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Length: 340 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Design: Kanaxa
Blurb
A Digging Deep Story
Drake Park has a complicated life. As a gay male midwife, he’s used to raising eyebrows. Add Crohn’s disease and things get interesting—or not, considering the sad state of his love life. Experience has taught Drake that most men are fair-weather sailors when it comes to handling his condition—gone for dust when things get rough. Staying healthy is a full-time job without adding in any heartbreak, so a little loneliness is a small price to pay. If he says it often enough he might even believe it. One thing for sure, the cop who arrested him isn’t about to change that.
Caleb Ashton does not have a complicated life. A senior detective with the Whangarei Police Department, he likes his job and is good at it. He works hard and plays hard, happy to enjoy as many men as he can while he’s still young enough—or at least he was. These days he feels adrift for the first time in his life, and the only thing sparking his interest—a certain prickly young midwife.
But can Drake find enough faith to risk opening his heart again? And does Caleb have what it takes to cope with the challenges Drake’s condition presents?
4 of 5 Stars
Wow, this book is one wild, angst-filled ride. This is Ms. Hogan’s third book and I’ve read all three of them. I very much like her writing. Each book is unique and very well written with well developed characters. In this book I especially felt every emotion of not only the main characters but a few of the supporting characters as well.
This story covers a lot of ground and I’m not sure where to start so I think the best thing to do is to cover the things I liked/loved and the things I didn’t.
Things I liked/loved:
Caleb. Plain and simple, he is the best part of this book. He went to great lengths to win Drake over in the absolute most endearingly unique ways possible. He showed his strength of character, humor, vulnerability and ability to grow as a person while being doubted at every turn. And on a purely superficial level: hello, cop.
The supporting cast, except for Leanne, is in a word OUTSTANDING. Drake’s business partners, best friend and family all showed the support he needed both during his Crohn’s flare-ups and day-to-day needs as well as when disaster strikes one of his patients. Carmen/Daniel damn near stole the show at times without being over the top or frustrating as some queens tend to be written in books. I don’t know if I’ve ‘met’ a better queen in a book and her husband Pete, who we only briefly met, is her perfect partner. Caleb’s family is as great as Drake’s and added as much to the story.
The epilogue was perfect. After the angst filled story, the super sweet ending was much needed and appreciated.
Things I didn’t love:
Let me preface this by noting that ‘didn’t love’ doesn’t mean hate or dislike…it just means I wasn’t thrilled by something.
Drake was…frustrating at times. Caleb continually proved, and I mean he worked HARD to show his strength of character, he wanted a chance with Drake and Drake completely dismissed Caleb based on past experiences, repeatedly. I do understand his illness requires a bit of selfishness and self-preservation, but Drake took this to a whole new level…to the detriment of his potential amazing relationship with Caleb.
Leanne, Caleb’s supposed BFF, was also frustrating to me. Even after Caleb constantly proved himself with Drake, she doubted his integrity and staying power in the relationship. So much so that Caleb began to self-doubt. At what point do your past transgressions not define you? Shouldn’t your best friend know your true heart?
The story is a bit long…maybe too long as it took me longer than normal to finish the book (I usually finish books in a day or two while this one took me a week to complete). Drake and Caleb went back and forth trying to decide if they wanted to commit to each other one too many times.
I’m assuming the next book will be about Aaron (Drake’s BFF). We met him but didn’t learn much about him, only his relationship woes but this author hasn’t disappointed me yet so I’m in until she does!
About the Author
Jay Hogan is a New Zealand author writing in m/m romance, romantic suspense and fantasy. She has travelled extensively and has lived in quite a few countries. She has a BA degree in Nursing and in Theology, and in another life, she was an Intensive Care Nurse, Counselor, and a Lecturer.
She is a cat aficionado especially of Maine Coons, and an avid dog lover (but don’t tell the cat). She loves to cook- pretty damn good, loves to sing – pretty damn average, and as for loving full-time writing -absolutely… depending of course on the day, the word count, the deadline, how obliging her characters are, the ambient temperature in the Western Sahara, whether Jupiter is rising, the size of the ozone hole over New Zealand and how much coffee she’s had.
She has complex boys telling stories in her head that demand attention and a considerable number of words to go with them. Their journeys are never straightforward and even surprise Jay. She does her best to plot things out ahead of time but those pesky characters seem to have a mind of their own. Go figure.
You can find Jay at:
https://www.facebook.com/JayHoganAuthor
https://twitter.com/jayhoganauthor
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