Shelby's Reviews > Relief Valve

Look, there's something very authentic about this book. The dialogue/voice of this story alone gives it a verisimilitude one can hardly deny. There's something about the way the British dialect is depicted in this story that makes on really feel like I'm there. A solid 3.5 star read that I'm rounding up as I enjoyed this book more than the first in this series.

Tom and Phil are still tiptoeing around each other when it comes to certain subjects within their relationship, but all in all things are going well. While Tom's family and friends are still hesitant about his relationship with Phil based on their history Tom's happier than he's ever been. But a combination of a strange request from an dear old friend from beyond the grave and his sister's engagement party send Tom's life spinning into the world of mystery again. This time his sister's been targeted and with Phil's help Tom is determined to find out who is threatening his family.

Again I enjoyed the mystery in the story more than the romance. It's not even that I dislike Tom and Phil as a couple, I just don't really feel the romance between them. I actually like both men and like the way they work together. I just doesn't feel like the sparks fly between them somehow. I don't know what it is about this particular couple that I can't seem to get behind. I liked how they were starting to talk about a few things in this book and making a concerted effort to reach out, which isn't easy for either of these two men. I did feel like the two of them got closer over the course of this book. Maybe it's just that both characters come across as so reserved most of the time that it's hard to imagine them in such a tizzy of love for each other.

I did really enjoy the way that Tom's relationship with his sister developed in this story. I really enjoyed watching them get unwittingly closer as the book went along. This book reads very smoothly and progresses in a very believable manner. The mystery isn't over the top and for the most part the actions people take are understandable and make complete sense to the story. I enjoyed my reading of this book and I'm happily surprised to find I do want to check out the next book in the series. I'm curious to see how things continue to develop. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a little more romance as Tom and Phil get each other out of jams.