Rating: 5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
After fighting tooth and nail to be with the love of his life, U.S. Marshal Miro Jones is now with his partner, Ian Doyle, in and out of the office. The only thing missing is a ring. Although that’s a sore subject and Miro tries not to bring it up often. But for a man whose family consists of the chosen people in his life, Miro desires almost nothing more than to bring Ian into that fold permanently.
All thoughts of matrimony are dashed when Miro and Ian discover Dr. Craig Hartley—mastermind of the Prince Charming murders—escaped prison with the help from an inside contact and has his sights set on Miro. At first, the plan is to send Miro into hiding, working in an undisclosed location under an assumed alias. Miro is down with this as long as it keeps Ian safe. Miro knows the days of his life are limited with Hartley after him. The last thing he wants is for Ian to get caught in the crosshairs. But Ian doesn’t take it lying down and when Miro hops a plane to Arizona, Ian is right beside him.
One thing the duo learn while working in a different branch: Sam Kage is the boss among all bosses. At least Miro and Ian have one another, even if they don’t have Sam at their backs. With the help of the mole, Miro ends up in Hartley’s hands again. But this time he has something he didn’t before when Hartley nearly killed him the first time. He has Ian. And Miro is determined to survive. For Ian.
Fit to be Tied is the second book in Calmes’s Marshals series. I’m not even a little bit ashamed to say that after All Kinds of Tied Down, I begged Mary Calmes for another book. I fell so hard for Miro and Ian, I had a hard time finding my way out. Same goes for this book. This story, though, solidifies who Miro and Ian are together, as a couple, as a unit, and as a family. It shows their strengths together and apart and makes their relationship and characters all the more strong.
I love the dynamic between Miro and Ian and that their relationship has changed little as far as their friendship. Ian was always protective and territorial of Miro, now he gets to be so 24/7. It’s cute. While their relationship has progressed into more, they remain the same snarky, fun men from before, but that doesn’t mean everything is hunky-dory. For example, Miro still harbors insecurities when it comes to Ian—will he get tired of Miro? Will he eventually want a woman? What happens if he gets hurt on one of his secret missions? These things along with Miro’s desire to get married cause more than one rift in the flow that is Miro and Ian. It makes for a more complex and vibrant story as well as shines lights on the flaws of these characters.
The story—you guys. This story. Bringing back Prince Charming was genius. If you’ll remember, Craig Hartley was the cause of strife between Miro and Ian in the first book and he’s more so here. Not so much strife as he is the point of conflict. He’s the danger that threatens to tear them apart. Calmes did a masterful job creating this character and his storyline. It’s evil and frightening and psychotic. I was captivated by his insanity as much as I was by my love for Miro. Every scene with Hartley is breathtaking and engaging. Heartwrenching and empowering for Miro. God, it’s so good.
And I have to share this line because it pretty much sums up everything I feel about Mary’s books:
We were all safe because of Sam Kage.
If you know anything about my love for Mary Calmes’s books, it’s that there is no character I love more than Sam. And yes, Sam is back in a big way here—though we have no appearances from Jory. I adore this story and Miro and Ian, but Sam’s domineering personality still gets me every time. And yes. This will remain my favorite line of ever.
In the form of Miro and Ian, Mary Calmes has created another winner. These two books are right up there at the top of the Mary Calmes list for me. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Highly, highly recommended.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
I also really wanted a 2nd book and loved the first. However, I like the 1st more than this one. I was more than a little creeped out by the Hartley bits.. and I didn’t find the scenes with him “breathtaking or engaging”, and I really, really, really wanted a different solution to Hartley. I also found the Miro’s ‘lets get married’ a jump way ahead of time and totally understood Ian’s ‘Whaaaa’ response.
As for the glimpes of Sam Kage. *sigh* 🙂
I think I understood Miro’s jump in to “let’s get married” because of his complete lack of family. He’s trying to latch on to Ian so that he doesn’t disappear. Make him a permanent part of his family so that he can have that resolution. I get it and like it. As for the Hartley parts… man, Mary sure knows how to squick as well as keep my attention. Yeah, his parts were uncomfortable, but they were made that way for a reason. They stole my breath at times and sent my heart in to the stratosphere worrying for Miro’s safety and how Ian would be able to find him.
The truth is each book is going to be different and we’re not all going to fall head over heels for all of them. Fortunately for me, I absolutely loved this one. I hope you have better luck with the next (because I hear rumor she’s working on #3 right now).
In the meantime–Sam 🙂