Can two men from opposite sides of the tracks find love?
Colonel Liam Cobalt has it all. He is content being a successful colonel in the Army and a billionaire with enough money at his disposal to help others. It takes only one glimpse of Spencer Turner to change all that. When a headlong clash sets him back, he must rethink his strategy. Offering Spencer friendship instead of romance seems like a good idea even though he wants so much more.
Captain Spencer Turner grew up dirt poor. He has fought for everything he ever had and now he’s all about taking care of his younger brother. When Liam suggests “friends only”, Spencer accepts because there’s no way he can become involved with a rich man. Been there, done that. Besides, he’s got too much going on for anything else.
When a sinister enemy is hellbent on extortion, Spencer finds himself facing a no-win situation. Will Liam come to the rescue? And if he does, will Spencer accept his help? Two powerful men come together thinking they can keep it on a “friends only” level, but when the heat rises, is taking it slow the best course?
*While Taking It Slow can be enjoyed as a standalone, it is part of a series and couples from previous books are mentioned. * Code of Honor, Cobalt Security, and Out for Justice series are loosely connected.
Reese Knightley spends her time creating stories from the characters rattling around in her head. Her love of reading mystery, action and adventure, and fantasy books led to her love of writing. Reese works as a full time writer. She loves to hear from her readers.
This is the story of Spencer and Liam, who we have met before in the first three books. Their story is filled with a love that is guaranteed to curl your toes and keep you turning the pages to see what is going to happen next. Taking It Slow is the 4th of eight books in the Code of Honor series. Readers will be shown the lives of the men and women who deal with the dangers of the world we live in so that we may sleep in peace at night. These stories will make you feel that you are an actual part of the military unit, doing what is often a dangerous and thankless job, but trusting your "brothers in arms" will be there for you. The jobs these people in the series do are always top secret and it's vital that they remain that way. Their unit has missions that are usually always "off-the-books". They see the world we live in as being a truly dangerous place that often seems to be getting more dangerous every day. These soldiers and agents deal with those danger and strive to keep us safe. As an observer of their lives and jobs you will find joy and sadness, often bringing tears while making you stop and think how lucky we are to have people like them. The books in this series can easily be read as standalones but I recommend you start with book one and go from there as these men work as a unit and most of the time their stories overlap...and the main characters are sprinkled through all eight books making the series seem like one huge novel. Reese Knightly is an excellent writer, creating these stories with just the right amount of angst. Your only complaint will probably be like mine...they just end way to soon.
That was a huge improvement for the series, both in the relationship and also with the secondary plot.
It mostly focuses on Spencer and his family troubles, he's been paying dodgy council officials to stop them taking his much younger brother into foster care but the story morphs into a far bigger scam and ends up with both the FBI and CIA involved.
Liam Cobalt has been a strong personality throughout the interconnected world, so I was very happy to see him getting his HEA.
While things do get a tad "oh lawd, what next" ish, this is thankfully missing the sexual abuse threats and domestic violence we've seen previously.
There's still plenty of other random violence against the bad guys and yet more dead bodies piling up willy nilly mind.
But I didn't find this one had me groaning as much and I really liked Spencer and Liam together.
Reading taking it slow is like drinking a vanilla latte on a cozy evening. You know you need that caffeine to read and that hint of vanilla that warms up your heart. I love how Liam was so caring and willing to give Spencer his space and time to take it slow. Trust is not built within a day or two especially with Spencer who made an oath to himself to never date a rich guy ever again. Liam was rich and down to earth, loving and compassionate. Spencer was realistic and has a lot of self pride. All they need was time and two years was long enough for both of them to reach where they are.
3.75 stars This was a sweet romance, with a bit of military action and intrigue that’s all resolved pretty easily because these men are badarse and have connections everywhere. A very easy read for between books.
This had a compelling story from both MCs, great action scenes and evoked emotions; both of the romantic type from Liam and Spenser, as well as familial from Wesley and the twins.
It was great all around and the only reason I'm not giving it a 5-star rating is because of some minor typos and some continuity issues getting to the end
I must confess I grabbed this book because of the cover. 🙈 The story was compelling enough, so I decided to give it a shot.
It was a good read, the story was actually interesting in a general point of view, there was a romantic side and a military/mission side, I found myself more invested in the last one. The romanticism was lacking to me with the feelings having poor depth, the characters were interesting but there was something missing in them.
The writing was a little bit direct and sometimes confusing. There was a lack of descriptions and transitions, maybe that made the story lacking, dunno, but it didn't make me stop enjoying it.
8 books in this Epic Series - and more in several spin-off series. They are all interconnected by the MC's who work together but could probably be read as stand-alone, you would just miss a lot of the nuances of the secondary characters, who have had their own story or will have their own story. All the MC's keep popping up in each other's stories and I love them all!
I read the Out for Justice series and next is the Cobalt series, then Operation Justice Force. So many books, so many great MC's and so many enthralling stories.
A well-written novel with an interesting plot that dips into light suspense. The romance between the main characters is swoon worthy, the tension and chemistry palpable. Everything develops great, and I’m definitely interested in reading more.
This book’s stated as a stand-alone read, and while I kept up with this story’s arc easily, the large cast of characters and some of the world no doubt previously built and established was a little confusing at times. It would be beneficial to read the other books first I believe.
Spencer is struggling with his personal life in that he worries about his younger brother, Wesley, who’s still living with his drunk and addict mother. He couldn’t have Wesley with him because he is away on assignments most of the time and he is still a minor. His earnings are barely enough to support his mother’s life, his brother’s and his. He’s afraid that everything might end up worse.
Liam tried to move things further with Spencer before but Spencer doesn’t feel the same way. Now, he is trying to salvage even just the friendship. He’s hoping that Spencer would go for it.
As they start to spend more time together, they learn more about each other. They became real friends. Spencer starts to see the real Liam beneath the Colonel position and being a billionaire. He sees a man who helps whenever he can and however he can, a man who does not boasts about his rich status.
A story of second chances, age gap, poor-rich standards, being privileged, child abuse, and a LOVE that’s willing to be be patient, accepting and forgiving! I am in love with it! Congratulations Ms. Reese Knightley!
This was definitely my favourite of the Code of Honor Series so far. I thought this was an enjoyable read. I thought that Liam and Spencer were great together, and their chemistry was completely off the charts as well as hot as hell. Well when Spencer finally stopped being so stubborn where Liam is concerned. He had his reasons for pushing Liam away initially. Spencer has had a sh*tty f*cken upbringing and gives all his spare cash so his younger brother Wes doesn’t get taken away, even though their mother is sh*t. Spencer is working to pay two lots of expenses. Both him and Wes have to wait a few more years until Wes is 18 years old and can live with Spencer because Spencer is away a lot and Wes is too young to live by himself. Neither of them like the situation but it was the sh*tty hand they were dealt. Spencer has a chip on his shoulder where wealthy men are concerned as he had a bad experience with a rich boy in high school who treated him like sh*t and tried to control what he wore and how he spoke so that’s why he’s never allowed Liam in.
It doesn’t take Spencer long to realise that Liam is nothing like the a*sehole from high school and decided to let Liam slightly in and allowing them to become friends when Liam apologises for getting things so wrong between them, and Liam read the signals wrong. Liam is even there for Spencer’s little brother Wes when Spencer is on a mission. I really liked how Spencer and Liam were there for the Wes, and Liam’s second cousin’s who call him uncle. I can’t believe the sh*t Spencer had to put up with to keep Wes out of foster care. It wouldn’t be Infinity or Spencer’s team Fury without a full blown mission. I really enjoyed how Liam and Spencer’s relationship progressed but man is Spencer stubborn and hard headed about Liam’s wealth, and doesn’t want to be viewed as a charity case which Liam doesn’t but wants to provide Spencer and Wes with nice things that’s because of the type of guy he is. Not because he’s embarrassed of them but that he cares. I loved seeing that they finally came to an agreement where Liam spoiling Spencer and Wes is concerned. I’m looking forward to reading Dillon and Luke’s story next. I’d recommend this book, series, all the books in this universe and author to others.
The story started with Liam already having feelings for Spencer and it was unexpected. Liam is a colonel and Spencer is a Captain with a 14 year difference between them. They have had eyes for each other for two years. Liam finally decides to confess but Spencer blows him off [and not the good kind] by saying that he doesn't feel the same.
Spencer thinks that they come from very different circumstances for them to actually work out. But it's obvious that they are attracted to each other. Liam is literally quoting poetry on Spencer from chapter one *😅*.
Spencer is hot and cold the whole book. Even after they get together, he still thinks money defines it. To be honest there's not much I can tell about the character itself since the author didn't really put any quirks that stand out. It was all kind of bland and open.
ᴡʜʏ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ sᴛᴀʀs ᴛʜᴇɴ? 🌟
The answer is that I liked Wesley. I liked the story between Wesley and Spencer. They were good brothers. It was obvious how much Spencer cared about that kid. And with time how Liam comes to like him too.
This book had more a family dynamic than real mystery or thrill. Which was a total bummer. I was hoping for some action.
We met both Liam and Spencer in Maddox book, Liam being the commander of infinity and Spencer being Maddox best friend. We first saw some tension between the two in Elijah’s book and I knew there story was going to be good. Liam comes from money, his family is in the top 1 % but his rank in the military was all his hard work and dedication. Spencer grew up dirt poor with a terrible home life and feels him and Liam are from two different world and nothing between them would ever work so they settle for friendship. When Spencer ends up in a losing situation will he accept Liam’s help as a friend and not a charity case?
This book has so many elements if you are triggered by abuse or drug use, children in bad situations then beware going into this one. You see where Spencer comes from and what he’s fighting so hard to obtain. You see that Liam isn’t just a stereotypical rich boy using his parents money. I love the small snippets Reese puts in her books foreshadowing what’s to come for other characters. Since the beginning I’ve been really interested about what’s going on between between Zane who’s suppose to be straight and Isaac who’s not. I’m reading these in the order of which they were written so I’m trying to not to skip ahead but I’m enjoying seeing the small sides of these characters leading up to their books.
Take a deep breath, center yourself and hang on cause you’re in for a high-speed adventure with this book. I thought for sure my heart was going to give out on me at one point with all the surprises we encounter. “I took one look at you...and it may sound corny...but fireworks went off.” That’s how I feel about Liam and Spencer. They’re extraordinary and electric. I want to hear Liam’s colonel voice and I’m willing to be part of any event that involves Spencer, prank or not. I love their connection, their teams, and above all how fiercely they protect what’s theirs. One thing is for sure: when you read a Reese Knightley book, expect it to be an unforgettable, amazing, fast and fury-ous ride.
Coronel Liam Cobalt ha estado intentando acercarse a Spencer desde que lo translado al campamento donde trabaja, pero aunque Spencer se siente tambien atraido por el no le permite iniciar ningun tipo de contacto. Spencer se siente atraido por Liam desde la primera vez que lo vio, pero no quiere iniciar nada con el porque sabe que el hombre tiene mucho dinero y el fue traicionado una vez por un hombre con dinero y se prometio no volver estar con una persona asi. Sin embargo, Liam quiere ser su amigo (si es lo unico que quiere) y lo invita a estar los fines de semana en su casa, donde descubre la dificil vida que lleva intentando mantener a su hermano menor lejos de las casas de acogida y manteniendo dos casas. Se sabe que en algun momento la cosa va a explotar y Liam tiene miedo que Spencer no quiera contar con el para ayudarlo. Pero cuando Spencer es "secuestrado" Liam mueve cielo y tierra para localizarlo y ayudarlo a salir del problema en que se encuentra, que resulta ser nada mas y nada menos que una mision secreta para el FBI.
El libro como tal esta bastante bien escrito, lleno de accion de comienzo a fin, la relacion entre Liam y Spencer intentan hacerla de desarrollo lento, pero realmente es instan-love. En la historia todo tiene que ver con la familia, como mantener la familia junta y dar todo por la familia, en el caso de Spencer esta intentando mantener a su hermano con el todo lo que le permite su carrera militar, y Liam solo intenta que sus "primos" tengan una vida a salvo con el. Los otro personajes, aparecen poco y ayudan poco en el desarrollo de la trama, pero igual ves como aparecen nuevas "relaciones" que, me imagino, seran protaginistas de sus propios libros. Bueno, es el ultimo libro publicado de esta serie, asi que ahora a esperar las proximas publicaciones.
Exciting and tense with just enough of a cliffhanger to keep it suspenseful
I am really enjoying doing a binge read for this universe which has me jumping from series to series. While this is the fourth book in this series it is the tenth book overall in the universe. I really like the dynamics between all the units and the various personalities. And yes, I’m keeping a spreadsheet to keep everyone straight!
This book gives us the story of Liam, the units Colonel, and Spencer, a member of elite person special ops team Fury. Liam has wanted Spencer since they met but Spencer has a bad history with a rich guy and Liam is a billionaire thanks to inherited family money. Spencer comes from a rough background and is primarily concerned about his 14 year old brother. His mother is unreliable and a drunk and druggie. As a result of his concern and a previous foster situation which went very bad for Wesley, Spencer is caught up in a payola scheme paying increasingly larger a,punts of money to crooked CPS workers to keep Wesley out of foster care. Spencer doesn’t want Liam to know how bad things are and doesn’t want Liam involved. But because the attraction is so strong things eventually combust and he has to admit he can’t stay away. Several other elements of the story escalate the tension and suspense.
The author does a good job conveying the tension and the emotions and there’s plenty of action as well. Several elements of the crime stories are left up in the air including one huge twist which I can only assume will be dealt with a future book. Every one of these books has me staying up all night because I never want to put them down. It’s 5 am as I write this and I am having to talk myself into heading to bed rather than starting the next book!
Colonel Liam Cobalt has it all. He is content being a successful colonel in the Army and a billionaire with enough money at his disposal to help others. It takes only one glimpse of Spencer Turner to change all that. When a headlong clash sets him back, he must rethink his strategy. Offering Spencer friendship instead of romance seems like a good idea even though he wants so much more. Captain Spencer Turner grew up dirt poor. He has fought for everything he ever had and now he’s all about taking care of his younger brother. When Liam suggests “friends only”, Spencer accepts because there’s no way he can become involved with a rich man. Been there, done that. Besides, he’s got too much going on for anything else. When a sinister enemy is hellbent on extortion, Spencer finds himself facing a no-win situation. Will Liam come to the rescue? And if he does, will Spencer accept his help? Two powerful men come together thinking they can keep it on a “friends only” level, but when the heat rises, is taking it slow the best course?
I loved this story of the two men who couldn't resist each other but had to put aside pride and stubbornness in order get their HEA and a future together. Lots of emotions and feelings in this story. This was an MM story with mature content.
Taking It Slow is a heartfelt, slow-burn romance that pairs two strong, determined men from very different worlds. Colonel Liam Cobalt is wealthy, confident, and knows exactly what he wants—Spencer Turner. But Spencer, a captain who’s fought hard for everything in his life, has walls Liam will have to climb if he wants a shot.
I loved watching Liam patiently (and persistently) break through Spencer’s defenses, proving he’s not going anywhere. The added family dynamic was one of my favorite parts—learning about Spencer’s much younger brother and seeing Liam open his home to both of them was incredibly sweet. The way they seamlessly formed an instant family with Liam’s niece and nephew added so much warmth to the story.
With just the right blend of emotion, heat, and found-family vibes, this was a fantastic addition to the Code of Honor series. Liam and Spencer’s journey from guarded friendship to something much deeper was worth every page.
AMAZING! So Good! Can't put it down! Another Amazing Book From Reese!!! Never been deceive by her! Strongly suggested to read the previous book of the series if you want to have more aknowledge about the group co-partners/friends and the dynamic along them. this book is about how to let your guard down and let people in and let see the happy ending appear. This book contain a lot of action like the child protection security problem who is the principal one. but I think the other problem occuring in this book could have be more developping in action, like how they make the arrest of the second guys they were searching for at the start of the book. but in all, it was fantastic.
Enjoyable, fast paced book with a lot going on. You have the 2 MCs from opposite ends of the wealth spectrum trying to transition their relationship from friendship to more. I really liked Liam who was so down to earth and used his wealth to help those he cares about without flaunting it. His mansion was a security fortress to keep everyone safe. Then you have Spencer's younger brother who lived in a crappy situation with a loser drug addicted mother with Spencer trying to rescue him and finally accepting help from Liam. Of course there is danger from various bad guys and some hot sexy times. I liked how things worked out.
i am really liking these books and characters. In Taking it Slow we finally get to see what the deal is with Liam and Spencer. I thought that Spencer had good reasons for some of the things he was doing but with others i felt it was just his pride. Pride keeping him from taking care of Wesley better. He's in an elite force that takes bad guys down for a living. His friends and teams have helped other members with worse problems than what he was dealing with, he could have asked for help at any time. That was the only real beef i had with Spencer. Liam is a sweetheart and I liked getting to know him better in this story.
Colonel Liam Cobalt wants to be with Captain Spencer Turner more than anything. And if that means just being friends he'll settle, for the moment. Spencer has a real problem with Liam's money believing that he can't be with the Billionaire Colonel. With a dead beat mother and crooked CPS Agents threatening his kid brother he already has too much on his plate. As the friendship deepens, can Liam convince Spencer that his money means nothing compared to his love.
Infinity's Colonel finally gets his happy ever after. Another excellent Free Kindle Unlimited book in the Code of Honour series.
I saw one of my friends reading this and as it seems i am in a mood for MM romance this days i said to give it a go and i didn't regret it.
I loved both MC's characters, loved their chemistry & connection and how down to earth both of them were. Overall i definitely loved Spencer more than Liam but that's just personal preference. The plot was a bit over the top towards the end and a bit cheesy but overall and ok book.
This is my first book by this author but i will definitely ✔ more of her 📚.
I enjoyed this one. Nice to see and finally understand what was happening in the background between Liam and Spencer in the previous books. It's been interesting to line up the events in the Cobalt Security with the Code of Honor timeline. I get why they're separate series, but at the same time I kind of wish they weren't. I have noticed that a great many characters in this series seem to be...very excitable. I know Wesley is still a kid, but it reminds me of the way some of the younger MCs in other books have been...weirdly young for their actual age. Maybe I'm just jaded and old.
Liam looks like such a bada** in other books but is such a huge teddy bear! I lovd it! Did i want to hit spencer over the head like yeah
Who here would get a billionaire to be like omg ill take care of you just love me. Sir i will fake it as long as im taken care off. Jk jk lol i mean in this economy…..
I see where his hang ups were its so hard to deal with that financial imbalance in relationships especially if youve been forever in survival mode.
Loved this hopefully i get a wedding scene! Zane & Issac im waiting for you!!!
I could not put this book down. I love the story line and it had just the right amount of angst. My only complaint is that it finished to quick. I think I'll have to read all of Reese's books in this series and the Out for Justice series again for the 3rd time. I just love the characters and the story lines. I can't wait for the next installment of the book whichever series comes next!!
Another “hold onto your seat” action and sizzling love!
I’ve been waiting for this book since catching a glimpse of how hot the vibes are between Colonel Liam and Captain Spencer! It’s hard for Spencer, being born on the wrong side of the tracks, to trust Liam not to own him like merchandise. Liam wants a relationship with Spencer and accepts him as an independent man but he knows how wary Spencer is. Can’t wait until the next Code of Honor book!
All though I was happy to see the team's in action together and I loved that Liam got his man but there are to many holes. Every decision made by Spencer was just stupid in regards to Wesley, his mother and CPS. Then towards the end there is like a chunk of story missing. It was like a fluff story but lets just add some kind of plot that really couldn't come together. Now give us Logan's story with Macy! We need to get him back!!
Similar to others in the series, this one features a different military "kill" team and one of its members along with Liam, their colonel.
The underlying plot of crooked childrens' services employees added some dimension to the usual military ops and the rich man/poor man theme offered the most conflict between the two men.
Entertaining and a good listen for my morning walks and evening chill time.