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Perfect Play #1
Dead Draw
When a marriage of convenience is the only play left…
Special Agent Emmitt Marshall knows how
Wear a cowboy hat.
Hack anything.
Win at chess.
Fall in love with emotionally unavailable men.
He even knows the perfect play to catch the terrorists who killed his mentor.
Special Agent Levi Bishop doesn’t know how
Move on after his wife’s death.
Help his grieving son.
Pay off his mountain of debt.
Fix the mess some cowboy cyber agent made of his case.
The same cowboy who proposes a marriage of convenience to stop a common enemy.
Marsh is either the answer to Levi’s prayers—or a handsome nightmare in a Stetson.
Levi doesn’t know.
But both men do know their cases and lives are at a dead draw.
There’s only one play left…
I do.
Layla Reyne returns with an all-new m/m romantic suspense series featuring a cocky hacker with a heart of gold, a widowed father who needs so much help, and a plan only a cowboy could cook up. Grab your hat, hold tight to the reins, beware of the cliffs, and enjoy the ride!
Special Agent Emmitt Marshall knows how
Wear a cowboy hat.
Hack anything.
Win at chess.
Fall in love with emotionally unavailable men.
He even knows the perfect play to catch the terrorists who killed his mentor.
Special Agent Levi Bishop doesn’t know how
Move on after his wife’s death.
Help his grieving son.
Pay off his mountain of debt.
Fix the mess some cowboy cyber agent made of his case.
The same cowboy who proposes a marriage of convenience to stop a common enemy.
Marsh is either the answer to Levi’s prayers—or a handsome nightmare in a Stetson.
Levi doesn’t know.
But both men do know their cases and lives are at a dead draw.
There’s only one play left…
I do.
Layla Reyne returns with an all-new m/m romantic suspense series featuring a cocky hacker with a heart of gold, a widowed father who needs so much help, and a plan only a cowboy could cook up. Grab your hat, hold tight to the reins, beware of the cliffs, and enjoy the ride!
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2022
223 people are currently reading
1254 people want to read
About the author
Layla Reyne
58 books1,030 followersLayla Reyne is the author of What We May Be and the Agents Irish and Whiskey, Fog City, and Perfect Play series. She writes sexy, intense LGBTQIA+ romance featuring competent adults in kitchens, sports arenas, car chases, and other high-stakes situations. Whether it’s adrenaline-fueled suspense, rival athletes, vampires and shifters in alt-realms, or love mixed with mouth-watering foodie goodness, queer folks finding happily-ever-afters is guaranteed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
June 6, 2022
I am firmly on the #MarshTrain
Another one going straight onto the favourites shelf from the pen of Layla Rayne.
I have been dying for Marsh's story since his path crossed mine in the fabulous Fog City series and then again in What We Might Be and here I got part of my reward.
I say part because this is, as as are all Layla's romantic suspense novels, part of a series which has a long-term narrative running throughout each book.
The main case here is Levi Bishop's. He's a man for whom his job and trying to keep things together for his teenage son have become all he can focus on following the death of his wife from cancer two years previously.
He's hurting, he's angry at the world, he's desperate for something to turn a corner when Marsh barges into his path having potentially screwed up the case he's been working on for months.
While the pacing is a very understandable slow burn between them, the UST and chemistry blows off the pages like a heat wave.
The fake marriage angle has a neat twist which I loved and it's clear from the off, these two could find something very real if the bad guys don't get to them first.
The main investigation has as many threads as a spider's web and seeing them all converge closer ramps up the tension big time.
When it looks like everything is going to be wrapped up in a nice neat bow, all Hell breaks loose and we get brief guest appearances from the ever fabulous Madigans as Marsh calls on Brax for help.
I'm absolutely overjoyed to be back in Layla's expanded Whiskeyverse - and very much enjoyed the Easter Egg reference to everyone's favourite SAC Irishman and cannot wait to see what happens next.
Another one going straight onto the favourites shelf from the pen of Layla Rayne.
I have been dying for Marsh's story since his path crossed mine in the fabulous Fog City series and then again in What We Might Be and here I got part of my reward.
I say part because this is, as as are all Layla's romantic suspense novels, part of a series which has a long-term narrative running throughout each book.
The main case here is Levi Bishop's. He's a man for whom his job and trying to keep things together for his teenage son have become all he can focus on following the death of his wife from cancer two years previously.
He's hurting, he's angry at the world, he's desperate for something to turn a corner when Marsh barges into his path having potentially screwed up the case he's been working on for months.
While the pacing is a very understandable slow burn between them, the UST and chemistry blows off the pages like a heat wave.
The fake marriage angle has a neat twist which I loved and it's clear from the off, these two could find something very real if the bad guys don't get to them first.
The main investigation has as many threads as a spider's web and seeing them all converge closer ramps up the tension big time.
When it looks like everything is going to be wrapped up in a nice neat bow, all Hell breaks loose and we get brief guest appearances from the ever fabulous Madigans as Marsh calls on Brax for help.
I'm absolutely overjoyed to be back in Layla's expanded Whiskeyverse - and very much enjoyed the Easter Egg reference to everyone's favourite SAC Irishman and cannot wait to see what happens next.
August 20, 2022
The good
+ Marsh laying his feelings for Levi out so Levi could decide whether they'd continue or not
+ Marsh being the only person (besides David) letting Levi take his time to move on from his wife, instead of forcing the timeline
+ The way Levi's wife was portrayed. Positive portrayal of women in MM romance is unfortunately rarer than I'd like, but Levi's wife was really cool.
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o Levi's son David was just kind of ignored throughout the book, like he didn't really exist
o Every unrelated case at the FBI still somehow related to the big case in this book, which was pretty unrealistic
o After Marsh explained his romantic feelings and Levi semi-rejected him, Levi wondered why Marsh was pulling away. Uhh, Levi? How can you even ask that?
o The way the sex scene was described from Marsh's perspective did not work for me at all
The bad
- Marsh didn't 'offer' Levi a marriage of convenience or whatever the blurb implied. He blackmailed Levi into it. Who the hell interrupts a very emotional and very private moment to blackmail someone into marrying you, because if he won't you'll out him against his will? Assholes, that's who
- Levi's family was horrifying, but everyone acted like it was the best shit ever. Besides Levi's mother meddling far too much in his love life (seriously, his wife died two years ago, let the man grieve), this weird competition about showing up your own family (at each other's weddings) was disgusting and childish
- It wasn't just Levi's mother that decided it was time to move on. Many people were coaxing Levi into finding a new partner. What the hell? His wife died only two years ago. There's no deadline for when Levi has to be 'over her' or whatever. Also, pushing someone into dating is wrong regardless of whether someone is even interested in dating or not
- Marsh's first rule was that they wouldn't lie to each other. The next day or so, the first thing he did was lie to Levi about his connection to the ASAC, just to see his reaction
- Marsh hacked everything his sticky fingers could reach, all without warrants and other legalities. He was not a criminal hacker, so he should have been bound to rules. I'm willing to suspend disbelief when reading a book, but this is too much. He hacked everything without issue and hacked for personal instead of professional reasons too
- Marsh getting that identity theft case from the SAC and being threatened to not implicate the real culprit made no sense. For something that sensitive, the SAC would never have picked someone who didn't actually work there and was married to the guy investigating the human trafficking case related to the identity theft case
- It was not advertised this book ends on a cliffhanger
This book was very disappointing to me. My favorite character was Levi's wife (yep, the dead one), so that's kind of lame. I think that even for a fictional book, the number of unrealistic things happening was just too high. Add to that that I never really warmed up to Marsh after his mistakes, and this book just didn't work for me. I also didn't realize the next book in the series would continue with the current plot, so now I'm stuck with a cliffhanger and no intention of reading the next book. Would not recommend.
+ Marsh laying his feelings for Levi out so Levi could decide whether they'd continue or not
+ Marsh being the only person (besides David) letting Levi take his time to move on from his wife, instead of forcing the timeline
+ The way Levi's wife was portrayed. Positive portrayal of women in MM romance is unfortunately rarer than I'd like, but Levi's wife was really cool.
The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o Levi's son David was just kind of ignored throughout the book, like he didn't really exist
o Every unrelated case at the FBI still somehow related to the big case in this book, which was pretty unrealistic
o After Marsh explained his romantic feelings and Levi semi-rejected him, Levi wondered why Marsh was pulling away. Uhh, Levi? How can you even ask that?
o The way the sex scene was described from Marsh's perspective did not work for me at all
The bad
- Marsh didn't 'offer' Levi a marriage of convenience or whatever the blurb implied. He blackmailed Levi into it. Who the hell interrupts a very emotional and very private moment to blackmail someone into marrying you, because if he won't you'll out him against his will? Assholes, that's who
- Levi's family was horrifying, but everyone acted like it was the best shit ever. Besides Levi's mother meddling far too much in his love life (seriously, his wife died two years ago, let the man grieve), this weird competition about showing up your own family (at each other's weddings) was disgusting and childish
- It wasn't just Levi's mother that decided it was time to move on. Many people were coaxing Levi into finding a new partner. What the hell? His wife died only two years ago. There's no deadline for when Levi has to be 'over her' or whatever. Also, pushing someone into dating is wrong regardless of whether someone is even interested in dating or not
- Marsh's first rule was that they wouldn't lie to each other. The next day or so, the first thing he did was lie to Levi about his connection to the ASAC, just to see his reaction
- Marsh hacked everything his sticky fingers could reach, all without warrants and other legalities. He was not a criminal hacker, so he should have been bound to rules. I'm willing to suspend disbelief when reading a book, but this is too much. He hacked everything without issue and hacked for personal instead of professional reasons too
- Marsh getting that identity theft case from the SAC and being threatened to not implicate the real culprit made no sense. For something that sensitive, the SAC would never have picked someone who didn't actually work there and was married to the guy investigating the human trafficking case related to the identity theft case
- It was not advertised this book ends on a cliffhanger
This book was very disappointing to me. My favorite character was Levi's wife (yep, the dead one), so that's kind of lame. I think that even for a fictional book, the number of unrealistic things happening was just too high. Add to that that I never really warmed up to Marsh after his mistakes, and this book just didn't work for me. I also didn't realize the next book in the series would continue with the current plot, so now I'm stuck with a cliffhanger and no intention of reading the next book. Would not recommend.
May 23, 2022
I’ve been pining for Marsh’s story since he first appeared, and let me tell you, Layla Reyne is doing right by my man. He is so sexy, smart, protective, sexy, charming, sexy, and compassionate. Like the perfect alpha male. Did I say sexy? Lord, the tension in this book! Whew!!!! Levi is a perfect counterpart to Marsh’s swagger. He’s a vulnerable, single dad who’s still healing from the untimely death of his wife. Levi is struggling to stay afloat in many aspects of his life and along comes Marsh to the rescue in the form of a proposition Levi can’t resist. It’s supposed to be a professional relationship only, but I bet you can guess how that works out for the leading men. So sexy!
As you expect with a Layla Reyne novel, you get stellar action scenes, amazing queer representation, steamy sexual tension, and mature characters who know how to use their words. There are several guest appearances from other characters I adore. I love everything about this book! To say I’m pining even more for Marsh now that I have a taste is a gross understatement. #ProudMarshAddict
Build a ring, I’ll fight you for him! ;) Cannot wait for Bad Bishop!
As you expect with a Layla Reyne novel, you get stellar action scenes, amazing queer representation, steamy sexual tension, and mature characters who know how to use their words. There are several guest appearances from other characters I adore. I love everything about this book! To say I’m pining even more for Marsh now that I have a taste is a gross understatement. #ProudMarshAddict
Build a ring, I’ll fight you for him! ;) Cannot wait for Bad Bishop!
June 8, 2022
I’m always excited to read one of this author’s books after reading the blurbs and I’m always left unsatisfied. Something’s always missing and they miss their mark for me. It happened with Agents Irish and Whiskey too.. They seem at first like something I would love but they never manage to get more than 3 stars and the qualification of just an ok book. I know my review is not really constructive but I honestly can’t pin point what exactly goes wrong with these books.
January 10, 2025
What a wild ride!
I’m not sure if the humor I enjoyed so much in this book was entirely intentional, but it certainly made for a fun read.
Dead wives who handled strap on dildos like a pro.
Imagining your naked fake husband pressed against the glass of the bedroom window while engaging in sexual acts (I’d love to be the nosy next-door neighbor with binoculars).
Throwing your Stetson at a bomb – no idea what that was supposed to accomplish.
The story revolves around Levi and Marsh, two FBI agents who don’t know each other but whose paths cross when they work on the same case from different angles.
In order to solve the case, they decide to cooperate but can’t because of FBI regulations. So Marsh proposes to marry widower Levi and work the case from their shared home.
Surprisingly, there is very little intimacy between them in this book and way too much FBI work for my liking. By the end, I realized that their story will continue in the next book, so that’s probably why.
Still, I enjoyed their interactions a lot, even if I skimmed the passages where they were working on the case – which, by the way, focuses on a terror network in Austria! I’m trying not to take that personally...
Anyway, even though I had my issues with this book, I did finish it and was entertained!
3.5 stars!
I’m not sure if the humor I enjoyed so much in this book was entirely intentional, but it certainly made for a fun read.
Dead wives who handled strap on dildos like a pro.
Imagining your naked fake husband pressed against the glass of the bedroom window while engaging in sexual acts (I’d love to be the nosy next-door neighbor with binoculars).
Throwing your Stetson at a bomb – no idea what that was supposed to accomplish.
The story revolves around Levi and Marsh, two FBI agents who don’t know each other but whose paths cross when they work on the same case from different angles.
In order to solve the case, they decide to cooperate but can’t because of FBI regulations. So Marsh proposes to marry widower Levi and work the case from their shared home.
Surprisingly, there is very little intimacy between them in this book and way too much FBI work for my liking. By the end, I realized that their story will continue in the next book, so that’s probably why.
Still, I enjoyed their interactions a lot, even if I skimmed the passages where they were working on the case – which, by the way, focuses on a terror network in Austria! I’m trying not to take that personally...
Anyway, even though I had my issues with this book, I did finish it and was entertained!
3.5 stars!
May 29, 2022
* 4 stars *
A marriage of convenience is the solution both Levi and Marshall were looking for to put closure to some past issues.
At first, everything goes according to the plan. Even if there's mutual attraction between them, neither makes a move and they just let the tension simmer. Levi is afraid and reluctant to move on from his wife and he's concerned about how his son will react if he does. Marshall has a case to close, a case that has evolved into a kind of personal vendetta over the years. He doesn't have time for a relationship. And then there's the fact that he always seems to fall in love with emotionally unavailable people. He knows Levi isn't over his wife yet and he has no intention of getting hurt again.
So they dive into solving their overlapping cases and try to put the attraction aside. The cases weren't the most interesting I've read in a book. They seemed fairly complicated and I couldn't always keep track of all the names and the connections between everyone mentioned. But, suspense isn't my usual genre so that could have been a factor as well.
When I started reading, I didn't have a clue that it was the first book in a series or that it was going to be a continuous storyline. By the time I reached 70-80%, I saw that there were just too many unresolved issues and arc plots so I clued in to what was about to happen. Yup, you guessed it. Cliffhanger!
For me, it wasn't a major one that left me hanging and anxious to read what comes next. It's clear that nothing is resolved yet, the characters are in limbo and things are starting to get more dangerous but I don't have an issue with waiting to see what comes next.
I liked both characters but I don't think we really know them just yet. I look forward to the next book and hopefully the action scenes or the ones that have to do with the cases will be more balanced with the scenes that focus on their relationship and interactions. I know this is a suspense book but I still wish for more character development.
~ I read an ARC of this book. ~
A marriage of convenience is the solution both Levi and Marshall were looking for to put closure to some past issues.
At first, everything goes according to the plan. Even if there's mutual attraction between them, neither makes a move and they just let the tension simmer. Levi is afraid and reluctant to move on from his wife and he's concerned about how his son will react if he does. Marshall has a case to close, a case that has evolved into a kind of personal vendetta over the years. He doesn't have time for a relationship. And then there's the fact that he always seems to fall in love with emotionally unavailable people. He knows Levi isn't over his wife yet and he has no intention of getting hurt again.
So they dive into solving their overlapping cases and try to put the attraction aside. The cases weren't the most interesting I've read in a book. They seemed fairly complicated and I couldn't always keep track of all the names and the connections between everyone mentioned. But, suspense isn't my usual genre so that could have been a factor as well.
When I started reading, I didn't have a clue that it was the first book in a series or that it was going to be a continuous storyline. By the time I reached 70-80%, I saw that there were just too many unresolved issues and arc plots so I clued in to what was about to happen. Yup, you guessed it. Cliffhanger!
For me, it wasn't a major one that left me hanging and anxious to read what comes next. It's clear that nothing is resolved yet, the characters are in limbo and things are starting to get more dangerous but I don't have an issue with waiting to see what comes next.
I liked both characters but I don't think we really know them just yet. I look forward to the next book and hopefully the action scenes or the ones that have to do with the cases will be more balanced with the scenes that focus on their relationship and interactions. I know this is a suspense book but I still wish for more character development.
~ I read an ARC of this book. ~
July 3, 2023
3 stars
This was a free book on kindle so I decided to give this a go.
I just felt like there was something missing. The way it was written there was a lot of telling not a showing. Idk I think if I read the other series before this maybe I would have been cleared up, but with that said there was something that made me want to continue reading lol.
Idk if I will continue even though this ended on a cliffhanger.. but the next two books are $5 each on kindle… and idk if I wanna spend $10 plus $15 for the audios… on a series I don’t 100% love, but when has that stopped me before lol.
Overall it wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t the best. There’s just something about it where the characters were just fleshed out enough to let you connect somewhat with them but not enough that I felt invested haha
This was a free book on kindle so I decided to give this a go.
I just felt like there was something missing. The way it was written there was a lot of telling not a showing. Idk I think if I read the other series before this maybe I would have been cleared up, but with that said there was something that made me want to continue reading lol.
Idk if I will continue even though this ended on a cliffhanger.. but the next two books are $5 each on kindle… and idk if I wanna spend $10 plus $15 for the audios… on a series I don’t 100% love, but when has that stopped me before lol.
Overall it wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t the best. There’s just something about it where the characters were just fleshed out enough to let you connect somewhat with them but not enough that I felt invested haha
June 23, 2022
Dead Draw is the first book in Layla Reyne's new Perfect Play series. Clearly setting up the rest of the series, Ms. Reyne establishes both of the main characters, and gets them started in their relationship. I like their chemistry, and am looking forward to seeing where they go.
Layla Reyne always writes a clever, creative mystery.
Audio version performed by Christian Leatherman.
An audiobook copy of Dead Draw was provided for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own
Layla Reyne always writes a clever, creative mystery.
Audio version performed by Christian Leatherman.
An audiobook copy of Dead Draw was provided for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own
January 25, 2024
This one took me a long time to finish. I also didn't realize that it wasn't a standalone and ends on a cliffhanger, so that was a tough pill to swallow. However, I do own physical copies of books 2 and 3 in this series, so I hope I eventually continue it.
Tropes:
~ MM Romance
~ Workplace Romance (FBI agents fall in love)
~ Marriage of Convenience
~ insta-lust, but also somehow dislike-to-love
~ Single Father (widow)
~ Not a trope really but almost every character in this book is part of the LGBT+ community (coworkers, friends, children, parents, siblings, etc.)...tbh it felt a bit too fantastical, but alas, such is the way of books
I thought the writing in this book was a little tough at first. There were some weirdly phrased sentences and inconsistencies throughout the book. The family banter was really bizarre to me, and everyone kept being described as the youngest in the family (Is Nicole the youngest, or are Levi/June?).
Most importantly, I didn't really understand why the main characters needed a marriage of convenience. The rationale for it wasn't strong enough for me, and it happened too quickly. They decide on the marriage of convenience in chapter 2, but I don't really understand how the main characters came to that decision based on where we left off in chapter 1. All of chapter 2 was a bit rough to get through (for me).
The police work and human trafficking plot was somewhat interesting, but I was honestly confused half of the time. There were too many names being thrown around - I had a hard time trying to remember who was a criminal, who worked for the FBI, who was family, and who were friends. Additionally, things happened really quickly during the action sequences and I just had a hard time following them.
It's a decent MM romance, but I just personally had too many hang-ups with it. I'm not sure if this series is for me.
Tropes:
~ MM Romance
~ Workplace Romance (FBI agents fall in love)
~ Marriage of Convenience
~ insta-lust, but also somehow dislike-to-love
~ Single Father (widow)
~ Not a trope really but almost every character in this book is part of the LGBT+ community (coworkers, friends, children, parents, siblings, etc.)...tbh it felt a bit too fantastical, but alas, such is the way of books
I thought the writing in this book was a little tough at first. There were some weirdly phrased sentences and inconsistencies throughout the book. The family banter was really bizarre to me, and everyone kept being described as the youngest in the family (Is Nicole the youngest, or are Levi/June?).
Most importantly, I didn't really understand why the main characters needed a marriage of convenience. The rationale for it wasn't strong enough for me, and it happened too quickly. They decide on the marriage of convenience in chapter 2, but I don't really understand how the main characters came to that decision based on where we left off in chapter 1. All of chapter 2 was a bit rough to get through (for me).
The police work and human trafficking plot was somewhat interesting, but I was honestly confused half of the time. There were too many names being thrown around - I had a hard time trying to remember who was a criminal, who worked for the FBI, who was family, and who were friends. Additionally, things happened really quickly during the action sequences and I just had a hard time following them.
It's a decent MM romance, but I just personally had too many hang-ups with it. I'm not sure if this series is for me.
June 17, 2022
⭐︎
2.5 "Meh" Stars Rounded Up!
⭐︎
This....was a struggle to get through.
Which is unfortunate, as I love this author and have loved her work in the past.
But I just did not care about the plot, of which took up a good portion of this book. It really dragged this for me. It took me too long to finish this. But I think I was determined to finish it because of the author, but also because I was enjoying Marsh and Levi together in the few moments of non-plot related interactions they got.
But that's the problem...we didn't get enough of that.
And the book waited way too long for these two to do anything.
And I get that it's the first of two - or three - books about these two. The end of this book obviously confirms we're getting another with these two.
But we barely got anything in this books in terms of their relationship, romance and sex wise.
Why did we have to wait to get a first kiss until they actually have sex, which is literally at basically the end of this? Before that we only get one hand job from Marsh given to Levi and that is it as far as sexual encounters between these two go in this whole book.
Just because they're starting out, doesn't mean we have to get next to nothing for a long time? Like I get that this is also about the cases they're working, but...again, I didn't care about those? And it of course isn't the time to really get to know someone, so we got no romance, no personal interactions, during those times and it was just so boring?
I wanted more of these two falling in love. I wanted a better balance between romance and plot. I wish there had been more focus on the romance than on the case. I'm sorry but I just didn't care about it, it didn't interest me, and so whenever it focused on it I had trouble focusing on the story.
I started to skim the story even, at the end, because I just didn't care about the plot.
I did round up for the end part when Marsh and Levi finally have sex, mainly because I felt the chemistry between them then, and it really captured my interest, which is a good thing going into the second book.
Which I will read, because I am invested now in Marsh and Levi and want so much more of them together.
But as first installments go, this was just lacking in many areas.
Why does it feel like more and more, authors are pulling away from writing sex scenes? Or maybe it's just the way some of these stories are written. If the interactions, the chemistry, the romance, the plot, etc, all worked together, the sex maybe wouldn't feel as needed and I wouldn't be too bummed that we get so little.
But when the romance is taking a lot time to heat up, and the interactions aren't as much as I'd like, lending to the lack of romance early on, it just feels like...ridiculous to also lay off any sex until late in the book.
Like are we not here for the romance? Are we not here for intense, hot sex scenes between two people who are falling in love/are in love? Why do we get more about an FBI case that is a snoozefest than the romance?
Didn't work well in this book. There wasn't a good balance.
It gets props for the times we did get good interactions between our MC's - even though they felt few and far between until the end - and for keeping my interest enough at the end to keep me wanting to read the second book in the series.
But it just lost a lot of points for not handling the romance/sex part as well as it could have, and giving us a boring plot with boring scenes attached to it.
Overall, not much of a win for me. But because it's this author and because she kept my interest near the end, I will be giving the second book a chance. Hopefully that second picks up a lot where this first one lacked. One can but hope🤞
This....was a struggle to get through.
Which is unfortunate, as I love this author and have loved her work in the past.
But I just did not care about the plot, of which took up a good portion of this book. It really dragged this for me. It took me too long to finish this. But I think I was determined to finish it because of the author, but also because I was enjoying Marsh and Levi together in the few moments of non-plot related interactions they got.
But that's the problem...we didn't get enough of that.
And the book waited way too long for these two to do anything.
And I get that it's the first of two - or three - books about these two. The end of this book obviously confirms we're getting another with these two.
But we barely got anything in this books in terms of their relationship, romance and sex wise.
Why did we have to wait to get a first kiss until they actually have sex, which is literally at basically the end of this? Before that we only get one hand job from Marsh given to Levi and that is it as far as sexual encounters between these two go in this whole book.
Just because they're starting out, doesn't mean we have to get next to nothing for a long time? Like I get that this is also about the cases they're working, but...again, I didn't care about those? And it of course isn't the time to really get to know someone, so we got no romance, no personal interactions, during those times and it was just so boring?
I wanted more of these two falling in love. I wanted a better balance between romance and plot. I wish there had been more focus on the romance than on the case. I'm sorry but I just didn't care about it, it didn't interest me, and so whenever it focused on it I had trouble focusing on the story.
I started to skim the story even, at the end, because I just didn't care about the plot.
I did round up for the end part when Marsh and Levi finally have sex, mainly because I felt the chemistry between them then, and it really captured my interest, which is a good thing going into the second book.
Which I will read, because I am invested now in Marsh and Levi and want so much more of them together.
But as first installments go, this was just lacking in many areas.
Why does it feel like more and more, authors are pulling away from writing sex scenes? Or maybe it's just the way some of these stories are written. If the interactions, the chemistry, the romance, the plot, etc, all worked together, the sex maybe wouldn't feel as needed and I wouldn't be too bummed that we get so little.
But when the romance is taking a lot time to heat up, and the interactions aren't as much as I'd like, lending to the lack of romance early on, it just feels like...ridiculous to also lay off any sex until late in the book.
Like are we not here for the romance? Are we not here for intense, hot sex scenes between two people who are falling in love/are in love? Why do we get more about an FBI case that is a snoozefest than the romance?
Didn't work well in this book. There wasn't a good balance.
It gets props for the times we did get good interactions between our MC's - even though they felt few and far between until the end - and for keeping my interest enough at the end to keep me wanting to read the second book in the series.
But it just lost a lot of points for not handling the romance/sex part as well as it could have, and giving us a boring plot with boring scenes attached to it.
Overall, not much of a win for me. But because it's this author and because she kept my interest near the end, I will be giving the second book a chance. Hopefully that second picks up a lot where this first one lacked. One can but hope🤞
June 11, 2022
3 Stars!
Good start to a new series.
I liked both MC's and thought they had a nice building of chemistry and lust going on only for it to be a little disappointing in the end. All that tension felt like foreplay and when it finally came time to give into it... just blah. I guess I just expected it to be steamier and not for it to be over so quickly. Just me?
Happy reading dolls! xx
Good start to a new series.
I liked both MC's and thought they had a nice building of chemistry and lust going on only for it to be a little disappointing in the end. All that tension felt like foreplay and when it finally came time to give into it... just blah. I guess I just expected it to be steamier and not for it to be over so quickly. Just me?
Happy reading dolls! xx
June 3, 2022
I have been dying to get my hands on Marsh's book for a LOOOOOOONG time, and diving into his story at last was one of the brightest spots of my past week. This book is everything I'd dream it would be ... fast-paced, emotional, and full of Reyne's signature banter and angst.
I adore Marsh. I've wanted to peel back his layers with every book he's quietly slid into, and Dead Draw capitalized on letting us into his head. Learning about Marsh's past and the emotional baggage he willingly ports around (seriously, this man is the living, breathing epitome of "Better to have loved and lost" and will drive you heartsick for him) was fascinating.
And then there's Levi ... I wasn't sure if this new partner would be able to measure up to the legend Reyne had created for Marsh, but Levi stole the show. He has his own history and by the time this book ended, I was screaming. Reyne has an evil ability to stop the story at the perfect point to elicit maximum angst and neediness. Prepare yourselves. This book hangover isn't one to be easily cured.
I adore Marsh. I've wanted to peel back his layers with every book he's quietly slid into, and Dead Draw capitalized on letting us into his head. Learning about Marsh's past and the emotional baggage he willingly ports around (seriously, this man is the living, breathing epitome of "Better to have loved and lost" and will drive you heartsick for him) was fascinating.
And then there's Levi ... I wasn't sure if this new partner would be able to measure up to the legend Reyne had created for Marsh, but Levi stole the show. He has his own history and by the time this book ended, I was screaming. Reyne has an evil ability to stop the story at the perfect point to elicit maximum angst and neediness. Prepare yourselves. This book hangover isn't one to be easily cured.
December 18, 2022
Thank you to Santa’s favorite distracted Elf for gifting this to me during the 2022 Secret Santa exchange! <3
===
DNF ~20%
Kind of shocking myself with this one as I think this is the first time I've had to DNF a Reyne book, but the dynamic really wasn't working for me. Marsh seemed like a cocky asshole, and I know he's a hacker, but there have been other hackers in Reyne's books that didn't squick me with invasions of privacy that just sort of felt gross. I also really needed the author to put literally ANY effort into the setup. It comes out of nowhere right in the second chapter, to the point where I thought I'd maybe missed a chapter or two because it was so random and really made no sense. Kind of a bummer.
===
DNF ~20%
Kind of shocking myself with this one as I think this is the first time I've had to DNF a Reyne book, but the dynamic really wasn't working for me. Marsh seemed like a cocky asshole, and I know he's a hacker, but there have been other hackers in Reyne's books that didn't squick me with invasions of privacy that just sort of felt gross. I also really needed the author to put literally ANY effort into the setup. It comes out of nowhere right in the second chapter, to the point where I thought I'd maybe missed a chapter or two because it was so random and really made no sense. Kind of a bummer.
June 10, 2022
For the life of me i couldn't get myself invested in the crime parts and i love crime stories. The relationship part was slightly better but could've used some thinking on it maybe?
June 29, 2024
"I love to flirt, almost as much as I love my stetsons"
We first meet Special Agent Emmitt Marshall, aka Marsh, in Silent Knight and I've been looking for his story ever since.
Marsh has been on the hunt of the group that ordered the bombing and subsequent killing of his mentor and dear friend. While following the money trail he came across Special Agent Levi Bishop's case, who is trying to bust the same unsub.
To lure their suspects, Marsh and Levi get married. But selling the realness of the marriage means living together and meeting the in-laws. Unbeknownst to the other, they both start feeling more towards each other, but both fell that they could not divulge their feelings.
While the trafficker's story-line was action-thrilling, the tender moments between the men were enjoyable.
The book ends with a big bang, with Brax & Holt joining the fold. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, wondering how Layla Reyne will untie the knot she made with this massive mess.
The perfect cowboy and the imperfect widow dad turning fake play to reality!
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
Part of the Perfect Play Series and must be read in order:
June 6, 2022
This read has aspects I love and don’t like lol. Suspense and slow burn aren’t my favorites, sexual attraction and tension on the other I enjoy deeply.
CyberAgent Emmitt Marshall and Special Agent Levi Bishop their ways collide during a mutual case. They recognize something in each other.
Marsh has the key to resolving Levi’s struggle, as a widower raising his son David, and his debts. To get progress or even solve the case they are both on, they have to get married. Okay, no sooner said than done. You get what tension this will give.
The author did an amazing job with the various lines. It’s complicated and intriguing, even though I lost the clue sometimes I kept reading on, hoping for some lightbulbs.
It’s a first of a series and that was palpable, the whole foundation of this story is written on that concept.
I loved the main characters, there’s so much more to know about them. While this isn’t my favorite genre and I got off the track more than once because my brain can’t handle too many characters or different cases, it was an absolutely intense and intriguing story.
Overall a well-articulated, suspenseful, full of tension, super slow burn, entertaining, and captivatingly written story!
A first of a series, I’ll keep it at this one, I always forget I'm not a fan of series.
CyberAgent Emmitt Marshall and Special Agent Levi Bishop their ways collide during a mutual case. They recognize something in each other.
Marsh has the key to resolving Levi’s struggle, as a widower raising his son David, and his debts. To get progress or even solve the case they are both on, they have to get married. Okay, no sooner said than done. You get what tension this will give.
The author did an amazing job with the various lines. It’s complicated and intriguing, even though I lost the clue sometimes I kept reading on, hoping for some lightbulbs.
It’s a first of a series and that was palpable, the whole foundation of this story is written on that concept.
I loved the main characters, there’s so much more to know about them. While this isn’t my favorite genre and I got off the track more than once because my brain can’t handle too many characters or different cases, it was an absolutely intense and intriguing story.
Overall a well-articulated, suspenseful, full of tension, super slow burn, entertaining, and captivatingly written story!
A first of a series, I’ll keep it at this one, I always forget I'm not a fan of series.
June 21, 2024
Marsh and Levi’s story was immediately captivating ...and I'm already hoping to find book 2 or the audio. This story contained the perfect mix of action, suspense, with wonderful, likeable characters, a marriage of convenience which I was happy to see turned out to be so much more. Both Levi and Marsh are determined not to fall for each other yet still to be totally failing at it. Levi is still in love with his late wife, the mother of his son, David. It said something special about Levi's character as a human being that she’s very much not forgotten by either himself or David.
The suspense plot really drives this story, yet there are wonderful moments between Levi and Marsh too. They're getting to know each other, but they don't forget what their job is or why they are together. They’re both very good at those jobs...but they are and have been for a long time in love with each other...and now they are legally married as a cover for their jobs... but their hearts are saying it's so much more.
Levi’s family was wonderful and the growing friendship between David and Marsh was perfect. Both men bring a strong network of friends with them, and that factors into the story as well. The way the author worked the chess theme that started with games between Marsh and David, and then grows into a dangerous threat was clever. The action is tense and realistic, and the danger feels very real, and the narrator, Christian Leatherman, did a fantastic job with the voices. The story would have received 5 stars, but it lost a half-star because I felt the ending was a just bit too abrupt. I know it was to encourage us to buy, borrow or steal, the second installment...and it worked...at least for me:)
The suspense plot really drives this story, yet there are wonderful moments between Levi and Marsh too. They're getting to know each other, but they don't forget what their job is or why they are together. They’re both very good at those jobs...but they are and have been for a long time in love with each other...and now they are legally married as a cover for their jobs... but their hearts are saying it's so much more.
Levi’s family was wonderful and the growing friendship between David and Marsh was perfect. Both men bring a strong network of friends with them, and that factors into the story as well. The way the author worked the chess theme that started with games between Marsh and David, and then grows into a dangerous threat was clever. The action is tense and realistic, and the danger feels very real, and the narrator, Christian Leatherman, did a fantastic job with the voices. The story would have received 5 stars, but it lost a half-star because I felt the ending was a just bit too abrupt. I know it was to encourage us to buy, borrow or steal, the second installment...and it worked...at least for me:)
August 14, 2022
Basically surreal
July 21, 2022
This was my attempt at giving this author another shot after bailing out on her debut series. Unfotunately, it will still be a 'no' for me and Layla Reyne.
It's only been a week and I can barely remember why I didn't like this, so a few quick thoughts:
- The trope: It was like the author was actively trying to keep me from suspending my disbelief. The set-up for the marriage of convienience is so thin, it breaks when you look at it sideways.
- The smut is just not that good, tbh.
- I hadn't realized this was part of a bigger universe. As is basically every LEO/Military type of book on the market currently. At least it feels like that. And I don't want to be forced to read a bajillion books I'm not interested in.
Can't recommend.
It's only been a week and I can barely remember why I didn't like this, so a few quick thoughts:
- The trope: It was like the author was actively trying to keep me from suspending my disbelief. The set-up for the marriage of convienience is so thin, it breaks when you look at it sideways.
- The smut is just not that good, tbh.
- I hadn't realized this was part of a bigger universe. As is basically every LEO/Military type of book on the market currently. At least it feels like that. And I don't want to be forced to read a bajillion books I'm not interested in.
Can't recommend.
July 14, 2022
I've given this a B- at AAR, so 3.5 stars founded up
Layla Reyne begins a new romantic suspense series with Dead Draw, in which two FBI agents who turn out to be working the same case from different angles enter into a marriage of convenience so that they can continue to work it under the radar after an operation goes badly wrong. MoC is one of my favourite tropes in historicals, but it’s less easy to pull off in contemporaries (unless it’s in a Harlequin Presents novel!) – and quite honestly, I didn’t buy the reasons for it here. But I decided to go with it – I know I’m in for complicated, fast-paced and doesn’t-always-make-sense in a Layla Reyne book, but the characters sounded interesting and she’s always very readable so I parked my suspension-of-disbelief hat by the door and dove in.
Special Agent Levi Bishop is furious when the raid he’d organised to bring down a people trafficking organisation is screwed up. That’s eighteen months of gruelling work out the window, not to mention ten victims snatched out from under his nose, thanks to unwanted interference by Special Agent Emmitt Marsh. Marsh has been hunting down the terrorists who murdered his best friend and mentor some three years earlier, and had established their links to human trafficking and to Levi’s case; but in trying to get to someone higher up in the organisation, he inadvertently tipped them off.
Needing to find a way not only to atone for his screw-up, but also to continue to work the case and collaborate with Levi’s team, Marsh hatches a plan which will mean he can do just that. A day later, he tracks Levi down to a San Francisco restaurant and proposes they get married; it’s not against the rules and it means that Marsh will be able to keep tabs on the case unofficially. To say Levi is stunned is an understatement, but he also recognises something of a kindred spirit in the handsome cowboy, a man who, like him is tired of the dead ends and the near missses, tired of the relentless pace and the long hours. As a widower and single parent drowning in debt and worried he’s failing his teenaged son, Levi has a lot on his plate – and Marsh’s offer of money in exchange for Levi marrying him is most definitely tempting. As is Marsh himself. But… it’s a ridiculous idea. Isn’t it?
Well, yes, it sort of is – I never quite understood why they had to get married – but the chemistry between the pair is evident from the moment they meet and the slow-burn that follows is worth getting past that unlikely plot point.
As in most of the books I’ve read by this author, the mechanics of the case/suspense plot are quite complicated and it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of who is who and how everything relates to everything else. The main thing is that Levi’s traffickers are linked to Marsh’s terrorists and the two men are pursuing the same goals – preventing more women being trafficked, flushing out the terrorists and bringing the operation down altogether. There’s also a secondary case Marsh is assigned by the Special Agent in Charge (who might as well have a flashing neon sign over his head saying “dodgy bastard”) which turns out to be much more than a side issue, and I did like the way it’s worked in to the main plotline.
On the whole, Dead Draw balances the plot and the romance pretty well, although as this is book one of a trilogy, there’s no HEA – but the romance does end on a strong HFN with the promise of more. Levi and Marsh are likeable, complex and flawed characters, both with significant baggage, which is to be unexpected given their ages (Levi is thirty-eight, Marsh, forty-six). Prickly, sharp-tongued Levi lost his wife to cancer two years earlier and is still grieving while trying to cope with the demands placed on him by his job and with being a father to his fourteen-year-old son David. He’s a good dad, but he feels like he’s failing David, and also worries about how he will react when Levi is ready to move on and perhaps make a life with someone else. Marsh is flirty and charming and confident, but has a habit of falling for men who are emotionally unavailable, so Levi is his catnip and he knows he should steer well clear. But the more he gets to know Levi, to see the man who is so in need of someone to lean on sometimes, the more he wants to be that someone. Their arrangement was only ever meant to be temporary, but Marsh hadn’t counted on feeling so at home with Levi and David – on finding a home with them – and he can’t help himself from falling hard, even though he knows he’s setting himself up for a world of hurt.
The romance has the feel of a slow burn and the author builds the sexual tension really well, with lots of longing looks and glancing touches all contributing to the growing heat between the two men. When they do finally give in to their attraction I appreciated that Marsh makes it absolutely clear that he isn’t pushing Levi to move past his grief, or expecting (or wanting) to replace his wife, but rather, he’s offering to help lighten the load, just for a little while. I was also really pleased that one of the few people in on the truth about their marriage is David and that Levi and Marsh don’t lie to him; I also liked the way David and Marsh connect through their love of chess.
On the downside, I had a real problem with the way Marsh goes about suggesting to Levi that they get married. In fact, he doesn’t really suggest it – he turns up at the restaurant where Levi and his late wife “toasted their vows with friends and family” sixteen years earlier (so I infer it’s his anniversary) and tells Levi his hacking has got him all sorts of information about him, from his financial situation to his sexual preferences, and the way I read it, he all but blackmails him!
“You wouldn’t.” He was out as pansexual, but he’s rather not have the details of his sex life combed through by a stranger, or worse, leaked to the wrong person.
“I won’t if you marry me.”
If that’s supposed to be funny – it isn’t. Not cool, Marsh.
Then there’s Levi’s mother, who meddles far too much in his love life (setting him up when he clearly doesn’t want to be and pushing him to get back out there) and some sort of weird family competition between his mother and aunt, who it seem have made it their mission to one-up each other at family weddings, which felt ridiculous and completely unnecessary.
I had a few smaller niggles as well (again, there’s an over-reliance on the genius hacker who can save the world with a few keystrokes), but as I’ve said before, Layla Reyne spins a good yarn, her stories move along at a swift pace and there’s plenty of action and steam. They’re like TV shows in book form, and sometimes, reading about hot FBI agents and sexy cowboy hackers running around and putting down the bad guys is just what the doctor ordered. I enjoyed Dead Draw in spite of my reservations, and will be picking up book two, Bad Bishop, when it’s released later this year.
Layla Reyne begins a new romantic suspense series with Dead Draw, in which two FBI agents who turn out to be working the same case from different angles enter into a marriage of convenience so that they can continue to work it under the radar after an operation goes badly wrong. MoC is one of my favourite tropes in historicals, but it’s less easy to pull off in contemporaries (unless it’s in a Harlequin Presents novel!) – and quite honestly, I didn’t buy the reasons for it here. But I decided to go with it – I know I’m in for complicated, fast-paced and doesn’t-always-make-sense in a Layla Reyne book, but the characters sounded interesting and she’s always very readable so I parked my suspension-of-disbelief hat by the door and dove in.
Special Agent Levi Bishop is furious when the raid he’d organised to bring down a people trafficking organisation is screwed up. That’s eighteen months of gruelling work out the window, not to mention ten victims snatched out from under his nose, thanks to unwanted interference by Special Agent Emmitt Marsh. Marsh has been hunting down the terrorists who murdered his best friend and mentor some three years earlier, and had established their links to human trafficking and to Levi’s case; but in trying to get to someone higher up in the organisation, he inadvertently tipped them off.
Needing to find a way not only to atone for his screw-up, but also to continue to work the case and collaborate with Levi’s team, Marsh hatches a plan which will mean he can do just that. A day later, he tracks Levi down to a San Francisco restaurant and proposes they get married; it’s not against the rules and it means that Marsh will be able to keep tabs on the case unofficially. To say Levi is stunned is an understatement, but he also recognises something of a kindred spirit in the handsome cowboy, a man who, like him is tired of the dead ends and the near missses, tired of the relentless pace and the long hours. As a widower and single parent drowning in debt and worried he’s failing his teenaged son, Levi has a lot on his plate – and Marsh’s offer of money in exchange for Levi marrying him is most definitely tempting. As is Marsh himself. But… it’s a ridiculous idea. Isn’t it?
Well, yes, it sort of is – I never quite understood why they had to get married – but the chemistry between the pair is evident from the moment they meet and the slow-burn that follows is worth getting past that unlikely plot point.
As in most of the books I’ve read by this author, the mechanics of the case/suspense plot are quite complicated and it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of who is who and how everything relates to everything else. The main thing is that Levi’s traffickers are linked to Marsh’s terrorists and the two men are pursuing the same goals – preventing more women being trafficked, flushing out the terrorists and bringing the operation down altogether. There’s also a secondary case Marsh is assigned by the Special Agent in Charge (who might as well have a flashing neon sign over his head saying “dodgy bastard”) which turns out to be much more than a side issue, and I did like the way it’s worked in to the main plotline.
On the whole, Dead Draw balances the plot and the romance pretty well, although as this is book one of a trilogy, there’s no HEA – but the romance does end on a strong HFN with the promise of more. Levi and Marsh are likeable, complex and flawed characters, both with significant baggage, which is to be unexpected given their ages (Levi is thirty-eight, Marsh, forty-six). Prickly, sharp-tongued Levi lost his wife to cancer two years earlier and is still grieving while trying to cope with the demands placed on him by his job and with being a father to his fourteen-year-old son David. He’s a good dad, but he feels like he’s failing David, and also worries about how he will react when Levi is ready to move on and perhaps make a life with someone else. Marsh is flirty and charming and confident, but has a habit of falling for men who are emotionally unavailable, so Levi is his catnip and he knows he should steer well clear. But the more he gets to know Levi, to see the man who is so in need of someone to lean on sometimes, the more he wants to be that someone. Their arrangement was only ever meant to be temporary, but Marsh hadn’t counted on feeling so at home with Levi and David – on finding a home with them – and he can’t help himself from falling hard, even though he knows he’s setting himself up for a world of hurt.
The romance has the feel of a slow burn and the author builds the sexual tension really well, with lots of longing looks and glancing touches all contributing to the growing heat between the two men. When they do finally give in to their attraction I appreciated that Marsh makes it absolutely clear that he isn’t pushing Levi to move past his grief, or expecting (or wanting) to replace his wife, but rather, he’s offering to help lighten the load, just for a little while. I was also really pleased that one of the few people in on the truth about their marriage is David and that Levi and Marsh don’t lie to him; I also liked the way David and Marsh connect through their love of chess.
On the downside, I had a real problem with the way Marsh goes about suggesting to Levi that they get married. In fact, he doesn’t really suggest it – he turns up at the restaurant where Levi and his late wife “toasted their vows with friends and family” sixteen years earlier (so I infer it’s his anniversary) and tells Levi his hacking has got him all sorts of information about him, from his financial situation to his sexual preferences, and the way I read it, he all but blackmails him!
“You wouldn’t.” He was out as pansexual, but he’s rather not have the details of his sex life combed through by a stranger, or worse, leaked to the wrong person.
“I won’t if you marry me.”
If that’s supposed to be funny – it isn’t. Not cool, Marsh.
Then there’s Levi’s mother, who meddles far too much in his love life (setting him up when he clearly doesn’t want to be and pushing him to get back out there) and some sort of weird family competition between his mother and aunt, who it seem have made it their mission to one-up each other at family weddings, which felt ridiculous and completely unnecessary.
I had a few smaller niggles as well (again, there’s an over-reliance on the genius hacker who can save the world with a few keystrokes), but as I’ve said before, Layla Reyne spins a good yarn, her stories move along at a swift pace and there’s plenty of action and steam. They’re like TV shows in book form, and sometimes, reading about hot FBI agents and sexy cowboy hackers running around and putting down the bad guys is just what the doctor ordered. I enjoyed Dead Draw in spite of my reservations, and will be picking up book two, Bad Bishop, when it’s released later this year.
September 22, 2022
4.5 stars
June 19, 2024
(I received an ARC for this book)
This book ends on a cliffhanger!
Trigger Warnings include:
violence; trafficking; off-page death of a former spouse; instances and/or discussion of homophobia; and instances and/or discussion of depression and PTSD.
“If I believed in fate…”
“Don’t most cowboys?”
“If you’re not careful, Agent Bishop, this one might start to.”
I had an instant bond with Marsh, and my love for him only grew! Levi is a single dad, struggling to stay afloat after the loss of his wife. He’s buried in debt, in grief, in work. After accidentally ruining years of Levi’s work towards a very important raid, Marsh comes to him with a proposition. They should get married. Simple really. Marsh helps Levi pay off his debt, and Levi helps him with a case he’s on. Makes sense since their cases are connected. They’re essentially strangers, so you can imagine how cute and adorable this starts. But that sexual tension and undeniable attraction is absolutely instant! Marsh was never hesitant to take care of Levi. Because he wanted to, never because he needed to. Levi is such a great dad, and I was so excited to see what Marsh brought to that dynamic. And I was not disappointed! There was lots of giggling, especially when it came to Marsh and that mouth of his. There was also a lot of random tears. There’s a lot of pain and suffering between them, healing too. Many emotions that I related to in some way. There was also gay all over this book, and I loved every second of it. It was inclusive, appropriate, educational. By chapter three I was completely and totally sucked in! By chapter 5, I wanted to hug the both of them. By chapter 28 I knew for certain that I was giving this book five stars. Marsh and Levi were constantly making me swoon. Because of who they were, how they were. And then add in the way they were with each other, and I was a goner! It’s not quite a happy ending, or a cliffhanger. But it is a warm comforting hug. For Levi and Marsh, and for the readers. Lord knows we need one! SO excited for the next one!
(I’m adding this for my own future reference, and for anyone else who needs the confirmation: there is in fact lube involved!)
My Favorite Quotes:
• “You get me. You’re tired too.”
• “Time to cowboy up, Agent Bishop.”
• “I love to flirt almost as much as I love my Stetsons.”
• “I will have your back, and I won’t leave you behind.”
• ‘If Marsh had thought Levi’s soft smile was attractive, his cocky smirk was all kinds of sinful.’
• “If I’m your type, you’re mine, dangerously so, and neither of us can afford to lose sight of what matters here.”
• “You give and give, Marsh, but when do you ever ask for what you need?”
• “Let this be home for you for a little while.”
• “Ask, baby, and I’ll give you what you need.”
• “Is that what you needed? Or is this? Ask for it.”
• “It’s about what you need.”
• “If you hear some grunts from the guest bathroom, rest assured, baby, you gave me what I needed too.”
• “Just want to hold you. Feel the warmth of you.”
• “Before we go there, we need to have a conversation about where this goes. Where your heart is and who it’s with if I’ve got any chance of salvaging my own.”
• “Me and my heart are right here. Where are you and yours?”
• “Not Jesus, just Bishop, and I’ll take that as a yes.”
• “I want to feel your lips against mine when you tell me to come.”
7/10 Dirty Birdy
9/10 Marriage of Convenience
8/10 Slow Burn
10/10 Series
This is my review for Bad Bishop
This is my review for King Hunt
This is my review for Perfect Play
This book ends on a cliffhanger!
Trigger Warnings include:
violence; trafficking; off-page death of a former spouse; instances and/or discussion of homophobia; and instances and/or discussion of depression and PTSD.
“If I believed in fate…”
“Don’t most cowboys?”
“If you’re not careful, Agent Bishop, this one might start to.”
I had an instant bond with Marsh, and my love for him only grew! Levi is a single dad, struggling to stay afloat after the loss of his wife. He’s buried in debt, in grief, in work. After accidentally ruining years of Levi’s work towards a very important raid, Marsh comes to him with a proposition. They should get married. Simple really. Marsh helps Levi pay off his debt, and Levi helps him with a case he’s on. Makes sense since their cases are connected. They’re essentially strangers, so you can imagine how cute and adorable this starts. But that sexual tension and undeniable attraction is absolutely instant! Marsh was never hesitant to take care of Levi. Because he wanted to, never because he needed to. Levi is such a great dad, and I was so excited to see what Marsh brought to that dynamic. And I was not disappointed! There was lots of giggling, especially when it came to Marsh and that mouth of his. There was also a lot of random tears. There’s a lot of pain and suffering between them, healing too. Many emotions that I related to in some way. There was also gay all over this book, and I loved every second of it. It was inclusive, appropriate, educational. By chapter three I was completely and totally sucked in! By chapter 5, I wanted to hug the both of them. By chapter 28 I knew for certain that I was giving this book five stars. Marsh and Levi were constantly making me swoon. Because of who they were, how they were. And then add in the way they were with each other, and I was a goner! It’s not quite a happy ending, or a cliffhanger. But it is a warm comforting hug. For Levi and Marsh, and for the readers. Lord knows we need one! SO excited for the next one!
(I’m adding this for my own future reference, and for anyone else who needs the confirmation: there is in fact lube involved!)
My Favorite Quotes:
• “You get me. You’re tired too.”
• “Time to cowboy up, Agent Bishop.”
• “I love to flirt almost as much as I love my Stetsons.”
• “I will have your back, and I won’t leave you behind.”
• ‘If Marsh had thought Levi’s soft smile was attractive, his cocky smirk was all kinds of sinful.’
• “If I’m your type, you’re mine, dangerously so, and neither of us can afford to lose sight of what matters here.”
• “You give and give, Marsh, but when do you ever ask for what you need?”
• “Let this be home for you for a little while.”
• “Ask, baby, and I’ll give you what you need.”
• “Is that what you needed? Or is this? Ask for it.”
• “It’s about what you need.”
• “If you hear some grunts from the guest bathroom, rest assured, baby, you gave me what I needed too.”
• “Just want to hold you. Feel the warmth of you.”
• “Before we go there, we need to have a conversation about where this goes. Where your heart is and who it’s with if I’ve got any chance of salvaging my own.”
• “Me and my heart are right here. Where are you and yours?”
• “Not Jesus, just Bishop, and I’ll take that as a yes.”
• “I want to feel your lips against mine when you tell me to come.”
7/10 Dirty Birdy
9/10 Marriage of Convenience
8/10 Slow Burn
10/10 Series
This is my review for Bad Bishop
This is my review for King Hunt
This is my review for Perfect Play
March 15, 2023
I’m sorry, what?!, an author should not be allowed to leave me hanging like that! And then make me wait MONTHS for the rest of the story. I feel like I’m being toyed with. These two are so perfect and they have to get their HEA, but apparently, I’ve angered the author gods and I’m being made to wait.
I don’t read a lot of mystery/crime romance, but I’m trying to expand my genres, and I’m so glad I tried it with this one. FBI Cyber crime-fighting is apparently my thing. Not to mention fake marriages, forced proximity, and a slow burn all tick my boxes. Oh, and a sexy nerdy cowboy and a floundering single dad, both out to rid the world of the corrupt. More of this, please!
“All you have to do is ask, Levi. Ask for what you need, and I’ll give it to you.”
Did I mention that these two are perfect!? They are each likable and endearingly flawed, and they both defy the stereotypes you might assign them. I’m also a big fan of the cranky teen, he’s a bit snarky, a bit sweet, and 100% a teenager.
“Here, Marsh.” He spread his arms wide, indicating the house around them.
“I need a partner here.” Then folded both hands over his heart. “And here.” [swoon]
I can’t wait to get to the end of their story, I just know I’m going to love it (and them, forever).
< ARC provided and this is my honest review >
I don’t read a lot of mystery/crime romance, but I’m trying to expand my genres, and I’m so glad I tried it with this one. FBI Cyber crime-fighting is apparently my thing. Not to mention fake marriages, forced proximity, and a slow burn all tick my boxes. Oh, and a sexy nerdy cowboy and a floundering single dad, both out to rid the world of the corrupt. More of this, please!
“All you have to do is ask, Levi. Ask for what you need, and I’ll give it to you.”
Did I mention that these two are perfect!? They are each likable and endearingly flawed, and they both defy the stereotypes you might assign them. I’m also a big fan of the cranky teen, he’s a bit snarky, a bit sweet, and 100% a teenager.
“Here, Marsh.” He spread his arms wide, indicating the house around them.
“I need a partner here.” Then folded both hands over his heart. “And here.” [swoon]
I can’t wait to get to the end of their story, I just know I’m going to love it (and them, forever).
< ARC provided and this is my honest review >
June 21, 2025
Give me all the Marsh and Levi, please and thank you! I loved all of their little romantic moments together that showed how connected they were. *Swoon*
2025 reread: still love it!
2025 reread: still love it!
August 31, 2023
I've given this a B for narration and content at AudioGals..
I’ve said before that Layla Reyne’s books can be hit or miss for me, so I was pleased to find that Dead Draw, the first book in her new Perfect Play series, was mostly a hit. It’s fast paced, with plenty of action and a steamy central romance, and although loosely tied to the Fog City series, and one of the principals appeared as a secondary character in her standalone novel, What We May Be, there are no overlapping story threads, so a new listener could start here with no problems.
Special Agent Emmett Marshall, a legal attaché with the FBI, has been working to bring down the group of terrorists responsible for the death of his best friend and mentor some three years earlier, but a serious mis-step sees him screwing up an FBI operation in the US. His intention had been to try to flush out the people funding the terrorists, but instead, he ends up sending them to ground and completely blowing eighteen months of hard graft put in by Special Agent Levi Bishop and his team, who have been hot on the trail of a group of people traffickers.
Marsh isn’t going to let this set-back stop him, but he needs an in with Bishop’s team as well as to find a way to atone for his screw-up. The trouble is, there isn’t a way for him to do either of those things legitimately, as he works in a completely different division of the FBI, so he comes up with an alternative plan. Tracking Levi down to a fancy San Francisco restaurant, Marsh sits himself down at Levi’s table – uninvited – and shocks the hell out of him by proposing they get married. Being Levi’s husband will enable him to keep tabs on the case and help with the investigation unofficially, and in return, he’s prepared to offer Levi a large enough sum of money that will alleviate his financial worries for the foreseeable future.
Levi lost his wife to cancer two years before, and he’s struggling both personally and financially. Being a single parent with a demanding job is tough, and although he’s a good dad, he constantly worries that he’s failing his fourteen-year-old son, David, and isn’t there for him enough. He’s deeply in debt thanks to medical bills; the final demands are piling up, the family car is in danger of repossession and it’s all utterly overwhelming. The handsome cowboy with the ever-present Stetson and the Texas drawl could be the answer to Levi’s prayers – financially, at least. And maybe in other ways as well…
Okay, so marriage of convenience plots are difficult to pull off in contemporary settings and I have no idea whether this premise is even vaguely plausible, but Levi and Marsh have chemistry up the wazoo from the off and the slow-burn romance that follows is worth suspending your disbelief for.
Layla Reyne is very good at writing books that feel like TV shows or movies; fast-moving and action-packed, featuring engaging principals with a nice line in banter, and secondary characters who are good foils for the leads. I admit that sometimes, her plots can feel overly complicated and difficult to follow, and there were times here I had to back up to figure something out, but the important thing is that the money trail shows that Marsh’s terrorists and Levi’s people traffickers are linked, and the two of them are determined to bring down the entire organisation. There’s a secondary plotline that kicks off when Marsh is assigned an identity-theft case by the SAC (we know he’s a bad guy because he’s a homophobic arsehole), which seems unrelated at first, and I liked the way it’s worked into the main plot.
Levi and Marsh are a likeable but damaged pair, both carrying emotional baggage that feels right considering their ages (Levi is thirty-eight, Marsh forty-six.) Levi has spent two years mourning the wife he loved deeply and worries about how it will affect his son when he decides to have a new relationship. He doesn’t think he’s quite there yet, but his mother certainly does and is one of those annoying ‘you need to get out there again’ types who keeps trying to set him up. Marsh is charming and flirtatious, but has a habit of falling for emotionally unavailable men, so Levi is exactly his type. Marsh knows from the outset that becoming involved with him is a bad idea, but the more time he spends with Levi and with David, and the more he gets to see behind Levi’s prickly exterior to the vulnerable man beneath, a man who is tired of fighting all the time who needs someone to share his burdens, even for a little while, the more Marsh wants to be that person, no matter that he’s risking a broken heart.
The author builds the attraction and sexual tension between the two men really well, with lots of longing looks and glancing touches that just add to the heat growing between them. I appreciated that when they do finally give into what they both want, Marsh makes it absolutely clear to Levi that he’s offering to help take the pressure off, just for a little while, and not asking for or expecting anything further.
The one thing I really didn’t like is the way Marsh goes about getting Levi to marry him. He turns up out of the blue, at the restaurant that was obviously special to Levi and his late wife and on his wedding anniversary – blithely announces he’s found out about Levi’s financial situation and his taste in porn, and implies he’ll drop it in the wrong ears if Levi doesn’t agree to his proposal! I think it’s meant to be playful – and the author makes it clear that Levi is out (he’s pansexual) – but I found it uncomfortable. Thankfully however, Ms. Reyne moves swiftly on and it’s never mentioned again, so I decided to move on, too. I had a few other niggles, though. As in other books by this author, there’s an over reliance on the genius hacker who can discover literally anything at the push of a button, and the competition between Levi’s mother and aunt, who have some kind of rivalry that involves one-upping each other at family weddings is just… weird and unnecessary.
Christian Leatherman has narrated a few of Layla Reyne’s books but this is the first time I’ve listened to him. He has a pleasant, slightly husky voice, and employs a variety of different character voices and accents to good effect, portraying the two leads distinctly and differentiating all the characters effectively throughout. Marsh’s Texas drawl encompasses his character perfectly – a big man with a big heart and a vulnerability he allows few to see – and I liked how he slowly rounds out Levi’s slightly deeper, clipped tones as he begins to unwind a little once he realises Marsh really is in his corner. Mr. Leatherman’s female voices are good, too, and the New York accent he gives one of the other team members sounded decent to my English ears! The emotional connection between Marsh and Levi comes through strongly, and I liked his interpretation of David, who is a believable fourteen-year-old, both on paper and in the performance. The one real criticism I have is that Mr. Leatherman has a tendency to put pauses in odd places in sentences and phrases; they’re not long pauses, it’s just that they’re in the wrong place, and this affects the rhythm of the speech. It didn’t take me out of the story or spoil my enjoyment to any great degree, but it’s definitely noticeable.
My reservations about both story and narration are fairly small ones, so I’m putting Dead Draw in the ‘recommend’ column. Please be aware, however, that this is book one in a series with an overarching plotline, so the story does not finish here. There’s a hopeful HFN for Marsh and Levi, but the bad guys aren’t done with them yet, and I’ll be back for book two, Bad Bishop, when it’s released later this year.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals .
I’ve said before that Layla Reyne’s books can be hit or miss for me, so I was pleased to find that Dead Draw, the first book in her new Perfect Play series, was mostly a hit. It’s fast paced, with plenty of action and a steamy central romance, and although loosely tied to the Fog City series, and one of the principals appeared as a secondary character in her standalone novel, What We May Be, there are no overlapping story threads, so a new listener could start here with no problems.
Special Agent Emmett Marshall, a legal attaché with the FBI, has been working to bring down the group of terrorists responsible for the death of his best friend and mentor some three years earlier, but a serious mis-step sees him screwing up an FBI operation in the US. His intention had been to try to flush out the people funding the terrorists, but instead, he ends up sending them to ground and completely blowing eighteen months of hard graft put in by Special Agent Levi Bishop and his team, who have been hot on the trail of a group of people traffickers.
Marsh isn’t going to let this set-back stop him, but he needs an in with Bishop’s team as well as to find a way to atone for his screw-up. The trouble is, there isn’t a way for him to do either of those things legitimately, as he works in a completely different division of the FBI, so he comes up with an alternative plan. Tracking Levi down to a fancy San Francisco restaurant, Marsh sits himself down at Levi’s table – uninvited – and shocks the hell out of him by proposing they get married. Being Levi’s husband will enable him to keep tabs on the case and help with the investigation unofficially, and in return, he’s prepared to offer Levi a large enough sum of money that will alleviate his financial worries for the foreseeable future.
Levi lost his wife to cancer two years before, and he’s struggling both personally and financially. Being a single parent with a demanding job is tough, and although he’s a good dad, he constantly worries that he’s failing his fourteen-year-old son, David, and isn’t there for him enough. He’s deeply in debt thanks to medical bills; the final demands are piling up, the family car is in danger of repossession and it’s all utterly overwhelming. The handsome cowboy with the ever-present Stetson and the Texas drawl could be the answer to Levi’s prayers – financially, at least. And maybe in other ways as well…
Okay, so marriage of convenience plots are difficult to pull off in contemporary settings and I have no idea whether this premise is even vaguely plausible, but Levi and Marsh have chemistry up the wazoo from the off and the slow-burn romance that follows is worth suspending your disbelief for.
Layla Reyne is very good at writing books that feel like TV shows or movies; fast-moving and action-packed, featuring engaging principals with a nice line in banter, and secondary characters who are good foils for the leads. I admit that sometimes, her plots can feel overly complicated and difficult to follow, and there were times here I had to back up to figure something out, but the important thing is that the money trail shows that Marsh’s terrorists and Levi’s people traffickers are linked, and the two of them are determined to bring down the entire organisation. There’s a secondary plotline that kicks off when Marsh is assigned an identity-theft case by the SAC (we know he’s a bad guy because he’s a homophobic arsehole), which seems unrelated at first, and I liked the way it’s worked into the main plot.
Levi and Marsh are a likeable but damaged pair, both carrying emotional baggage that feels right considering their ages (Levi is thirty-eight, Marsh forty-six.) Levi has spent two years mourning the wife he loved deeply and worries about how it will affect his son when he decides to have a new relationship. He doesn’t think he’s quite there yet, but his mother certainly does and is one of those annoying ‘you need to get out there again’ types who keeps trying to set him up. Marsh is charming and flirtatious, but has a habit of falling for emotionally unavailable men, so Levi is exactly his type. Marsh knows from the outset that becoming involved with him is a bad idea, but the more time he spends with Levi and with David, and the more he gets to see behind Levi’s prickly exterior to the vulnerable man beneath, a man who is tired of fighting all the time who needs someone to share his burdens, even for a little while, the more Marsh wants to be that person, no matter that he’s risking a broken heart.
The author builds the attraction and sexual tension between the two men really well, with lots of longing looks and glancing touches that just add to the heat growing between them. I appreciated that when they do finally give into what they both want, Marsh makes it absolutely clear to Levi that he’s offering to help take the pressure off, just for a little while, and not asking for or expecting anything further.
The one thing I really didn’t like is the way Marsh goes about getting Levi to marry him. He turns up out of the blue, at the restaurant that was obviously special to Levi and his late wife and on his wedding anniversary – blithely announces he’s found out about Levi’s financial situation and his taste in porn, and implies he’ll drop it in the wrong ears if Levi doesn’t agree to his proposal! I think it’s meant to be playful – and the author makes it clear that Levi is out (he’s pansexual) – but I found it uncomfortable. Thankfully however, Ms. Reyne moves swiftly on and it’s never mentioned again, so I decided to move on, too. I had a few other niggles, though. As in other books by this author, there’s an over reliance on the genius hacker who can discover literally anything at the push of a button, and the competition between Levi’s mother and aunt, who have some kind of rivalry that involves one-upping each other at family weddings is just… weird and unnecessary.
Christian Leatherman has narrated a few of Layla Reyne’s books but this is the first time I’ve listened to him. He has a pleasant, slightly husky voice, and employs a variety of different character voices and accents to good effect, portraying the two leads distinctly and differentiating all the characters effectively throughout. Marsh’s Texas drawl encompasses his character perfectly – a big man with a big heart and a vulnerability he allows few to see – and I liked how he slowly rounds out Levi’s slightly deeper, clipped tones as he begins to unwind a little once he realises Marsh really is in his corner. Mr. Leatherman’s female voices are good, too, and the New York accent he gives one of the other team members sounded decent to my English ears! The emotional connection between Marsh and Levi comes through strongly, and I liked his interpretation of David, who is a believable fourteen-year-old, both on paper and in the performance. The one real criticism I have is that Mr. Leatherman has a tendency to put pauses in odd places in sentences and phrases; they’re not long pauses, it’s just that they’re in the wrong place, and this affects the rhythm of the speech. It didn’t take me out of the story or spoil my enjoyment to any great degree, but it’s definitely noticeable.
My reservations about both story and narration are fairly small ones, so I’m putting Dead Draw in the ‘recommend’ column. Please be aware, however, that this is book one in a series with an overarching plotline, so the story does not finish here. There’s a hopeful HFN for Marsh and Levi, but the bad guys aren’t done with them yet, and I’ll be back for book two, Bad Bishop, when it’s released later this year.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals .
June 7, 2022
Once again, I found myself with a heck of a hangover after reading a Layla Reyne book. Her MMF What We May Be dazzled me for days, and characters from it appear in this book. It's not necessary to read What We May Be, or the Silent Knight, where the character of Marsh was introduced, to enjoy this book but it makes the story richer, in my opinion.
Marsh and Levi have chemistry you can reach out and touch, but they drag things out because they're sort of busy with a critical op, and because Levi's got a 14-year-old son who's not ready for his dad to be involved with anyone other than his late mother, so the story is a little bit of a tease. Okay a lot of a tease.
Think of it as edging.
Because it's plenty sexy, it just takes a while for them to act on all that chemistry. The action-adventure part kept me interested and on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A word of warning, though...it does end in a cliffhanger, much like Prince of Killers did. But...I do not care, I would have read it anyway, because I just can't get enough of these characters!
Marsh and Levi have chemistry you can reach out and touch, but they drag things out because they're sort of busy with a critical op, and because Levi's got a 14-year-old son who's not ready for his dad to be involved with anyone other than his late mother, so the story is a little bit of a tease. Okay a lot of a tease.
Think of it as edging.
Because it's plenty sexy, it just takes a while for them to act on all that chemistry. The action-adventure part kept me interested and on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A word of warning, though...it does end in a cliffhanger, much like Prince of Killers did. But...I do not care, I would have read it anyway, because I just can't get enough of these characters!
June 25, 2022
FBI thriller.
Adults negotiate work,
kids, pasts, sex. With guns.
Adults negotiate work,
kids, pasts, sex. With guns.
May 27, 2022
I liked this steadily paced moderately suspenseful story. Two MCs, Levi and Emmitt, despite meeting in somewhat bad circumstances grew on me as a couple. I enjoyed them as they got to know one another. This book is connected to the Madigan family, so when I figured exactly who Emmitt "Marsh" was I started getting into the story in earnest.
There were plenty of funny family moments, some steamy encounters and a fair amount of action that showed Emmitt and Levi working together to solve their cases. The investigative process was present and decently written. I enjoyed Levi's son David and his relationship with Emmitt. Overall, this was a good story with a bit of an awkward start that, once I got past it, introduced a nice new book couple to me.
There were plenty of funny family moments, some steamy encounters and a fair amount of action that showed Emmitt and Levi working together to solve their cases. The investigative process was present and decently written. I enjoyed Levi's son David and his relationship with Emmitt. Overall, this was a good story with a bit of an awkward start that, once I got past it, introduced a nice new book couple to me.
June 2, 2022
Oh how I love a well-done trope, and Layla Reyne brings it home with all the feels in this one. Not only do we get a fake marriage/marriage of convenience, we have a hot cowboy FBI cyber agent, a sweet widower with a difficult-to-please teenage son, and a harrowing case involving human trafficking and lots of explosive action. But the best explosion comes near the end of the story when the hot cowboy and his widower partner find that forever may indeed be doable.
Special Agent Emmitt Marshall, an agency hacker committed to bringing down the men behind the incident that killed his mentor, stumbles upon a connection to a human trafficking racket—and accidentally disrupts the takedown. To make up for it, he finagles his way into the good graces of Special Agent Levi Bishop, offering his services to help Levi get the leaders of the organization responsible. To do that, he proposes a fake marriage and a payoff of Levi’s personal debts, which have accumulated since the hospitalization and death of his wife several years before. Levi’s teen son is remarkably okay with the deal as long as it’s fake and as long as Emmitt teaches him all he knows about chess.
The story has many underlying heartwarming “family” moments—from actual caring touches and looks to teen snarky comments to moments when Levi simply needs a shoulder to lean on and Emmitt needs a hug. But above all, it is action adventure with an intriguing, exciting plot involving international finance and human trafficking, a mole in Levi’s FBI office, and a big ol’ cowboy who finds himself falling in love with a man who may be the one to love him in return.
The series will continue but there’s no cliff hanger, thankfully. I highly recommend it to all who love a good thriller with a bit of romance, a touch of angst, and a whole lot of action.
An ARC was provided through Gay Romance Reviews.
Special Agent Emmitt Marshall, an agency hacker committed to bringing down the men behind the incident that killed his mentor, stumbles upon a connection to a human trafficking racket—and accidentally disrupts the takedown. To make up for it, he finagles his way into the good graces of Special Agent Levi Bishop, offering his services to help Levi get the leaders of the organization responsible. To do that, he proposes a fake marriage and a payoff of Levi’s personal debts, which have accumulated since the hospitalization and death of his wife several years before. Levi’s teen son is remarkably okay with the deal as long as it’s fake and as long as Emmitt teaches him all he knows about chess.
The story has many underlying heartwarming “family” moments—from actual caring touches and looks to teen snarky comments to moments when Levi simply needs a shoulder to lean on and Emmitt needs a hug. But above all, it is action adventure with an intriguing, exciting plot involving international finance and human trafficking, a mole in Levi’s FBI office, and a big ol’ cowboy who finds himself falling in love with a man who may be the one to love him in return.
The series will continue but there’s no cliff hanger, thankfully. I highly recommend it to all who love a good thriller with a bit of romance, a touch of angst, and a whole lot of action.
An ARC was provided through Gay Romance Reviews.
June 7, 2022
3.5 Stars
Emmitt Marshall is someone we encountered in the "Fog City" Series as well as in the spin off stand alone "What We May Be". I've adored this cowboy since we first encounteres him and subsequently every time he came on page. Emmitt was nigh perfect but unfortunately for him, he's always been drawn to emotionally unavailable men.
Levi Bishop was a competent FBI agent, grieving widower and struggling single dad who was roped into Marsh's crazy scheme. Little did he know it would literally change his life.😂
This book had a great plot, great pacing, wonderful characters and solid writing like everything I've read from Layla Reyne so far. It also had great relationship building between Marsh and Levi with off the charts chemistry. I started and finished it in one day. It was that good.
I must say however, that this was super slow burn and had very little sexy times between our MCs.
Additionally , the story ends in a HFN/soft cliffy(in that, the events of this book were concluded but the overarching storyline remains unresolved) so bear that in mind before you start this.
All in all, although I was a bit stumped by the ending(I expected this to be a proper standalone - if I missed the memo then that's on me), this book was so well written that I'll be on pins and needles waiting for the next installation regardless.
***eARC Provided in Exchange for an Honest, Unbiased Review **
Emmitt Marshall is someone we encountered in the "Fog City" Series as well as in the spin off stand alone "What We May Be". I've adored this cowboy since we first encounteres him and subsequently every time he came on page. Emmitt was nigh perfect but unfortunately for him, he's always been drawn to emotionally unavailable men.
Levi Bishop was a competent FBI agent, grieving widower and struggling single dad who was roped into Marsh's crazy scheme. Little did he know it would literally change his life.😂
This book had a great plot, great pacing, wonderful characters and solid writing like everything I've read from Layla Reyne so far. It also had great relationship building between Marsh and Levi with off the charts chemistry. I started and finished it in one day. It was that good.
I must say however, that this was super slow burn and had very little sexy times between our MCs.
Additionally , the story ends in a HFN/soft cliffy(in that, the events of this book were concluded but the overarching storyline remains unresolved) so bear that in mind before you start this.
All in all, although I was a bit stumped by the ending(I expected this to be a proper standalone - if I missed the memo then that's on me), this book was so well written that I'll be on pins and needles waiting for the next installation regardless.
***eARC Provided in Exchange for an Honest, Unbiased Review **
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