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Long Time Gone (Hell or High Water #2) - SE Jakes

Long Time Gone - S.E. Jakes

This is the second book of the Hell or High Water series though I have NO idea why it's called that way :) I breezed this one in two days and really enjoyed the ride though I must say that the both of them annoyed me WAY too many times with not being able to actually talk to each other - not about their feelings for each other GOD FORBID - but about what happened to them, their past.. Really enjoyed the ending and how it put everything together.

 

I did something wrong.. and I do apologize.. I re-read my reviews of the 2nd and 3rd books of Cut & Run by Abigail Roux to remind myself how it ended for them in those books. See, as I was reading this one I had a feeling we are going to get to the ending and feel like shit, l mean, like in the first book when they don't really end up together but apart. When I started reading Cut & Run there were 7 books out so it was obvious I'll get my happy ending if not in that book then the next though I was cursing them for how long it took them.. But here I just have these two books.. I got worried I'm going to be left to dry... So trying to reassure myself I went to see how it went down there.. I'm not sure I got reassured or if I could have actually been reassured anyway but as I wrote above I really happy with the ending. 

 

With both these series I love that the relationship keeps building and unlike most romance books I read that the characters fall for each other in 2 days and on the third day swear their undying love, here it feels more real to me, these two alpha males, each with their own baggage, well, it takes time! I'm not disappointed at all, finished this one with a smile on my face  feeling I can bare to wait 4 more months till the 3rd one gets released.

 

BTW! SE writes on her website that there are going to be 4 books + 2 novellas in the series and that's it. I'm pleased with it because as I see it, it means she has 'a story to tell' and she's not going to keep it going till we get tired. As much as I love getting attached to characters and series knowing there is an end, a planned one is a good thing. 

 

Enough about that! While the previous book was mostly about Prophet's past and dealing with it, this one is of Tom's past. I got a little confused until I got it all and understood what / where / when / who but that's SE's way of keeping us guessing.

 

There's a hurricane in New Orleans and since Tom is having problems leaving what he is doing and returning to help his aunt he sends Prophet there while not really knowing if he's going to show up or not. No guessing here - of course he does! and don't bullshit me it's by chance, it isn't! both these guys have a sixth sense so in my eyes, Prophet got it exactly at the right time was more of him sensing he has to listen now to Tom (I'm trying to be vague here not to spoiler though you'll get it in the 3 first chapters or something like it). Them getting together after 4 months apart - Prophet disappearing into the horizon and Tom working with Cape - was like the hurricane outside.. WOW! 

 

But the fact that they are great in bed doesn't mean that anything changed between them, Prophet doesn't want to return to EE and he thinks Tom should stay with Cape. and yeah.. all the secrets and all the things they are not telling each other that you feel like shooting them somewhere annoying and letting them bleed in the same room until they actually talk to each other without being able to leave. I was quite pleased with them in the end, I must say :)

 

Hurricane comes and goes but the past doesn't.. while going to help a neighbor Tom stumbles into the warm body of a very significant person from his past.. someone he has every reason to hate and have a good reason to kill (if he went that way..) so it's so very NOT convenient when the sheriff arrives into the scene and arrests Tom for the murder.. After getting released because of lack of evidence it's up to Tom and Prophet to clear Tom's name (since it's obvious the Sheriff will do anything to pin it on him..) and understand what the hell is going on. 

 

This book was really action packed, moving fast forward while we got to know the pieces of the puzzle little by little. Don't think it means it was lacking in sex.. actually a little on the contrary.. There were so much sex I was close to being exasperated wanting to know what's up next with the plot :P 

 

All in all a great book, a great series, really looking forward to the next ones and the next series of Cillian and Mal ("Dirty Deeds"). Can't think of a couple I would want to read about more. Also we got a glimpse of Blue and Mick together which also made me want to read the novella about them (called "Free Falling").

 

Recommended! :)