Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Assistant US attorney Dominic Price is happily living with his partner, FBI agent Cameron Byrne. After their trip to Boston, Nic and Cam are closer than ever, with Cam out to his family about their relationship. Things get thrown into chaos, however, when Nic’s father dies under suspicious circumstances. His father was deep in debt to Duncan Vaughn, a gangster who has been putting pressure on Nic to cover his dad’s debts. Now that his father is gone, Nic just wants to settle his estate and continue building his criminal case against Vaughn.

The situation gets even more complicated when Nic learns that he has family he never knew existed. Suddenly he is not the only heir to his father’s estate, something that puts yet another person at risk to Vaughn’s manipulations. With Cam’s help, Nic is determined to protect his family and prove Vaughn’s guilt. But staying one step ahead of the gangster is not easy. It is going to take everything Nic and Cam have, along with the help of some friends, to close the case and keep everyone safe.

Noble Hops is the final book in Layla Reyne’s Trouble Brewing series and wraps up both the Vaughn storyline, as well as Cam and Nic’s journey. This one is best read by those familiar with the other books in the series, as this storyline crosses all three books. Bonus points if you are familiar with Reyne’s wonderful Agents Irish and Whiskey series because most of the side characters cross over, but it is not necessary in order to enjoy this one.

As I said, this plot line has been in the works since the start of the series and things come to a head here with Nic’s father and the threats from Vaughn. Nic has been building a case against Vaughn with the FBI’s help, but suddenly it all comes to crisis when his father dies. With Nic as his heir, Vaughn is now turning his sights in Nic’s direction. That is, until they find out that there is another heir and suddenly not only does Nic find out about new family, but there is immediate danger as Vaughn has another leverage point. Reyne does a really nice job with the suspense end of things here and the story has some surprises as well as a lot of excitement. It ties together really well with threads from earlier books and gives Nic not only some closure on many issues, but a chance for Cam to be there to help him through things. I found the suspense part of the story really well done and it brings the storyline to a great close.

We also get to see our guys happy and in love, something rewarding at the end of their sometimes difficult road. There is no doubt that these men are meant for one another and Reyne gives them a sweet and romantic ending. We also see Nic finally let down those last walls he has had up as he shares his final secrets about his past with Cam. I wish the balance of the story had allowed for a little more relationship time, as it gets overshadowed by the suspense plot for most of the book. But we get a super romantic ending here that made me quite happy, not to mention sad that the series is wrapping up. I don’t know if Reyne has any more plans for her Whiskeyverse, but I would love to revisit with any of these characters again.

Overall, I think this is a nice finale to a great series. Reyne pulls everything together really well here, giving us closure on both the suspense plots, as well as the relationship. Fans of this series will not want to miss this final book, and if you are new to this world, definitely check it out.