
out.
All of Trey's tattoos are book-related. They meet in a
library, meet the next time at a book conference where she
moderates a panel he is on, go out on a date to a
book-themed restaurant. This is an author who knows what
we
readers appreciate!
There's such a slow and natural but very sexy build-up to
Ressa and Trey starting their relationship. These are two
people with a lot of issues who are trying to handle their
problems as best they can. The hallmark of Walker's books
is people with serious problems who are dealing with them
in
a healthy manner with the help of wonderful friends and
family, and Walker does not disappoint in this respect in
BUSTED. Ressa is reluctant to start a relationship when
she
is struggling with guilt over issues with her cousin and
trying to deal with raising her cousin's child. Trey is
afraid to try a relationship since he's shut down sexually
after his wife's death. To see them grow toward each
other
and start to live life again is a beautiful and uplifting
thing.
Shiloh Walker's BUSTED is another solid addition to a
sensual and healthy series about characters I would love
to
have as my own friends. I adore a good angsty book, and
Walker hits all my buttons with this latest release.
From the national bestselling author of Wrecked and Razed comes an emotionally charged story of undeniable passion and life-affirming love…
Like his brothers Zach and Zane, Trey Barnes thought he had found the love of his life. But fate had other plans. A widower who’s had to raise his five-year-old son on his own, Trey has not allowed himself to be with another woman. Until he meets Ressa Bliss at—of all places—a children’s library program. The beautiful librarian is wonderful with his son, Clay, but every time Trey even considers asking her out, he is tortured by guilt.
Fate is indeed fickle. When the two meet again at a conference, this time the attraction is too powerful to resist. But is their connection and passion strong enough to survive Trey’s deep inner torment?
Excerpt
His hands were shaking. To hide it, he shoved them into his back pockets as they waited for their turn to shuffle onto the elevator. Finally, they managed to wedge themselves in and then more people wedged themselves in after that. Trey found himself so close, he could have turned his head and he’d be able to bury his face in her hair. Soft, wild twists of curls…what would she do— “Oh! Sorry!” There was a giggle, a squeal…and then like a bunch of dominos, people half fell, half crashed into others as the woman in the front continued to giggle. “Oopsie! Too marny—ah, too many marnis—too many martinis!” A couple of snorts, a couple of snickers and more than a few curses. Trey barely heard any of them. Ressa had ended up crushed against his chest and he was pinned to the wall. Her hip was pressed snug to his crotch and even as he tried to ease her away, her gaze shifted, lifted… His cock started to pulse, throb. Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Her hand fisted in the material of his shirt as she licked the full, ripe curve of her lower lip. If he didn’t at least taste that mouth— The elevator dinged and bodies spilled out. As the person next to them escaped the press, Ressa eased back. Dusky color rode along her cheekbones as she slid her eyes up to meet his. Tearing his gaze away, he looked at the lights flickering above the elevator door. It hit her floor and as she turned away, she slid her hand down, caught his. Sweat beaded at the nape of his neck and he had one brief moment of lucidity. Trey Barnes was a man who liked order. He liked to be in control. But he had absolutely no idea what in the hell he was doing. And he was absolutely fine with that.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy