Author: Jaime Reese
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 445 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: What really held this lengthy novel together was the many special moments and camaraderie with all the guys that have made this an entertaining series.
Reviewed By: Maryann
Blurb: A story of healing and confronting demons…
Detective Aidan Calloway is rock-solid strong. He’s a man of justice—loyal to his friends, family, and job—even if it requires bending a law…or two. He shields himself behind an abrasive, fearless facade, until a phone call one night chips his armor and throws his perfectly planned, hollow life into a tailspin.
Jessie Vega is the epitome of optimism. His carefully crafted attitude of hope and positivity protects him from a past filled with too much pain. When a ghost from a dark time resurfaces and nearly breaks him, he must tap into his inner strength or risk losing everything he’s worked so hard to build.
But Jessie can’t do it alone. He must fight to break through Aidan’s ironclad defenses to reveal the heart of the man hiding beneath the tough surface and mend his damaged spirit. Only then can they truly heal and become strong enough to battle the demons that haunt them and threaten their chance to finally be together.
***This book contains scenes and subject matter some readers may find distressing. It is only intended for adult readers.***
Although part of a series and events from prior stories are referenced, this book can be read as a stand-alone.
Review: A Mended Man is a more in-depth look into Jessie Vegas’s past and the demon that comes back into his life after fifteen years. Jessie, whose father has denied him as a son, takes us on a journey where he has to survive an attack, and Detective Aidan Calloway is there every step of the way—to the point that he has abandoned everything until Jessie comes back to him. While Jessie is recovering, he has the rock-solid detective at his side, but Jessie isn’t the only one who has demons to fight. Aidan is fighting his own demons from his past in the military. There’s a definite psychological contrast between what Jessie and Aidan both have to deal with, and Aidan needs Jessie because Jessie is the only one who can take Aidan out of his hard persona.
Besides working with his task force team on high priority cases, and finding Jessie’s attacker, Aidan needs to make a deal with a drug dealer to get Hunter and Cam (from A Hunted Man) back to a normal life. Hunter sneaks in and makes a brief appearance, even though he’s still in WITSEC with Cam. Cole and Ty (from A Restored Man) also show up in this novel, and are still together. Cole is such a bright side to the storyline and is always there for Jessie. It was nice to have Aidan and Ty share some moments of brotherly advice. Matt and Julian (from A Better Man) are a part of this story too, and are still going strong at the halfway house.
A Mended Man is not a quick read and deals with a lot of psychological events that have occurred to Aidan and Jessie. Their emotional struggles add to the progress of really getting to know each other before the relationship becomes serious. They both have issues that need a lot of work, especially for Aidan, and even though Aidan seemed liked he would be the stronger character, I found Jessie in the more positive role and really giving solid support to Aidan.
What really held this lengthy novel together was the many special moments and camaraderie with all the guys that have made this an entertaining series. I have to give a lot of credit to Jaime Reese for taking a chance on changing the style from how the previous books in the Men of Halfway House series were written. I’ve followed this series from the beginning and look forward to the next story that Ms. Reese will bring us.
You can buy A Mended Man here:
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