Title: Cast Off
Series: Toronto Tales, #3
Author: KC Burn
Narrator: Tristan James
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 7 hours and 35 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 12th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: Thirty-five-year-old Rick Haviland is a well-respected speech pathologist, but while his friends are all settling into relationships, he refuses to give up his no-strings-attached club boy sex life. For him, relationships are dangerous; he’s got a secret to hide. When he meets Ian O’Donnell, an account manager with a local tabloid, Rick figures his personal rules for relationships should be enough to keep him safe from more than a one-night stand.
When Ian comes out of the closet, tired of anonymous hook-ups and keeping secrets from his large Catholic family, Rick is right there, and he’s just the sort of man Ian might like to get to know better. Their attraction is immediate, electric and mutual. Ian convinces Rick to break more and more of his rules and his defenses crumble. But someone watches. Someone who’d like to see this new relationship fail.
When Ian’s job becomes a means to expose Rick’s secret, it could destroy both their careers and their hearts.
Product Link(s): https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5207
http://amzn.to/1XeAB1K
Reviewer: Tams
Review: Rick Haviland doesn’t do attachments. He does one night stands and occasionally, finds a friend that is willing to share the benefits of a hook-up only kind of relationship. But as soon as a guy starts acting like a “keeper”, their name is scratched off the list.
Meeting Ian O’Donnell changes everything. Rick keeps his past tucked away, never revealing his whole self to anyone, not even his best friends. That shadow that looms over Rick is what has kept him from getting to close to anyone, but Ian slowly breaks down all Rick’s barriers and he finds himself wanting more with someone for the first time ever.
Ian is no stranger to keeping secrets; he hid his sexuality from everyone he knew until recently. When his brother, Curt, who is also Ian’s best friend, came out to their family Ian was pissed. Not at Curt mind you, but at himself for not having the courage at the time to do the same.
From the start, Ian wants more than just a casual hook-up kind of relationship with Rick, but he recognizes the look of sheer terror in Rick’s eyes at just the mention of anything to do with any type of commitment. So Ian works the friend angle instead. The man is actually courting Rick, and Rick doesn’t even realize it. But darkness in your past is never forgotten and not easily washed away.
When Rick’s past invades his present, it could destroy them both.
This is probably my favorite book of this series. Ian was definitely the stronger of the two men, both physically and emotionally. That being said, I liked that he was the one that kind of had blinders on when usually, it would have been the other way around.
Ian is so focused on Rick that he doesn’t see when another guy is blatantly flirting. And then Rick decides to ignore what he sees when someone is slashing his tires, keying his car and setting his porch on fire. Both men are forced to pay attention when Rick receives an envelope of very revealing images.
While the images could destroy both men’s careers as well as Rick’s entire world, they force Rick to be completely open and honest with Ian about his past. Again, I really liked the way this played out. Rick is convinced that Ian will duck and run, cast him off just like everyone always does when they learn the truth. But Ian is already completely committed, he digs his heels in a stays.
Opposites definitely attract in this book, narrated by Tristan James, and he really brought the characters to life. He nails the Irish brogue perfectly any time he speaks it, and he has these subtle shifts in his voice that alert the listener to a change in the characters attitude or mood. You also don’t have to wonder who is speaking as James clearly changes tone and inflection from one character to another.
The series as a whole is very well written, the various characters are all part of the same family and close knit circle of friends.
So I would not only recommend you giving this one a read or a listen, I would recommend doing so in order so you can fully appreciate the books as the Author intended.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *