Reviewed by Heather C
Title: Roses in the Devil’s Garden
Author: Charlie Cochet
Series: Fallen Rose #1
Heroes: Harlan Mackay and Nathan Reilly
Genre: MM Historical Romance
Length: 18,779 words
Release Date: May 2012
Available at: All Romance eBooks
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: In a city overrun by lawlessness and corruption, best friends and lovers- Prohibition Agents Harlan Mackay and Nathan Reilly, are fighting a losing battle. With bootleggers running amuck and countless speakeasies materializing every day, how can two men possibly hope to make a difference? Especially when they can’t even trust their own bureau?
If dealing with hoodlums wasn’t enough, a ghost from Nathan’s past threatens to destroy everything Harlan and Nathan hold dear.
Review:
Partnered prohibition agents and lovers for the last six years, Harlan Mackay and Nathan Reilly find that their relationship might be in jeopardy when Nathan’s long-lost friend and former lover turns up working on one of their cases.
I really enjoyed this little story. I can’t recall reading any romances set during the prohibition era and I found that I am really interested in reading more of this time period, especially one where prohibition is key to the story. The author does an amazing job with her descriptions and development of the setting: from the flapper girls to Harlan’s Buick Roadster. I could imagine it all!
I always say how I am not a fan of established lovers/couples (same character series excluded) and I was a bit worried at the beginning once I realized that Harlan and Nathan had been together for so long. It wasn’t until Nathan’s old friend Danny showed up and threw a kink in the happy couple’s life when I really got hooked into the story.
It did get a bit angsty there for a bit when Nathan screwed up. I abhor cheating and while both characters cross into very gray territory of what defines infidelity, I felt it to be very believable and their reactions just as true.
Harlan and Nathan were both very likable characters and as a couple they were HOT with plenty of tenderness and sweetness in between. Harlan’s tattoo of “I am my Beloved’s” is just so sexy!! And the passion they displayed between them during the love scenes was just… I have no words!!
The prohibition case that the MCs were working was a bit too complicated and involved for such a short story. Or maybe I just didn’t find it as interesting since it took a backseat to the romance drama. Anyway, I would love to read more!
There were three very prominent secondary characters that I would love to know more about: Danny, John and Julius. Looks like Julius will get his own book next!
Can’t wait to read book two of the Fallen Rose series A Rose by Any Other Name.
Overall Impression: I Really Liked It
*This is free story that was written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s 2012 Don’t Read in the Closet Event…Love is Always Write.*
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