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.
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***This book contains scenes and subject matter some readers may find distressing.***
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Although part of a series, this book can be read as a stand-alone.
A Mended Man, the fourth book in The Men of Halfway House Series is a big departure from the previous books. As I was reading this book, the marriage vows kept repeating in my head “Love is patient. Love is kind.” Truer words could not have been written about Aidan and Jessie. These two showed so much patience, kindness and love for each other throughout the book that it bled through every word, heartbreaking in its intensity, but joyful in all its love.
I’ll admit, Jaime broke my heart in the prologue, making me wonder how I would be able to get through such an emotional book. I should not have doubted her talent for reaching in and healing not just her men, but her readers.
Aidan was the patient protector through part one, allowing no one to hurt Jessie as he waited for him to come back to him, knowing that he was a closed off man, but that Jessie was the only person who could make a dent in his suit of armor. His determination to see Jessie through another particularly rough time in his life was awe-inspiring. Even knowing that he couldn’t give back to Jessie what he wanted to, because of his own haunted past, he steadfastly held on, not letting Jessie’s recovery falter.
This book was more than a slow burn. You could compare this to trying to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together. It took a very long time to get Aidan to let go enough to let Jessie in. Meanwhile Jessie patiently sat back, quietly supporting and encouraging Aidan. He was never concerned about a timeframe for them to come together, only pushing a little when the moment was right, then letting that hump they climbed over be enough until the next time.
Jessie’s never ending supply of patience, and Aidan’s coming to grips with his past merely by determining it was time is what finally brought these met to a place where they could love each other. And they did, fully, accepting each other’s strengths, and when the other was at a low point, being the strength needed to keep moving forward, building what they needed to, together.
This book was long, 145K words according to the author (for reference, 50K is usually considered a full book), and there were times as I was reading it that I couldn’t help but wonder “is this scene necessary, or possibly could it be cut so that the reader doesn’t feel like they are reading for days on end?”. And yet, with every scene that I thought that, I found out later how important that scene was later, realizing that there were no unnecessary scenes. In order to fully experience and understand these two men, the relationship they slowly built together, and how they would be able to heal and mend their past so they could find their future, every scene, every moment was necessary.
Although there was so much pain revealed in this book, Jaime did an amazing job of filling in humor, so that the reader didn’t feel like a heavy weight sat on their chest until the HEA finally made its way into their lives. The humor, whether from Aidan accusing Jessie of being obsessed with balls, or Jessie finding light moments to help lift the dark spirit that enshrouded Aidan, allowed the reader to enjoy their moments together, rather than wondering if the next moment would be another crush to one of their spirits.
If the reader met these two in person, it would be hard not to realize how perfect they were for each other. Aidan, strong, protective, willing to do anything to keep those he loved safe, taking on the burden of others mistakes, in order to allow people to feel freedom themselves. Jessie, strong in his own way, quiet, but not willing to stay silent when it came to the man he loved, allowing the positivity to be the uplifting piece that Aidan needed to not just keep moving forward but to life himself to a new place.
This book will stay with me for a while, heart wrenching as some of the parts were. The all consuming love and support these men had for each other is something we all want to aspire to, and few can achieve.
And the little glimpses of my favorite character in this series, Cole, were epic. I could not have been happier to see his happy fun face. 🙂
I know this book took Jaime a long time to write and get it right. But this book was worth every second of the wait. I saw a little note at the end that said “more coming” in this series, and in a way that makes me happy, and in a way, I want this to be the end. Because how could this love story be topped? I have no doubt this author will be able to do it, as she excels at what she does in many ways. I can’t wait to see what she has ahead for all of these men.
A beautiful 5 pieces of eye candy for this one.
“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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