Title: COPS
Series: Sequel to Top Men
Author: G.A. Hauser
Genre: Erotic Romance
Length: Novel (237 pages)
Publisher: The GA Hauser Collection LLC (July 21st, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Two of LAPD’s finest, Officer Jeff Chandler and his partner Mickey Stanton, have been together on duty for three years. When Mickey first met Jeff, a lateral transfer from Rain City- Seattle, he was crazy about him. When the men were assigned to a two-man patrol car, Jeff and Mickey’s attraction blossomed. And from then on, it was playtime!
On the street, Jeff and Mickey were tough and fearless, doing their job to protect and serve, but the testosterone charged pair were wild and out of control with their passion for each other. They loved doing risqué acts on duty and craved the adrenalin rush, until Jeff becomes burned out with patrol. His ambition is to rise up in the ranks. Soon the two men are at odds with what direction their careers should take, and Mickey resents Jeff for wanting to split up their team.
As friction begins to develop between them, they still have to continue battling the crime on LA’s streets. Between the raging fury and the sexual heat of their relationship, there is true love, and that love is put to the ultimate test, nearly ending in tragedy.
‘Top Men’- Mickey and Jeff- The police officers you grew to love from GA’s Action! and Hero Series, back again to give fans a wild ride into the darkest secrets and desires of COPS.
Product Link: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-cops-1223041-340.html
Review: This is a book that tells the story of two patrol officers, Jeff and Mickey. Now, apparently there’s been a prequel to this when Jeff and Mick first met, and there is some debate about this one not following properly on the previous story. However, I having read only this believe this is an easy standalone and did not feel lost in following it.
Reading this book left me with lots of feelings and thoughts. There are the realistic details of the job described that, while they gave the story credibility, were a bit too much. Too much detail and I started feeling the weight of all the mundane little things a cop endures during his routine. I suppose it was a great way to show how and why Jeff got burn out from his job and wanted to move on, but by the end of it, it got too tiresome.
Some of those incidents though were spectacular, like when our guys get a welfare call. Good grief, I felt as if I was a bystander there and started to actually gag from the images the description caused. In the end I simply wished this read was polished a bit more and had only the intensity and the events instead of every little detail about the straps holding the Kevlars, the cleaning of the weapons and the routine of changing from civilian clothes to uniform.
More thoughts brought the relationship this pair shared. Jeff and Mickey are lovers in closet. It’s easy to see why as they are cops and don’t want the derision of their fellow cops, and they are partners in their job. A coming out would only serve in their splitting and not working together anymore, which brings us to the theme of the book.
Jeff needs to move along in his career, he has the chance to do so by testing for sergeant, but Mickey freaks out at the idea of not working with his lover, not having him to back him up, or make the day and the patrol worthwhile. Seeing as they constantly had risqué sex while working, get on each other in parking lots, and abandoned buildings, Mickey goes completely nuts at the idea of working alone. So the entire story revolves around Jeff wanting to get off the first line of fire and Mickey throwing an outrageous drama fit that, while quite aggressive, was unbelievably selfish.
This is the part that the book lost me completely. I didn’t mind the risky behavior, I didn’t mind their interactions with their friends – and let me tell you that was one weird interaction even for me – I didn’t mind the impossibly long details as much as I minded Mickey’s behavior. I don’t think I’ve encountered a more selfish character that didn’t get redeemed in the end. This story ends with a huge guilt trip Mick throws onto Jeff and I was standing there, slack-jawed and wondering what the hell just happened?
Bottom end, I liked the whole aggressive, risky sex in this book, I liked the incidents the cops found in their work, even the little ones, and I liked the chemistry between the two, but I did not enjoy the rest at all. The fact that this could have been much shorter if properly polished and much more bearable made the frustration grow there at the end.