Title: A Mended Man
Series: The Men of Halfway House #4
Author: Jaime Reese
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Detective Aidan Calloway is rock-solid strong. He's a man of justice—loyal to his friends, family, and job—even if it requires bending a law…or two. He shields himself behind an abrasive, fearless facade, until a phone call one night chips his armor and throws his perfectly planned, hollow life into a tailspin.
Jessie Vega is the epitome of optimism. His carefully crafted attitude of hope and positivity protects him from a past filled with too much pain. When a ghost from a dark time resurfaces and nearly breaks him, he must tap into his inner strength or risk losing everything he's worked so hard to build.
But Jessie can't do it alone. He must fight to break through Aidan's ironclad defenses to reveal the heart of the man hiding beneath the tough surface and mend his damaged spirit. Only then can they truly heal and become strong enough to battle the demons that haunt them and threaten their chance to finally be together.
———
***This book contains scenes and subject matter some readers may find distressing.***
———
Although part of a series, this book can be read as a stand-alone.
Jessie Vega is the epitome of optimism. His carefully crafted attitude of hope and positivity protects him from a past filled with too much pain. When a ghost from a dark time resurfaces and nearly breaks him, he must tap into his inner strength or risk losing everything he's worked so hard to build.
But Jessie can't do it alone. He must fight to break through Aidan's ironclad defenses to reveal the heart of the man hiding beneath the tough surface and mend his damaged spirit. Only then can they truly heal and become strong enough to battle the demons that haunt them and threaten their chance to finally be together.
———
***This book contains scenes and subject matter some readers may find distressing.***
———
Although part of a series, this book can be read as a stand-alone.
*ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
This is the fourth book In the Men of Halfway House and the
characters focused in this story, Aiden and Jessie, are loosely connected to the
continued series so this could actually be read as a standalone. Although personally
I liked that I knew the story of the other partners that had come before and
how everyone slotted in to the storyline so far.
Aiden and Jessie have been featured in previous books, with Aiden
being the best friend of Hunter and brother of Ty, and Jessie being Hunter's
assistant. There have been subtle hints of their attraction to each other and
now we finally get to see their togetherness becoming a reality. It does
however take a long and winding road with lots of pitfalls, stresses and balls
along the way!
The pair are brought together after a horrific occurrence involving
Jessie and an abuser from his past. Through Jessie’s recovery, the impact on
Aiden is massive and sets off a series of flashbacks to his past aiding towards
his reluctance to take the plunge and allow his love for Jessie to be revealed.
What cannot be held back though is the connection and chemistry between the
two.
After Jessie’s recovery, it becomes apparent that although
Aiden is at initial thoughts the alpha and controlling of the pair, it is
Jessie who is surprisingly the supporter and the stronger one. This
relationship is a very slow burn and although you can feel and sense the love
and devotion of the pair, it takes a long time for it to evolve into the steamy
and erotic scenes we have become used to in the past books in the series. These
two had to work darn hard to attain their HEA for sure.
There was plenty of drama to unravel with a couple of crime
and investigations being conducted, particularly in relation to Jessie’s
attacker/stalker and the ‘Butterfly killer’. I liked the interaction between
Aiden and his detective buddies which gave some laugh out loud instances.
Although there was plenty of angst and darkness and
flashbacks of violent and disturbing times, there was also a lot of humour,
particularly Aiden’s ‘aidenisms’ and Jessie’s obsession with balls!
Overall a good addition and a different slant on the series.
I enjoyed it and shall look forward to more. Four stars.
"A beautiful story of love making you whole again!" - Bike Book Reviews
"Heartbreakingly beautiful" - Amazon Customer Review
"As always the wait was worth it and Jaime delivers yet another stunning but very different book." - Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews
"So…where are we going?" Jessie asked, returning the items to the pantry and the refrigerator. He hadn't expected Aidan to arrive home early, and he definitely hadn't expected him to announce a dinner excursion, especially not after spending so much time on the couch lately, having far too much fun to want to escape the house.
"Wherever you want to go is fine. You're always cooking and you stay in the house unless you've got an appointment, so I figured a break would be nice. To get out, do something…different. As long as I can pick a steak, I'm fine with any place you want to go."
"You choose the spot. Surprise me," Jessie said.
"Okay."
"So where are we going?"
"Uh, I thought you said to surprise you?"
Jessie bit his lip, trying to disguise the humor at seeing Aidan squirm. He figured Aidan was probably getting a little edgy lately, always giving in and letting Jessie get his way each time. "I need to know what to wear."
"A suit. Definitely a suit. A dark one. Either the blue one or the charcoal."
"So it's a date?" Jessie asked, trying to contain the flutter in his chest. He cherished their time hanging out on the couch or back porch but going out in public together? Definitely one heck of a milestone.
"Uh, okay," Aidan said with a pinched expression.
"It's not a date?"
Aidan rubbed the back of his neck. "If you want to do something else too, we can."
"We don't have to do anything else. Dinner's fine."
"Okay. So it's not a date?" Aidan said, scratching his stubble.
Jessie hid a grin at Aidan's confusion. "How about you tell me. Do you want it to be a date?"
"I want to take you out to dinner. I want you to wear a suit, because you look hot as hell in them. If that makes it a date, then cool. It's a date. But if I have to do something else to make it a date, like a movie or…fuck if I know…a walk on the beach or something. Let me know and we'll do that too."
Jessie wrapped his arms around Aidan's neck. "Where did you get that from?"
"Google."
"I think you better leave the research to me." Jessie chuckled.
"As long as you wear your suit." Aidan snaked his arms around Jessie's waist and leaned in for a quick kiss.
Jessie nuzzled Aidan's neck. "And you need to keep your stubble. It's hot."
"You like soft balls and hard stubble. I think you're confused regarding what you want."
"I know exactly what I want. I want all of you, soft and hard and everything in between."
Jaime Reese is the alter ego of an artist who loves the creative process of writing, just not about herself. Fiction is far more interesting. She has a weakness for broken, misunderstood heroes and feels everyone deserves a chance at love and life. An avid fan of a happy ending, she believes those endings acquired with a little difficulty are more cherished.
The Men of Halfway House
A Better Man
A Hunted Man
A Restored Man
A Mended Man
…More to come…
A Better Man
A Hunted Man
A Restored Man
A Mended Man
…More to come…
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