Title: Shotgun
Series: CODA, #7
Author: Marie Sexton
Genre: Contemporary / Suspense
Length: Novel (260 Pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 29th 2015)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Blurb: As a young man, Dominic Jacobsen already suspects he’s gay, and he gets all the confirmation he needs when a rich boy from out of town climbs into the back seat of Dominic’s GTO. One night with Lamar Franklin is all it takes to convince Dominic he’s found the man of his dreams. Unfortunately, that one night is all he’ll get before Lamar returns to Tucson.
Fifteen years later Lamar returns to Coda, Colorado, after ending the latest in a string of bad relationships. He’s alone, depressed, and plagued by late-night phone calls from an unidentified caller. Lamar’s ready to give up when he comes face-to-face with his past.
Since he was seventeen, Dominic has dreamed of a reunion with Lamar, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready for it now. Facing small-town rumors and big-family drama is bad enough, but Dominic won’t risk losing custody of his teenage daughter, Naomi. The only solution is to make sure he and Lamar remain friends and nothing more. Clothes stay on, no matter what.
It seems simple enough. But for better or worse, Lamar has other ideas.
ISBN: 978-1-63476-129-1
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6443
Reviewer: GiGi
Review: A welcome return to the Coda family! Several characters from the Coda series make an appearance in this story of first love and second chances. Our favorite public servant, Jared’s hubby Matt plays a big role investigating Lamar’s stalker and he introduces him to his sexy hubby Jared and of course my personal favorite the edgy and king of dry Angelo.
Zach is briefly in and out of scenes, eyeing Lamar, getting sexy with Angelo, and being his laid back self. I love how Lamar discovers this small gay community in Coda and it gives him strength, and he needs that to handle the violence against him as well as handling his ill-defined relationship with Dominic.
Dominic is a pretty well predicted case of closeted gay single dad. I already knew how the daughter would react but the author tortures him, and us along the way as Dominica deals with his fears of coming out and grabbing some happiness for himself and reaching for Lamar.
What I found most interested about this story line is the comparison of the two ways Dominica and Lamar react as they met each other initially and again 15 years later. Their first meeting was instant sparks, hot and heavy, a brief whirlwind of sexual experiences, and then they parted…and life rattle don.
The second time is intense, but drawn out, by Lamar’s reluctance to be intimate as well as Dominic’s need to curb his desires. The fact that they get to know one another again over days of Lego building is a fun twist, kind of like Angelo, Zach and puzzles.
Overall this is a sweet, scary, sad, and haunting, slow build to a long deserved happiness. Snapshots of what it’s like to live with depression, what it’s like to be in an emotionally abusive relationship, what it’s like to fear showing the world who you are, what it’s like to jump off that cliff, all of these come together to create a heartwarming read. It’s nice to visit with old friends, and introduce new characters we can all fall in love with.
Oh and I love that Angelo still jerks Matt’s chain, making him wildly jealous when it comes to Jared! A recommended read, can stand alone, but I say read the whole series!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *