Sunday 14 June 2015

In the Distance by Eileen Griffin & Nikka Michaels

IN THE DISTANCE by Eileen Griffin & Nikka Michaels
 
Pages:          257
Date:           April 27, 2015
Details:        No 3. In the Kitchen
ARC / Kindle

The blurb:

“Tyler Mitchell has worked hard to rebuild his life after his family kicked him out. A culinary student and sous chef who spends his spare time volunteering with kids, he’s happy enough even though he has no time to consider a relationship.

Trevor Pratt is finally getting over losing his best friend and the one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but it’s taken screwing every cute guy in Manhattan to get there. He’s vowed to repair the friendship he endangered, but that’s hard to do when his friend’s new employee catches his eye. Despite being warned to stay away from Tyler, Trevor knows the sous chef is more than just a hookup.

Romance is a terrible idea. Trevor is ten years older and a relentless playboy. Tyler is still unsure of his place in the world. Neither of them is ready for life-changing love, but as things heat up, their chemistry in the bedroom might just take that decision out of their hands.”

My thoughts:

Let me start by saying this book is probably my favourite of the three In the Kitchen novels. Don’t get me wrong, I loved both In the Raw and In the Fire (click on the titles for my thoughts on those books) but Tyler and Trevor’s story touched me on a deeper level than Jamie and Ethan’s did, even if I couldn’t begin to explain why that might be. And just for the record; while I would strongly advise anyone to read the two earlier titles before reading In the Distance – if only because they’re great books – it isn’t necessary. This book stands on its own as well as it does as part of a trilogy.

From the moment I was introduced to Tyler he captured a spot in my heart. He’s such a loving, kind and generous soul despite being rejected by his family and having survived on the streets before Ethan found him. He has every reason to be angry with the world and act out, but does the exact opposite. In the hands of lesser authors Tyler might have ended up as a boring, saintly, caricature; in In the Distance, he is fully rounded, totally recognisable and an utter sweetheart all at the same time.

Trevor, at first glance at least, is much harder to like. And, if you’ve read the previous two books, you know there are good reasons why Ethan doesn’t trust Trevor and warns him away from Tyler. But it didn’t take Trevor long to change my views about him. It was impossible to stay upset with him when he’s all too aware of his shortcomings and the first to beat himself up over them. And the care he took with Tyler took my breath away. Trevor had me convinced he wasn’t all bad long before he was willing to believe that of himself. And, honestly, few things are as mesmerizing to read about as a formerly flawed character redeeming himself. And Trevor redeems himself in the best possible way in this book.

I love how these two authors always manage to pull me into their stories. They introduce me to their characters and a few pages later those characters have risen from the page and become real personalities I enjoy having in my life. The conversation between the characters in their books sparkles and sounds real and convincing. What’s more, the story flows with an ease and hooks the reader from the very first moment. With a just about perfect balance between angst and smiles and a total absence of boring moments, In The Distance, will keep you reading until you reach the happy ending.

Buy links:





EILEEN GRIFFIN BIO:

Eileen Griffin lives in the southwest, but loves to travel and has spent many summers crossing Europe with nothing but a backpack on her back. She enjoys TexMex, lives for good wine, and has a certain penchant for purple unicorns. She loves reading all genres of books, but her current obsession is writing M/M romance. Her past published works include: Chasing Matt, a M/M novella co-authored with Nikka Michaels, Dinner For Two, a M/F romance novella, “Claiming Ayden”, a M/M shifter romance that is part of Evenight’s Alpha’s Claim Anthology: M/M Edition, and “Lost and Found”, a short story written for the M/M Romance Group’s Don’t Read in the Closet: Love’s Landscapes Event. Eileen is currently working on book three of the In the Kitchen series from Carina Press with Nikka Michaels, as well as several other projects both individual and co-authored.

NIKKA MICHAELS BIO:

Nikka Michaels lives in the Pacific Northwest where she spends her time cooking up romantic tales to satisfy her craving for HEAs with heat. A voracious reader, novice knitter and music lover she’s been known to multitask without breaking a sweat. She loves to read and write M/M romance but believes everyone deserves a love story.

EILEEN GRIFFIN SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:


NIKKA MICHAELS SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:







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