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karlynp

Karlynp & The Doggone World

Chatting about books, authors, reading devices and the latest events happening around the cyber-world of book reviews.

When Tony Met Adam (Short Story) - Suzanne Brockmann 2.5 stars. My final thought when I finished this: Tony is going to get his heart broken, and Adam is just not worthy.

I **loved** the Troubleshooters series. I devoured it to the point I thought of the characters as real people, which is partly why I didn't care for this romance between Tony and Adam. I hated Adam in the previous books, and I didn't think he was redeemable as a hero. And turns out he wasn't. Adam made life miserable for Jules and Robin, (who I love and consider some of my closest friends. Nuts I know, but again this series does make you believe they are all real people).

Tony was a much smaller character in the series, but what we saw of him we learned he was a great person. Honest, true, and loyal. Anyone would be proud to call him a friend, gay or straight.

I went into this book knowing Tony had a huge crush on Adam, and wishing I could talk him out of it, but Tony had that love-at-first-sight thing going on and sadly it was aimed square onto douche bag Adam.

So when Adam agrees to a hookup-only situation with Tony, I wanted more for Tony. But I have to give Tony credit for laying his intentions out there and not wavering. He came off a bit desperate, but he knew what he wanted. He saw something in Adam even Adam didn't see, and some how he got Adam to believe it too.

The story is short so I didn't expect a long courtship, but I would have liked either more time spent together or them taking slower steps toward the end. The commitment between them given all that was between them was just too much to buy. This could of been a better case for 'less is more'.

And speaking of 'less is more', the sub-plot of this little story is heavy handed with a DADT (don't ask, don't tell) agenda. I was all for its removal and supported the rights for the military to come out if they so chose, but the preaching is HEAVY in this story for a casual read. Some will love that, but others will feel a bit bashed over the head by it.

On the plus side it was great to see Sam and Izzy again. I love those guys. Dan G and Jay L were both in the story too. And while they are awesome SEALs, they are not in the same class as Sam and my dream boat Izzy. (BTW Izzy and I were going to get married, then Ms Brockmann messed it up and wrote Breaking The Rules where Izzy falls for Eden. I'm still heartbroken). This was a good story to reconnect with the series and see some interesting characters, but the romance wasn't for me. Tony deserves better.