Book Review: Late in the Day by Mary Calmes

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: Late in the Day
Author: Mary Calmes
Series: The Vault #2
Heroes: Darius & Efrem
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 30, 2017
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Terrence Moss. Conrad Harris. Gold Team Leader. Darius Hawthorne. The Vault. Juggling all these names would bother some, but for Darius, it’s business as usual. When he closes a chapter in his life, he leaves a name—and the people associated with it—behind. He’s managed to keep a few colleagues, even fewer friends, and no companionship through his forty-plus years… but that’s now changing.

The newest chapter of his life is bringing serious change: a stable home, a recovered identity, an unlikely family, and now a chance encounter with the one man Darius ever loved: Efrem Lahm. The reasons they parted are still valid, and there’s no way they can trust each other. But Efrem has already decided he won’t let Darius go… and Darius will have to decide if he wants to take a chance with his heart this late in the day. 

Review:

Darius has had many names and been through a lot in his life but he’s finally reached a point where he can have a more stable lifestyle so when a last job puts him right in the path of the only man he’s ever loved, he’s bittersweet about it. The reasons he left Efrem are still an issue but he’s changed enough that he’s happy just to see the man. But Efrem won’t let Darius go so easily and he’ll do everything he can to show the man that whatever made Darius leave in the past doesn’t mean they can’t still have something now after years apart. Will Efrem be able to show Darius he’s there to stay or where things end the same way they did sixteen years before?

This review is hard for me to write because I keep waffling between a 3.5 and 4 stars. On one hand, I adored the premise. I love the fact and Darius and Efrem are getting another chance at being happy and I love that Darius got his book. I didn’t realize how many other books this one is tied into until all the characters are mentioned and I had a little ‘wait, what?’ moment.

On the other hand, the flashbacks almost made me put this book down permanently. There are SOO many and they were really choppy in this one so it was hard for me to read the first 50% or so. Once we get back to the present, so to speak, things evened out and I started to really enjoy this one. I wish there had been more of Efrem and Darius in the present but I’m still happy on where they ended up. I just wish Ms. Calmes would lay off the flashbacks a little in future books. It makes it hard to keep things straight sometimes so I kept getting confused on when Darius met this person or what name he was at this time especially since there wasn’t very clear distinction when things would change into/out of the flashback or if we were still in the present.

With that said, I loved Darius as a character. He’s still a bit of an enigma but he also has SOO many layers. I mean, just the names he has can get a little confusing but he’s managed to last years and years keeping everything straight and staying alive. Now that he’s The Vault, he’s finding things can settle down more for him. Add to that, I loved that he didn’t realize how many people he’s let into his life that he considers friends and family without even realizing it, which was quite funny. We don’t get to know much about Efrem, though, only what we see in the flashbacks but from what I could tell, he’s never forgotten Darius and it’s shaped his life enough that he was really only half a man while they were apart and I found that really sweet and a bit sad.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I liked that there were so many different sides to Darius and I liked how much he’s changed. I remember him from Mine and he was not like he is in this book at all! There’s still some questions I have about what happens next (when don’t I, though?!) but I like where Efrem and Darius are right now and I hope we get to see more of them and how things play out from here in the future.

Overall Impression: I really liked it!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*