Rating: 4.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Nash Holly is out for a ride on his motorcycle when he nearly runs into a car stopped on the side of the road. When he offers assistance, Nash finds Spencer Kepler-Constantine, one of the actors on the wildly popular show Wolf’s Landing that’s filmed in Bluewater Bay. Both men find the other attractive, and Spencer admits he’s in the middle of divorcing his husband. Starved for human connection and touch, Spencer gives in to Nash’s advances. The two men connect, and Spencer has the chance to see Nash again when he returns Nash’s wallet.
When Spencer’s ex’s new flame says something horrible on a late night talk show, the media frenzy is insane. Hurt, Spencer starts to shut down. But Nash is a friend, if nothing else, and he coaxes Spencer out on a date. Nash just wants to help and he’s more than willing to be Spencer’s friend with benefits. He knows he shouldn’t get his heart involved; Spencer is only a recurring star on the show and will be leaving soon.
With all the drama surrounding Spencer’s ex, the paparazzi have been tailing Spencer, and when they figure out who Nash is, Nash and his family are caught up in it. It’s worse when Spencer’s ex make a grand gesture on television trying to win Spencer back, and the media reports the aftermath. Nash was adamant to anyone who asks that he and Spencer were just friends, but the truth is that Nash’s feelings go much deeper. And Spencer it seems, may return the feelings. But with Nash so deeply rooted in Bluewater Bay, it can’t go anywhere. Or can it?
Hell on Wheels is another installment in the Bluewater Bay series, all written by different authors and each book can be read as a standalone. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Z.A. Maxfield book, but I was instantly reminded of why she’s so good. This book is a character driven story that I loved from start to finish. And that was, in large part, due to Nash.
Let me tell you that I’m in love with Nash Holly. He’s got a snarky wit and a clever mind, and underneath it is a truly goodhearted person. He’s a fixer. It’s what he does. He wants to make things better for people, and strives to do just that. It’s one of the things that draws him to Spencer in the first place, but Nash shows it to everyone around him. Nash is the responsible one who’s taken on the mantle of running his family auto repair shop and stayed behind to help his father care for his younger sister. He doesn’t resent it, though he also thinks he can’t have anything more, but he really likes being needed and does it with a happy heart. This guy is just fantastic. Funny, kindhearted, and a little bit irreverent, I adored everything about him. And I thought he was perfect for Spencer.
Spencer has got undeniable talent in front of the camera, but in real life he’s very stoic and contained. Part of that is largely due to the fact that he’s British. But he’s in the middle of a media frenzy, everyone reporting on the spectacular divorce from his husband, and it’s wearing on him. Nash gets him to open up and let some of the pain out, and he sees the real Spencer underneath the public front. Together, these two guys just made sense. They worked from the very start. Their chemistry exploded off the page, and even as they were keeping up the façade of just friends, which they both believed, it was clear to anyone with eyes that they were falling in love. The people closest to Spencer, his bodyguard and his personal assistant, saw that Nash really touched Spencer’s heart.
As I said, this is a character driven story, and that was the best part about it. We really got to know Nash and Spencer well, but they weren’t the only ones. The author did a fantastic job of fleshing out the secondary characters as well. Nash’s father, Ace, and his sister, Shelby, play a pretty prominent roll. They were so well-rounded and believable that it really gave the story a solid base. And Spencer’s bodyguard, Tick, and his PA, Bast, were delightful and wonderful in their own right. Seeing the way all these characters interacted with each other took what could have been a good story and made it outstanding. It was through these characters that we really got to see the MC’s fully, and I loved that.
Seriously, you guys, this is one I can highly recommend. There were a couple of places I actually laughed out loud, and the growth of the MCs was wonderful to see. I absolutely enjoyed this book.