Compromised by Ethan Stone

18107013Title: Compromised

Series: Uniformity, #1

Author: Ethan Stone

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Action

Length: Novel

Publisher: Total E-Bound (August 9th, 2013)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5 Hearts

Reviewer: Thommie

Blurb: Kash never thought he’d find true love working at a maximum security prison, but that’s exactly what happens.

Correctional Officer Daniel “Kash” Kashaveroff is single, gay and working at a maximum security prison in a small town in Nevada. Not the best job or town in which to meet men. He wants to fall in love again but isn’t actively looking.

Then he begins working with a new partner, Zane Davis, and his life is turned upside down. Kash is attracted to Zane but isn’t sure the sexy man plays for his team. When the gay or not mystery is solved, Zane and Kash begin a relationship that starts as friends-with-benefits but soon becomes a committed one.

Zane is bisexual and as much as he cares for Kash, he is still drawn to women. The attraction to the fairer sex creates problems in the relationship but Kash is committed to making it work.

While dealing with his relationship issues, Kash also becomes friends with an inmate named Cody Ives. Becoming personally involved with an inmate is against the rules, but Kash believes in the young man’s innocence and insists on proving it

Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=2234

Review: This was a lovely read, one I enjoyed quite a lot, even if it was a bit slow at the beginning. There are books we feel them realistic, and there are other we feel them as real. This one felt like a biography, the prison details and work routine were as if interviewing a real life officer. That made for a slow pace at the beginning, though in all fairness the author does inform us that this first book of the series is meant to give us a real feeling and introduce us into the non-glamorous version of this line of work. He ends up with the promise of more action for the next books.

So moving on, I loved this story. It was romantic without being cheesy, it was an everyday affair, and quite credible, while at the same time maintained a certain rush that came from the circumstances. I mean here we have an office working a high security level prison, secretly gay, having a relationship with a coworker and getting emotionally involved with an inmate sentenced for life. And to top things, making the action part of the story heighten in intensity, there are ghosts from the past coming for them. Lovely plot indeed, but what had my attention most of the time were the characters.

Kash; protagonist and a lovely character indeed. Having failed at relationships way too many times and being hurt by people he loved, Kash tries desperately to make things work with Zane. His past with his family is cringe-worthy; there are so many children who have lived that life. His beliefs and strength in them is admirable, and in general, Kash is a character that makes you fall for him quite easily. You grow to respect him and that is huge in my opinion.

Zane; Oh dear God what a despicable character. Yes in the end he managed to become less despicable (I insist with that adjective) but during the first half of the read, I wanted to strangle him, beat the shit out of him, and even break his legs. Good Lord, I think this was the character that evoked the strongest emotions from me, even if they were not good emotions at the time. See I don’t have a problem with cheating characters, after all, we are human, and we tend to make mistakes. But Zane, Zane was a whole different level of cheating, he was the kind that did it, came back for forgiveness and went on and did it again and again and again… Good grief, what a piece of work.

Cody; a sweet character if there ever was one, bit too naïve and easy trusting. The last bit was not my favorite but it helped him along this plot, since he got more that he even dared hope for. His past gave a certain depth to the character but I still felt I needed more. Thing is he only showed a certain spike during the end there, while the entire read he was more of a passive figure. Personality wise he still feels a stranger.

And that was a common treat with all the characters in this book. While the action part was very interesting, there was serious lack of chemistry and I still feel I don’t really know the people involved. In the end, while it was a very acceptable end despite the “forevers,” I wanted more from this particular couple, just more.

As it is, I recommend this book for the romantics out there and those who love action and adventure of the mild sort, since there is thankfully a lack of angst and drama here. And while I’m at that, can’t wait for the second book of the series that promises to be more intense and full of action.