Grime and Punishment

January 8, 2014 by Whit!!!!!!!!!

Title : Grime and Punishment

Series : The Brothers Grime, Book 1

Author : ZA Maxfield

Publisher : Loose Id (BUY HERE)

Genre : M/M, Contemporary

Length : 176 pages (e-book)

Published : May 7, 2013

Rating : ★★★★1/2

Blurb:

The Brothers Grime is Jack Masterson’s way of helping people in crisis after disability ends his career as a firefighter. Jack’s people get to a scene long after the physical trauma ends. They don’t solve crime or rescue the victims. They help people move on. The new job is all Jack wants or needs, until he gets the call about old flame Nick Foasberg’s suicide.

Ryan Halloran’s cousin Nick has been on a downhill slide for a long time. Despite that, Ryan does everything he knows to help. Ryan only understands part of what happened between Nick and Jack in high school, but after Nick’s suicide, Ryan agrees both he and Jack need closure. They work together to clean the scene and despite the situation, heat flares between them.

Jack is keeping a painful secret and fighting his attraction to Nick’s lookalike cousin, Ryan. Ryan calls himself a magnet for lost causes and worries Jack might be the next in a long line of losers. Despite his misgivings, despite the past and the mistakes they’ve both made, Jack gives Ryan something to look forward to, and Ryan gives Jack a reason to stop looking back, in Grime And Punishment

Review:

Why in the hell did I wait so long to read this? I always love ZAM’s writing. The blurb sounds awesome. I have no excuses besides sometimes I bury gems in my never-ending TBR pile. Shame on me! This book was great. I laughed. I cried. I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the characters and the conflicts. It hurt so good!

Jack has had a really rough time physically recovering from his accident. It’s left him with massive scars all over his body. That kind of thing takes its toll on a person. Especially a person who prided himself on helping others. He can’t physically do his chosen profession as a firefighter any longer so he starts up a crime scene clean up company with his brother.

One day he’s called to bid the suicide scene of his former best friend, Nick, and secret lover from high school. Who also incidentally beat him up and broke his heart. Nick wasn’t a very likable guy but once you think about it it’s a tragic story. Jack has a ton of unresolved issues revolving around Nick. Cleaning up the evidence of his suicide should seem like a huge no-no but for some reason Jack needs to do it. There he meets Nick’s cousin Ryan. Ryan remembers Jack and doesn’t know the entire story behind Jack’s beating. He thinks Jack is there to gloat or something. This creates some tension at first. Thankfully for the reader things don’t stay that way.

Soon enough they’re bantering and flirting. Calling each other for support. That of course leads to sex since the attraction is pretty obvious. Jack is too ashamed to tell Ryan the truth about his cousin but his friends and family aren’t so eager to let it go. They see his new budding relationship with Ryan as doomed from the start. Ryan’s family, also Nick’s, just see Jack as a trouble maker who tried to come onto their son. Seems like nobody but Ryan and Jack understand what’s going on between them. Maybe not even them.

So many things I loved about this story. The sexy playful interactions between Jack and Ryan were pure gold. Flirting, touching and little smiles had me swooning. Makes you remember how that new and exciting connection part of a relationship feels like. The sex was so intense and their chemistry was sizzling. Yet, there was a very sweet element to their relationship. Total package with these guys.

I also really liked the Detective friend’s love interest storyline. I think he was very intriguing. I hope one day we get his story. I’m sure it’s going to a rough one but I want it!

I highly recommend reading this book. I plan on picking up the second one ASAP!

Rated 4.5 stars by Whit