A Restored Man (The Men of Halfway House Book #3) by Jaime Reese

Romandeavor presents: http://jaimereese.com/a-restored-man/

Blurb

Cole Renzo thinks his greatest challenge is to behave for the remainder of his term at Halfway House. Until he meets his new boss, Ty Calloway, a man who ticks off every box on Cole’s list of interests.

A sought-after restorer and customizer of exotic and collectible cars, Ty had enough confidence to command what he wanted in life, until one fateful night changed everything. Almost two years later, he’s slowly rebuilding his life with great control. He’s defied the odds and works tirelessly to be the man he once was—but he still feels broken.

Cole’s candor and unfiltered personality awaken Ty’s barely-remembered desire to greet each new day with a smile, while Ty’s unwavering acceptance of Cole’s quirks and brash humor makes Cole feel as if he fits in for the first time in far too long. When a nemesis threatens Ty’s personal restoration and the things he holds dear, Cole is determined to protect their relationship, even if that means sacrificing everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ty will have to let his guard down, surrender control, and admit he needs Cole first, even if that puts himself at risk of breaking beyond repair.

Review

This is book three in The Men of Halfway House series. I think, technically you could read this as a standalone with no problem, but why the heck would ya? The other two books are amazing and really give you the background for this book. So… I’m going to assume you’ve read books one and two…

We met Cole in book two. He’s loud, impetuous, impractical, mouthy and in a word – Trouble. He’s also an (ex) car thief who is at the HH after spending 2 years in prison for stealing a car and refusing to “rat out” his co-conspirators.

Cole has a hard time transitioning to a legit life because of his impetuousness. Finally, Aidan comes through with the perfect job for him, doing custom restorations for his brother Ty. The deal is this: Hunter gave Cole a sweet car if Cole can manage to do his time at the HH in four months. Nobody thinks that will be easy.

Ty is Aidan’s brother. He’s in the family business (Aidan is the black sheep!) of car restoration but he’s still recovering from a serious car accident that took the lives of his parents and put him in a coma for 6 months. Ty is the opposite of Aidan. He’s shy, reserved, blushes at the drop of a hat and has a dark cloud hanging above his head.

When Ty meets Cole there is instant attraction on both sides. So much so that Cole puts his foot in his mouth – again – and Aidan puts his fist in Cole’s face for it! Though Ty makes Aidan apologize for it later, Aidan makes it clear that if Cole hurts Ty in any way losing the car will be the least of his worries.

Well, as it turns out, Cole took to the work at the shop like a fish to water. He’s found his groove at last and things look great from that perspective. His only glitch: Ty. Ty turns Cole on like nothing else and makes him crazy.

Ty wants to keep things between him and Cole professional – of course – but he just can’t stay away. Cole attracts him like a moth to a flame. They dance around each other for weeks until finally giving in to their mutual desires.

There is more than just the romance going on in this story. Cole has some family issues to resolve and Ty is dealing with survivor’s guilt, physical limitations and an ex-employee trying to blackmail him.

And then there’s Aidan… I’m hoping his story is next… he’s got something going on with Hunter’s former partner Jessie and it looks to be a great story!

**

So I am a huge Jaime Reese fan. Her first book was amazing and frankly every book since has only gotten better. The thing that amazes me about this book in particular is the length. It is a fairly long book and there is not one word that could be edited out! All of it is wonderful and important to building this beautiful story.

The romance between Ty and Cole is both a slow burn and an instant wildfire. They flirt and tease and touch and torment each other endlessly, but the final coming together takes weeks and when it does happen it is really moving and powerful.

I love seeing J and Matt again (wish we could hear about Cam and Hunter too, but seeing as they’ve disappeared…). I love the “hint” that maybe J and Matt might one day expand their little family!

Cole has to be my most favorite character so far. Man! He’s funny, honest, charming, adorkable, can do ANYTHING (and he knows it), cocky, insecure, sweet, raunchy… just a perfect mixture of everything. Ty is his perfect foil because he’s so shy, yet subtly aggressive, confident but tentative… another delightful mix.

I have to admit, in a lot of books the “non romance” part is just boring to me and it takes effort to pay attention to those parts. Not true here. The blackmailing, the family drama, the events in the shop… these are all captivating.

I really feel that Jaime’s writing has gotten better and better as the series has progressed and her world building and characterizations are top notch.  I had to stop and slow down several times when I was reading this because I just wanted to savor how good it was.

I really appreciate how Jaime handles the sexual tension and the sex itself in her books.  It’s so romantic and yet scorching hot at the same time.  Her word choice, especially, helps to create this setting and I love that I’m not ever thrown out of the story by phrasing that doesn’t seem to match the characters for the sake of “making the sex hotter”.

Overall a truly amazing book that I know I’ll read again and again. I can’t wait for Aidan’s story and I am ever so hopeful that we will see the entire series on Audiobooks soon.

(And giant Kudos on the cover… so adorable!)

6 of 5 hearts