Cover 5

Tate

2017 • 274 pages

Ratings3

Average rating4.3

15

The two hottest men in Chicago continue on the journey of lust & love they began in [b:Try 17798649 Try (Temptation, #1) Ella Frank https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375230186s/17798649.jpg 24898058] and what a sweet ride it has turned out to be. Happy DanceThough this book is presumably (see tittle) about Tate, to my mind this series is always more about Logan and his journey from a boy abandoned by an absent father and a feckless mother to a young man forced to make his way in the world shielding himself against its inevitable hurts & disappointments armored in snark & cynicism. He only had one chink when we first met him in [b:Try 17798649 Try (Temptation, #1) Ella Frank https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375230186s/17798649.jpg 24898058], his brother Cole and by extension Rachel, Cole's wife. Little did he know that the dare he set in motion would become the biggest crack in his defenses and the thing that would finally make him a whole human being: his love for Tate. This book is all about Logan wanting to make that love, that bond he feels with Tate be something visible and tangible to the world and in no small measure feel the security of it for himself. Make Tate legally his. It may sound middle-class and maybe dated but to a man like Logan, who lives and breathes the law and who was set aside as a son because he didn't have the legal protection of his father's name it makes absolute and justifiable sense. I also found it romantic. Here's Logan, the romantic, talking to Tate:"I had a plan for my life. Rules and a motto I live by, because that's the way I am. I like to research things. I like facts. And I liked knowing where I was going. But after one conversation with you, those rules and motto, they changed. And after a month of knowing you, they no longer existed. Instead, you became my plan."Logan has come a long way from doubting his worthiness of love and this transformation is due in no small measure to Tate. Tate who has given himself utterly and completely to Logan. This gift doesn't mean that Tate has ceased to be his own person, on the contrary. The years with Logan have made him more confident in who he is and stronger despite the loses along the way. I don't think it's a surprise that Logan & Tate are heading towards weddingsville (see blurb) but of course there are some bumps in the road. Believable ones. I won't spoil the emotional highs & lows, they're beautifully done. Bring your tissues. Some of the things that I've loved throughout this series are that the “conflicts” are mostly internal and that our MCs are not ones to let things fester or linger. They fight, talk, have sex or usually all three and move on. That's one thing you should all be assured of: the chemistry between these two remains the same or rather greater. The years together have afforded them a short hand in understanding each other, sometimes with just a look, and this is one of those little details that gild this story with a nimbus of truth. Another thing that I utterly loved is that although Tate & Logan are the kick-ass uncles every kid wants to have they're not headed on the road to parenthood. [a:Ella Frank 6451816 Ella Frank https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458548729p2/6451816.jpg] doesn't make them a cookie cutter couple yearning for the white picket fence and the 2.5 kids. That would've been disappointing, making them ordinary, something they've definitely and actively not been since book 1. I loved that the loose ends that are picked up from along the series are not tied up in a neat bow. Life isn't neat and sometimes crooked is the best thing you're going to get. For those interested I found a listing for Logan & Tate's new home in Wicker Parkhttps://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1966-W-Evergreen-Ave-60622/home/14108829running off to book 6***As for the audio see my previous reviews. I'm perversely attached to [a:Shannon Gunn 6996772 Shannon Gunn https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and his narrative choices. The sex scenes can get a little crazy but the characterization of Logan in particular? Spot on.***

May 10, 2018Report this review