Sin Lorcan's relationship with Merrick Cody has long been plagued by jealousy, spite and frustration. Merrick marrying his brother didn't help - and surprisingly neither did her divorcing him. Moving back to St Louis with his newly discovered son, hasn't improved much but when Sin's investigation into a PAVAD traitor threatens Merrick, he finds himself stepping up for her and her adopted daughter.
I've pretty much given up on remembering or following who's who in PAVAD. There are too many characters with too many detailed backstories and I just can't keep them straight. But I do enjoy the setting of the PAVAD offices and the supportive environment they all foster. I will say though was it really necessary to name three brothers, Sin, Seth and Sebastian?
Sin Lorcan was a frustrating one. Although he was clearly trying as parent and boyfriend, I felt he lacked in both departments. His kid was all too often an afterthought and it irritated me. As for Merrick, well his reasons for hating her were ridiculous. Talk about emotionally stunted. I liked that he recognised he was ridiculous but it wasn't enough.
Merrick was alright. She seemed like a no nonsense character with her head screwed on straight and most of her priorities in order. I vaguely remember her in previous books, although I don't particularly remember how she gets the daughter. I liked her love for her daughter and her importance on being a mother to her. She generally made good decisions and kept herself safe and I liked that. On the other hand she was also kind of bland. I'm not really into second chance romances or the whole falling for the other sibling thing, so this was never going to be a high rating from me, but i did come to like both of them more than I expected. If there had of been more interaction between Sin and the kids I think I would've liked it better.
The romance between them was sweet, even if it lacked fire. The storyline had a few plot holes but moved fast and worked hard to build suspense. I would've liked more actual investigating but the viewpoints of the criminals helped to build the story and make the case and that was sufficient. If there were clues in previous books I missed them. There did seem to be hints for future books though about the bigger traitor, unless I missed something else - which is also possible.
An average light crime romance with a close-knit community and extended family whether by blood, marriage or friendship. 2 stars.