Only Forever by Scotty Cade

Reviewed by Kiwi

 

TITLE: Only Forever

SERIES:

AUTHOR: Scotty Cade

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2016

 

BLURB: Master Captain Theodore Gourdin has always loved the ocean. But his devotion to maritime life left little possibility for a long-term relationship. After two failed marriages, Theo gave up on finding the person who completed him and decided the sea was his soul mate. When offered the opportunity to captain the newly launched mega yacht Eternity, Theo jumped at the chance. With Eternity’s maiden voyage looming, Theo focused all his energies on hiring his crew and readying his ship. The last thing he expected was to finally lose his heart in the process.

 

After twelve years at sea, First Officer Heath Rawlins was restless and in need of a change. A gay seaman’s life could be a lonely one, but to Heath the positives far outweighed the negatives. With excellent recommendations and an impressive resume, he was quickly offered a position on the private mega yacht Eternity. Heath’s heart skipped several beats when he finally met the ship’s captain. He was handsome and charming. And… familiar? Had they met somewhere before? Highly unlikely. But as smitten as Heath was with the gorgeous captain, everything inside him screamed, Abandon ship! Rough seas ahead!

 

REVIEW: This is another well written book by Scotty Cade. The story grabbed my attention with the very beginning. The prologue was a little heartbreaking. Set in a different time (1942), the story is about two men, one who, named Edward, unfortunately, has just lost the love of his life, Steven. But at the prologue’s end, sadly, Edward also passes away. Then the story flashes forward to the present time and gives us Heath and Theo. Heath to me seems to me to be a bit of a restless spirit or at least unhappy in his current job. He makes the decision to leave his current position and is quickly offered another one on a luxury yacht. It’s here that he meets Theo.

 

Theo is the captain of the luxury yacht where Heath is hired to work on and from the beginning, the attraction is strong and the sparks fly between the two men.  Not only that, there seems to be a bit of a sense of déjà vu between them. But there’s another catch: both men are supposedly straight but they keep having dreams about two men named Edward and Steven. This is where the story gets even more interesting. I haven’t read many stories featuring reincarnation but this is a trope that is seldom used that should be explored more. I definitely felt that the author did an amazing job of taking something that one would think would make the storyline boring but he managed to make it absolutely fantastic.

 

I absolutely loved the premise of this story. Everything about this book is so vivid and bright. I can’t describe it any other way.  The author’s writing style is amazing.  I was completely immersed in this story. His descriptions of the yacht, the crew’s lives, the weather, everything. As I’ve stated in past reviews of this author’s work, I thought that his descriptions were wordy but have since learned that his descriptions serve an important purpose. It draws you completely into the story. Thinking back on it now, I can remember feeling like I experience the same things that the characters are experiencing. You can definitely tell that the author has a vast knowledge of being on a boat or a ship. I’ve never in my life been near a boat but by the end of that book, I felt like I had taken a pleasure cruise. I definitely appreciate his descriptions as they give you the reader, the full experience of the story being told. Not only that but I felt that I got a special treat with the twist. Wow, I did not see that one coming. I loved it all.  

 

This book was beautifully written, which is par for the course for this author. I really appreciate his work.  This author’s characters are men of a particular age so you know that you’re going to get a more mature romance.  This is a signature Scotty Cade book: well written characters, wonderful plots and storylines and dialogues. You can also expect the editing to be spot on perfect.  Never in any of Cade’s book have I ever found one misspelled word, poor sentence or paragraph structure or plot holes. This author definitely believes in doing research before he writes the first word of any of his books.  The end result is a beautifully written, polished book. 

 

I definitely must give a nod to the super talented Reese Dante, the cover artist. Scotty has used this artist on virtually every one of his books and I must say that the beautiful cover matches the beautiful words within.

 

This is a story that will linger with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

 

 RATING: ???Amazing???

 

BUY LINKS:

 

Amazon

 

Dreamspinner Press

 

 

 

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Losing Faith by Scotty Cade

Reviewed by Kiwi

TITLE: Losing Faith

SERIES

AUTHOR: Scotty Cade

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2016

BLURB: Father Cullen Kiley, a gay Episcopal priest on hiatus from the church, decides to take his boat, T-Time, from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to Southport, North Carolina, a place that holds an abundance of bittersweet memories for him. While on a run his first day in Southport, Cullen comes upon a man sitting on a park bench staring out over the Cape Fear River with his Bible in hand. The man’s body language reeks of defeat and desperation, and unable to ignore his compassion for his fellow man, Cullen stops to offer a helping hand.

Southport Baptist Church’s Associate Pastor, Abel Weston, has a hard time managing his demons. When they get too overwhelming, he retreats to Southport’s Historic Riverwalk with his Bible in hand and stares out over the water, praying for help and guidance that never seem to come. But Abel soon discovers that help and guidance come in many forms.

An unexpected friendship develops between the two men, and as Cullen helps Abel begin to confront his doubts and fears, he comes face-to-face with his own reality, threatening both their futures.

REVIEW: This book is in one word: amazing! It was touching and beautifully written. I will say that I wasn’t too excited about this one because of the subject matter but decided to give it a go because it was written by this author. Needless to say that I am so very glad that I made the decision to do so. This man, with his words, has this way of drawing you into his story that I find absolutely magical. His descriptions, which I had in the past described as wordy (which I sincerely apologize for now) were perfect. I get it! This author’s descriptions weren’t wordy at all! He was actually using them to draw you in; he wanted you to experience the emotions of each character, to actually feel their experiences. He did this in a way that is subtle; you don’t even realize until afterwards of what he’s done. Thinking back to his previous fictions I’ve had the pleasure of reading, I realize how he’s always done this.

These two men’s personalities couldn’t have been more different, so much so
That I didn’t think they would be compatible enough to get together. But of course, Cade found a way for them to connect and form an unbreakable and beautiful bond. This subtle build to perfection is what makes this story such an enjoyable read. I can tell you that I was captivated from the first page to the very last.

What I like about this story is that here, you have these two men of the cloth (what I refer to any clergy) who you think are supposed be…oh, I don’t know. I know as a youth, I certainly didn’t think of religious leaders as having their own demons to contend with. Cade of course writes these characters in a way that dispels that myth. He wrote these men in a way that said to me that these are men of god but they’re still only men. And they have demons to contend with just like we all do.

I loved this story. It was so very touching and beautiful. And of course, well researched! That’s one of the many things you can expect when reading this author’s work: an extremely well researched, perfectly edited book. This is a definite must read and one that I highly recommend you read.

RATING: ?????

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

 
Dreamspinner Press

 

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Veiled Loyalties (Bissonet & Cruz Investigstions #2) Scotty Cade

Reviewed by Kiwi

TITLE: Veiled Loyalties

SERIES: Bissonet & Cruz Investigations, Book 2

AUTHOR: Scotty Cade

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 154 pages

BLURB: Halloween is Beau Bissonet’s favorite holiday, from carving pumpkins to decorating his yard to donning a costume and scaring the neighborhood kids. But this year his Halloween is about to take a different turn, one that will challenge his skills as a detective and his commitment to his partner in work and love.

A year since Beau and Tollison solved The Royal Street Heist, found love, and formed Bissonet & Cruz Investigations, they are thriving personally and professionally. That is until Tollison’s ex, Bastien Andros, shows up out of the blue. Naturally, Beau’s suspicious, but two days after Bastien’s arrival, he goes missing, and Tollison worries his past may catch up to him.

A mysterious package makes clear who has Bastien and what’s at stake. With both Bastien and Beau’s lives now at risk, Tollison has only one option: travel to Zurich, Switzerland, secure and deliver the ransom, keep both men safe, and stay true to himself at the same time.

REVIEW: This is a nice follow up to Royal Street Heist. It’s been a year since Bissonet and Cruz solved the heist and they’ve started a new life together as partners both personally and professionally. Life is good and they’re content. That is until Cruz’s ex-boyfriend makes an appearance in their lives. Beau’s getting a bad vibe from the ex and with good reason. Their peaceful and content lives are turned upside down when the ex disappears, making it clear that the ex is involved in something shady and it drags Cruz and Bissonet into it. There is another great mystery for the beautiful couple to solve and there is just as much excitement, adventure, twists and turns in this book as it was in the first. Cade did an excellent job of fully developing these characters and the storyline, plot and dialogue is really good. I love how the author, in all of his work, churns out these beautiful men who are strong enough to be able to express how much they love each other. While it was a bit mushy (for me, I’m not the romantic type) and there was more sexual heat and lots of passion between the two this time around but I felt that it fit perfectly seeing as these men are still newly into this relationship. They’re in that ‘honeymoon phase’ of a relationship that many have gone through. I loved it.

He did a great job of describing the scenery of the exotic locations where the couple travel in order to solve this mystery. This enabled me to visualize these beautiful locations. This book was a little bit shorter than the first one but he managed to pack quite a punch into this book. I hope this isn’t the last we see of this duo.

RATING: ?????

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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Royal Street Heist (Bissonet & Cruz #1) Scotty Cade

Reviewed by Kiwi

TITLE: Royal Street Heist

SERIES: Bissonet & Cruz Investigations, Book 1

AUTHOR: Scotty Cade

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 206 pages

BLURB: When valuable Civil War era art is stolen from a popular New Orleans gallery, NOPD Lead Detective Montgomery “Beau” Bissonet and his partner set out to solve the crime. When the gallery’s insurance company sends Tollison Cruz to the Big Easy to conduct their own independent investigation, personalities clash and battle lines are definitely drawn.

The heist quickly becomes a politically driven high profile case, and Detective Bissonet is furious when he’s ordered to work along side Investigator Cruz to assure a timely arrest. The heat index soars to new levels when the two investigators discover they have a lot more in common then originally thought.

With the tension between them temporarily sated, Bissonet and Cruz finally start to work together, on more then just a professional level. But everything comes to a screeching halt when Beau discovers his cohort in crime has been withholding information regarding the investigation and has been concealing a very questionable past. What happens next rivals the scorching summer heat.

REVIEW: This is part one in a story which a detective and his partner set out to recover a stolen civil war artifact taken from the local art gallery. Things get pretty interesting when the gallery’s insurance company sends Tollison Cruz to work alongside them. Of course with this development toes or stepped on, egos come into play,they’re both battling their attraction to each other and these two men clash. Watchimg them clash was quite entertaining to read.

What I love about this author is that he has this wonderful ability to combine sexy, sweet, with a touch of spice that makes his books such a treat to read. What I also love about his books is that his characters are always these mature, established men, alpha males. His books are definitely ‘Twink-Free’ zones.

Cade serves up quite a bit with this dish. It’s a delicious combination of great mystery combines with romance, adventure, and intrigue. Set in New Orleans, the author did a fantastic job of showcasing the city’s immense charm, rich and diverse history. He described everything in such detail that I was able to clearly visualize this city, one that I’ve never visited. It was glorious.

As usual the author writing style was spot on perfect. You can tell that he has to standard of perfection in his writing that is used in all of his books. He does his research. And it shows. I absolutely love these two men. They were stubborn and sexy. They remind me of two male lions squaring off against each other. I think that them fighting that attraction they had towards each other was like eating the sweetest most decadent dessert ever. I found myself mumbling to my iPad for them to just go to bed and get it out of their systems already but the fact that they didn’t immediately act on their attraction made it all the more sexier. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. I love the dialogue, the character development, the storyline empty slot it was all absolutely magnificent. And this is the reason why I continue to read this author’s work.

Even though you’re not going to get pages and pages of sexy is written into this book the story is still amazing without it and as quiet as it is kept, I actually prefer it that way. The plot, storyline and character development is strong enough to obtain and maintain your interest.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a great mystery with mature characters and wonderful adventures sit in the beautiful and intriguing city of New Orleans. I am looking forward to the sequel.

RATING: ???Amazing???

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Dreamspinner Press

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