Reviewed by Nikyta and Susan65
Title: Bad Habit
Author: K.A. Mitchell
Series: Bad in Baltimore #6
Heroes: Scott & Liam
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 230 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: November 6, 2018
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Life is always looking for ways to screw you over. Scott McDermott survived the foster care system and knows better than to let anyone close, but Liam Walsh is his one vulnerability.
Twice Scott let down his guard, and twice Liam vanished from Scott’s life.
So when Scott comes face-to-face with Liam for the first time in six years, he punches Liam in the nose. Only after Scott’s friend—and Baltimore County police officer—Jamie reads him the riot act does Scott discover that in the intervening years Liam has been to war and lost his leg.
Liam hasn’t had the easiest life either. He took care of his drug-addicted mom when she was unable to take care of herself. He’s fallen in love with Scott twice, but when Liam saw Scott going down the same path as his mother, he left. The lesson that he can’t save everyone has been a painful one for Liam to learn. Maybe what he and Scott had can’t ever be fixed.
Scott and Liam have never fallen out of love—which becomes obvious when they start working together—but what will make this time any different from all the others? Will the third time really be a charm?
Nikyta’s Review:
This book is probably the most angsty of the series so far, IMO, but once I started, I couldn’t put it down. At first, I was trying to remember if Scott and Liam were in previous books but I don’t think they are. However, while they may, or may not be, I don’t think you should read this one without first reading the others in the series first because pretty much all the other couples pop up in this one and a few of them have multiple cameos. They’re really integrated in this book and I loved every minute of seeing them again!
As for the characters, I loved that they were reunited lovers. I loved the chemistry between them and the struggle to work through the issues that now are between them. I loved that Scott was so brutally honest to the point of everyone thinking he’s an asshole but that’s what I adored about him. He was stubborn and angry and didn’t want anything to do with anyone but he was so endearing to me. As for Liam, I didn’t like him as a character. I found him a bit…. annoying. He has this ‘charm’ but he’s a cheater and a liar and made Scott feel guilty. I didn’t like that he was stringing Scott along when they were younger and then just left him. I didn’t like how he handled seeing Scott again and I didn’t like that he couldn’t be honest to save his life and I wished there had been more groveling that Liam did. With that said, though, I won’t lie that I enjoyed them as a couple. I loved their struggle to get back to where they left off and I loved the chemistry between them.
I really enjoyed this addition to the series but I had a few issues. There was a bit too much sex for my tastes and I felt like whenever Liam and Scott needed to talk, they ended up having an orgasm instead and not really talking as much as they should have. They had a lot of issues and they seem to avoid a majority of them. Add to that, I didn’t like Liam as a character that much. Everyone calls Scott the asshole but really it’s Liam who’s the douchebag and he didn’t really redeem himself throughout the book, IMO.
All in all, though, I did really love this one and I couldn’t put it down once I started. I adored Scott as a character and I did ultimately like Scott and Liam as a couple and enjoyed their overall journey. I had a couple issues with it but still really enjoyed the story and can’t wait to see who’s book comes out next!
Nikyta’s Overall Impression: I really liked it!
Susan65’s Review:
I am a big fan of reunited and enemies-to-lovers stories and this one was a healthy combo of both…only that Liam and Scott never really were enemies, they were just misguided. Even so, it takes a bit for these two to put the past aside and accept that they are only meant for each other…no matter what happened, or didn’t happen, in the past, and no matter that one has a boyfriend.
Liam is a big goofy guy who seems to be quite contradictory to rough-around-the-edges, Scott. But they work together…not fast and not easy, but they so obviously need each other that their emotions, though hidden from each other, are near heartbreaking for the reader. Scott has loved Liam twice, and twice Liam has taken off…he’s a runner when life gets crazy. Scott is just trying to survive and his lack of trust is understandable. Why put effort into a relationship when everyone you love eventually leaves.
This was not a pretty story. Scott is near homeless and lives in a supply closet at a dive bar where he works. Life sucks and Scott is proof that happy ever after wasn’t ever in the cards for him. Liam was a bit of an enigma to me. He left Scott for such a stupid reason, in my opinion, and almost got himself killed…and when he came back, why didn’t he look up Scott? As Scott said, Scott never left so Liam didn’t look very hard. And I agree with him.
I kind of loved the band angle of the story. It was about the only bright side as this was mainly a realistic view of the difficulties of life. I also loved reconnecting with the guys from the first five books, especially seeing so much of snarky Jamie. And now I want to read Eli’s book again, too. This was not my favorite of the series, but it was pretty darn close. Nothing can top Eli and Quinn, but I will keep reading to see if anything comes close.
Susan65’s Overall Impression: I really liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
The Blogger Girls 