Book Review: When to Hold Them by G.B. Gordon

Title: When to Hold Them
Series: Bluewater Bay, Book 9
Author: G.B. Gordon
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy provided via NetGalley
Published: August 17, 2015 by Riptide

Doran Callaghan doesn't know when to fold ’em. His gambling has landed him in debt and in jail, and now it’s got him stuck in the sticks in a reintegration program. He wants to turn his life around, but old habits come knocking, and some creditors are harder to shake than others.

Xavier Wagner cares more about the National Park he works in than the people around it, until a stranger awakens desires he didn't know he had. Doran's natural submissiveness turns Xavier’s ideas of how to treat a lover upside down. But Doran doesn't seem to know about boundaries — or even to have any — and Xavier’s not sure that Doran will say no if he needs to. Which means someone’s going to get hurt.

While Xavier struggles with his principles, Doran's past comes calling. Trusting each other is suddenly a matter of life or death, but Doran has to decide whether counting on Xavier — or himself — is a gamble he’s willing to take.

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Reviewed by: Crissy

Why I Read This Book: I’ve read all of the Bluewater Bay series and have a spectacular love for each of them, so I was interested in reading this one for that reason and because this is a fairly new author to me.

In A Nutshell: I liked this book well enough, but after following such stellar pieces, it was only okay for me.

What I Liked: Give me broken and battered characters any day. I’m always game there. And when it came to Doran, he was definitely broken. What I like about him is that he’s basically a good guy who made a big mistake that landed him in a lot of trouble, but he’s working on getting himself cleaned up and on the right track. He’s not the sniveling, whiny, entitled kid. He’s just a guy. He complains. He backslides. He screws up. But none of that changes his endgame.

What I Also Liked: Xavier is pretty much a white knight. Nothing bad touches him. While powerful and dominant, he’s still got this innocent naivety going for him. He’s a family guy, where Doran didn’t really have that. He’s open, where Doran doesn’t have that part of his life under control yet. He’s just plain good. The contrast that gives to Doran’s character is what kept me interested in the story.

What I Didn’t Like: The lack of communication between Doran and Xavier killed me. I mean, I get Doran wanting to keep a secret, but there has to come a point where you man up or walk away. There were so many secrets and so many fears on Doran’s end, that at one point I thought maybe it would be better that he just walk away.

The appearance of the villain was also kind of last minute. Some things were hinted to throughout the book, but nothing until Doran makes his fatal decision that changes everything. The thing is I liked that part of the plot, but I thought it could have definitely been introduced earlier.

In My Opinion: When to Hold Them is a good story and good addition to the Bluewater Bay world. Nothing stood out for me as spectacular, and I probably wouldn’t read it for a second time, but I’m glad I read it this time.

 

Crissy’s Rating:

Reviews for other books in this series:
Hell on Wheels, Book 3
The Burnt Toast B&B, Book 5
The Deep of the Sound, Book 8