Author: Sandrine Gasq-Dion
Publisher: Wilde City Press
Pages/Word Count: 150 Pages
At a Glance: Sets us up beautifully for the next couple of books in the series
Blurb: Dario Ramos thought he’d left the fighting behind in the war zone when a life-threatening injury sent him home. But a certain Irishman crossing his path everywhere he went convinced him that his biggest battle might be ahead. Tiernan Callahan is a bigoted jerk. Ramos finds himself constantly in the man’s orbit, even in a city as big as New York. The wounded warrior knows all about pain and loss — and that sometimes anger is the only form of release. When Tiernan once again crowds Ramos’ space, his eyes are opened to the possibility of other forms of release.
Tough NYC cop Tiernan Callahan is still mourning the death of his beloved youngest brother, Mason. Fearing his close-minded family’s reaction, the young soldier never got to tell them his secret — that he was gay and engaged to the love of his life. Tiernan is surviving on anger and guilt. When he continues to run into Dario Ramos, who continues to push his buttons, something inside him snaps. Suddenly, anger isn’t the only emotion he feels.
Two very different men, still trying to heal: Can they come to an understanding and heal each other?
Review: It is hard to believe but this is already the fifth book in Sandrine Gasq-Dion’s “Men of Manhattan” series. I’ve been reading it since book one and have to say that this is one of my most anticipated books of the series. I’ve loved Ramos since he was introduced in the earlier books. On the other hand, I loathed Tiernan from the moment I was introduced to him. I have to admit that I didn’t know if Ms. Gasq-Dion was going to be able to sell me on Tiernan as a love interest, but I am happy to say that all of my doubt was just downright silly.
All of Tiernan’s faults were thought to be because he is homophobic. When the truth of Tiernan’s anger began to unfold in this story I found myself doing the unthinkable: feeling sympathy for his sorry behind!
Ramos is just…Ramos. He’s sarcastic, flirty, funny and protective of the ones he loves. His one liners were, as always, epically funny.
What began as a story of two men who hated each other on principal, turns into a story of two men who hate to love each other and man, that is totally sexy.
Ramos is a “take life as it comes” kind of guy, living in the gray areas of life. Tiernan is a by-the-book cop who has lived his life the way everyone expects him to. When these two immovable forces meet, it is inevitably going to cause an earthquake, and what an earthquake it is. These two had the temperature rising when they finally got together and WOW did they get it together. Heat wasn’t the only thing these two shared, though. It seemed like they just GOT one another. Tiernan accepted Ramos just the way he is, and Ramos saw the real Tiernan when no one else could. They really did seem to be made for one another.
It was so much fun to see the usual cast of characters again and we get to meet a few new guys who are sure to turn some of these men inside out. Danny, Tiernan’s new partner on the force, is AMAZING, and all I have to say is that he should never be allowed to spend any time alone with Slater. That would surely be the start of the apocalypse.
As with most of her books, Sandrine Gasq-Dion has set us up beautifully for the next couple of books in the series and if they are anywhere near as good as this one, they will be totally fantastic.
You can buy A Healing Man here: