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Man on the Inside
Neil Bronte's a cop; his entire job is to find and arrest Artemy Volkov, professional criminal, counterfeiting and forgery expert, and son of one of the most dangerous crime families in the country.
When he lucks into a meeting with Volkov, Bronte has to be cautious- he has to approach undercover, in order to protect himself and his two kids. Fortunately for Bronte, Artemy himself isn't likely to pose any danger. Unfortunately for Bronte, Art is a kind, beautiful genius, who makes Bronte's heart beat in a way his ex-wife never quite did.
Bronte's a good liar. Is he a good enough liar to hide his profession, when Art seemingly knows everything else about him? Or is Bronte lying to himself when he says that's the only reason he's getting so close to Art?
And what about Art's secrets? There are secrets he's keeping from his not-so-pacifist family, for one- but what is he hiding from Bronte?
When he lucks into a meeting with Volkov, Bronte has to be cautious- he has to approach undercover, in order to protect himself and his two kids. Fortunately for Bronte, Artemy himself isn't likely to pose any danger. Unfortunately for Bronte, Art is a kind, beautiful genius, who makes Bronte's heart beat in a way his ex-wife never quite did.
Bronte's a good liar. Is he a good enough liar to hide his profession, when Art seemingly knows everything else about him? Or is Bronte lying to himself when he says that's the only reason he's getting so close to Art?
And what about Art's secrets? There are secrets he's keeping from his not-so-pacifist family, for one- but what is he hiding from Bronte?
- GenresLGBTEbooksM M Romance
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 19, 2023
64 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 4, 2024
4.5
Hidden Identity romance between a cop and the criminal he is investigating undercover
I'm normally not a fan of hidden identity - miscommunication, lies and unnecessary angst due to it? But I have come to appreciate the way Zephyr manages to write characters who are shades of grey, real life arseholes at times who you can't help to root for though.
I think this might be my favourite Zephyr apart from the horror vampire one which I can't get out of my mind...
tags and light spoilers:
NSFW infos
- 48 year old divorced father of two (10 year old son, 14 year old mtf daughter) (tops, sexuality "awakening" aka realisation)
- 36 year old trans guy, small and blond, Tourette's syndrome, top surgery (bottoms) was abused as a child (born into a crime family and made to murder people as a kid)
Hidden Identity romance between a cop and the criminal he is investigating undercover
I'm normally not a fan of hidden identity - miscommunication, lies and unnecessary angst due to it? But I have come to appreciate the way Zephyr manages to write characters who are shades of grey, real life arseholes at times who you can't help to root for though.
I think this might be my favourite Zephyr apart from the horror vampire one which I can't get out of my mind...
tags and light spoilers:
NSFW infos
- 48 year old divorced father of two (10 year old son, 14 year old mtf daughter) (tops, sexuality "awakening" aka realisation)
- 36 year old trans guy, small and blond, Tourette's syndrome, top surgery (bottoms) was abused as a child (born into a crime family and made to murder people as a kid)
December 29, 2023
(I found this when I was looking for free books on Amazon.)
I had to suspend my disbelief quite a few times, yet at the same time I was surprised by how easily the book drew me in and held me captive. I had a hard time putting it down.
Why only 3 stars then?
I had to suspend my disbelief quite a few times, yet at the same time I was surprised by how easily the book drew me in and held me captive. I had a hard time putting it down.
Why only 3 stars then?
April 8, 2024
I loved this book!!! 4.5*
I downloaded it on Stuff Your Kindle Day so I didn't have any prior information or expectations. I also swipe through my downloads and choose one at random when it comes to reading them so I didn't know anything about the plot going in.
I absolutely love that from the get go this book shows that it is trans-friendly and I loved seeing the relationship between Brontë and Charlie.
I initially hated that he was a cop (1312) and didn't know if I could get through that but as it turns out, he doesn't really act like a cop or feel like a cop so I could separate myself from that somewhat.
I had suspicions about a few of the twists but others had me gasping. I loved it. I kept feeling like the book was going to end after a big plot point but then saw I was only 60% through and couldn't wait to see what was coming next. I was dying to read more about the characters.
I did think the idea of a cop going undercover basically on a whim with no back up or contingency plan from superiors seemed quite hard to believe but I leaned in to it.
I enjoyed the spicy scenes very much, particularly because I so rarely encounter descriptions of trans sexual experiences in my reading so it was refreshing to read (though as a cis person with a cis partner I can't speak to the accuracy of them so just trusted the author).
There were a few spelling or grammatical errors when reading so I reported those on the Kindle app and hopefully that gets reported to the author for edits.
I love Art and Brontë forever. So happy for them. And would love a sequel to see Anastasia brought down and meet some of Art's brothers!
I downloaded it on Stuff Your Kindle Day so I didn't have any prior information or expectations. I also swipe through my downloads and choose one at random when it comes to reading them so I didn't know anything about the plot going in.
I absolutely love that from the get go this book shows that it is trans-friendly and I loved seeing the relationship between Brontë and Charlie.
I initially hated that he was a cop (1312) and didn't know if I could get through that but as it turns out, he doesn't really act like a cop or feel like a cop so I could separate myself from that somewhat.
I had suspicions about a few of the twists but others had me gasping. I loved it. I kept feeling like the book was going to end after a big plot point but then saw I was only 60% through and couldn't wait to see what was coming next. I was dying to read more about the characters.
I did think the idea of a cop going undercover basically on a whim with no back up or contingency plan from superiors seemed quite hard to believe but I leaned in to it.
I enjoyed the spicy scenes very much, particularly because I so rarely encounter descriptions of trans sexual experiences in my reading so it was refreshing to read (though as a cis person with a cis partner I can't speak to the accuracy of them so just trusted the author).
There were a few spelling or grammatical errors when reading so I reported those on the Kindle app and hopefully that gets reported to the author for edits.
I love Art and Brontë forever. So happy for them. And would love a sequel to see Anastasia brought down and meet some of Art's brothers!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2025
I downloaded this for free on a Stuff Your Kindle Day, I did not expect this to be so queer and I’m so glad I finally read it. The queer rep in this book felt very casual and while the main character is figuring things out for himself he didn’t seem overly taken aback by it. I enjoyed so much with this book.
While that’s said I didn’t care for some of the miscommunication, a lot of those lies led to some unnecessary issues. The reveal towards the end also just felt too out of pocket and I didn’t care for the shift of those characters.
Read For
✓ Crime Family
✓ Cop x Criminal
✓ Age Gap (36/48)
✓ Hidden Identity Romance
✓ Angst with a Happy Ending
⚠️Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Police brutality
Minor: Cursing, Racism
𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊
Spice Level: 🌶️
Sad Level: 💧💧
Plot: 8/10
Pace: 8/10
Ending: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Enjoyability: 8/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character: Art
Favorite Quote: ❝ “Kinda like how when your parents want you to be a doctor, you might lie and say that’s what you’re studying. Except instead of being a doctor it’s leading a criminal empire.” ❞
POV: Third Person
Pages: 283
Format: ebook
Language: English
Release Date: 19, November 2023
Rep/Extras: Gay (Main Character), Transmasc (Love Interest), Transfem (Side Character), Tourette’s Syndrome
May 24, 2024
5⭐
I can't explain how much I loved this book. I never see any Tourettes Syndrome representation and, as someone with tourettes, it means so much to have found it. I'm oddly greatful that it isn't the main focus of the story, just some background information about a character and his tics appearing every so often.
I might be biased because of finally finding some representation but I highly recommend Man on the Inside!
I can't explain how much I loved this book. I never see any Tourettes Syndrome representation and, as someone with tourettes, it means so much to have found it. I'm oddly greatful that it isn't the main focus of the story, just some background information about a character and his tics appearing every so often.
I might be biased because of finally finding some representation but I highly recommend Man on the Inside!
August 14, 2025
A massive letdown as a crime novel, and pretty disappointing as a romance.
The twists were very obvious, and I don’t know how you forgive the second one.
Brontë also expresses some ick views that are hope are his own and not the author’s.
The twists were very obvious, and I don’t know how you forgive the second one.
Brontë also expresses some ick views that are hope are his own and not the author’s.
April 11, 2024
What I would do to be Art fr 😩
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews