Can't Hide from Me

I downloaded this book on a whim to listen to on a plane without looking at the description. I was looking for a thriller...I did NOT expect erotica. I DEFINITELY didn't expect gay erotica lmao. Not really my thing, but after a few sex scenes I skipped through them and enjoyed the suspense part of the book. Not bad, kind of generic for a detective/cop novel. But yeah. It's gay erotica, so be aware of that.

I have a bit of mixed feelings about this book. The plot was interesting, entertaining, and it kept me engaged. It was a fun read and I really liked the thriller part of it. The characters were... complex.

The plot, although predictable, was interesting and I did like the turn it took. It was fast paced and something was constantly happening so I didn't get bored; I was actually taken with the book, and it was a fun read. I do wonder if the author got the inspiration to writing the fighting scenes from TV because it did feel like someone describing what they were seeing. But the weirdest part is that they felt both tedious to read and dynamic.

I didn't feel strongly for any of the characters, but I liked the ATF team overall. I do have a few questions about how things work, it didn't all feel plausible to me and I'm confused about some aspects, I think they had more luck than actual investigation skills, but yes, the team members were pretty cool.

Ángel and Charles were both awful at this relationship thing, the only thing they got going for them was the sex and that was about it (speaking of, is it just me or was Ángel constantly horny? Like to the point where therapy might be needed. He took unnecessary risks just to get laid, his response to anything involving Charles was sex, solving conflict meant more sex etc). I'm afraid that except sexual attraction there wasn't much for them. Maybe there are some common points, but they were so bad at communicating that it doesn't even make a difference. From what I gathered, neither of them actually tried to talk to the other previously to their breakup, they were happy to assume the worst and act according to their assumptions.

Before everything took a turn to really bad, the last time they saw each other, they both made serious, stupid mistakes (I am being kind calling them 'mistakes') and I really can't say that one was better than the other. I can see their reasoning and I am glad about that because otherwise I would despise them, but I can't see how the relationship is going to work. I expect it to be more than bumpy and they both have to work really, really hard on it, but I'm really not convinced they are going to be able to make it work.

To sum it up, definitely not the best, but also not the worst. This is my first Cordelia Kingsbridge book and I am open to the idea of reading more books from the same author, especially since a good part of the reviewers praise her other books. Maybe I'll find a gem somewhere in there, and I do have to say that I liked the writing, so there's that.

I downloaded this book on a whim to listen to on a plane without looking at the description. I was looking for a thriller...I did NOT expect erotica. I DEFINITELY didn't expect gay erotica lmao. Not really my thing, but after a few sex scenes I skipped through them and enjoyed the suspense part of the book. Not bad, kind of generic for a detective/cop novel. But yeah. It's gay erotica, so be aware of that.

4.5When I need of something good I can always count on [a:Cordelia Kingsbridge 5781497 Cordelia Kingsbridge https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1381577348p2/5781497.jpg] and she didn't disappoint. She doesn't know how to write cookie cutter characters and combined with an AB by [a:Nick J. Russo 8141120 Nick J. Russo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]? KRYPTONITE.As usual CK delivered a story populated by diverse characters, strong women, and unapologetically sexual beings. Brava! The icing on the cake is a great suspense story where I didn't have to do a total suspension of disbelief. Only a bit.Charles Hunter and Ángel Medina are ATF agents whose burn-the-sheets affair ended badly. Spectacularly so. Two years later Charles is on a “routine” extraction mission of an agent who has been undercover in a Mexican cartel and of course it turns out to be Ángel. Once these two reconnect there is no force that can keep them apart. Not past recriminations, not work restrictions, not crazy stalkers. The connection is too strong and CK does a great job of showing it on page.“Fucking Angel yesterday hadn't gotten him out of Charles's system. If anything, he'd burrowed deeper inside, coursing through Charles's blood like the first hit of heroin after two years clean, all the more potent for having gone so long without. Charles had lost his tolerance.”I loved that though Ángel felt betrayed by and still carried a torch for Charles he didn't cease acting on his sexual appetite, even in situations where others might disapprove. I liked that he's a make lemonade kind of guy doing the best he could with the shitty hand he was dealt. I love his resilience and his sense of humor. I'm more than a little in love with him. There were aspects of their previous relationship that could've easily been resolved by that thing called “talking” but we know that's not always easy. I can see them having a long happy future together.I loved that though both MCs were other than white it wasn't a belabored part of the story. It was just a fact of life that is normal for anyone who lives in XXIst Century America or the world at large. My only niggle is with these omnipotent and omniscient villains who seem to populate fiction. I find them annoying and exhausting.