Passion in Paradise

by Jerry Cole

Bryan Callahan has always shared a tight bond with his little sister Rebecca. As kids growing up in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood, he would go out of his way to protect her from danger. And Becca, an outspoken champion for justice and a political activist, has a knack for getting into trouble while fighting for her causes. Some of Becca’s conspiracy theories can seem a bit far-fetched, but Bryan still loves her. In turn, she has been his biggest supporter since he came out as gay. Because of Becca—and following in the footsteps of their uncle, a first responder who had been on the scene during the September 11th attacks—Bryan put his early life-saving skills to work as an emergency medical technician for the FDNY.

Trouble never comes in trickles but in waves. When the family loses contact with Becca, an environmental blogger now living in Hawaii, it’s up to Bryan to investigate. He decides to take a few days off from work, and in the wake of an ugly breakup from his longtime boyfriend, he flies out to see what kind of mess Becca has managed to get herself into this time. Bryan soon realizes it goes well beyond the realm of any playground scuffle when, upon his arrival, he makes a shocking discovery: Becca is missing and her apartment has been ransacked.

Despite warnings from the local authorities, Bryan refuses to stand by and not do anything to help find his sister. He launches a personal investigation into Becca’s disappearance which puts him in contact with her friend Akoni “Koni” Hoapili, an attractive native tour guide, surfer, and part-time hula dancer. With Koni’s assistance, Bryan tries to find out what happened to Becca—but will he also wind up finding new love with the irresistible, outgoing Koni?

Please Note: This book contains adult language & steamy adult activities, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. Novel, approx. 75,000 words in length. HEA (happy ever after ending). Does not end with a "cliffhanger".

Genres: M M Romance, Firefighters, Contemporary

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2018

About the author

Jerry Cole is a gay author who lives in California & enjoys writing love stories. Jerry has been writing fiction since he was a child. As a young adult, he worked as a freelance writer in the evenings & on weekends. Jerry started writing gay romance stories several years ago, but initially just for his own entertainment & occasionally sharing stories with his friends. In the summer of 2015 he published his first gay romance short story on Amazon. Overwhelmed by the positive response he decided to quit his “day job” & took up writing gay romance full time. When he’s not writing steamy M/M romance he enjoys globetrotting, watching movies with family and friends, working out, & being dragged down the road by his two Great Danes.

Reviews

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

**** It's an emotional opening in our characters lives
on 9-11-01.
I cried as I re-lived the emotions brought out in their personal views. We all still have raw emotions for that awful day 17 years ago.

It's gripping immediately and I looked forward to more. We launch into present day where Bryan, 36, EMT
with FDNY ( Fire Department of New York)

has ended an 8 yr. relationship and his sister, activist Becca has gone missing. So he's off to Hawaii to find out what is happening. He finds her apartment ransacked.
In his search he finds clues and ends up at Becca's friends, twins, Akoni/Koni and Akela, and their Mom, who help.
The amazing Koni

is toned, blue-eyed, curly hair, surfs, hula dances and is a guide.
Illegal activities are happening; shark-finning, killing protected monk seals, and the desecration of a sacred "heiau," plus a mystery, searching, a dead colleague, and more danger. Meanwhile Koni and Bryan are being friends with benefits,
but they begin to feel like there's more to come.

This is very well written, gripping, sexy and exciting. Descriptions show us how lovely the islands are, as we learn key words and phrases, plus Koni's intense sense of preserving the heritage of his people.



This is a super sexy romance, an amazing mystery/adventure, and I highly recommend it !
ENJOY !
====
Thank you Darlene for the recommendation !

=====

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the back of this book it gives a really great summary.
Bryan Callahan is shocked about his boyfriend moving out and the reasons why for doing so. From that heartbreak, his day went downhill quickly. First he had to deal with his emotions about his ex-boyfriend’s betrayal, then his Uncle Leo’s deteriorating health, and then his sister’s disappearance. All of that would rock anybody’s world.

But Bryan was a first responder (EMT) and knows how to prioritize things even with his heart aching. His mom and dad need him first before he leaves to check on his sister, Becca.

When Bryan arrives in Hawaii at his sister’s rental, he gets another shock that shakes him to the core. His sister must be in some really deep trouble because her place is trashed as if someone was looking for something. But before Bryan calls the police to report the break-in he’s smart to copy his sister’s phone contacts and the people he could reach out to her that may be very good friends.

Sue enough, Bryon meets a sister, Akela, her brother, Akoni (Koni), and their mother Leila Hoapili who have taken Bryon’s sister as one of her own family members. Koni is an attractive, vibrant young man who embraces his heritage. Bryant is quite taken by the younger man and they become friends as they search for Becca.

Becca is in way over her head and when the siblings and Bryon figure out what his sister was looking into, one of her friends is murdered, and the crimes being committed and concealed are difficult to prove. With one person who lost their life over this, Bryon doesn’t want to lose his sister or Koni in the mess.

It’s a good book with a mystery and a growing passion between the two men, Bryon and Koni. There’s quite a bit of Hawaiian vocabulary used by the character’s, but they always explain what is being said so don’t worry about that. It’s a fun read. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced read copy of this book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very beginning this book pulls you in. Bryan comes from a loving family and when his sister is in trouble he is there to help. Flying to Hawaii to see what is going on.
While on the Islands he meets Koni, and sparks fly.

The beautiful Islands are described with passion and a true love of the culture and people. I felt I was there, seeing the blue seas and watching the fauna. I enjoyed reading about the Islands and following Bryan on his journey exploring them.

Bryan and Koni's characters compliment each other and I wanted to see where the story took them. All the characters are well written and give the story a depth which Jerry Cole has a knack of doing. He puts so much realism and description into the characters and the setting.

I highly recommend this book and didn't want to put it down. A beautiful setting with lovely characters.
I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest & unbiased review.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryan has had a rough couple of days. His uncle Leo is dying, His boyfriend has been having an affair and they broke of their relationship and now his sister is missing. He loves his sister and has always been her protector, from the time they were small. Bryan takes off for Hawaii to investigate and finds her apartment torn apart and she is nowhere to be found. A secret language that they devised when they were small written on a note wrapped around her phone gives him his first clue that his sister is alive and in hiding. He hooks up some of her friends and is immediately attracted to Koni. He is involved in several jobs on the island and is a steadfast environmentalist and he helps Bryan as well as Koni's sister, who is Becca's best friend. Trying to wrap his head around the fact his sister had a life outside of what he knew about her, he struggles with this confusion as he and Koni try to find out where she is. Mysteries, surfboarding, airplanes, sacred places, laws of the islands, the FBI, betrayal, murder, a mysterious sister, new friends, growing love, grief, hot sex and making hard decisions makes and excellent story. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC Book.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is another example of how versatile Jerry is with his stories. It goes from romance, to rescue, to conservation, to child abuse, to crime and everything in between. This book is a combination of a few of the above subjects and has managed to make it a good read with all the unexpected happenings and with all the interesting people. I must say, Jerry's books are always exiting reading material and hard to put down, as is this one.
I read a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

[Coral Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

MM. Bryan loves his work as an EMT but drops everything to find out why his sister dropped off the grid in Hawaii. Meeting her friends Akela and Akoni are a benefit of the trip to discover why his sister is missing. Akoni is a brilliant and calm man. Just the type of person Bryan needs with the troubles he is facing. A great adventure for himself and the mess his sister is in this time. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was alot of fun.. it made me smile and laugh.. it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was next.. i was surprised at certain parts and excited about others.. i felt their emotions with them and fell in love. plus.. hawaii.. love love loved hawaii.. i am glad i read it

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the characters. Bryan was nicely written. He and Koni indeed found passion in paradise. His sister Becca was also a good character. I liked his mother. I think the author did a great job with research. It made Uncle Leo's plight real. All in all I liked this story.

[Kobie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this. Great characters, fun to learn something new, and mystery was good.

I noticed only 3 grammer errors, which was nice. My big ding on the book was that the prologue didn't fit with the rest of the story. It never got wrapped up. I think 4.5 is a good rating for this book.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

LocalFlavor

Artfully presented story with insight and locally inspired flavor and presentation. A joy to read. I recommend this author’s works!

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun easy read. Full review later.

[Kasey]

Note to self:
- Third person
- Prologue: Bryan stopping a fight his sister got into in high school: on 9/11. Their uncle Leo worked in one of the towers, his dad was with the coast guard (I think?) and was helping people evacuate with their boats
- Present Day: Age 35: Bryan walking in to his apartment finding his boyfriend packing to move out; he finds out he was cheating on him
- He goes to stay with his parents after the break up
- The next morning he goes with his dad to the hospital; his uncle dies; they start to worry about Becca, his sister, because they haven’t heard from her; Bryan goes to Hawaii to look for her
- A LOT about his missing sister
- DNF at 42%: I found myself skimming so much of it and getting bored so early on that I decided there was no point pretending I was actually reading this book.

Things I didn’t like:
- “Brah”
- I didn’t really like how Bryan was instantly into Koni … before even meeting him he was interested by the pictures of him on his sisters phone.. he even admitted a couple times how he shouldn’t be thinking about his attraction when his sister is missing … I can understand him starting to slowly like him but it just seemed too quick, his mind should have be more occupied with his missing sister.. right?