Death of a Pirate King

This. This is the book that makes the entire series worth reading.I love a slow burn romance. Painful, agonizing, tentative, long slow burns. That's a big part of why this book worked so well for me (and the buildup in the previous three books leading up to it).I felt kind of meh about [b:Fatal Shadows 1274861 Fatal Shadows (The Adrien English Mysteries, #1) Josh Lanyon https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1363734106l/1274861.SY75.jpg 2815045], the first book in this series. There was basically no romance (yes, that's how slow burn this series' romance is), and Jake Riordan was the biggest asshole love interest I had encountered in recent memory. BUT that all changes in this book, and the change is not abrupt. There was lead up, everything was believable, and most importantly, though Adrien and Jake still aren't together (told you I love a painful slow burn) the relationship between them is so multifaceted and nuanced that it has me in a chokehold.Josh Lanyon has a way with writing relationships that's so achingly torturous for the readers in best way possible, and so god damn human. Seriously, none of the characters make the right decisions all the time, the same way no human ever does, and even when I feel frustrated, I understand why the characters act the way they do. No one is perfect, but they all try. I'm really struggling to put my feelings about this into coherent words, but believe me, the agonizingly (and deliberately) slow development of Jake Riordan as a character and love interest is fan-fucking-tastic.Also, this is the first book in the series so far where I was actually engaged in the mystery (BECAUSE THAT ENDING THOUGH. WOW.) and that in conjunction with Adrien and Jake's tentative and rocky relationship reaching a new milestone (which you find out at the very end of the book) just made me feel so giddy and filled with anticipation. This will not be everyone's cup of tea; not everyone wants such a hyper-realistic and oftentimes dramatic or slow burn relationship development. But for me, this is a new favourite book and I can't WAIT to reread it in the future.

When I started to read this series on Monday I was kicking myself and wondering why I had been procrastinating when it is so clearly excellent and everything I love: smart characters, some angst, good mystery, atmospheric and love of the non-gooey variety. Well I think if was a heretofore unappreciated self preservation instinct. I can't imagine what those who read the series as it was released had to go thru as they waited for the next installment. Happily I've been able to binge all week and even so I feel punched in the gut. But in a good way. ;-) It helped that the punches were delivered via the narration of [a:Chris Patton 1381825 Chris Patton https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1297104882p2/1381825.jpg]. Masterful.This is book 4 in the series and we are two years removed from the events in book 3. I don't think it is or should come as a spoiler to say that Jake & Adrien have not been together during this time. In fact they've been very much NOT together. At the end of book 3 Jake proceeded to do what he felt was the right thing for his self preservation and for the hopes & dreams his family and society held for him. Adrien for his part continued to live and some would say thrive in his new post-Jake reality and has done okay for himself with a boyfriend, Guy and a family he never expected but enjoys. Professionally he is also on the rise. His book store is doing stellar business and his first novel has been optioned for the movies. Perfect. Except Adrien is really just sort of coasting, letting himself go with the current, letting himself be loved and giving affection in return and then of course murder comes to town in the midst of a dinner party.Jake, who has been promoted to Lieutenant, heads the investigation but not necessarily because of Adrien, though he does his level best to insulate him from the fall out. At the behest of a less than savory character, Paul Kane, Adrien starts poking around the case and besides ultimately discovering the identity of the killer he garners unwelcome information about Jake. Things he would prefer not to know. The mystery is as usual entertaining and twisty and we get the Hollywood types: bimbo starlet, bombastic money-man producer, screen writer and the tabloid leading man. But what we also get is that Jake has continued to be an unseen presence in Adrien's life. One he doesn't always welcome but present nonetheless. Adrien continues his battles with Lisa and with his own heart, the anatomical one and the one that houses our unwise affections. However as in all of these books the character who against his will (mostly out of fear) is dragged kicking and screaming out of his comfort level and shell is Jake. He has so much to lose that he can't see all that he can gain, missing the forest for the trees. So sad. And yet even if it's not evident to Adrien, we the reader, know that Jake loves Adrien. He loves him against his will almost and though he's not yet a the point where he can say the infamous three words we know it to be true. Here is a case of show and not tell. Happy clapThis installment ends with a bang and everything is up in the air. To build something new you've got to tear something down.