Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Life Without Parole is a continuing serial that must be read in order. Spoilers are evident even from reading the synopsis for each book. Proceed with caution to fully enjoy all this series has to offer.
Trey has made a deal and is free from prison. After completing a six-month, court ordered stay at a mental health facility, he will be truly free. However, Trey’s life is without Jeremy. Once at the hospital, he meets Neal, another patient, who offers Trey friendship and more, but Trey’s heart still belongs to Jeremy.
Jeremy has to find a way to stay safe in prison and has to deal with the fallout after being attacked by Darren. That includes finding a new man that will get between him and the rest of the prison population and Wes is anxious to make Jeremy his. But everything has a price and for Jeremy, trying to let Trey go may be what keeps him alive.
Corrections officer Corey tries to tame his attraction to prisoner Bobby and within the prison system itself there are dirty dealings and shakeups as Slater exerts his power and the threat of Darren returning still hangs over all of them.
Rescued Angel continues this series and again picks up where the previous book left off. There is complete continuity is this series and, while there is a short wait from one installment to the next, the action, as well as follow-up answers to some of the plot lines, are quickly shown. The series, at this point, has become an ensemble piece, with stories on many inmates as well as side characters on the outside. But, still at the heart of the serial is the love story between Trey and Jeremy.
This book opens with Corey as he reflects on his attraction to inmate, Bobby. This immediately overlaps and then moves forward Darren’s attack on Jeremy. Darren’s attack exposed Jeremy in ways he couldn’t have known and puts him in new danger. Slater is more present here as well, as the warden has plans for him that Slater has no intention of living with.
Since these books are shorter in length, there are areas that get passed over or then start moving fast. Jeremy’s appeal or lack of one is one of these areas. Jeremy is innocent and yet he has resolved himself to a life sentence and his case is only briefly mentioned. Also, both Trey and Jeremy’s family are discussed. Trey’s family helped him get released, yet they won’t discuss Jeremy with him. Jeremy’s family has completely cut him off, yet they are mentioned and have open storylines that then don’t go far enough to be fully satisfying. Also, we are told how vulnerable Jeremy is in prison, but seeing more of that would have been welcome insight into the decisions he is forced to make. Bottom line is that this series and characters have completely drawn me in, which has me looking for aspects of the story cut short by the length of the installments.
What does continue to entice me with this series is the point of view shift to several characters in each installment. This technique goes a long way to pulling the larger story together. From wardens to corrections officers to a variety of inmates to life on the outside, this book and this series has me captivated.
