Author: Scotty Cade
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 200 Pages
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb: Needing a lifestyle change, Garner Holt, an uptight workaholic psychologist, buys a sailboat and trades in his prestigious job in New York City for a life on the water. After engine failure and six weeks in Savannah, Georgia for repair, he arrives in Key West, Florida early one morning and encounters a half-dressed hooligan walking along the docks of the marina. Garner immediately thinks this barefoot and shirtless man with a shaved head, multiple tattoos, and piercings in every orifice is going to rob him. He prepares for the worst. Instead, the stranger passes Garner by and climbs on a boat two slips down. With the threat of danger gone, Garner is surprisingly intrigued.
Hawken Bristol is used to being on the receiving end of stereotypes. He sees the fear on the stranger’s face, recognizes the rigidity in his stance, but is too tired from his wild night of partying to engage the frightened stranger. A few cat and mouse encounters around town lead to an uncanny attraction. However, after Garner helps Hawken dock his boat in a windstorm, sparks start to fly. But this new liaison brings up old baggage that threatens to derail everything they have going.
Review: After reading Sunrise Over Savannah and watching Garner Holt bring Thompson and Hank together, I was kind of bummed for Garner. I wanted him to find the same kind of happiness he led his friends to. When Garner leaves Savannah for Key West, he truly believes it will just be a stopover on his way South. One frightening encounter with a large, bald, tattooed and pierced Hawken Bristol turns all of Garner’s best laid plans on their ear.
Garner’s first impression of Hawk was definitely one of fear, but when the two men inadvertently run into one another again, there is a mutual attraction neither one of them can explain. When the two men finally give in to this attraction, they both realize they could really enjoy Garner’s time in the Keys together, with no strings.
With both men being up front and honest about their lack of interest in anything more than a friends-with-benefits arrangement, they end up spending a lot of time together—both in and out of bed. As they get to know each other, Garner finds himself developing feelings for Hawk that he doesn’t want. When he realizes he is beginning to fall in love with Hawk, Garner decides to do what he does best, and runs.
When Hawk finds himself in the middle of a tragedy, Garner stays with him until the danger passes, but he has to leave if he wants to keep his sanity. No strings is what Garner likes, and he knows Hawk feels the same way. Or so Garner thinks. It comes down to two men being able to be honest with themselves and each other instead of letting the best thing to happen to them both sail away.
Mr. Cade wrote a wonderful story for Garner and Hawk. They couldn’t have been more opposite from one another on the outside, or more alike on the inside. They made a perfect couple if the two of them could just get out of their own way to get to their happily ever after. As is normal with Mr. Cade’s books, there are tons of wonderful details about the area, and Chasing the Horizon was very well written. I was also very impressed with Hawk’s best friend, and I am hoping that he will get the next book in this series. I would highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what is in store for us next.
You can buy Chasing the Horizon here:
