When your captor becomes your lover, can it really be true love?

Drew Edwards is an investigative reporter trying to find out why gay men have disappeared without a clue. He is abducted and quickly learns that his captors are behind the other missing men. Except that one of the captors, Chance Collins, is actually innocent. It’s Chance’s father who is behind the kidnappings and murders. Drew and Chance must work together if they hope to survive.

Almost the entire first half of the story is focused on Drew’s capture and his internal thoughts about what’s going to happen to him. We get to know Drew pretty well, and start rooting for him to escape. We see glimpses of Chase, and quickly realize that Chase is a good person in a really bad situation. Drew is released into the woods like the prey of a hunt. Chase is then given orders to find Drew and kill him. The remainder of the story is spent watching Drew and Chase try to escape from the woods while developing a relationship with each other.

Unfortunately, while some portions of the story worked well, others didn’t. The beginning was very slow since we were living inside Drew’s head and watching him suffer under the hands of the kidnappers. We really didn’t get to hear too much about his job or research into the earlier kidnappings.

Watching Drew and Chase work together and try to escape was very suspenseful. However, at the end of the story, it was hard not to look back and wonder a little about Chase and his relationship with his father. It didn’t make a lot of sense that he would have had anything to do with his father once he was out on his own. Also, the relationship that Drew and Chase developed didn’t seem to be based on very much outside of their circumstances. We didn’t really get to see their connection grow, but instead we were informed of it. There was a nice epilogue that did help to bring closure.

If you enjoy a good, suspenseful story about kidnapping with some romance, this should fit the bill!

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Is being the heir to a fortune worth hiding your true love?

Henry Walker is expected to be the heir to his father’s extremely wealthy business, but to do so, he must keep up the pretense that he isn’t in love with another man. Archie Banks, Henry’s childhood friend and lover, is also the chauffeur for Henry’s family while working his way through college. Archie is about to graduate, and begins to ponder if his and Henry’s relationship will continue when they no longer have easy access to each other. A kidnapping plot which ends in tragedy brings many of these decisions to the forefront. Trying to solve the mystery of who would do this to Henry’s family puts everybody under suspicion.

The bulk of the story revolves around the kidnapping plot and trying to determine who did it. Archie was a well-developed character who was strong and determined. His mother’s presence in the story was also very helpful in establishing his background. Henry was a bit self-centered and slightly cold. His own acknowledgment of his personality flaws and his desire to improve helped to make him a more lovable character. Henry’s father certainly wasn’t a very warm and caring individual, especially toward his son. This created some empathy for Henry. Other characters in the story helped the plot and were also well developed. It was nice that there was never any doubt about whether these two men loved each other since they had been together since they were children.

The romance angle was lacking a bit. If they had spent more time together engaging in dialogue and discussing their feelings, it would have definitely been an amazing story. Overall, it was an enjoyable suspense story and the resolution of the kidnapping was a page-turning event.

Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb