Sloane Kennedy - The Truth Within

At twenty-five years old, Ford Cornell should have his whole life ahead of him but instead, the would-be artist is drowning in denial and just trying to get through each day. And the boy who once believed life was about following impossible dreams has finally come to accept that it’s really only about surviving a living nightmare… one of his own making.
But the bruises are becoming harder to hide. So is the truth…
They say bad things happen in threes.
For Sherriff Camden Wells, it’s more like fours… or fives… or dozens.
After an ugly lie destroys his career and the man he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with cuts him to the core with the ultimate betrayal, forty-year-old Cam is counting on his new job as sheriff of the quiet town of Pelican Bay to be the fresh start he needs. What he isn’t counting on is meeting a young man who makes him want to break all his own rules.
Ford’s gotten used to his role as his older brother’s punching bag and being his mother’s never-ending disappointment. They may not be the Cleavers but family is family and Ford’s seen up close and personal what happens when you don’t have anyone in your corner… or when you go against family.
Two men… one living a lie and one knocking down the walls of the closet he was forced to live in for so long. When one white-hot encounter leads to another and then another, Ford and Cam are forced to accept that their need for each other isn’t going away anytime soon. But being together means one will need to go against everything he believes in.
So which man will bend and which will break? And what will the truth ultimately reveal?

Comment: This is the third story in the Pelican Bay series by author Sloane Kennedy. Although there were some issues with the first two novels, I still feel somehow drawn into these books and that is why I've now read the third...

In this third novel, sheriff Camden Wells is new in town but he is already more than familiar with the problems that can be found at the Sullivan house, namely the way he often finds Ford with some bruising. He knows very well that is his brother Jimmy who does that, but if Ford doesn't present charges, there isn't much he can do. 

Ford knows everyone is aware of what is going on and this embarrasses him, but he still looks for his mother's approval and it is hard to have that when she seems to prefer Jimmy instead of him. Cam makes him want something different for his life but will he achieve it when he is too afraid of what his family will do if they find out he more than likes Cam?

As expected, this was a rather cheesy story from star to finish. Especially the finish, in fact Still, I feel compelled to read and see for myself what will happen, even more so when there's something about the vulnerability of the main characters when they are in the stages of falling in love. It's really too bad there are so many cheesy scenes instead of the longing and the tension I think would suit the story more.

Ford and Cam were featured in the last book, in a very secondary situation but it became clear they would end up being a couple. I actually don't mind these tactics of setting up couples from books to books and often the anticipation can do wonders for one's interest in that specific story. I've felt that in regards to these two because Ford was obviously a victim of bullying and domestic violence and Cam would be a figure of authority and I was eager to see this dynamic in a relationship. For the most part, this worked out well but the guys weren't certain of one another for some time and then, of course, it felt Ford was not on the right spot (mentally I mean) to start a romantic relationship.

I did like Ford, actually, I think the author portrayed his vulnerability quite well and his anguish at what he had felt as a teenager but was "forced" ignore and how the abuse made him feel weaker. I can, therefore, understand why Ford wasn't able to simply acknowledge Cam nor his feelings for him even though it is made to be obvious how visible the attraction between them is. I still think the author could have written things in a way that these things would be stronger but I'll have to accept her style is different.

Cam is a steadier person, he's older too so that can be a given, and he has been through situations that reinforced his own sense of self. I thought the plot would be a lot about Cam trying to protect Ford while battling his attraction to him and this was very much so, but it got to a point where this situation became repetitive and frustrating. Of course Ford would not be assertive in his attitude and this made it feel as if Cam was trying to have something while Ford didn't... in real life waiting for someone might be frustrating but life happens; in a book it can seem dull.

When things between them finally happen, I must say I wasn't that interested in their intimacy scenes... things weren't as romantically described as I imagined and there was still some contrast to what they were facing in their personal lives... I can't explain it properly, but there were so many other things to deal with, problems, conflicts, past situations which affected both protagonists that everything felt like a pile of issues, which when added to several secondary characters/situations made the book seem vague, as a matter of fact! I wish the romance had had more tension and more scenes between them, both before and after they become intimate.

At a certain point, the most complicated issues get solved, the HEA seems imminent and several secondary situations play out or are finally dealt with. Still, despite all this, the very end is increased even further on cheesiness by having two more issues with a lot of emotional relevance happening and Cam and Ford somehow managing all that. I mean, it was great to see them together and having common goals in the community but...very unlikely too. One of those cases where, perhaps, less is more.

Grade: 6/10

Sloane Kennedy - Sanctuary Found

When his stellar military career comes to an abrupt and terrible end, thirty-two-year-old Maddox Kent returns to the town he never planned to step foot into again, hoping to mend the rift he himself caused with the brother he left behind. But coming home means facing some hard truths about himself and his actions. When he has the chance to start making amends by helping his brother with the wildlife sanctuary he runs, Maddox is thrown another curveball when a stranger appears...
For twenty-one-year-old Isaac, Pelican Bay is only supposed to be a stopping point on the trek from San Francisco to New York. With his little brother, Newt, in tow, Isaac is just looking to make things right by returning something of value to a person he wronged. But "getting lost" in the next big city proves to be a problem when the brutal Minnesota winter claims Isaac's car and strands him and Newt at the animal sanctuary. When the owners of the place offer him a job, a desperate Isaac agrees, despite the presence of a man Isaac instinctively knows could be his downfall...
Nothing about Isaac makes sense to Maddox. Not his piercings or makeup or flashy clothes. And most certainly not the snarky mouth that doesn't match the vulnerability Maddox sees in the younger man's eyes. But one thing does make sense to the hardened former soldier. Isaac is running from something, and Maddox's gut is telling him not to let Isaac and little Newt go until he can ferret out the truth.
But having Isaac around means trying to make sense of something else Maddox isn't expecting... his own body's response to the beautiful younger man. Aside from their explosive chemistry, nothing about the straitlaced soldier and the secretive misfit works.
But maybe that's exactly why it does...

Comment: This is the second installment in the Pelican Bay series, whose first book I had read last year. I liked that one enough to want to try the next but I've found some of the issues I liked less to be repeated here, which leads me to conclude it's simply the writer's style.

In this second story, the focus is on Maddox "Mad", the brother of Dallas (hero book #1) and Isaac, the young man who showed up at the animal shelter with his much younger brother at the end of the other book.

Isaac tracked down Nolan to give him back his violin and he plans on moving on with his brother, since the man their mother was with wants custody, for money issues. Isaac knows he technically kidnapped his brother, but he did it for the best of reasons, although he feels he can't stop to rest. He has done what he had to in order to feed them, but he is tired. Finding the shelter was meant to be a short stop but the guys he finds there start becoming family, especially Mad...

After a wary first meet, Mad finds himself more and more captivated by Isaac and while battling PTSD he feels a part of him can only rest if he tries his best to help Isaac and the little kid. Things aren't as easy but as time goes by they find themselves getting closer...but what will happen when the past catches up with them?

Having read the first book and now this one, what comes to mind is the fact there is a slight taste of cheesiness in the author's style. This doesn't mean the stories are only fluff or silliness, no, but I would have liked certain things to happen in a less sugary way. I'm specifically thinking about the romance, which feels too simple, just like the other one was. Perhaps I could even dare to say that the dynamics between Mad and Isaac didn't always seem convincing they were a m/m couple...or perhaps it's just me.

This is to say that the romance does have some development that feels too easy or too cheesy.... in certain moments a different writing style or scene choices might have enhanced the relationship in a better way. I liked that they found each other, of course, as I did that they trusted each other from a certain point on, but this development wasn't as smooth or as "organic" as it could.

Mad wasn't the best of characters in the first book but we learned why and he does change, which means we can root for him now. Although, to be fair, he never felt as approachable as Isaac. Still, I could accept some of his behavior due to his experiences at war and the PTSD consequences and all that. I also think he was made to seem more aloof, less easy to read on purpose, to perhaps better contrast with Isaac, who is a much more sensible and vulnerable character.

In fact, Isaac sometimes reads as being a bit too vulnerable, too open about his state of mind. With this I mean his personality because he only shares his fears and reasons to run with his brother closer to the end of the story. Nevertheless, he does seem less assured of himself for believable reasons, but the dynamics with Mad felt a little frustrating to me. I will also confess there was a specific element to their relationship I think was pointless. Everything put together made for a couple who didn't always win me over as such.

The plot is interesting, there are some hints about past issues which are interesting to see develop which allow character development and I liked seeing some interactions they all had with one another. Two secondary characters were introduced and they will be protagonists in the future...they seem intriguing enough to make me want to read their story. 

I also liked the animal references, the shelter side of things, although it is true that this part wasn't as prominent as it had been in the previous story.

All things considered, this was fine, more or less along the same lines as the first, with some elements being less interesting but compensated with others which were. Thus, this book gave me the same overall feeling as the previous one. It's readable to me, good enough, but not truly special.

Grade: 7/10

Sloane Kennedy - Locked in Silence

Ten years after leaving his small Minnesota hometown in his rearview mirror for what Nolan Grainger was sure would be the last time, life has decided to throw the talented musician a curveball and send him back to the town he lived in but was never really home.
At twenty-eight, Nolan has traveled the world as a successful concert violinist with some of the best symphonies in the country. But success breeds envy, and when Nolan’s benefactor and lover decides Nolan has flown high enough, he cruelly clips Nolan’s wings. The betrayal and ensuing scandal leaves the violinist’s career in shambles and with barely enough money to start fresh somewhere beyond his vindictive ex’s powerful reach. But just as he’s ready to get his life back on track, Nolan gets the call he’s been dreading.
Pelican Bay’s golden boy, Dallas Kent, had the quintessential perfect life. Smart, gorgeous, and popular, the baseball phenom was well on his way to a life filled with fame and fortune. But more importantly, he had a one-way ticket out of Pelican Bay and far away from the family who used love as currency and whose high expectations were the law of the land. But a stormy night, sharp highway curve and one bad decision changed everything, leaving Dallas with nothing. Dallas’s silence was supposed to send Nolan scurrying, but what if Nolan ends up being the one person who finally hears him?
Will two men who’ve been fleeing from the past finally come home to Pelican Bay for good or will the silence drive them apart forever?

Comment: I got interested in this book because the blurb made it seem one of the characters would have some sort of disability and I often like to see how authors write romances when one of the characters might not be deemed "normal".

In this story we meet Nolan Grainger, who is back to his hometown in Minnesota to help take care of his father who had a stroke. His relationship with his parents wasn't very warm and his interest in music and "nerdier" subjects made him an outcast in school and he felt great when he finally went away. Now he's back, down on his luck after some sort of scandal, and to make it even more humiliating, in his POV, the only job he can find is with Dallas Kent, his former crush.

Dallas was with his parents when they had an accident, and his mother died. Dallas lost his voice and everyone blamed him for what happened but he decided to move on and is now part owner, part caretaker of an animal center. He has always liked Nolan but never had the courage to defend him but now is his chance to help and, perhaps, something more might happen between them.

The problem is that not everyone likes this situation and following some unfair accusations, they have to present an united front to defend what they believe...

It's true this was an interesting story to follow, if not really surprising. I liked the overall flow and the writing but I must say that once things started to reach the end, many sudden situations were introduced and the plot started to feel very busy and too many things were happening. I see that it's likely the set up for the next installments, or to set up some elements in those stories, but it still made this story feel cluttered.

The premise is very simple, Nolan returns to a place he isn't fond of to help his parents. Although they have never been caring or emotionally supportive, he feels he needs to help but he is coming back after leaving a scandal behind - which we only learn what was later on - and the financial difficulties force him to find a job. The only choice ends up being helping Dallas at the animal center he manages and this, of course, forces them to interact and finally admit their feelings.

I liked Nolan for the most part but it did seem as if there is a huge focus on his vulnerability, and I could certainly sympathize with some of the things he went through, but it still felt as if he was a bit too susceptible and I wanted him to be shown as becoming stronger or more confident. I suppose this does happen but not in a way I'd feel was very organic. His relationship with Dallas is also a bit too simple once they realize they like each other... I kind of wanted more tension or genuine development in their feelings so that the romance would feel solid.

Of course I say this because since we have the POV of both, in alternate chapters, we know Dallas is attracted to Nolan too and has always more or less been since they were teenagers. I can accept this notion, despite the surroundings of their past lives and the current situation but to be fair, apart from the obvious, I struggled to see the evolution of the romance as something inevitable. The author wrote things in such a way that this is where the story goes, but it would have made for a much better romance, in my opinion, if their relationship had been more about slowly learning they liked one another instead of just acknowledging past attraction.

The disability content is related to Dallas, for he lost his voice after the accident. This event provides more detail to the whole story than what we would think and it did offer good content to develop Dallas' character. I liked him as a protagonist more than Nolan, somehow his characterization appealed more to me than Nolan's, even though I'd identify more with Nolan, personality wise. Weird to think of and hard to explain!

I especially liked the idea of the animal center and the help they gave the animals. I also liked we have some scenes with Nolan doing the cleaning and how hard that was physically, it was a nice way to help me see what jobs the maintenance of the center required and how much importance the place had in the story. I suppose, too, with the blurbs of the next installments suggest, that the center will remain as the focus of action in the future too.

As I've said, the more dramatic situations happen closer to the end and while this did feel as too much too quickly, it did present interesting characters and possibilities and a few elements make me curious about what might happen with some of those characters, so I'll likely read the next one, at least.

Grade: 7/10