Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Retired cop Nelson is now a security guard and spends his down time working with therapy dogs. He also finds time for anonymous club sex when the mood strikes him. He doesn’t let himself dream about having anything more from a relationship.
Caleb knows Nelson as the security guard in the building he works in. Caleb’s broken foot has kept him out of the office for a while and Caleb is surprised to run into Nelson at the hospital.
A hurricane unexpectedly strands Caleb at Nelson’s house. Caleb is attracted to Nelson, but can’t get a read on Nelson who is hot one minute and cold the next. Waiting out the storm with scared dogs, a wayward cat, and mixed emotions has Nelson and Caleb not knowing what to expect next.
Nelson & Caleb is the 5th novella in the Storming Love series and can be read as a stand alone. There is a lot of good in this story. There is acceptance, friendship, and the hope of companionship. There is a real life quality that not every relationship matches up perfectly.
I had a more difficult time connecting to these guys romantically. They make great friends, but lack a certain spark. For a big bear of a guy, Nelson is insecure physically and it plays out accordingly, and we barely get to know Caleb. It’s not a long story and the focus is on the scene at hand. There were some slow parts, which were needed for the type of story this is telling, but my interest was not fully captured all of the way through. The animals kind of stole the show and perhaps the best scene is what happens on the bed in the spare room.
The writing is well done overall and the aspects of the storm have us in the moment. This is a good choice for a story where relationships aren’t perfect and not everyone is a perfect fit, even if there is attraction. This is the story of Nelson and Caleb and what may be revealed during a storm.
This was my least favorite book of the series. I had to push myself to finish, and found myself skimming in some areas. I thought the storm felt like it was added after the story was done, meaning the book easily could have been released without too many changes without the hurricane. Many of the other books in the series had the storm almost as another main character, but that definitely wasn’t the case here. I also could not connect with either main character, which is why I had such a difficult time finishing. I think if this was the first book I would have read in this series (vs. the 5th), it may have been a little better for me. That said, the only thing I can say I enjoyed about this book was the personality of the dogs and the side story of the cat. I would give it a 2.5/5.0.