Story Rating: 4 stars
Audio Rating: 3.75 stars
Narrator: Tristan James
Length: 7 hours, 43 minutes
Audiobook Buy Links: Audible | iBooks
Book Buy Links: Amazon | iBooks
Miro Jones and Ian Doyle were partners as US Marshals for years, and now they are finally partners at home as well. They have settled into their lives together happily. The only sticking point is that Miro dreams of marriage, while Ian is content with things just as they are. He worries getting married would affect his military service, as well as Miro’s promotional opportunities with the Marshals. With the guys having such opposite views on marriage, it is putting a strain on their relationship as they have such different goals for the future.
Things become more complicated when a case from Miro’s past resurfaces in a dangerous way. Miro and Ian must get out of town for a while until things blow over, something neither of them enjoy. And when danger continues to find them, Miro’s life is at risk. With lives on the line, Miro and Ian realize that being together is really what is most important. Now they must hope that they can stay a step ahead of a killer and make it to safety together.
Fit to Be Tied is the second book in Mary Calmes’ Marshals series. It continues the story of US Marshals Ian and Miro and their growing relationship. While the first book had the guys longing for one another but not sure about the other’s feelings, here we see the men have happily moved forward into their relationship. I love these guys together. They are both strong, tough, independent men, but they also are both so caring toward one another. I like that Ian can be kind of a difficult guy, but we can see how much Miro loves him, even when he is exasperated. The two make a good team, both at work and at home. Even as they are at odds over the marriage idea, there is still never any doubt that these guys are meant for one another. They are a fun couple, not to mention steamy and romantic.
The suspense end of things takes a bit of time to heat up. We know that someone from Miro’s past has resurfaced fairly early on, but the actual action takes a while to get started. I noticed this in the first book as well and again I found myself kind of waiting for the action to start. I like that Calmes balances the suspense and the relationship end of things so one isn’t too dominant, but I do wish we got to see them both more throughout the book. Again, as with the first story, we spend a lot of time on various cases that don’t end up being particularly important overall to the story. However, once the action starts, things are quite exciting and suspenseful and I liked the way the story develops and resolves.
Ok, so I know this is a nitpicky complaint, but another issue I had is that we get constant commentary on what people are wearing, Miro in particular. I know that this is part of Miro’s character, that his clothes are a sign of stability and success after a tumultuous childhood. So I get why he is a clothes horse and why these things matter to him. But I don’t think we need a description of everything he wears, and often times other characters’ outfits as well. There is a point where Miro is literally in a life or death situation and we hear about what kind of shoes the bad guy is wearing. Honestly, it became really distracting. I don’t necessarily need to know the brand, style, and designer of random boots he is wearing, or the jacket he has on, or about the specific shoes Ian has borrowed of Miro’s. Like I said, it became quite distracting, to the point I noticed every time it was mentioned and it pulled me out of the story.
I once again listened to this book in audio form with narrator Tristan James. My feelings here are pretty much the same as they were for All Kinds of Tied Down. I find him a mostly fine narrator. I think he voices Ian and Miro more distinctly here than he did in the first book, which helped a lot. James continues to voice most of the women in very nasal, kind of whiny voices, which I find distracting. I think the biggest issue I have is that his tone is pretty much always laid back and casual, even when it doesn’t fit with what is happening in the story. Moments of tension or excitement need more energy than he gives. That said, the audio is easy to listen to and James’ delivery is smooth and professional. I think if you are an audio fan, this story works well enough in this medium to be satisfying. For my part, I may try the next book in the series in ebook form, just to see if it affects my overall perspective on the series.
We end this book with the guys in a really good place and I am very eager to pick up the third book and see what is next for them. I love them as a couple and am really enjoying the series, so I am definitely looking forward to more.
A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.
