spindrift giftsRating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


Note: this is a direct sequel to The Klockwerk Kraken, and as such, must be read in order. This review will also contain mild spoilers for the first book.

Back on Celos, Teo and Jimenez are struggling a bit as Jimenez undergoes treatment for his damaged nav port. But with each scan, Jimenez pulls farther away. Trying to repair the damage in his brain is causing his old neural pathways to reengage, and as such, his training and conditioning as a slave is reemerging. This is difficult for both men. After all Jimenez has gone through to overcome his past, it’s especially hard. And Teo is at a loss for how to help his lover. The only way to really help Jimenez is for him to go through regrow, but the side effect maybe be a loss of memory and he does not want to forget Teo for any reason.

As the Spindrift approaches, Teo’s family begins to celebrate their history, part of which is sharing memories with the entire family. Jimenez doesn’t know which memory to share, so he starts recording all of his best ones. But when things take a turn for the worse with Jimenez’s health, Teo has to make a tough call, and Jimenez’s real motivation for recording his memories comes to light. Will these men be able to weather the storm and come out whole on the other side?

Oh, you guys. I have to admit that this story started off a little bit shaky for me. It’s been a good five months since I read the Klockwerk Kracken, and it took me a few pages to really catch back up, remember where we were and why, and to get acquainted with the guys again. But after the first few pages, I sunk right into the story and became invested so easily. And just like before, Teo and Jimenez wormed their way into my heart, and I was anxiously awaiting the resolution.

As I said, this one definitely has to be read after the frist story, or it just won’t have the same impact. We start off in the middle of the action. Things have been going on with Jimenez for months, and we are coming in as things are starting to go really badly. This ultimately worked well, even if it took me a couple of pages to really get into it. I liked that we didn’t linger too much on what came before, but instead got right to this story. The author took it on faith that you knew what was going on, and as soon as I got acclimated, I appreciated this so very much.

Jimenez is going to break your heart a little bit. So much has happened to this guy, and its heart wrenching to see him going through so much more. I just wanted this guy to finally catch a break. For things to go right for him. In the end, they do, and this worked because it felt like it was finally the right time for him to get his HEA. I was relieved and happy with the way this ended, and it was so fitting for the story. Jimenez finally got what he deserved, and I couldn’t be happier about it. This character is one that has a special place in my heart, which may make me slightly biased, but I was thrilled with the ending and the resolution to the conflict.

And Teo? As before, I just adored the crap out of him. He’s so focused on Jimenez, his love, his entwine. It’s really beautiful to see. And his thoughts and emotions are written so well that I felt them right along with him. I was right there with him for every step of his story, hurting and ecstatic when he was.

So yeah, I had a little trouble in the very beginning, but once the story got going, it really took off.  I would have liked to see a few things a little more fleshed out, but guys, this one totally works as is.  If you read the first book, then you are absolutely going to want to pick this one up.

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