The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight

Title: The Last Thing He Needs
Author: J.H. Knight
Genre: Contemporary Gay Romance
Length: Novel (220 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (July 28th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Tommy O’Shea is raising his seven younger brothers and sisters without any help from his drug abusing father and stepmother. Since he was fifteen years old, he’s managed to keep the children fed and out of foster care. It takes up every ounce of his energy and the last thing he needs is romance complicating his life further.

Rookie cop Bobby McAlister doesn’t belong in Tommy’s harsh world, but Tommy can’t push him out. As their unlikely friendship turns into a tentative relationship, they weather the daily storm of Tommy’s life with a lot of laughs and more than a few arguments.

Tommy isn’t used to trusting outsiders, and he’s never asked for help in his life. But when a tragedy strikes the O’Shea family and threatens everything he’s fought for, he’ll have to learn to do both to recover from the brutal hit.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5262
Review: At just twenty something years old, Tommy O’Shea is the primary caretaker for his seven younger siblings. His father is a drunk, his stepmonster is an addict, so much so that they steal from the own children in order to feed their habits. Tommy and the next oldest Colleen work multiple jobs just to keep food on the table and the lights on. It’s second nature to Tommy to take care of his brother’s and sister’s. He’s determined to keep them together and out of foster care, and he’ll seriously injure anyone that thinks otherwise.

Tommy has known Officer Bobby McAlister since they were kids, and now that they are older, Bobby has become a guardian angel of sorts. He’s kept Tommy out of jail on more than one occasion, and now he’s stepping up and helping Tommy at home with the kids as well. As much as Tommy wants more from the blonde haired young cop, he doesn’t want to expose Bobby to the harsh reality that is his world. And he’s not even certain that Bobby is gay. A chance meeting at a gay bar answers that question, and set in motion a series of events that will change the O’Shea family’s lives forever.

Bobby is as determined to be a part of Tommy’s life as Tommy is to run him off. The two fight, argue, and say hurtful things in the heat of the moment. But Bobby never gives up on Tommy or the kids. While their arguments made my teeth grate at times, there was a comical madness to them as well that rooted them in reality. The way they loved just as fiercely as they fought painted them as three-dimensional characters giving them more depth. And I loved that they could just kiss each other for hours. Every time they kissed, it was as if they kissed each other a different way, I liked that variety from the author.
This book was a beautiful tragedy full of emotional ups and downs.

My heart broke for Tommy and what he had to go through to try to keep his family together. For those kids who were saddled with the most disgusting and worthless parents, I mean who tries to steal their one year old twins Christmas presents so they can sell them for drugs?! For Bobby and Tommy and the toll it took on them both as a couple and as individuals. But I loved watching their relationship slowly unfold, from friends to lovers to a family. And it all progressed over time, it didn’t happen overnight. Tommy was recklessly determined to spend his life alone, the martyr that gave it all up to raise those kids. Sometimes though, you really can have it all, or at least all that you are meant to have.

Fans of real world stories and my fellow hopeless romantics are going to love this one. Add to that the snarky sense of humor these two guys have and that makes this a must read dramady!