Review: Faith and Fidelity

This book was my very first m/m romance and for the most part, I really enjoyed it. The story featured a widower cop named Evan. He's a 30-something father of four, who lost his wife about a year ago. Sherri was his high school sweetheart: the only person he has ever loved; the only person he's ever been with. He's been trying to pick up the pieces of his life, but doing a pretty sorry job, until he makes a new friend.

Matt is a former police officer, who fell from grace when he turned in a dirty cop a few years back. Now he's a security guard, cut off from his brothers in blue. He can't hold down a relationship. He just flits around to the occasional one night stand. And he drinks to numb the pain and loneliness. When he meets Evan, he finds a kindred, broken spirit. The two become drinking buddies and, over time, good friends. Then, the dreams begin. Matt starts looking at Evan in a different way and he's totally freaked about it, since he's never been attracted to a man before. He tries to fight it, but one night, as he tries to comfort his friend from a brutal nightmare, his touch becomes something other than what either man expected.

From there, things escalate rather quickly. Touches turn to kisses, which turn into more touching, and a few days later, they're naked. And in love. Obviously, these developments come as a surprise to the guys. But they seem to accept their attraction to each other pretty easily, and are quickly talking dirty and joking around about it. This is my only stumbling block with the book. Because these are supposed to be two mature men who have been straight all their lives. And I would have expected much more trepidation in the early stages. Yeah, Evan eventually does kind of wig out about it all. But it's not about himself or his attraction to Matt, but rather, what people will think when they find out.

If you can put this aside (which you kind of have to, in order to get through the book), the story is pretty good. The love scenes are good, though not scorching. If it were m/f instead of m/m, I doubt I would have even raised an eyebrow. Both leads are sympathetic and likeable, despite their misery. You can't help but root for them to work it out. And they get the happy ending they're both looking for. All that's missing is a shiny, red bow on top. 4 stars

*Thanks to Brie at Romance Around the Corner for the recommendation.