A Restored Man by @Jaime_Reese #LGBT #BlogTour #Review

Dana reviews A Restored Man (The Men of Halfway House book 3) by Jaime Reese (published by Romandeavor Inc., February 17, 2015, 363 pages) with Blog Tour and Giveaway

Title: A Restored Man

Series: The Men of Halfway House #3

Author: Jaime Reese

Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 17, 2015

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24449015-a-restored-man?ac=1

Blurb:

Cole Renzo thinks his greatest challenge is to behave for the remainder of his term at Halfway House. Until he meets his new boss, Ty Calloway, a man who ticks off every box on Cole’s list of interests.

A sought-after restorer and customizer of exotic and collectible cars, Ty had enough confidence to command what he wanted in life, until one fateful night changed everything. Almost two years later, he’s slowly rebuilding his life with great control. He’s defied the odds and works tirelessly to be the man he once was—but he still feels broken.

Cole’s candor and unfiltered personality awaken Ty’s barely-remembered desire to greet each new day with a smile, while Ty’s unwavering acceptance of Cole’s quirks and brash humor makes Cole feel as if he fits in for the first time in far too long. When a nemesis threatens Ty’s personal restoration and the things he holds dear, Cole is determined to protect their relationship, even if that means sacrificing everything he’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ty will have to let his guard down, surrender control, and admit he needs Cole first, even if that puts himself at risk of breaking beyond repair.

Buy links:

“I thought those were the service bays,” Cole said, thumbing over his shoulder.

“They’re for the traditional shop work my techs do on a daily basis. These are my service calls. Side project I’m doing and there’s no money in it for the guys so I don’t really want to burden them. I figured we could work on them and, in between, we could tinker with the Yenko if you want or wrap up the last few details on the Drayton rig. I worked on most of it over the weekend but there are still a few things to finish up.”

Cole stopped walking. “You’d let me work on the Yenko with you?”

Ty nodded. “Sure, why not. I’ve seen how picky you are with your work.”

“So it’s my reward for helping you with your service calls?”

Ty chuckled. “Do you do tricks too?”

Cole raised an eyebrow and half smiled. “Oh, I’ve got a lot of tricks I can show you.” He smiled at the rush of color to Ty’s cheeks, loving the way Ty always reacted to his teasing.

“You do realize you’re an HR nightmare,” Ty said, looking at Cole with that glimmer in his eye.

Cole’s pulse raced. “HR?”

“Human Resources. Sexual harassment, all that,” Ty said, trying to look serious and indifferent, but failing miserably.

Cole belly-laughed so loud it echoed in the shop. He then stilled, straightened his shoulders, and mocked a serious tone. “I could, of course, be completely professional and proper with you, Mr. Calloway, if that is your preference,” he said, mimicking Matt’s formal tone.

Ty turned to face him, the mock seriousness transitioning into something more genuine. “And I, of course,” he said, reciprocating Cole’s tone, “would be deeply disappointed.”

He looked up into those brown eyes and smiled. “My army of superheroes and I would be as well.” He bit back a smile and bowed.

Ty’s low rumble-laugh shot straight to Cole’s dick.

Cole straightened. “Admit it, you like me.”

Ty raised his hand and put his thumb and index fingertips together with only a sliver of a gap between them. “Maybe a little bit.”

Cole looked at Ty’s fingers then glanced back at him with a huge grin on his face. “It’s a start,” he said before walking off to the two cars parked in the bay.

I was lucky enough to review the first two books for the blog so I was very excited to read and review this third book in an awesome series. Each book gives the reader a story of regret, redemption, and love. Each book also gets better and better.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Matt and Julian from book 1 and Hunter and Cam from book 2. I was excited that they appear or are at least mentioned in this book, it adds to the fluidity of the story. I think as the series goes on, I am just getting more involved in the world the author has created and love it all the more.

In this book we meet Cole, who is staying at the halfway house run by Matt and Julian. He is a walking contradiction. He is sweet and kind, but his mouth sort of runs ahead of him, unintentionally offending others. He loves his family and has a close relationship with them, but he steals cars for a living. There should have been no reason for Cole to get into that shady business. He had a good home life, and was smart, but he compared himself to his brothers and sister and felt lacking. It could have all gone a different way if he used his automobile knowledge for a better purpose.

Ty is an injured man. He hires Cole as a favor to his brother, and his life changes. He went from quiet detachment to laughing and interacting with his employees. Cole has a gift with Ty as much as he does with working with cars. Both men suffer from survivor’s guilt due to things that happened in the past, but when they are together they seem to heal a little of that in each other.

The secondary characters are awesome in this story. Of course, Julian and Matt. We get to see another facet of Julian in this story, one that makes me sort of hopeful for his and Matt’s future. Aidan, Ty’s brother, is very gruff and hard on Cole at first, but we get to see him change his harshness at some points too. Cole’s large family lends some levity to the story and it’s awesome to see the love between the family members. Last but not least, the only reason I’m glad Cole stole cars were his old crew who came through to help him and Ty out of a rough spot. All former car thieves, but their support and compassion was something I really felt added to the story as well.

Cole’s constant positive attitude and upbeat personality make him my favorite character of the series so far, and Ty’s metamorphosis was so positive, I have to up my rating for this book. To read my review of A Better Man click here. To read my review of A Hunted Man click here.

In this series:

A Better Man (The Men of Halfway House #1) (Cover Attached)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20544791-a-better-man?ac=1

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/iWwEgJ
Amazon CA: http://goo.gl/Jkjbq4

Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/qzeeZq

Amazon AU: http://goo.gl/oVJE7t

B&N: http://goo.gl/HF7xcM

iTunes: http://goo.gl/sV5t7g

ARe: http://goo.gl/iQPkcu

A Hunted Man (The Men of Halfway House #2) (Cover Attached)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15712796-a-hunted-man

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/hmkLsR
Amazon CA: http://goo.gl/AV1Wu2

Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/TlWu44

Amazon AU: http://goo.gl/HGRbVg

B&N: http://goo.gl/5x6hfl

iTunes: http://goo.gl/58H2S7

Author Bio:

Jaime Reese is the alter ego of an artist who loves the creative process of writing, just not about herself. Fiction is far more interesting. She has a weakness for broken, misunderstood heroes and feels everyone deserves a chance at love and life. An avid fan of a happy ending, she believes those endings acquired with a little difficulty are more cherished.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaimeReeseAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jaime_Reese

Website: http://jaimereese.com/

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/Jaime_Reese

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jaime-Reese/e/B009FM4FMI/