“Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.” – Loretta Young
Author: Mary Calmes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 290 Pages
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb: Deputy US Marshal Miro Jones has a reputation for being calm and collected under fire. These traits serve him well with his hotshot partner, Ian Doyle, the kind of guy who can start a fight in an empty room. In the past three years of their life-and-death job, they’ve gone from strangers to professional coworkers to devoted teammates and best friends. Miro’s cultivated blind faith in the man who has his back… faith and something more.
As a marshal and a soldier, Ian’s expected to lead. But the power and control that brings Ian success and fulfillment in the field isn’t working anywhere else. Ian’s always resisted all kinds of tied down, but having no home—and no one to come home to—is slowly eating him up inside. Over time, Ian has grudgingly accepted that going anywhere without his partner simply doesn’t work. Now Miro just has to convince him that getting tangled up in heartstrings isn’t being tied down at all.
Review: Did Mary Calmes just write two characters that some readers may love even MORE than Sam Kage and Jory Harcourt?? Is that what just happened?? I mean…I just read this amazing book, and it feels like that’s what happened. I have a deep affection for all things Mary Calmes. Frog was one of my first M/M books, and I adore it still. I will never stop trying to talk Mary into writing more of Nate and Dreo. And, of course there is the A Matter of Time series; who doesn’t love Sam and Jory? But, Ian and Miro may have taken the spot at the top of my faves list.
Miro Jones and Ian Doyle are the sexiest, swooniest, most bad-ass US Marshalls in the history of forever. They are constantly in peril – Ian getting so flustered every time Miro is in harm’s way is the greatest thing, I can’t even tell you – but, having been partners for 3 years, they can anticipate each other’s every move, and they always have each other’s back. But, what one of them is too afraid to admit, and the other is too oblivious to realize, is that they are also completely in love.
I can’t decide which of these guys I love more. Miro’s quiet calm totally works. He is great at his job, has some incredibly loyal and attentive friends – including Ian – and seems quite secure in his life, including knowing the true depth of his feelings for his partner, even if he thinks nothing can ever come of them. Ian, on the other hand, is adorably clueless about his feelings for Miro. But, beyond that, he is obviously comfortable in his own skin, is also very adept at both his job as a Marshall, and a Green Beret, and would do absolutely anything for Miro. The way Mary writes these guys is perfect. The banter, the friendship, the affection…their chemistry, both on and off the job is explosive, and the way they interact is just completely effortless.
The book is fast-paced and action-packed. The secondary characters bring a lot of color to the story, and we get quite a few glimpses of our beloved hard-ass, Sam Kage, as well as a few other fun cameos. I could even see several of the new players appearing in future Ian and Miro books (HINT, HINT). But, the highlight for me was being introduced to these two characters and falling in love with them. I feel like they both have really strong backstories that the author just started to touch on. It also took Ian quiiiiiite a while for his head to figure out what his heart was trying to tell him all along. When he finally got it…when he finally realized that the only person that could give him what he needed was Miro, it was full-on. But, I really think they have a LOT MORE STORY left to explore (Again…HINT, HINT). I could definitely see this as a series. (No-longer-even-slightly-subtle HINT). ;) In all seriousness, though, I adored this book. Go check it out, folks!!
You can buy All Kinds of Tied Down here:
