“At its best, life is completely unpredictable.”
Follow to By the Numbers.
I’m one that, when it comes to sequels, likes to refresh my memory to the storyline & characters by rereading the original. So with this in mind, By the Numbers was revisited and set the pace for….
Adding it Up
Six months after Trey & Deuce have declared their love for each other, Adding it Up begins with Trey & Deuce having settled into a routine with jobs, Lacey’s visitation, and the dogs, Q, Pi, & Six.
Now the storyline starts off slow, but picks up with thoughts by Deuce, thinking how lonely he is when Trey is at work. The long shifts, overtime, and being late coming home due to his backup not showing up on time does take its toll.
I had to chuckle in this one scene where Trey calls to tell Deuce that he’ll be late again. Rather than wait around the house, Deuce loads up all three dogs in the car for a ride to the pet store by himself. Pi & Six act worst than three year olds in a candy store, which leads to a comic interlude for poor Deuce. And later on, when Trey he finally meets up with them at the dog park, Deuce actually gets a little snippy with him.
I think this is when Deuce begins to relate with Holly (Trey’s ex-wife) how hard it is to be in a relationship with a fireman. Not to mention feeling like a third wheel when it comes to Trey’s relationship with his daughter and ex-wife.
Speaking of the ex-wife, Holly starts to become more of a person than a character in a book, and you begin to see more of her personality come through. And she’s isn’t so bad once you get to know her. At one point, she even admits silently to herself that she likes Deuce. Not quite the witch that Trey’s version of her made her out to be.
As Deuce starts to extend a friendlier hand towards Holly, like inviting her in for coffee, talking about Lacey’s glitter art, that sort of thing, Trey starts acting more as a jerk because he’s worried that Holly will sabotage his relationship with Deuce like she had with others he had dated. Little insecure, there, huh, Big Guy?
Now let’s add Nate, Deuce’s father, who starts dropping hints that he’d like to meet Trey’s daughter, Lacey. Nate is quite likable and longing to be a Granddad. So after letting Trey know why, Deuce invites Holly to a picnic they’re having in order for her and Lacey to met Nate. And this is where the plot thickens and the angst begins.
I’m going to stop right there, ‘cause the whole focus of this storyline is to point out that there are two sides to every story, in this case, three. And how perspectives can be misconstrued.
If you liked By the Numbers, you’ll enjoy Adding it Up.
What made this an enjoyable read: the characters were more fully developed and I loved those touches of reality that occur after the HEA of By the Numbers.
I’m giving it a solid 4 star.
You can buy Adding it Up here:
