Holden~
When I get a call that my twin brother’s been shot, I’m in shock as I head back to Baltimore to be with him. Seeing him in a coma is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do; sitting here not knowing whether he’s going to live or die is the worst thing I can imagine. But at least Jameson is with me—he makes it more bearable, and I don’t feel like I’m in this alone. With everything going on, I probably shouldn’t be checking out my brother’s work partner, but I can’t seem to help it. Jameson’s been so sweet and kind and considerate; not to mention he’s so sexy I can’t keep my eyes off him.
Jameson~
My partner getting shot and ending up in a coma brings everything in my world to a screeching halt. He’s not only my partner on the police force, but my best friend and confidant. When I see his twin brother, Holden, sitting in the waiting room, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude that he neither blames me nor pushes me away. Now I’m doing my best to take care of him and support him; if only I’d stop noticing how his emotions reflect in his eyes and wondering how it would feel to touch him.
Will the bonding that takes place during their long bedside vigils become more than they expected? Can they be honest enough with themselves and each other to take it to the next level? And if they do, will Holden be willing to sacrifice the life he loves for the brother he’s kept at arm’s length for almost ten years and the man who could end up being his everything?
Heart Strain is the first book in the Interlocking Fragments series, but is a standalone novel. Each book in the series will feature a different couple, but the couples will show up throughout the whole series. This is a contemporary romance intended for 18+.
M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 07.22.19
Cover Artist: Soxsational Cover Art
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited
Holden~
As soon as the movie ends, I say, “I’m going to start dinner.” I need to get away from him for a minute before he notices what he’s doing to me. Unfortunately, the sexy bastard follows me into the kitchen with Nala trotting behind him.
“What can I do to help?”
I point to a stool. “You can sit down and look pretty while I cook.”
His eyebrows go up a little. “I can’t help?”
“Nope.”
“When did you have time to buy all this stuff?”
“Uh… I woke up early, so I went out this morning before you picked me up.” What I don’t say is that I’ve been having trouble sleeping—no matter how long I run at night or how tired I am—and it seems to be getting worse every night. But that’s not his problem, so I keep it to myself.
He hesitantly sits on the stool and tentatively asks, “Why are you doing all of this?”
Blowing out a breath, I shrug as I get the ingredients out of the fridge. “You’ve been helping me since I got here, and… and I wanted to do something nice as a thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” When I look at him, I can tell he has something else to add, but he doesn’t say whatever’s on his mind, so I just shrug again and get everything ready.
“I made this marinade this morning and the tofu’s been soaking it up all day, so hopefully you’ll still like it even though you like eating animals.”
He laughs out, “Gross.”
I shoot him a grin. “Anyway, I’m gonna do some mashed potatoes and green beans, so hopefully you’ll like at least one thing.”
“Sounds delicious, even the tofu.”
After a minute, I notice him looking a little sad or something, so I finally relent. “Will you stop frowning if I let you help?”
“Yes.” He smiles, just a tad.
“Fine,” I groan. “Help me with the potatoes.”
“Yes!” Jameson grins widely and hops off the stool. “I knew you’d cave.”
I laugh. “Was your plan to sit there looking all sad and pathetic until I did?”
“I was going to start sighing dramatically to add to the effect.”
I elbow him in the side with a chuckle and catch his gaze again. I can feel his warmth radiating off him because he’s standing so close to me. The moment I lick my dry lips, I see his eyes track the movement, and my breath catches. Does he want to kiss me as badly as I want to kiss him? Don’t look at his lips, Holden. Don’t look at them!
I look at his lips. Dammit!
But I catch myself, clear my throat, and force my body to move away from him.
Lucky for me, Jameson isn’t a huge awkward nerd like I am, and he ends up talking about the movie while we cook. Before I know it, he has me laughing again.
Interesting…
This is a first from me from either of these author’s, but the blurb had me intrigued. Holden was coming back to his home town after his brother gets shot in line of duty. His childhood wasn’t as happy as his twins was, thanks to his mother mostly, so when he left for college, he never came back. Now both his parents are long since dead and his brother is fighting for his life… so of course, he’s there, no question.
Things are dicey when he arrives and it takes hours before the doctors tell him anything, but luckily he’s got his brothers partner and best friend, Jameson, who was there at the time he’d gotten shot… and although he blames himself heavily for not being able to stop the criminal from hurting Hendrix, he did get him back for shooting his partner. He’s also there holding Holden together.
Jameson is amazing. I loved him. Though in no way would I ever ever ever let anyone call me Foxy as a nickname, nor would I call someone Holds. I couldn’t get behind that. I ignored it. They were Jameson and Holden to me or I couldn’t take them serious. And Drix? Someone needs to teach the art of nicknames because those just didn’t work. At all.
Now, while Hendrix is in a coma Holden and Jameson spend a lot of time together because as you could imagine, Holden’s scared of losing his brother and Jameson is worried about his best friend. They’re kind of all each other has because once you meet Jameson’s family that works with him and Hendrix, you’ll not doubt why he doesn’t have anything to do with them. They make his life miserable, but they’re all like elementary school bullies… not even grown-up ones, they’re so juvenile… and they leave so much up in the air because Jameson has to do something about his innocent father being in prison. He has to do something to get his Uncle, who is his boss, out of his position of power. I mean, he’s a terrible person. He’s a terrible cop, and he deserves to be in prison… I haate haaaaaaaaaaate, hate when bad people get away with being terrible people. It ruins the whole book for me. I need karmic justice and we just don’t get it here anywhere. Jameson’s uncle and his brother and his cousin just get away with being terrible, and they’re people in a position of power in which they manipulate and take advantage of…. It made me sick and brought down the hole tone of the book for me. Ugh. Almost as much as having to say “Holds” and “Foxy.”
However, watching Holden and Jameson get to know one another and be there for each other was sweet. I loved how even though Jameson was jealous of Holden’s best friend, he still accepted him because he knew how much he meant to Holden. And I loved how Holden never question Jameson because he knows he’s an honest and trustworthy man. I loved their animals and the sweet people who had a small hand in getting them to stop beating around the bush and take a chance on each other, and I love knowing that the series is going to continue with Gavin… I hope it’s either with Hedrix or I really, really hope something amazing happens with Aiden. I also wouldn’t be upset if Jovany got his head out and helped everyone get justice from the terrible chief and his son… I hope he redeems himself and I hope we get to see it….
So, the dialogue was a little bit iffy for me and the nicknames were a straight up NO GO for me… but the rest, I found incredibly sweet and I’ll look forward to giving book 2 a chance when it comes out.
4 pieces of eye candy
Michele is married to an awesome husband that puts up with her and all the characters in her head—and there are many. They live together in Baltimore, Maryland with their two young boys and two crazy dogs. She grew up dancing and swimming and taught dance—ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, & modern—for ten years before her kids came along. Now she stays home to write about the sexy men in her head and does PTA everything—as long as coffee is involved. Two other tattooed moms run the PTA with her, and though she wants to rip her hair out from it, she still loves it.
Michele Notaro Links:
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Reading Past the Realm (Paranormal group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingPastTheRealm/
Sammi Cee was raised in a family of readers. Summer vacations consisted of a good book while sitting lakeside from as far back as she could remember. After growing up and having her own children, her appreciation of how the written word could transport you on an adventure, bring you to tears, or give you hope, took on a whole new meaning.
These days Sammi is watching her children develop into fine young ladies while doing the things she enjoys most: drinking coffee, eating chocolate, and writing her own stories.
Sammi Cee Links:
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Reading Past the Realm (Paranormal group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingPastTheRealm/
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.
