I’m baaaack!! Did you miss me? Well I hope so because I missed all of you. I had a lovely time relaxing on the beach, and read so many books and novellas it’s kind of shocking. I’m back at my home base for the next week before I leave on another two week trip to California for work, so I’m gonna try and write as many reviews as I can before leaving. For my epic return to blogging (ha, yeah right), I’m reviewing a book that one of perhaps my most loyal blog followers gave me. I think he’s commented on or liked almost every one of my reviews, so I figured it’s about time I reviewed his book! I hope you all enjoy. 
After finishing this book I realized one of the most difficult things I’d have to do was figure out how to categorize it. It doesn’t really fit the mold of my normal book selection: romance. I mean sure, there was romance in it, but it definitely wasn’t the main focus. There was action and suspense in it, but I wouldn’t really say it was a thriller or action novel. It kind of reminded me of James Bond at times, but without all the fun toys. I did laugh out loud a couple times, but it’s not a comedy either. Hmm, what to call it. Oh, I know. What we have here is a bromance!
The book follows Dell (aka bro #1) and Bill (you guessed it, bro #2), and their quest to prevent a terrorist organization from releasing a dirty bomb on an American city. As you can see, not a romance. They both work for the Terrorism Task Force at the New Jersey State Police, but Dell has this “sight” which allows him to see danger before it happens. Not a bad skill/superpower to have when trying to find terrorists. Bill may not have any superpowers (tough break), but Dell won’t work with anyone else, even when the NSA recruits Dell for a special mission. Isn’t that just the sweetest! I’m telling ya, these two were partners in basically every sense of the word except physically. I’ll admit at times I did wonder if they were just going to say “To hell with it!” and jump at each other like bunnies, but alas, they remained platonic bros throughout the whole book.
For not being a romance book I did wonder if I’d like this thing, but it did actually keep my interest. This mission that our two bros have been recruited for takes them all over the world, from New Jersey, to the Middle East and back again, and even to the middle of nowhere Iowa to fight a terrorist cell! I have been to Iowa. Definitely wasn’t as exciting of a trip as the bros had. I had KFC for dinner because there wasn’t anything else near my hotel. Anyway, back to the book.
While in the Middle East, Dell and Bill come across a young boy and his sister who help them get out of a pickle involving guns and bad guys. Dell vows to protect them and bring them back to the US. Bill on the other hand finds he can’t quite stop thinking about the young sister, Fatima, who has some of the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen. Sure, she may have black teeth and a hump on her back, but he finds her intriguing nevertheless. Turns out Fatima is actually beautiful inside and out, but has taken on an ugly disguise so as not to attract the wrong kind of attention from bad men. So we have a romance blossoming between Fatima and Bill, Dell having visions all over the place, and both of our bros playing action hero to protect America. This book has got a bit of everything!
Believe it or not, my favorite parts in this book were not the romantic moments between Bill and Fatima. Kind of surprising when you consider the fact that my blog centers around romance! Rather, I loved the times when we had a bit of comedy, especially when Dell and Bill’s captain in New Jersey was involved. Captain Teasdale was freakin’ hilarious. He absolutely hates Dell who constantly tries to order everyone around during a mission, and he is ridiculously skittish for someone who works in a crime unit. Bill was also kind of an idiot, so his character made me giggle a few times.
Now, even though I loved the funny parts of this book I did feel they were misplaced at times. For example, during a suspenseful scene where Dell and Bill are running from terrorists in the Middle East, Bill has a terrible case of…we’ll call it difficulty adjusting to the local cuisine. Basically, they can’t hide in any one place for very long because Bill’s farts alert the bad guys of their location, and even if the bad guys were deaf they’d just have to follow the scent of poo! Now who doesn’t love poop jokes, but there is a time and place for everything. Even during the climax of the book we are presented with some ill-timed comedy. The terrorists with the bomb have kidnapped Fatima and her brother. Dell is devastated because they have taken two people who have come to be considered family, and Bill is miserable because they have taken the love of his life. Captain Teasdale on the other hand is about to go all Rambo on the terrorist’s asses because they have also kidnapped a dog that he’s grown fond of. Throughout the whole scene he’s like, “If they hurt that dog, I swear to God! We have to find them!” Ummm, terrorists are about to kill a bunch of people using a dirty bomb, and you are worried about a dog. Dude, priorities!
I also wish we would have been provided with more of a back story for Dell, including his relationship with Bill. At the start of the book Dell is a depressed and brooding little man with a death wish. Why? I have no idea! Sure, he has these visions, but it seems like they always lead him to catch the bad guys, and it’s not like he experiences any pain during these visions. What’s the problem? Also, Dell and Bill seem to be closer than Batman and Robin, minus the funny capes, but I felt like we never truly realized why. I think at one point Dell says that Bill saved his life, but I would have liked to hear more about that.
Even though this book didn’t really correspond to the romance novels I’m used to reading, it was kind of nice to read something different for a spell.
*An ARC of this book was provided for an honest review*
Series: Nope
Should you read it: If you’re not sure what kind of book you want to read next, then you might as well pick this one up because it hits practically every category of book possible. Action, comedy, drama, suspense, romance, and even some paranormal qualities.
Smut Level: Pretty low smut level. The scenes between Bill and Fatima are pretty PG, although there are some non-sexual naked times in the desert. Dell gets down and dirty with a chica, but their foreplay is more descriptive than the act itself.
Get it on Amazon: Click Here
Romance Novels for the Beach 