Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Links:  Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella

Steve Campbell has come a long way from the wild playboy he used to be.  After realizing he was in love with his best friend Connor (and that Connor was in love with someone else), Steve did a lot of self-reflection about what he wanted out of life.  Not only did he recognize that he is bisexual, but he also realized that he wants love and a relationship, and not an endless series of flings.

When Steve’s Ferrari breaks down, he is aided by a sexy mechanic, Gil Alvarez.  Gil’s first impression of Steve is that of a spoiled, rich, white guy with a fancy car he doesn’t know how to handle. But the guys soon get to know one another and the attraction between them is clear.  But even as they have  steamy encounter, Gil is still pulling away and Steve always seems to say the wrong thing.  Steve feels there can really be something between them, but Gil’s secrets might tear them apart before they even really begin.

This is the fourth book in Grant’s Irresistible Attraction series and we have seen big changes for Steve. To be honest, I hated him in that first book and I wasn’t sure his character was redeemable.  But Grant has done a nice job throughout the series, especially in the second book, Doubtless, of showing Steve’s growth and really making him a person we can root for.  He has finally realized what he wants out of life.  And when he meets Gil, Steve feels like he might have found a person to give him the love and companionship he has been looking for.

So my favorite part here was really seeing Steve’s growth and his happy ending.  I thought Gil was an interesting guy, but I am not sure I connected with him as much.  I think he spends so much time hiding part of himself (and the story attempting to hide it as well) that I didn’t feel like I got to know him as well as I wanted, or could even really see how these two guys fit together beyond attraction.  To be honest, the big “reveal” seemed fairly well telegraphed from the blurb and the early parts of the story, and I am not sure what the benefit was in attempting to keep that from the reader.  To me, it just made it harder to really get Gil as a character because so much was kept intentionally vague.  [spoiler]I also wish the story hadn’t cut off so soon after Steve learns Gil is trans, or at least so soon after their first real encounter after he finds out.  To me, this would have been really interesting to explore, seeing how the two of them come together as a couple, especially after Steve’s past. [/spoiler]

I think the subplot with Gil’s ex-boyfriend Chas and the car racing went a little off course to me (sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to avoid the pun).  After the trouble at the track, I expected more to come of that. It just seemed like a lot of build up, describing how Gil has bailed Chas out, working on the car together, etc, but then there was no real pay off in terms of the story.  I couldn’t even understand why Gil agreed to the racing in the first place.  This plot just seemed sort of thrown in and not very well developed.  I think with all the potential relationship development between Gil and Steve that was left untapped, I would have preferred more focus on them instead.

So I am a bit mixed on this one. I really think Grant does a great job throughout this series of building Steve’s character. We see nice growth and he turns into a likable guy that I really wanted to root for, something I never thought I would see after the first book.  But I just felt that his relationship with Gil fell a little flat and too much time focused on side plots took away from really developing the chemistry and the connection between the two men.  Overall however, I would recommend this one to fans of the series as it is a great way to cap Steve’s journey.

P.S. You really will want to read this series in order to get all of Steve’s backstory, both of his own growth, as well as his relationship with his friend Connor.