We met Will and Hunter briefly in M&MS, especially Hunter, who got Fisher’s back up repeatedly when Hunter referenced a few fun days he had spent with Zach, prior to Zach and Fisher finding each other.
Will, having survived the explosion of his family’s compound, is now hiding out in Paris. Hunter is desperate to find Will before the very bad guys who are also looking for him manage to locate him.
Agents from the first book show up to help Hunter with his task of saving Will. Seems Hunter has gone off the reservation from the BND, Germany’s CIA equivalent, in his mission to find Will. Seth, Zach and Fisher “convince” Hunter to let them help, while also trying to round up Will’s brother Peter and Will’s sister’s…arrangement…Gatt.
There is a lot of plot going on, interspersed with a lot of love story. There is no wasted space in TTMR. Every word counts. Personally, I love that. One of my personal pet peeves is a story that meanders pointlessly, trying to build up the word count. TTMR is the opposite of that.
Hunter’s history is teased out slowly over the course of the book, adding layer after layer to this complex character. He is sort of baffled by the depth of his feelings for Will, and watching his brain catch up to his heart was entertaining. Hunter is fiercely protective, super sexy and all alpha.
Will’s childhood is the thing of nightmares, ones in which your parent pits your siblings against each other, familial poisoning is not unheard of, and plots of revenge end in death. Will has stayed at the periphery of his family’s felonious dealings, but Hunter urges him to be part of the solution, in a truly inspired scene. Though he is young, Will is smart and capable. He continuously surprised Hunter and the other agents with his ability to stay calm under pressure.
Watching these two find their way to each other, and risk it all to reach for their happiness was terrific. Loved Will’s ability to accept Hunter the way he is. Loved Hunter pushing Will to consider all the angles, loved his fear of falling in love, loved when he finally accepted the inevitability of his and Will’s relationship.
Bottom line – A thoroughly engaging read, with a smart, intricate plot and a great love story. Book 2 in the series, The Talented Mr. Rivers picks up where Mr. and Mr. Smith left off. While the HEA’s and parts of the plot are standalone, I would recommend reading M&MS before this title, because of the overall arc of the storyline.
A copy of this title was provided by the publisher via Netgalley for the purpose of an honest review. I preordered this book as soon as it came up, and will purchase a copy when it is published.
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Reviews with images
a passion and beauty I can’t resist.
Once again Dimon offers another amazing M/M story which grabs your heart and makes it shore. I will never get tired of reading her irresistible guy relationships because they have a passion and beauty I can’t resist.The Talented Mr. Rivers is the second installment in the Tough Love series and although it can be read as a standalone, it’s not recommend it. It contains some moments and info from the first book, Mr. And Mr. Smith, and though they are explained, it’s better if you know them first hand. Besides, the story of Fisher and Zach in the first is also amazing and it would be a shame not to be read. But let’s get back to the couple at hand; Hunter & Will. Here’s the deal between these two. Will Rivers is one of the heirs of a criminal family and Hunter Cain is the undercover agent who plays his bodyguard. The attraction between them has begun before even than and keeps growing no matter the problems shown in the way. So, after one of these problems arose, these two had to go on separate paths which recross again further down. And that’s where everything started volute pretty quickly giving them no time to breathe; but plenty to get intimate and hot 😉"If Hunter wanted to stake a claim, this did it."Both Will and Hunter are two very tortured souls with a very tough upbringing. And they may be quite different but that’s what is makes their connection even stronger and their love even more consuming. And just like any other couple, they don’t get away easily from dealing with Life and her sometimes bitchiness. But they never subconsciously give up on each other and, along with the help of some significant characters, always get to find their way back to each other because as Hunter once said “I knew we were meant to be.”The plot is even more intense than the first one’s. I can’t say exactly what that was but it had something in it that made my heart raising like crazy. And, as for their erotic scenes? Well, I kind of felt them on my skin and my emotions varied after the end of each scene since as the story was progressing, so they did, adding each time a different, strong feeling in the mix.HelenKay Dimon is a quite new author to me but her writing and her mind has already captivated me and I rarely I will walk away from one of her books. Until now, both her books I have read have left me with the best impressions and I can’t wait to see which couple will add next in the series. I hope like h*ll to be Seth because he is one of those secondary characters who intrigues you more than the lead ones. I bet his story will be even more passionate and goosebumping. 😉
Top reviews from other countries
iris
Review on „The Talented Mr Rivers“ (Tough Love 02) by HelenKay Dimon
Reviewed in Germany on December 21, 2016Sieran Lane
Will and Hunter were very romantic!
Reviewed in Canada on September 17, 2016
Corpsepride
To all the writers, please do your homework.
Reviewed in Germany on April 11, 2020
laine18
Secrets, agents and romance
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2016