Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When SEAL, Viktor Zavodny, left small town America for the Navy he made sure he never had a reason to return. He wanted to see the world and fight for his country and nothing, or no one, was getting in his way. He fights hard, and plays harder, and a succession of men and women share his bed.

But a phone call from his sister has him using his thirty day down time to go home instead of enjoying his usual thirty nights of random sex and sleep.

What he finds is a mystery on the Green Mountains and the only man attempting to make sense of seemingly unrelated deaths. His childhood friend and first love... Lieutenant Aiden Coleman, Sheriff.

There were reasons Viktor left his home. Not least Aiden Coleman with his small town innocence and his dreams of forever. Now Adam and Viktor need to work together to save lives and prove there is a hero in all of us.

When it's done, if they make it out alive, can Aiden persuade Viktor that he has a reason to stay? Maybe forever?

 

Book Review

‘A Reason to Stay' is a great start to what promises to be an exciting new series by RJ Scott, focused on military men and the guys they fall in love with. While not a ‘Sanctuary’ book, there are some similarities, and even an appearance of a guy or two from that series. It’s not a problem if you haven’t read any of them, since all the information you need is contained within this novel, but if you haven’t, and you end up liking this one as much as I did, then buy and read the 'Sanctuary’ series, I think it is well worth it. But back to ‘A Reason to Stay'. It’s much like a murder mystery, starting with two dead bodies, then quickly escalating to a bigger problem. There are tough men, and the two main characters have a history together, some of which we get to see. One is more stubborn than the other, and the way they battle it out is incendiary. Get ready for some major emotions, denial of true feelings, and explosive action all over the place – both in and out of the bedroom!

Aiden may be a tough sheriff’s deputy, but deep-down he admits he has feelings—particularly for Viktor— even if he wishes he didn’t. It started with Viktor being his first secret love over one summer in high school, when neither of them was out, only for Viktor to rebuff his affections and sign up to join the Navy with the express goal to become a SEAL. Fourteen years later they have another brief affair when Viktor comes home to his sisters to heal from severe injuries—only for Aiden to blurt an “I love you” and Viktor running for the hills. Aiden tells himself he has had it that time, but then Viktor reappears two years later when his nephew is mysteriously wounded and found in the snow next to a dead guy at the foot of the local mountain. Aiden finds out he is just as vulnerable to the man as before. They argue, they fight, Viktor admits nothing, and Aiden tries to ignore his feelings as best he can. It takes a joint expedition up the snowed-in mountain that puts both their lives at risk for Aiden to face the truth.  

Viktor, Viktor, Viktor. This SEAL is a very tough nut to crack. It took me a while to understand what Aiden even sees in the man. He is gruff verging on brutally cold, does not admit he has any feelings at all, for anyone, and thinks his purpose in life is to be a big, bad SEAL and blow stuff up. He does love his sister and his nephew and comes to their aid as quickly as he can when the trouble starts. He is suspicious, cleverly connects a few dots, gets his SEAL buddies and some connections from Sanctuary involved—in short, he is Mr. Action Man himself and does anything and everything to figure out what is going on to get his nephew into such trouble. He’ll even work closely with Aiden if that is what it takes. The one thing he will not do is admit he has any feelings for Aiden (it’s all just physical, according to the propaganda in his head), and it took me a while to figure out he does, he just has no clue what to do about them. He has a lot of growing up to do, that much is certain.

If you like mysterious goings-on with deadly consequences, if two men who are too tough to admit they love each other sound like an exciting addition to all the mystery-solving going on, and if you’re looking for an intense, emotionally charged read that is as tension-filled as it is hot, then you will probably like this novel. And the relief at the end? It’s all worth it. I certainly hope there will be more books in this series—and soon!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Love Lane Books for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 63000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	11-April-2014
Price	$4.95 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.lovelanebooks.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25&products_id=60