Title: Up To Trouble #1 - Holed Up
Author: Hank Edwards
Publisher: LooseID
Length: 101 pages
Rating: 2.5 Quills
Tags: law enforcement, contemporary, mystery, series, novella
Blurb
FBI Special Agent Aaron Pearce, tall, muscular, a lone wolf with an attitude, is assigned to protect Mark Beecher, a witness to the plans for a terrorist attack. The discovery of an unknown informant within the FBI's ranks, however, forces the two men to hole up in a loft apartment with only one another for company.
After long conversations and their shared attempt to unravel the puzzle of the terrorist group's next target, Pearce and Mark find they cannot deny their mutual attraction. Pearce gives in to his passion, sleeping with the man he's sworn to protect and going against his training as he risks heartbreak once again.
When the informant reveals himself to Pearce and takes him hostage, Mark finds he cannot run and leave Pearce to die. Instead, their roles have been reversed and now he is the only person who can save Special Agent Pearce.
After long conversations and their shared attempt to unravel the puzzle of the terrorist group's next target, Pearce and Mark find they cannot deny their mutual attraction. Pearce gives in to his passion, sleeping with the man he's sworn to protect and going against his training as he risks heartbreak once again.
When the informant reveals himself to Pearce and takes him hostage, Mark finds he cannot run and leave Pearce to die. Instead, their roles have been reversed and now he is the only person who can save Special Agent Pearce.
Review
This is the story of Mark, who overheard a terrorist plot being planned by a fellow resident of his apartment building. Being the upstanding citizen that he is, he cannot let that slide and reports it to the authorities. He is then put in witness protection under the watchful eye of FBI agent, Aaron Pearce. Mark and Aaron end up running for their lives once a mole within FBI security is discovered. They end up hiding out at Mark's ex's apartment while the ex is out of town. Then after a very limited resistance (I am supposed to be protecting him, I am running for my life, ahhh) they fall into bed together and by the end of their story, in love.
I guess the first thing to say is that this was not a bad book. It just wasn't a good book either. I am pretty willing to suspend my disbelief about how MCs are thrown to together (if the author makes it work) but hearing a terrorist plot through the air vents of his building seems a bit far fetched to me. Also, it seemed a lot like insta love to me. The author makes a point of saying that they stayed up talking for a long time and bonded but didn't show it to us or at least didn't make me believe it. I admit, here and now, that I almost always hate insta-love, unless there is something more to the story that challenges the relationship (internally not externally...J.L. Langley's With or Without series is a good example of ok insta love) so that is a bias of mine. And you can't always tell, from a blurb if a story is going to be insta love so it hard to just avoid them.
That being said, I enjoyed Hank's style of writing and felt that the pacing of the story (other than the sex/love aspect) was good. So overall, I give this story 2.5 Quills. I do not regret reading it but it was not my cuppa. However, I would be willing to read another book by Hank Edwards to see if perhaps my reaction to this book was due to mood/illness/weird day/etc.
If you are looking for a good witness protection/federal agent type book two I really enjoyed were Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley and Under a Rock by India Harper. If I have not scared you off Holed Up (everyone has different tastes...you might love it) then you can find it for $4.99 at Loose ID.
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