Rayne's Return

Love in Mission City #4

by Gabbi Grey

Everett

After my infamous half-a-night stand with the mysterious Rayne, I moved on with my life. Success as a lawyer demands long hours and giving a hundred and ten percent to the job. I do carve out enough time to hang out with friends some weekends, but it's depressing to watch them pairing up while I'm relentlessly single. Then, one morning, the man I can't forget shows up bruised and bedraggled at my office door. Rayne has a whopper of a story to go with the bruises, and seeing him again strikes wild sparks I can't deny, but can I trust a man who ditched me without a word? Or will he be gone again by morning light?

Rayne

As a private investigator, I've done some dubious jobs for some very questionable people. The assignment that brought me into Everett's world was one of the worst. Now, someone's trying to kill me, and until I figure out who and why, I need a safe place to hide. All I can think of is Everett. The hot, by-the-book lawyer I hooked up with once doesn't owe me a thing, but he's the only person I trust. I'll do my damnedest to keep danger from reaching him, and hope like hell I can walk away with my heart intact.

Rayne’s Return is a gay romantic suspense novel with an uptight, by-the-book lawyer and a PI who never manages to stay out of trouble. This age-gap, opposites attract novel is the fourth in the Love in Mission City series.

Genres: M M Romance, Audiobook, LGBT

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

About the author

Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black.

Reviews

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, before you read Gabbi Grey's Rayne's Return I highly recommend you read Rayne Check: A Love in Mission City Short Story. You can truly read any of Gabbi Grey's Mission City novels in any order, but this little gem is sets up Rayne's Return really nicely.

I enjoy the way Grey has built this world in Mission City. This picturesque Canadian town is filled with such charming characters. If you haven't read all the books in the series you will be tempted by a few of these characters lol.

The audio version of the entire series of Gabbi Grey's Love in Mission City is beautifully performed by Michael Dean.

an audiobook copy of Rayne's Return was provided for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own

[Sjoukje · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was by far the best book I read this week. So there’s that. If you consider I just finished a 1 and a barely 3 star book, it’s not such an accomplishment. The story was fun, I wanted to know how it ended, and there was quite some suspense going on.
What I missed though was the chemistry. And the relationship building between the mc’s. And maybe this book was one of those books you shouldn’t read while tired, but I was confused by a lot. I still don’t know why they had a one night stand (or actually why Rayne picked Ev), and also not really why he went to his office. And there were SO MANY characters. This book definitely isn’t a standalone. The Dixon sisters for example. It was made very clear there were many of them. That didn’t serve a purpose in this book though. So why mention them? And also a lot of male couples that I felt like I should know, but didn’t.

What I did enjoy was that it didn’t shy away from heavier topics (racial profiling) and how that was handled (initially anyway, not so sure about the follow up) and that there was no real homophobia involved. And I actually quite liked both of the mc’s. And the dog 😍 The spicy scenes were also good.

Not a reread I think, unless I end up reading the first books in the series and want to revisit knowing more of the couples. I do recommend it though.

I received an ARC for this book. All opinions are my own.

[Penumbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rayne’s Return is the fourth book in the ‘Love in Mission City’ series. It stars Everett, a lawyer, and Rayne, a private investigator. This is told in first person from Everett and Rayne’s pov.

I must mention that this book is not a stand-alone. Readers are thrown into the story with a prologue from Rayne as he’s rushing away from the Halloween party where he hooked up with Everett. We don’t know why Rayne was there, only that Everett is still holding a grudge about Rayne leaving when he meets Rayne again. There is a short story about Rayne that was offered for free on Book Funnel, which probably gave the background of the party. It wasn’t mentioned that a reader had to read it first to make sense of this book, but I think one does. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening in this plot until about the thirty percent point. Also making the book harder to understand was that past characters from all the stories leading up to this one were brought back for an appearance. It had too many people, with too little on page time, and too little description in how they fit into Mission City. I’d read maybe two of the previous books and I was still confused. It would have been much better to stick to a small core of people, instead of flooding the story with minor characters.

The blurb makes this book sound like a suspense romance. It really doesn’t have any what I’d call suspense, in it. And the romance is weak. The suspense is Rayne not telling people his last name, nor why he was beat up, and why he didn’t want to go to the police. The plot is pretty much about Rayne meeting all of Everett’s friends and family and they ask him questions, but he never answers. Rayne also adopts Champ and teaches him obedience. Rayne worries about being seen about town by the bad guys, but he keeps going out and meeting people instead of lying low. Nothing really happens until the last twenty percent of the book. The rest is just meeting people and Rayne worrying about whether Everett wants him to hang around after it’s all over, and Everett worrying about not really wanting Rayne to stay, but not wanting him to leave. The writing felt contrived with no real substance.

Another thing I didn’t like was the writing style. It wasn’t smooth. The plot started with choppy sentences and conversations and scenes jumping from one topic to another without obvious connections. One I remember, was a scene that jumped to talking about makeup and then going back to the previous conversation. The whole book felt like the plot and the characters had ADHD. They couldn’t keep their minds on the topic at hand.

There wasn’t much of a romance. Most of the time Everett and Rayne were pushing and pulling at each other. Rayne wanted a lot of sex, and Everett didn’t want it because he was afraid Rayne would run out on him again. Everett was buttoned up and restrained, Rayne was spontaneous and outgoing. There were no deep conversations between the two men to find out what made them tick so I couldn’t feel the romance. That also had to do with there being too much monologue, which created a distance from Everett and Rayne, and didn’t draw me into their feelings. I couldn’t believe in them as a couple.

This story wasn’t cohesive because it had too many secondary characters that took over the tiny suspense plot, so the story was mostly about getting to know people. I wouldn’t call this a suspense story, it’s more a romance, but the romance is weak because I couldn’t feel the connections between Everett and Rayne. This is an okay book, but I’d recommend one of the other books in the series instead of this one. And if you’re going to read this, definitely read the free story, Rayne Check before it. I give Rayne’s Return, 3 Stars.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will preface this by saying, that reading/listening to Rayne Check prior to this is a must or you're going to be very confused. Also you should probably just read the entire Love in Mission series because otherwise you'll meet a bunch of characters/couples and be hella confused (like me lol).

Also: being thrown in midway through a series is absolutely my fault and that did not color my review whatsoever.

Howeverrrrrr, I wasn't a fan? I mean I liked it, but at the same time it frustrated me. After listening to Rayne Check, I was super excited to dive into Rayne's Return and while I overall enjoyed it, I think I expected more suspense and action in the book, but not much happened for a guy who reappeared in Everett's life all banged up and on the run. Plus I found Rayne's ongoing evasiveness ridiculously annoying after a while.

[b00ks_in_nature · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4.5/5 Audio 3/5
I’ve read many of this author’s books, and I love how in every one we get to see characters from previous books. It makes me want to go back and read the ones I’ve missed.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Everett and Rayne are both likable characters, although it does take a little ‘getting to know you’ for each of them. Despite the plot, the book is overall pretty low angst, which I appreciate. I adored the storyline with Champ. I was invested throughout and it ended satisfactorily.

Overall, the narration was good. However, there were many spots where I struggled with it. The narrator does not use a significantly different voice for the two main characters, and so there are times where it got confusing about who was speaking. Additionally, differentiating between spoken dialogue and inner monologue was almost impossible at points.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting story.

Gabbi Grey has a habit of leaving chapters as cliffhangers. Although I found the story entertaining, it dragged on. She has the habit of every other chapter being sex and followed by angst...HOW BORING! Everett and Rayne didn't get their heads out of their asses until you were finished with the book. There was way too much inner voice and inner mind talking. The book should've been three stars, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure if an intern wrote this or not.

[Alias11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second chance love story, although the diverse, incidental plotlines were a bit confusing, as was Rayne's behavior. Specifically, Rayne was initially so concerned and paranoid about being seen by anyone, but this quickly went by the wayside, and he was moving around freely. I wasn't sure if the other side stories about Everett's client and the driving accident were supposed to be red herrings or designed to make Rayne acknowledge his feelings. Rayne was hard for me to truly warm up to. Although I loved the way he cared for Champ, the fact that he was willing to let another person sit in jail for months, and possibly be convicted of murder, did not sit well with me. I understand he was in fear for his own life, but to potentially trade an innocent person's life for his did not speak well of his character. Also, his floating along with no actual plan to remedy his own or her situation was a little maddening. Everett, however was his perfect foil, risking his own life to bring justice to an abused woman, and always pressing for justice, and I loved his character. I didn't really feel that Rayne made up for the way he treated Everett. He was lucky that he was hot and that Everett was forgiving. The hurt/comfort dynamic and romance seemed to me to be the true focus of the story, with the "mystery" of what happened, Rayne's history, and the dirty cop not being revealed or progressing until near the very end. I enjoyed the story, but the pacing was definitely off for me.

The narration by Michael Dean was good, but I sometimes had trouble telling who was speaking and had to go back to the chapter beginning to remember whether it was from Everett's or Rayne's POV. Sometimes, I also couldn't tell if the dialogue was actually being spoken out loud or was only internal.

I received a free copy of the audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

[Ramsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, first let me tell you that even if most of the times you can read these books as standalones I'd advise you in this case to read the freebie 'Rayne Check' first.
I think it's needed since this story refers to events in that short story.


Now to my review that hurts me a bit to write. And I'm really sorry. I see other reviewers did not have the same 'problems' as me but somehow this was not my book.
But let's go back and I'll try to explain.

Normally with a Gabbi Grey book I know what I'm getting and I really enjoy that. Look at my other reviews of books from her, I always say I get good writing, interconnected stories, often an overall ARC and a solid story with well fleshed out characters and so on. No matter if it's the Mission City series or the Gaynor Beach series etc.
Aside from that I love the aspect that already known characters have cameos in the new stories. You could almost say I am reading for those cameos ;)

But this time... I have no idea what happened or if I was in the wrong mood but this story fell flat for me. And it really hurts me to say that.

The writing style I typically enjoy felt different, not as smooth as usual, more choppy and disjointed. And even having read the previous books I felt a bit lost.
There were so many cameos with mostly very little on page time and I was not always sure that the story benefitted from those.
Like I said I'm generally all for them and enjoy to get more glimpses into the lives of the already known characters but here...it was too much. It took time away from the two MCs.

But my biggest problem was that this book was in parts too long where what felt like nothing important happened. And still even with the length of the book I don't feel like I know our two MCs particular well. Or could really root for them. I'd go so far and say I wouldn't even label it romance.

Yes sure we have a HEA but it did not feel satisfying since I couldn't really feel the connection between Rayne and Everett. In my eyes they didn't try to find common grounds or tried to get to know each other through important and profound conversations. Chemistry was there, yes, but not a spark – at least for me.

The fact that some things didn't make a lot of sense for me, like Rayne fearing they would find him but still went out and about with Champ, his new dog and meeting a lot of people in the process didn't let me enjoy it more.

So, this one was only an ok read for me with 3 stars.
No idea if it's really the story itself or simply a me thing. So I'd still say give it a try yourself.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75⭐️
Audio: 3.5⭐️

This book is alternately boring and annoying, and now I’m just cranky. It’s full of inconsistencies, unearned/unsupported familiarity, odd and contradictory statements and head-scratching actions/details. The prologue begins where the real prologue masquerading as a short story ends—Rayne bent over a desk then bolting. It’s abrupt and doesn’t explain why Everett is “still that bitter”. Everett’s unwarranted saltiness is (more) ridiculous without the insight the “prequel” provides. He expected it to be a one-night stand so making Rayne feel bad about dipping after a quickie at a party is wild. So begins the weirdness.

I found little to like and none of it pertains to the lackluster suspense or the MCs and their romance. They aren’t interesting and have nary a drop of chemistry. The sexual “tension” and sex are as dry as that salt Everett’s carrying. Their first sexual encounter is a handy Rayne cajoles Everett into bc he wants to show his gratitude. La Pasión! El Romance!

The story is overlong and poorly paced. Much of the suspense hinges on Rayne’s mysterious behavior and what he’s hiding, but it’s tiresome instead of compelling. ~98% of Rayne's time is doing a Mission City walking tour to meet Everett’s friends and reconditioning a traumatized dog (👀 for leaving him in a crate in a freezing car for at least 30mins right after rescue).

The kill shot that almost made me DNF at ~80% is the stupidity and anti-climax of Rayne's whole deal. Tl;dr there's no reason not to tell Everett earlier bc ppl are in trouble, INCLUDING RAYNE, and Everett’s connections could solve the problem. And all that concern about Everett kicking him to the curb? Poof. Only a few angry huffs and blusters then it's off to a try-hard strip tease.

The scene is plagued by the book’s tonal weirdness and is so fucking unserious bc one of Everett's sisters is involved. . .a sister who just pops up. She’s only in the scene to crack jokes but unsuccessfully diffuses tension. They’re reviewing grim info but she’s kiki-ing over a hot cop and her brother, the top. She takes up so much space at the end with her thirst and sass that it feels like setup for her book.

Dean’s narration is sound. It kept me listening where I would have skipped if reading, and the pace is great. Overall, his cadence is good, but the conveyance of emotion and nuance is less solid. He adds enough variety to the many voices to distinguish them, but many are similar enough that this wouldn't be the case in a large scene. His voices for Everett and Rayne are distinct (when he properly does them). However, he often slips between them, which exacerbates his struggle to differentiate inner monologues from dialogue.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally enjoy the Love in Mission City series but this book fell flat for so many reasons. In fact, I considered DNF a few times but I kept thinking the author was going to pull off a win so I plodded on.

The couple never felt like a couple to me. There was a hookup in a short story Rayne Check: A Love in Mission City Short Story that really should be read first. And then suddenly Rayne shows up on Everett's doorstep, injured and needing a place to stay and Everett lets him in. He never says what happened to him, never gives his last name, and never reveals his occupation. Readers don't even know until quite a bit of action occurs first. Including Rayne adopting a dog but keeping it at Everett's house. Everett has his own issues including a run-in with a cop, an attempt on his life, and a case with a woman named Farah. This bugged me to no end because she was being referred to as his client, kept on Kennedy's farm in a secluded cabin, and never referred to by name in front of others. Who the heck was she? She was portrayed as someone readers should know, but not this reader. Did I forget her from a previous book? Likely, but not mentioned so... But the thing that killed me was that suddenly in one scene, Rayne and Everett are talking about Farah. How the heck did Rayne know her name? He never saw her an no one mentioned her in front of him. Yes, he apparently knew who she was but was never told by those trying to keep it private so shouldn't they react when he mentions it? Gah!

There were so many other issues I won't go in to as someone who wants to read it can see for themselves. I will only add that Everett's sister, Denali, showed up out of the blue and was probably one of the most annoying, nosy, bouncy personalities I've read in a long time. Interfering and supposedly sweet, I would never want her in my life. And then she pulls a stunt that ultimately benefits the characters but IMO a really stupid stunt.

Suddenly only 4 weeks have gone by but I suspect if someone plotted out the various references to events and the amount of time mentioned here and there, it would total more than 4. Lo and behold the boys are in love and, you guessed it, on their way to a HEA, complete with dog.

A little too disjointed with too many issues for me to recommend.

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title states, Rayne has returned but the circumstances under which he has done so are not ideal. He is in a bad way, not only has he been beaten black and blue but he has been shot at. Granted it only grazed him but it is a gun wound none-the-less. Whilst he won't reveal the details or the whys and wherefore's that bought him to this state he will say that he needs somewhere safe, somewhere to lay low for a couple of weeks, to heal and to work out a plan.

Everett knows he shouldn't really be going into the office, it is after all New Year's Day, he has work and not much else to do. Sadly that is his life at the moment but this New Year's it could be that going into work is going to change the course of his life. After all when he arrives he finds Rayne huddled on the doorstep, in a terrible state. hHe does the one thing he can, in that immediate moment, takes him home, after all the other man is refusing to go to a hospital - too many questions. Everett has a lot of questions too...

Rewind a couple of months to a Halloween party, a masked party, a party where Everett and Rayne had a very hot encounter over a study desk in the hosts home and then Rayne ghosted Everett. It is not something Everett has been able to forget and once he realises who this injured man is, the man he has taken into his home, he knows there are even more questions he wants answers to.

And from here on out the story weaves together a web of occurrences, cases that the lawyers are working on, the case that Rayne has been working on, a fantastic rescue dog, quite a lot of nosy but well-meaning friends and an awesome sister! The web of stories weaves perfectly together, they overlap one another, complement one another and give the story an additional edge as well as a very strong human relationships context. As Rayne and Everett get to know one another, properly, or at least try to, there is a very strong sexual tension that builds. There is also lots of humour, suspense and fun.

This is the fourth Mission City MM romance and the series continues to go from strength to strength.

[Toni]

Everett,34, had a one night stand with Rayne then he disappeared. Live goes on. He's a lawyer and it takes 110% to do the job. Then one day he finds Rayne bruised and bedraggled at his office door.
Rayne,24, is a private investigator and took some dubuious jobs. One goes sideways and now he needs a safe place to hide. So he heads to his one night stand..Everett.
At Halloween Rayne had been at a party where he was suppose to drop off info but met Everett and had a one night stand with him. Soon as Everett left the room he left. Now here it is New Year's day and he's huddled up againt the door of an office. To his surprise Everett is the one who finds him. This is where Everett works as a layer. Ev takes one look at him and gets him inside. As he gets Rayne medical help he notices more bruises and even a gun shot wound. He tells Rayne to call the police and have them lookd for the perps. But Rayne won't do that. He asks to just let him stay put for a while to make sure no one is looking for him. For the next week the two go every where mainly Ev doesn't want Rayne staying alone because he can't trust him. If he won't go to the police there has to be something going on. Then when Ev heads to meet with a client he takes Rayne with him. That visit results in Rayne fostering a dog. Life likes to play little pranks because that night Ev is pulled over by a policeman who has a gun trained on him and who was in the process of shooting him when that cop's boss gets there. The man was targeting Ev because of the color of his skin. That shook both men up. Will this situation help Ev understand why Rayne won;t go to the cops?
Will Ev ever find out what happened to have Rayne beaten and shot? Will there be a chance for the two to develop a relationship? Or is that asking too much..Ev is a strictly by the letter of the law where Rayne tends to dance around the law.
A fascinating and frustrating tale of two idiots, I mean, men who don't know what is good for them. I'm rooting for the dog!!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Second Chance With Rayne ? . . .

Rayne, a private investigator who is not above taking jobs from questionable clients, arrived at a Halloween party to “accidentally” run into Everett Williams, a partner in Herrington, Herrington and Sons law firm. Rayne was supposed to get information from him and instead ended up having a memorable few hours in bed with the guy, sneaking out while he was in the bathroom. He’d made several mistakes on this assignment, forgetting his colored contacts, and leaving potential evidence to identify him. Even getting out the front door was an adventure with the party still going on.

Two months later, Everett was still looking around for his mystery man as he walked through the wet snow to the office early in the morning, even though it was closed for the New Year’s holiday. A bedraggled man was huddled at the door and he figured it was a poor soul needing a sandwich. Instead, it was Rayne, the man he couldn’t forget, now sporting a black eye, split lip, matted hair, a bloody wound on his forehead, and blood-soaked clothing. Rayne told him he needs a place to lie low for a few days but obviously didn’t want to give him the entire story… and a lawyer definitely wants ALL of the facts. Everett was still hurting that Rayne had walked out on him like he did. As Rayne took off his shirt to wash up in the kitchen, Everett saw his entire body was badly bruised and again tried to take him to the hospital. With someone determined to kill Rayne, is he putting Everett in danger too? He is the only person Rayne trusts. But he absolutely doesn’t want Everett to get pulled into this. How will he keep them both safe when he can hardly move his injured body? And will Everett let him just leave again, knowing the killers could succeed in taking him out permanently this time?

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5
I really enjoy the Love in Mission City series, set in a small town outside Vancouver B.C., not far from where I live, so the setting is familiar to me. In this book, lawyer Everett and private investigator Rayne originally get together over a half-night-stand at a Halloween party when Rayne is trying to give some information to Everett, then backs out. On New Year’s Day, Rayne shows up at Everett’s office, beaten and shot, needing a place to hide out for an unknown period of time. Against his better judgement, Everett takes him home. Thus begins a complicated and complex series of events with overlapping cases for the two men and danger for both.
Previous characters from the series are in and out of the story, family and friends get involved along with the police, Everett and Rayne are fighting lingering attraction and beginning feelings, a traumatized German shepherd enters the mix, and the Dixon sisters and Healing Horses ranch play a pivotal part in the whole series of events, with cases for both Everett and Rayne coming together at a certain point. Sometimes it’s hard keeping everything straight because it is complex, but the story pulls you in and drags you along through the interwoven threads to a satisfactory conclusion.
The possibilities to continue the books with more characters meeting their partners is definitely there, so I hope the author will continue to expand the series, as they are interesting and easy to get involved in this individual group of friends, family and new acquaintances. They are generally low angst, low heat, easy to read entertainment.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pontiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread April 6-8, 2025 book

A chance meeting at a Halloween party leaves Everett wondering about the mysterious Harlequin named Rayne. Then, on New Year’s Day, Rayne shows up badly beaten and seeking safety.

Rayne’s escape from some bad guys takes him back to Everett, who he can’t get out of his head, or heart. Everett takes him in, but doesn’t trust him. Slowly they get to know each other as Rayne heals, takes in a dog, whom he names Champ, and charms everyone around him.

After Everett has a trial with a client that goes well, he’s run down in his car, and it’s unclear who drove the other vehicle, so Rayne’s pursuers come to mind. It’s not them, but it makes Rayne realize he needs to come clean, and he wants to anyway, as he’s fallen in love with Everett.

Their talk and his sharing of his evidence brings down a dirty cop and saves another client of Everett’s, but only after one more showdown with the bad cop.

Finally, the two declare their love and can see their way clear to starting a life together.

I loved this book, with all the characters from Mission City and some new people to add to the mix. The adventure that came with all the bad versus good guys made it a great read, and the romance still came together nicely.

I really liked the way the scenes of the racist cop were handled, seriously, but with a good cop apologizing and following up with the racist guy. The support by the department for Everett was also present, and consequences were realistic, which, sadly, meant they weren’t nearly as severe as they should have been. Very well written.

In the audiobook,the performance by Michael Dean was great, his characters are easy to listen to and understand as their personalities unfold.

I received this ARC for free and am pleased to give it my honest review with appreciation.

Audiobook

[Sharon L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Rayne and what is he running from?

On the run, Rayne returns to Everett and Mission City...

This is book 4 in the series, Love in Mission City by Gabbi Grey. Michael Dean did the narration of this one and did a fantastic job, as usual. He's one of my favorite narrators!

To answer the question I posed in Rayne Check, a short story set in this world, you do not have to listen or read Rayne Check before reading or listening to this one. It will give you insight on how they met and the animosity Everett feels, which is an added bonus but not a necessity.

I will say I wanted to slap Rayne upside the head for being so stubborn in revealing more about what has happened to him. I loved Everett's family and how they opened their arms to Rayne and treated him like one of the family.

This story dragged in parts and bringing in several past characters was unnecessary to me. I know that bringing in past characters from other books is a current theme for authors and most readers love this. I want to focus on the main characters and their story. I want to understand who they are and how they got to where they are today. These are my pet peeves and like I said above most readers love this, I read it all the time in other reader's reviews.

Would I recommend this book, yes! If you love Gabbi Grey and this series set in Mission City I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as well.

Opposites attract, age gap, secrets abound, just who are the bad guys

[Lesetiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Before you read or listen to this book, I highly recommend reading Rayne Check. In it, Everett and Rayne meet at a party and have a steamy encounter.
Two months after the events in Rayne Check, Rayne suddenly shows up injured on Everett's doorstep, who of course offers to help him.
I liked Everett right from the start. He loves his job, is a workhorse and stands up for justice. I had my difficulties with Rayne at first and it took me a while to become comfortable with him. This may be because you don't find out very much about his background.
There were various storylines and there is a case to solve. I thought the suspense part was good, although it only really picks up towards the end of the book. In between, it's mainly about the developing relationship between Everett and Rayne. The connection between the two is definitely there, but Rayne has doubts because of his past. Do they have a chance?
What I loved was the rescued dog that Rayne takes care of - the dog was my secret hero and there were some cute scenes with him.

Michael Dean did a great job as narrator, he has a pleasant voice and a good pace of speech. However, for once it wasn't always immediately obvious which of the two protagonists was speaking.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great narration, 2.5⭐️ story

I’m gonna be completely honest and say that if this hadn’t been an audiobook, I probably wouldn’t have finished it 😂 how do we go from a fun & spicy intro novella to this disjointed & nonsensical hot mess? IDK

This is touted as a “romantic suspense” but the only suspense is them going back and forth about Rayne needing to stay on the lamb and yet they are out and about in town CONSTANTLY, including around police a bunch of times, and also there’s a side plot that kind of becomes the main plot about a dog.

I’ve read the previous book in this series (which I loved!) and I still got confused with all the random character name drops. There’s also a lot of female side characters mentioned with extremely traumatic backstories as if it’s their hair color. Like you can’t just drop that someone got kidnapped and kept hostage for four years as a kid and then move on?! What?! 😅🤣

Unfortunately one of my pet peeves in books is when a main character keeps their backstory a secret from the reader (keep it from the other main characters all you want), but unless I KNOW why I should be sympathetic towards Rayne the whole book just won’t make sense.

*I received an alc copy of this book, all opinions are my own*

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery man Rayne first appears in a short story, the events of which are briefly recounted in this book’s prologue, where he and attorney Everett briefly encounter one another at an “epic” Halloween party in Grey’s fictional town of Mission City. Two months later, Everett is heading into his office – on New Year’s Day – only to find an injured Rayne on the porch, huddled against the cold.

Everett wants to take Rayne to the hospital and call the police. Rayne persuades him to not do either. Instead, Everett takes Rayne in, feeds him, and keeps him close – even taking him along to another of Grey’s oft-used settings, the Healing Horses ranch, where Rayne takes on a rescue dog in need of extra TLC and stability.

Beyond being a good second chance romance, this is a decent mystery story. There are clues along the way that whatever preceded Rayne’s showing up on Everett’s office steps is connected to Everett – or one of his clients. The mystery kept me interested, the scenes with the rescue dog melted my heart.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayne’s Return is the fourth book in Gabbi Grey's ‘Love in Mission City’ series. It isn't a standalone. The Dixon sisters as well as all the couples from the rest of the series makes it impossible. After a 'half-night' hookup on Halloween, private investigator, Rayne, ghosts lawyer, Everett Williams. When Rayne shows up at Everett's office on New Year's day, he's injured and needs a place to lie low. for a few days.
You would think a lawyer might have a few questions, and Rayne's evasiveness tried my patience more than Everett's. And being a bit peeved at a man is in no way a reason to take him home. The mystery is more a tangled ball of yarn rather than real mystery.
Not the strongest book in the series. There's a dog, which is Grey's way of declaring them a "couple". The found family aspect is a bit suffocating, There is some charm in their relationship. And a nice bit of steam. Unfortunately, there is also a bit of racial targeting.
A quick read. The pup guarantees a HEA. I received an advanced copy of this book and this is my review.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

MM Mission City

We meet Everett, an upstanding lawyer who has a one-night stand at a party and cannot get his mystery man out of his mind—that is, until...

Rayne, worst for wear, seeks out Everett on a cold January day, covered in cuts, bruises and a gunshot wound but unwilling to tell Everett the whole story.

This book had everything you needed: a great story, good characters, and a good depth of story; I never felt I lacked anything more. I highly recommend this book.

Michael Ferraiuolo did an excellent job of narrating this book. As usual, I did speed up the recording to 1.20 on Audible.

Rayne's Return
Love in Mission City, Book 4
By: Gabbi Grey
Narrated by: Michael Dean
Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

❤❤❤❤❤ Overall
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration
📚📚📚📚📚 Story
Read at 1.20 speed on Audible

I received this audiobook for free from GRR at my request. My review is my opinion and an honest review - neither the author nor GRR influenced my opinion.

[Fedora · Rating 4 out of 5]

RAYNE'S RETURN is the fourth in Gabbi Grey's Love in Mission City series, and is her first romantic suspense. Lawyer Everett Williams has a memorable one-night stand with Rayne on Halloween, after which Rayne drops out of sight, causing Everett all kinds of angst. When Rayne reappears, much worse for the wear, on New Year's Day, Everett is torn between being thrilled and being frustrated by his being so close-lipped about his disappearing act.

Loved Gabbi Grey's warm sense of community in Mission City, and loved seeing Rayne and eventually Everett fall for a wounded rescue dog. Much of the story revolves around Everett and Rayne finding a way to build trust despite the secrets each of them is keeping and finding some resolution when Rayne's past inserts itself in their present. Looking forward to more in Ms Grey's series.

[Sara Sigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayne and Everett hooked up at a Halloween masquerade party but then Rayne left, Rayne had gone there to find Everett because one of Everett’s clients was arrested. Rayne shows up at Everett’s office after he was beaten up and shot at, but wouldn’t tell Everett his last name or who was after him. Everett found an article about a shooting in the town that Rayne had said he had been. After a bad court case Everett took Gil’s car so he wouldn’t be followed but he ended crashed into a tree and in the hospital. Rayne took his broken phone and got the information on Sonny a bad cop put on a thumb drive, Sonny broke in but he got a planter dropped on his head. Rayne gave the cops the thumb drive and after he got out of the hospital Everett convinced Rayne and dog to stay.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Vols77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent series that gets better with each book. This series set in Canada in a small town has so many fun characters you can get lost in all of them and creates endless book possibilities. This book is about Everett and Rayne. They had a hook up but then went on their way before Rayne shows up in bad shape at Everett's office. Seems Rayne is a private investigator with a propensity for finding trouble whereas Everett is the workaholic lawyer. When Rayne shows up he has to pursue the law abiding Everett not to call the policy and to believe the story he is telling Everett. I love how he does that and suddenly lingering feelings arise, even though both men try their best to deny it. A wonderfully suspenseful gay romance is hard to find and this one is top notch! I did receive an ARC and leave this honest review.

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second chance romance, mystery

This is an audiobook review.

Everett and Rayne had an explosive encounter a few months ago at a Halloween party.
Everett has not been able to stop thinking about Rayne and regrets not getting any information from him.
Imagine his surprise when Rayne shows up at New Year's, very obviously injured.
Everett immediately wants to get him medical help but Rayne won't let him because he's in danger.
Instead they end up at a friend's ranch.
These two very quickly realize they want something serious together but Rayne has been hurt by those closest to him so he's leery of letting someone in.
I loved the sweet scenes with the rescue dog and the mystery aspect kept me interested until the end.
Michael Dean did an amazing job narrating and bringing these characters to life.

[Laora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayne and Everett have undoubtly chemistry and is clear throughout this MM mystery romance. I am glad the author, Gabbi Grey, kept us guessing what Rayne was doing in town. When it is reveales I am glad there is a bit of attention for a very current topic. It was a joy to meet up with many of previous main and side characters in Mission city.
The book reads easy and mostly flows well.

Audiobook:
Michael Dean did a good job, what I did not enjoy are his foreign accents. For me personally they need some work. Otherwise he guides and immerses you intot this good read. So for narration 4,5*

Overall: 4.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[mmreads430 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rayne and Everett meet again two months after their tryst at a Halloween party, and Rayne is injured and hiding out from some bad guys.... there is a lot of tension and danger, a mystery, reciprocal hurt/comfort, and a need for trust building all around, including a sweet but damaged German shepherd who's had a rough past. These two seem made for each other, and everyone in Mission City -- the larger circle of friends we have come to know -- seems to be convinced of it before they are. While the story stands alone, reading the prior Mission City novels and shorts can only add to the experience, as many of those characters appear here. I've come to love this small town, and return to it each time with pleasure.

[Nina Diab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book much more than the first story, Rayne Check. In it, Everett spotted a masked Rayne at a Halloween party and the chemistry between them led to a very steamy encounter before Rayne disappeared right afterward. Now a couple months later and Everett still can't get Rayne out of his head and nothing nothing else about him or how to contact him. When suddenly the man himself shows up badly injured and in fear for his life. He has his walls up, and Everett is still bitter that he was ghosted. The story had suspense, mystery, secrets, and danger. I liked how their relationship developed.

Michael Dean did a good job narrating this book.

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4 stars

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's New Year's day and Everett is still thinking about the Halloween Party and Rayne. Imagine his shock when returning to work the man in question is there and is looking worse for wear.
I spent most of time listening to this story trying to guess what Rayne was hiding from and how long it would take for Everett and Rayne to have a repeat performance. Both took their time and whilst there was that instant attraction, Everett took his time to fully trust him. The Healing Horses Ranch played an important role and getting to know more about the sisters.
I love that the more I get into this series, the more I find out about the characters mentioned in previous stories.
Michael Dean did another good job narrating this story and I am looking forward to listening to more set in this world

[Rhonda Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A by the book lawyer, Everett has a one time hookup with a mysterious Rayne and then he disappeared. Rayne shows up months later, beaten, bruised and needs Everett 's help!! Talk about an interesting start to a book...an Age-Gap, Second-Chance, with Mystery, Suspense themes that had me guessing, wondering... along with the clues that was being dropped throughout the storyline...why did Rayne return to see Everett, why all this mysterious, and how is Everett link to all this?? Definitely had my attention!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.