Bethany reviews ‘Knave of Broken Hearts’ by Tara Lain. Published by Dreamspinner Press on August 3rd, 2015. 222 pages
Knave of Broken Hearts(Love in Laguna Series, Bk #2)
by Tara Lain
Blurb:
Jim Carney has a full time job—running from himself. Since he walked out on his wealthy family at sixteen because he’d wrecked his best friend’s life over some yaoi graphic novels, Jim has lived a macho, blue-collar existence of too much booze and too little responsibility. Then Billy Ballew, the man Jim most admires, gives Jim a chance to come through as his construction supervisor. For once, Jim is determined to make someone proud. Then Jim goes in for a physical for his new job and his yaoi dream comes to life in the form of cardiologist Ken Tanaka. Jim discovers he has two heart problems—a wonky mitral valve and a serious attraction to his doctor. But Ken is a major player, and Jim might be just a notch on the doc’s stethoscope. To Ken, Jim is unforgettable—but the living embodiment of his traditional family’s worst nightmares.
How come the minute Jim decides to be responsible, he finds himself taking care of
his kid brother, getting a proposal from a wealthy woman, making a deal with the devil, and winding up in the hospital—when all he really wants is the Knave of Broken Hearts?
Ken Tanaka standing in the door to the inner office. The doc came to get Jim
himself.
You look upset?”
exactly.”
in?”
walked through the door, inhaling Tanaka’s spicy/sweet scent that filled his
head like smoke. God, he felt disoriented, like he didn’t know which world he
lived in—one where he went out on dates with a rich woman, or one in which he
gazed into the beautiful eyes of Yaoi Man and got a hard-on. Hell, both of them
had to be fantasyland.
into a private office that wasn’t an examining room. “Please, take a seat.”
guest chair in front of Ken’s desk, and the doc walked all the way around to
sit in his big leather chair. Very professional. Very distant. Very not a good
sign. “So I got back the results of your echocardiogram.”
they should take another test right now. The way his heart hammered in his
ears, he’d sure as fuck fail.
valve prolapse is what I would call moderate to severe. It’s difficult to tell
exactly without doing surgery.”
a severely, shall we say, floppy valve is corrected.” He smiled tightly.
out like a squeak.
recommending surgery now. We’re going to observe over the next few months. I
want you to let me know any problems, arrhythmic heartbeats, racing heart,
chest pains, anything irregular that might occur, okay?”
was so regular for him, and he was so not going to tell Tanaka that. He nodded.
Mitral valve prolapse is quite common. Most people never have any real
difficulty. Just follow my directions. Don’t drink excessively, eat healthy
food, even organic would be advisable, and avoid stress.”
opened, then closed. He was okay on the drinking thing so far, although this
news made him want to down a bottle of Jack. Still, on the other stuff, the doc
might as well say fly to the moon and bring back some green cheese. Hell, even
being around Tanaka could give him a fucking heart attack. Sitting here
thinking he might die any moment, and his cock still wanted to escape his jeans
just from looking at the doctor’s lips. Maybe that’s how he’d go out. Lean over
and kiss Ken Tanaka. Bye-bye, Charlie.
seem doable?”
“Does, uh, that mean I don’t get the insurance?” Jesus, that would be bad.
you, mitral valve prolapse is common. I’ve signed the papers and turned them
in. You should get the approval with no problem. You’re officially no longer a
patient.”
good and bad. “Thanks, man.”
I say, it’s not an inherently worrisome diagnosis.” Ken sat back in his chair.
“So you’re hooking up with our sexy landlord, huh?” He smiled, but something
seemed phony about it.
just talking to me about how to build out her suites. And she, uh, has some
more work for us.”
walked toward the door of his office. “I don’t know, buddy. I’d look out for
her. You could find yourself hooked.”
much. You told me to avoid stress.” He walked over to the door, looked at Ken,
then glanced away. “You seem to have a new boyfriend. Cute guy.”
mother fixed us up.”
snorted a laugh.
are not Japanese, or you’d understand.”
Japan?” Ken had no accent at all.
in Costa Mesa, but—well, it’s complicated. So don’t worry about your heart. My
office manager is gone, but she’ll call you to make an appointment in about two
months. Meanwhile, I’m serious about contacting me if anything unusual occurs.”
health, crazy man.” He smiled, and this time it reached his eyes.
had no excuse to see Ken Tanaka for two months. Hell, that was good news. Maybe
he’d get his feet back under him, if he didn’t die of a heart attack first.
helping me with the architect thing.”
eyebrow. “Is it working out with Willings?”
assigned one of the young guys in his office to handle the drawings, and he’s
great. He’s really saved my ass.”
helped relieve your stress.” He sounded sad.
out his hand. Ken took it, and heat traveled up Jim’s arm all the way to his
heart. “Guess I’ll see you in two months.”
guys you don’t want to marry.” He tried to grin.
“I’ll try.”
I was really excited to get a chance to read this book because I really enjoyed book one in this series. And while I did enjoy it, I did not like it as much as book one.
For me a good portion of the book was very repetitive. When they finally did get together it was so far at the end I didn’t feel like I got enough of them as a couple, and I really wanted more of them.
I loved Jim from the beginning; no, I take that back, I loved him from book one and I was really excited to get his story. I was not let down. He is big and tough and clueless as to what he wants in a relationship. He thinks he should want women because that’s what big tough guys like him should want, right? Yet, his equally big and tough friend just married his boyfriend, so that gives him hope.
Ken, well he is your typical player. One night stands suit him just fine thank you very much. Ken took longer for me to warm up to though. But I can pinpoint the moment that I went from wanting to smack him to the moment he pushed his way into my heart and had me rooting for him. And just when I think they have it all figured out, Jim is thrown a huge curve ball and shuts down.
Yes, it took a while for Ken and Jim to find their way to each other. Yes, there were bumps in the road, some small and some huge, that kept them apart. But, when they finally do manage to find their way to each other, then is was wonderful. So, while I didn’t like it as much as book one, I do recommend it if you are looking for some light angst, a really hot construction worker with a thing for an equally hot doctor, then this is the book for you.
About the Author
Tara Lain writes the Beautiful Boys of Romance in LGBT erotic romance novels that star her unique, charismatic heroes. Her first novel was published in January of 2011 and she’s now somewhere around book 23. Her bestselling novels have garnered awards for Best Series, Best Contemporary Romance, Best Ménage, Best LGBT Romance, Best Gay Characters, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm. She often does workshops on both author promotion and writing craft.
Rainbow Gold Reviews 
Thank you so much for reading Knave of Broken Hearts!! So appreciated. : )
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Thanks for the excerpt and the giveaway. 🙂
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Congratulations on the new release! The blurb and excerpt are awesome! Looking forward to reading it!
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I love Tara’s work. I can’t wait to read this book.
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